Tony Nadal was born at Fort Benning, Georgia and raised in his family’s home in Puerto Rico. After boarding school, prep school, and then West Point, Nadal completed Airborne and Ranger School and was sent to Germany, where he later volunteered for Special Forces. After earning his Green Beret in 1963, he was sent to Vietnam to command an A Detachment at Nam Dong in I Corps. He returned to the States, completed the Armored Officer's Career Course, wrangled briefly with the Army over going to Korea, then returned to Fort Benning and joined the 11th Air Assault, which became part of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) and deployed to Vietnam as a unit in the early fall of 1965. He describes the brilliant leadership in the 11th Air Assault, which provided the Army with 13 three- and four-star generals. He discusses the Howze Board, the Chinese Nungs, a Claymore ambush, the battle at LZ X-ray and the lost platoon, the horrors of white phosphorous, the goodness of our allies, the weaknesses of the plebe system at West Point, and the virtues of an all-volunteer Army.
Key Words: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Puerto Rico, Fort Leavenworth, Military Academy of El Salvador, Peddie School, Sullivan's Prep School, West Point, Airborne School, Ranger School, Dahlonega, CBR, chemical warfare course, Grafenwoehr, Laos, Special Forces, green beret, Nam Dong, Medal of Honor, C-123, Fort Bragg, Nha Trang, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Cosiguina, Armored Officer's Career Course, AOBC, Fort Benning, 11th Air Assault Division, Howze Board, Ruff Puffs, Montagnards, Chinese Nungs, Viet Minh, Viet Cong, Bronze Star, CIB, Purple Heart, Quy Nhon, Sands of Iwo Jima, CH-54, An Khe, Hotel Thayer, L-19, Claymore mines, Plei Me, Battle of LZ X-ray, separated platoon, forward observer (FO), Garryowen, smoke, white phosphorous (WP), Bong Son, S-3, 2/7th Cav, social psych, leadership, professor, Pentagon, AARPA, Aussies, Koreans, Filipinos, Thais, Oklahoma State University, Phi Kappa Phi, Marine Corps Staff College, SAMVA, Special Assistant for a Modern Volunteer Army, Meritorious Service Medal, Fort Ord, OE, organizational effectiveness, plebe system
Key Names: Sir Galahad, Lancelot, Knights of the Round Table, Napoleon, President John Kennedy, Roger Donlon, LBJ (President Lyndon B. Johnson), Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Lieutenant General Hamilton H. Howze, Colonel Harold G. “Hal” Moore Jr, Army Chief of Staff Sam Myers, General Hal Shoemaker, General Harry W. O. Kinnard II, Lee Ze Dong, John Herren, Colonel Tim Brown, Beatles, Second Lieutenant Walter J. “Joe” Marm, John Clark, Sergeant Jack E. Gell, Joe Galloway, General William C. Westmoreland, General George I. Forsythe, President Richard M. Nixon, Pete Dawkins, John Sewell, Barry McCaffrey, Hank Emerson, General John A. Wickham Jr, General Bernie Rogers, Colonel Pham Cong Cuu