Moral Imperative

1972, Combat Rescue, and the End of America's War in Vietnam

By: Darrel D. Whitcomb

Narrated by: Shawn Compton

In 1972, America was completing its withdrawal from the long and divisive war in Vietnam. Air power covered the departure of ground forces, and search and rescue teams from all services and Air America covered the airmen and soldiers still in the fight. Day and night these military and civilian aircrews stood alert to respond to "Mayday" calls. The rescue forces were the answer to every man's prayer, and those forces brought home airmen, sailors, marines, and soldiers downed or trapped across the breadth and depth of the entire Southeast Asia theater. Moral Imperative relies on a trove of declassified documents and unit histories to tell their tales.

Focusing on 1972, Darrel Whitcomb combines stories of soldiers cut off from their units, advisors trapped with allied forces, and airmen downed deep in enemy territory, with the narratives of the US Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, contract pilots, and special operations teams ready to conduct rescues in Laos, Cambodia, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. All of these missions occur against the backdrop of our withdrawal from the war and our diplomatic efforts to achieve a lasting peace.

©2020 The University Press of Kansas (P)2020 Tantor

Great Book, but the Narration....

This is an outstanding, well-researched book. I was an Air Cavalry Cobra Pilot, flying in the northern part of South Vietnam during the 1972 Easter Offensive. Most accounts of the action during this period gives short shrift to Army Aviation. This author does not. His account fully includes our actions, which is deeply appreciated. His tribute to Air Cavalry is glowing.
The author’s prose is straight forward and concise. His descriptions puts the listener in the middle of the action, as well it might as the author himself was in the middle of it as a Forward Air Controller. However, the narrator’s lack of understanding of his topic is cringeworthy. His mispronunciations are egregious. They were a distraction. Audible, please make sure your narrators are familiar with what they are reading. South East Asia, SEA, is not pronounced “sea,” Hue City is not pronounced “hue,” Quang Tri is pronounced “Quang Tree,” etc. While this comment might seem picayune, it isn’t for those of us who know.

Very good documentation.

Very thorough research but the narrator’s pronunciation of SEA locations could have been better. 1972 was a tough year in SEA especially for aviators.

The great amount of details.

Having done two combat tours in SE Asia, I really enjoy reading/listening as I learned much about the Vietnam war from a variety of sources and experiences. Great job all around producing this audio book!