"Phan Nhat Nam and the Battle of An Loc"

This submission consists of two parts which have been entered as separate files. The first part introduces the second part, the translation. "Acknowledgements" and "References" appear at the end of the translation.This article focuses on a translation of excerpts from Fiery Red Summer, an account of the Spring Offensive of 1972, by Phan Nhat Nam, South Vietnam's most famous war reporter. The introductory essay provides background on the offensive and suggests why it and the battle for An Loc, arguably the most important battle of the Vietnam War, have received little attention from U.S. historians. The translated excerpts from Fiery Red Summer that follow describe how the 6th Battalion of the 1st Airborne Brigade of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam fought bravely to link up with troops defending An Loc, thereby helping to break the communist siege of the town. Both the essay and the translation suggest that to understand an event such as the battle for An Loc one must consider multiple perspectives