Night of the Silver Stars

In Vietnam, 1968, the enemy was planning the kind of overwhelming attack that broke the French at Dien Bien Phu. But while U.S. Marines dug in at Khe Sanh, and recon missions probed the Laotian border, the enemy proved elusive-until it struck full force on an isolated Green Beret outpost. In the early darkness of February 7th, two dozen U.S. Special Forces soldiers and their indigenous fighters were overrun, attacked by waves of ground troops, mortars, flame-throwers, and a weapon they had not prepared for: North Vietnamese tanks. The battle of Lang Vei had begun.

In this gripping, keenly told account, author William R. Phillips chronicles a desperate struggle for survival as the Green Berets held out against unrelenting fire from point blank range. Then, as the badly wounded Americans fought their way out of one death trap, they found themselves in another, still besieged with little hope for rescue-until a super secret, quick-reaction strike force launched one of the most daring missions of the war...

William R. Phillips served nine years of active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps, advancing in rank from private to sergeant before being commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation from Penn State in June 1963. He served twelve months in combat in Vietnam, from March 1965 to February 1966.

Phillips holds a Lifetime Master classification with the National Rifle Association and was a member of numerous prize-winning high-power riffle teams. He is currently treasurer of Bucknell University and secretary of the Investment Committee of the university's Board of Trustees. He lives in rural north-central Pennsylvania with his wife, Peggy.

Phillips is the author of six articles on special operations warfare. This is his first book.