April 30, 2011: Last Men Out / America's Final Hours in Vietnam

Our guests today are Bob Drury, Tom Clavin, and Marine Sgt. Steve SchullerLast Men Out. The True Story of America’s Heroic Final Hours in Vietnam.In a gripping, moment-by-moment narrative based on a wealth of recently declassified documents and in-depth interviews, Bob Drury and Tom Clavin focus on the story of the eleven young Marines who were the last men to leave, rescued from the Embassy roof just moments before capture, having voted to make an Alamo-like previous stand. As politicians in Washington struggled to put the best face on disaster and the American ambassador refused to acknowledge that the end had come and to evacuate, these courageous men held their ground and helped save thousands of lives. They and their fellow troops on the ground and in the air had no room for error as frenzy broke out in the streets and lashing rains and enemy fire began to pelt the city.Drury and Clavin gained unprecedented access to the survivors, to the declassified “After-Action reports” of the operation, and to the transmissions among helicopter pilots, their officers, and officials in Saigon secretly recorded by the National Security Agency. They deliver a taut and stirring account of a turning point in American history which unfolds with the heart-stopping urgency of the best thrillers—a riveting true story finally told, in full, by those who lived it.Join host Dale Throneberry and authors Bob Drury and Tom Clavin, and Marine Sgt Steve Schuller this week on Veterans Radio. You don’t want to miss this amazing and true story of the courage, nobility and discipline of a small group of Marines during the last days of the Vietnam War.Learn more about Bob Drury and Tom Clavin’s “Last Men Out”