Captain Jim Decker returns for his second tour in Vietnam. With all his engineer experience in construction units, he is surprised to be assigned to a combat engineer battalion. And surprise almost turns to shock as he learns that he will command a company detached from its battalion and under the operational control of the 122nd Separate Infantry Brigade (Airborne). Upon arriving at the brigade's basecamp, he learns that his company has been relegated to base support work such as repairing perimeter bunkers, improving the helipad, and expanding the ammunition supply point. Shortly after arrival he sees that the brigade could use his unit's support in its combat operations. But there are problems: -How can he get his noncommissioned officers' support for changing the company's operations from work in a relatively secure area where almost all of the soldiers will successfully complete their Vietnam tour, to combat engineer support in the jungle with its very real risk of injury and death? -How can he get his soldiers trained up for these jungle operations? -How will he get the brigade to ever trust his "leg" engineers to support its airborne soldiers? If this is to work at all a great number of challenges must be overcome, to include training for jungle survival, for proficiency in individual and crew-served weapons, for skills in booby trap identification and avoidance, for expertise in setting out trip flares and Claymore mines, and for constructing hasty field fortifications. However, nothing seems to work and the brigade appears determined to ignore Decker and his combat engineer company . . . until it finds itself in the fight of its life. Will Decker's efforts pay off? Maybe and maybe not. The fruition of months of hard training and the exciting ending are highlighted in the fight of Operation Valley Fury.
About the Author: Jay Braden grew up in a military family; his father was a World War II vet, who was called back for Korea and remained in the service until his retirement. In 1967 Braden was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. After basic engineer officer schooling in Virginia and his first duty assignment as an engineer platoon leader at Fort Lewis, Washington, he was sent to Vietnam, where he served again as a platoon leader and was responsible for the two major construction projects: Third Corps Tactical Operations Center and a portion of the QL 20 road building effort. During his tour he was decorated for achievement and for valor, receiving the Bronze Star with V-device for his actions when his platoon was ambushed on QL 20. Braden went on to serve nearly 30 years with the Army, commanding a company, battalion, and brigade in the process. He was the Central Command Engineer for Operation Desert Storm during the first Gulf War. At the end of his military service, he sought and gained employment with Florida State University, where he worked full-time and concurrently earned a Doctorate of Education. He then worked ten years for Stetson University in the Orlando area. While in the service, Braden wrote training articles for military publications, and he earned two military Fourth Estate Awards. For many years he contemplated a more ambitious writing project, but his Army duties and then his doctoral dissertation commanded most of his free time. He did find time for two Letters to the Editor of the Tampa Tribute, and in each case his submission was awarded the Letter of the Week designation. At the urging of his wife, he began dictating what would become his first book: QL 20 while commuting to and from work in Orlando. His wife Bonnie, who was the typist for his doctoral dissertation, was also the typist for QL 20. Braden was married for over 47 years and has four children and ten grandchildren. His wife Bonnie died in 2014. They had a great marriage, enjoying golf, tennis, volleyball, and family get-togethers. They tried to plan two family vacations each year. There is a family Website: www.bradenclan.com, where lots more on the Bradens and Jay's military service can be found.