The first comprehensive oral history of the bloodiest campaign in Vietnam.

The first and only accurate description of Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine’s combat operation on 21 April 1967 . . . vividly captures the intensity and close combat during the initial fight.

—Maj. Gen. (ret.) Gene Deegan, CO, F/2/1

Breaks new ground about the high-intensity ground combat in I Corps.

—Charles D. Melson, chief historian, USMC

A first-class contribution to Vietnam literature by someone who appreciates combat from the ground level.

—Dr. Alexander S. Cochran, Vietnam veteran and historian

A testament to those Marines who courageously committed themselves to one another and to the Que Son Valley.

—Maj. Gen. (ret.) John H. Admire, former commanding general, 1st Marine Division

“Oh, yes,” a retired NVA officer matter-of-factly told former U.S. Marine Otto J. Lehrack. “In the Que Son Valley in 1967, we killed more Americans than at any time or place during the war.”

Road of 10,000 Pains, which takes its title from a translation of The Iliad, is itself an epic oral history of war. The battles fought within four miles of Route 534 in Vietnam over seven months in 1967 are described in dramatic interviews with more than ninety U.S. Marines who were there. The action in the Que Son Valley was so intense that many of the men on the ground were unaware of the nearby route that connected these events until now. Their heroic struggles were destined to be lost on the scrap heap of history, but thankfully, Road of 10,000 Pains makes up for lost time by finally honoring these men. Their words will resonate forever with veterans and the public alike. Here, finally, is the authoritative account of the sacrifices, hardships, triumphs, and pains of their epic mission in The Valley.