A Feel-Good Story About Vietnam

War is hell. The topic itself is even tough to discuss, particularly for veterans, and perhaps no more so than for those who served in Vietnam.

But in “Blackhorse Riders,” Southampton-based Phil Keith, himself a Navy veteran of three tours in Vietnam, has written a book on the subject. Though difficult at times to read, it is, in the end, an uplifting story about the courageous men of the Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry, who risked their lives against all odds to rescue a group of American soldiers facing imminent death.

“Blackhorse Riders” tells the true story of 25-year-old Captain John Poindexter and the now famed Blackhorse regiment, who, on March 26, 1970, after hearing pleas for help from a surrounded infantry unit deep in the densely, nearly impenetrable jungle stronghold of the North Vietnamese Army, chose to pack up and move in to save their otherwise doomed fellow soldiers. Miraculously, all but three of the approximately 115 men present for duty from Alpha Troop survived. Approximately 100 American soldiers were wounded during the battle.

“Had these men not tackled the rescue, an entire company of infantry, over 80 men, [who were outnumbered at least six to one, according to the author], would have been killed or captured,” Mr. Keith wrote in the Author’s Note to “Blackhorse Riders.” “This would have been one of the single worst single-unit, single-day losses for the American military in Vietnam.”

But Alpha Troop’s heroism went by unnoticed and unrecognized until nearly 40 years later, when Captain Poindexter’s tireless efforts finally paid off and on October 20, 2009 the men under his command were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation by President Barack Obama at the White House.

Even though he was in Vietnam at the time, Mr. Keith said he had never heard of the Alpha Troop’s brave mission—one of the most daring rescue missions of all time, he said—until he read about the impending citation ceremony in the New York Times on October 1, 2009.

According to Mr. Keith, there are many reasons nobody had previously heard of what has now been dubbed by the participants the “Anonymous Battle.” It was nearing the end of the war and the feeling at the time was “wrap it up and get out.” Plus, the original transcripts of Captain Poindexter’s radioed recommendations for citations had been lost in the shuffle somewhere, an honest mistake, according to Mr. Keith. Add to that the fact that the Blackhorse regiment was not operating under a normal chain of command at the time of the rescue mission—many of the men had been loaned out to the infantry division from their own commands—and most of them were not what Mr. Keith called “regular Army,” as they were a specialized cavalry outfit. And lastly, merely six days later, the same troop was involved in an even more dangerous battle with the same group of North Vietnamese fighters.

Mr. Keith, who interviewed close to 300 men for his book, said that he was immediately struck by the bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers from Alpha Troop.

“They were just regular guys in a tough place at a bad time and they decided they were going to do something about the other guys’ shit sandwich [what soldiers often referred to as a very bad tactical situation],” he said over coffee at the Sip ’N Soda in Southampton earlier this month. “The most important thing to realize is that before this, they were truck drivers, painters, bricklayers, telephone linemen, prison guards. They did what they had to do. Poindexter said ‘saddle up’ and that’s what they did. Nobody bitched, nobody complained.”

In telling the tales of these courageous men, Mr. Keith said that he is not the author of their stories, but instead, the narrator who tried to weave their experiences together for all to read.

Citing scores of harrowing books already written about Vietnam, particularly the best-selling “Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War” by author and friend Karl Marlantes, Mr. Keith said he wanted to write a more positive tale about Vietnam in “Blackhorse Riders.”

“I wrote this to be the anti-‘Matterhorn,’” he said. “I want people to finally understand that there were some good stories there too. Dare I say, it’s a feel-good story about Vietnam.”

For the members of Alpha Troop, telling of their experiences was oftentimes quite painful, but it was also cathartic for many, according to Mr. Keith. He added that being awarded the Presidential Unit Citation—the same citation recently bestowed up the SEAL Team Six that killed Osama Bin Laden and the highest combat award that can be given to a military unit—went a long way in helping many to move on.

“It was the most incredible and defining experience they ever had,” he said of Alpha’s service in Vietnam, and how they were treated upon returning to American soil. “They had to endure the lasting animus before finally getting some closure.”

As he sipped his coffee, the former naval aviator—who was also awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, an Air Medal for Gallantry, the Purple Heart and the Navy Commendation Medal—told of two stories in particular that struck him greatly.

One was something that Pasqual “Gus” Gutierrez, now 63 and a practicing architect in California, said of his returning home after the war and finally being recognized for valor.

“When all of us who served came back from Vietnam we had to reenter society through the back door. Now, 40 years later, in a different world, there we were, walking through the front door and right into the Rose Garden of the most famous building in America. What a difference!” Mr. Gutierrez is quoted as saying in the book.

Another story, both heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time, is that of Francis “Bud” Smolich, or “Sergeant Smo” to his army pals, who survived a rare form of malaria in Vietnam but who, at death’s door and fighting cancer in Illinois, anxiously awaited the publication of “Blackhorse Riders.”

“Bud Smolich told me he was literally hanging on to get the book in his hands,” Mr. Keith said, fighting emotion. “He ordered 30 copies.”

Sergeant Smolich, 69, died on February 6, one day after receiving his advance copies of the book.

“Blackhorse Riders” is now on bookshelves across the country. Phil Keith and Tom Clavin will give a “How to Get Published” talk at Rogers Memorial Library in Southampton on Saturday, March 3, at 2 p.m. Mr. Keith will give an author talk about “Blackhorse Riders” at the East Hampton Library on Saturday, March 31, at 1 p.m.