Name: Ronald Drez
Dates in Vietnam: February 68 – March 1969
MOS: 0302 – Company Commander Hotel 2/5
Rank: Captain
Ron Drez is a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War and a former Captain of Hotel 2/5 Marines serving “in country” from 1968-1969. He received two Bronze Star Medals for heroic achievement and meritorious service while serving in various capacities including being the Commanding Officer of Company H. He is an award-winning, best-selling author of many historical books, an orator, a guest speaker, and a fantastic tour guide. Over the years, he has been a great mentor and friend to those who attend the annual Hotel 2/5 reunions.
He is President of Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours having served both as friend and associate of the distinguished, late historian. He has written many articles for military history magazines and is a contributing author and editor to the Encyclopedia Britannica website for its Normandy feature.
Ron co-authored the book Voices of Courage: The Battle for Khe Sanh, Vietnam. Although Hotel 2nd Battalion 5th Marine Regiment 1st Marine Division was not a part of the Battle for Khe Sanh, Vietnam, we honor our fellow 3rd Marine Division comrades who fought so gallantry. This is an excellent accurate history of a part of the War of Vietnam.
Voices of Courage: The Battle for Khe Sanh, Vietnam
From the Publisher Bulfinch Press
Voices of Courage: The Battle for Khe Sanh, Vietnam tells the story of one of the most heroic efforts in American mililtary history–a seventy-seven day struggle in early 1968 for the remote Khe Sanh Combat Base–during which six thousand perilously isolated Marines withstood the onslaught of a superior enemy force.
Drawing on a vast archive of recorded interviews and written material collected over the past twenty years by Ronald J. Drez and the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans, authors Drez and Douglas Brinkley provide a gripping narrative addressing every aspect of the battle, interwoven with testimonials from soldiers who fought at Khe Sanh.
Featuring two audio CDs that provide a unique opportunity for these valorous voices to be heard, Voices of Courage urges a long overdue recognition of the stunning fortitude displayed by Marines and other members of the U.S. Armed Forces at Khe Sanh, and promises to reshape the way we remember the Americans who fought for their nation in Vietnam.
