The Flag Was Still There

The Flag Was Still There is the story of one combat infantry soldier’s Tour of Duty in the Vietnam War between September 14, 1970, and September 13, 1971. LeBron Matthews was initially assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment (Red Warriors) of the 4th Infantry Division. Six weeks later, he was reassigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment (Rakkasans) of the 101st Airborne Division.

This book chronicles the daily existence of grunts living together in the bush for weeks at a time, where daily boredom was only interrupted by moments of sheer terror, especially during Dewey Canyon II/Lam Son 719, as Charlie Company encountered the North Vietnam Army in the mountain jungles and elephant grass of I Corps. The American soldiers who fought and died in this combat were ordinary American kids, most in their late teens and early twenties. Some volunteered: others were drafted into military service. All answered their country’s call and performed their duty in a time when their country failed to support them.

In The Flag Was Still There, LeBron covers his experience from “winning” the lottery to life after Vietnam.