rapidfire In Review
Valley of Death: The Trag- edy at Dien Bien Phu That Led America into the Viet- nam War. By Ted Morgan. Random House, 2010. $35. ISBN 978-1-4000-6664-3.
The Battle of Dien
Bien Phu in 1954 was one of the
most sig- Donate Wisely I
t’s the season of giving, and with a little due diligence, you can ensure your contributions will make a diff er- ence. Here are some tips to help you check a charity
before you give. Do not give cash; donate by check (made payable to the charity) or by credit card. Watch out for charities with names similar to well- known organizations. Most reputable charities don’t solicit donations over the phone and will never send a courier to retrieve a donation. Verify a charity’s tax-exempt status and eligibility to re- ceive tax-deductible charitable contributions at
www.irs .gov/charities or by calling the IRS at (877) 829-5500. Ad- ditionally, ask the charity for a copy of its IRS Form 990. The American Institute on Philanthropy off ers a Charity Rating Guide and Watchdog Report at
www.charitywatch .org. Also useful are
www.charitynavigator.org or
www.gui
destar.org. Participation is voluntary, and a charity’s omis- sion doesn’t necessarily indicate a poor standing. All charities that participate in the Combined Federal Campaign operate under government regulations provid- ed through the Offi ce of Personnel Management. Those charities can be found at
http://1.usa.gov/nhXgTX. If you ever feel uncomfortable, say, “No thank you.”
*fact: Americans gave $291 billion to charities in 2010. 24 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2011
nifi cant battles of the 20th century, claims Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ted Morgan. Not only did the French army suff er a crushing loss to the com- munist Vietminh, but the battle also ended French colonialism in Indochina and drew the U.S. into its own war in Vietnam 10 years later.
Morgan vividly de-
scribes the First Indochina War from 1945 to 1954,
telling of desperate French attempts to reestablish its colonial empire after World War II, amid na- tional hubris and political and military incompe- tence. He outlines the in- credible leadership failures by French politicians and generals who foolishly sacrifi ced 15,000 soldiers to death or captivity in a colossal tactical blunder. He also describes the decisions, challenges, victories, and failures of
American, British, Chi- nese, French, Russian, and Vietminh leaders, as well as the bloody battlefi eld actions of soldiers fi ghting a doomed set-piece battle.
Enduring Battle: Ameri- can Soldiers in Three Wars, 1776-1945. By Christopher H. Hamner. Uni- versity Press of Kansas, 2011. $29.95. ISBN 978-0-7006- 1775-3.
Comple- menting
the classic battlefi eld psychol-
ogy studies of John
Keegan and S.L.A. Marshall, Christopher Hamner exam- ines three American wars to explain how and why soldiers fi ght when human instinct tells them to fl ee. This study explores the
motivations of soldiers who faced “the unavoid- able presence of danger and destruction” on the battle- fi elds of the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and World War II by contrasting the 18th and 19th centuries against the 20th century. Hamner argues a com- bination of training, con- ditioning, camaraderie, positive leadership, self- confi dence, and primitive survival instincts are the real incentives that sustain soldiers in combat. — William D. Bushnell
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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