Through the Valley: My Captivity in Vietnam

Reeder, a former U.S. Army colonel, shares his harrowing experience as a prisoner of war after his Cobra helicopter was shot down on May 9, 1972, near Ben Het, Vietnam. Reeder was incredibly fortunate to survive the crash, as his copilot was killed and he was severely injured: "hanging out the side of the Cobra, head down with my feet stuck in the cockpit, the helicopter burning." Nearly paralyzed and without a weapon, Reeder survived for three days in the jungle before being captured. Then he somehow made it through several weeks penned up in a tortuous jungle prison camp in South Vietnam, an excruciating forced march to Hanoi, and imprisonment in the infamous North Vietnamese prison known as the "Hanoi Hilton." With the exception of some reconstructed dialogue, the tale rings true. Reeder evocatively shares his distressing, yet ultimately uplifting, story of survival against the odds, and even though readers know Reeder will make it through, this account will keep them engaged until the end. (Apr.)