Out of the Fire
Encyclopedia
Out of the Fire is a Vietnam War
novel by David Sherman
published in 1987 by the Ivy Book imprint
of Ballantine Books
. It is the third novel in Sherman's Night Fighter Series
.
The US Marine Corps Combined Action Program
unit assigned to the Vietnamese village of Bun Hou, Tango Niner, has been very successful in suppressing Viet-Cong operations in the area, and now starts putting a crimp in the get-rich-off-overtaxing-the-villager schemes of the local ARVN District Chief, Captain Nghu. Nghu, in return, manages to arrange the planting of drugs within the Marines' compound, and the subsequent "discovery" of the drugs by the Marines' chain of command. The steps taken by command to deal with the supposed breach of discipline means that Nghu will now have a freer rein with the peasants, as well as degrading Tango-Niner's effectiveness in suppressing VC activity.
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
novel by David Sherman
David Sherman
David Sherman is an American novelist who deals overwhelmingly with military themes at the small-unit tactical level. His experiences as a United States Marine during the Vietnam War show prominently in his work.-Biography:Sherman was born in Niles, Ohio...
published in 1987 by the Ivy Book imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
of Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
. It is the third novel in Sherman's Night Fighter Series
Night Fighter Series
Night Fighter is a series of six novels written by David Sherman and is loosely based on the kind of activities experienced by the US Marines and Vietnamese Popular Forces units of the combat-outpost type of the Combined Action Program of the United States Marine Corps...
.
The US Marine Corps Combined Action Program
Combined action program
Drawing from previous experience in "small wars", the United States Marine Corps operated the Combined Action Program during the Vietnam War, from 1965 to 1971. "The Combined Action Platoon's genesis was not a deliberate plan from a higher headquarters, rather, it was a solution to one infantry...
unit assigned to the Vietnamese village of Bun Hou, Tango Niner, has been very successful in suppressing Viet-Cong operations in the area, and now starts putting a crimp in the get-rich-off-overtaxing-the-villager schemes of the local ARVN District Chief, Captain Nghu. Nghu, in return, manages to arrange the planting of drugs within the Marines' compound, and the subsequent "discovery" of the drugs by the Marines' chain of command. The steps taken by command to deal with the supposed breach of discipline means that Nghu will now have a freer rein with the peasants, as well as degrading Tango-Niner's effectiveness in suppressing VC activity.