Bao Chi brings together interviews with 35 combat correspondents who reported on the Vietnam War. They wrote the stories of Vietnam, captured the images and filmed the television coverage of their fellow servicemen on the battlefields from the Mekong Delta in the south to the DMZ in Central Vietnam, from the Tet Offensive in 1968 to the fall of Saigon in 1975.

They were men like Dale Dye, who would go on to play an integral role in the making of Platoon, the first film to realistically portray the Vietnam War; marine Steve Stibbens, the first Stars and Stripes reporter in Vietnam in early 1962; Jim Morris, 1st and 5th Special Forces Group, whose works such as War Story and Fighting Men, recount the soldiering of the Green Berets and their Montagnard counterparts in the Central Highlands of Vietnam; John Del Vecchio, whose classic work of nonfiction, The 13th Valley, mirrors his own existence as a combat correspondent with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam; and U.S. Navy Frogman Chip Maury, renowned for his free fall and underwater photography in Vietnam.

For years, there has been a well-deserved plethora of work by and about those who covered the war as civilians, with this book dedicating four of its chapters to civilian media. There hasn't been enough about the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who did so while wearing an American uniform. Yablonka's extensive experience as a military journalist brought him into contact with many of these combat correspondents, giving him a unique insight into their professions and lives. This book honors these brave chroniclers in uniform who brought the Vietnam War home to us.

"Journalist Yablonka (Distant War) fills a void with this valuable collection of profiles of 35 American military journalists of varied sorts who plied their trade during the Vietnam War. […] This work shines light on the all-but-forgotten role of American military báo chí (press in Vietnamese) and fleshes out the history of Vietnam War journalism and journalists."

“Other Vietnam histories provide dates and events or trace personal experience alone. Followers of Vietnam War history would do well to consult Autopsy of an Unwinnable War above most others: its ability to synthesize the extent of political, social, military, and personal experience for a clearer, bigger picture of why Vietnam was an impossible conflict all along makes it a winning, engrossing study that should be on the shelves of any definitive Vietnam War collection.”

“Vietnam Bao Chi isn’t for everyone because of its repetition and level of detail. But that was the mission of military correspondents: to provide context and details that arguably escaped recognition by civilian reporters.”

“Marc Yablonka’s Vietnam Bao Chi stands alone among the scores of books written by and about American journalists who covered the Vietnam War. This unique and valuable book offers a revealing window into the little-known wartime lives of military journalists and correspondents who covered the war—often at great peril—for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and the Coast Guard. Their experiences were many and varied, but they all are intriguing and often eye-opening. Highly recommended.”

“Among the civilian journalists their military counterparts were fortunate enough to know were the likes of Catherine Leroy, Eddie Adams, and Nick Ut. Some of the military journalist in this book continued into civilian journalism, and some went in other directions. But they did a difficult and also dangerous job with skill and dedication worthy of our admiration. VIETNAM BAO CHI: Warriors of Word and Film tells some of the most interesting stories of the war, told by people who were able to see it with a wide and unique perspective.”

"Vietnam Bao Chi is an outstanding book that is equally adept at informing and entertaining...Vietnam Bao Chi is unquestionably an important addition to the body of knowledge regarding the Vietnam War."

“The numerous stories – in their own separate chapter – can be read one at a time or several at a time…This story of military combat journalists and photographers will be of interest to those who served in the Vietnam conflict as well as historians, journalists, photographers, and others. A good read!”

"[The book] is masterfully written, and each story is a near-perfect blend of narrative and quotes from each individual, with the whole offering a variety of experiences."