Book excerpt: In the fall of 1969, a force of 150 Americans and their South Vietnamese allies were surrounded by 5,000 North Vietnamese Army soldiers. This is the story of their desperate defense and against-all-odds escape. • Details on the Americans' harrowing escape, which covered 2.5 miles of enemy-infested ground in five hours in the dark of night • Explains how the Americans were placed in this precarious position mere miles from the Cambodian border • What this battle says about President Richard Nixon's Vietnamization policy