Monday, November 13, noon
Black Hawk Community College, 6600 34th Avenue, Moline IL
A Rock Island native, Vietnam veteran, and retired Secret Service officer will deliver a November 13 presentation at Black Hawk College when William Albracht discusses his experiences both writing and living his latest book Abandoned in Hell: The Fight for Vietnam's Firebase Kate.
Alleman High School and BHC alumnus Albracht became the youngest Green Beret captain in Vietnam when, in the fall of 1969, the then-21-year-old took command of the remote hilltop outpost Firebase Kate in Quang Doc, a South Vietnamese province held by 27 American soldiers and 156 Montagnard militiamen. The following morning, three North Vietnamese Army regiments crossed the Cambodian border and attacked, with Albracht's men holding off repeated ground assaults for five days until Kate's defenders were out of ammunition and water.
Albracht consequently led his troops off the hill and on a night march through enemy lines – saving 150 lives, in all, during the Firebase Kate evacuation – and was eventually awarded three Silver Stars for his actions during the Vietnam. He also received three Purple Hearts and five Bronze Stars, and his post-war tenure with the Secret Service granted Albracht a White House career spanning 25 years, serving on the protection details of four American presidents and numerous foreign dignitaries.
Co-written by Captain Marvin J. Wolf and published in 2015, Abandoned in Hell: The Fight for Vietnam's Firebase Kate was described by Major General Paul Vallely, a Fox News military analyst, as a “gripping, gritty, and cinematic blow-by-blow account of outnumbered Americans locked in a desperate battle,” and “destined to become a classic of its genre.”
William Albracht's free presentation will be held in Conference Rooms 1 and 2 of Building 4's second floor, and lunch is provided. For more information on the event, contact Ashtin Trimble at (309)796-5143 or trimblea@bhc.edu, or visit BHC.edu.
