Donald Snedeker

Follow to get new release updates and improved recommendations

About Donald Snedeker

Don Snedeker is a second-generation Blackhorse Trooper. His father, George Snedeker, served in the 11th Cavalry twice – once on horseback and once on tanks. Don was commissioned in Armor Branch out of ROTC (Xavier University) in February 1969. He arrived in Vietnam in late 1969 and was briefly assigned to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. He served most of his Vietnam tour with the 2nd Squadron, 1st Armored Cavalry (Blackhawks), serving as an armored cavalry platoon leader and the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol platoon leader. He was awarded the Bronze Star with “V” for valor, the Purple Heart, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge. In December 1974, Don was assigned to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fulda, Germany, where he served as the regimental training officer, the 1st Squadron intelligence officer, and the commander of Bravo Troop. From 1989 to 1990, Don served as the speechwriter for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Admiral William Crowe and General Colin Powell). Don retired from active military service in 1992. For the past 20-plus years, Don has served as the historian for the 11th Armored Cavalry Veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia.

Phil Keith

Roger Lockshier

Mike Guardia

C. Douglas Sterner

Thomas Gourneau Uscg

John Arsenault Ltcol Usmc (Ret)

Are you an author?

Help us improve our Author Pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography.

Learn more at Author Central

1 11 1

$15.99

Kindle Edition
$14.99

Kindle Edition

Author Updates

Titles By Donald Snedeker

All Formats Kindle Edition Audible Audiobook Hardcover

Blackhorse Tales: Stories of 11th Armored Cavalry Troopers at War Aug 16, 2021

by Don Snedeker

( 22 )

$15.99

When the U.S. Army went to war in South Vietnam in 1965, the general consensus was that counterinsurgency was an infantryman’s war; if there were any role at all for armored forces, it would be strictly to support the infantry. However, from the time the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment arrived in country in September 1966, troopers of the Blackhorse Regiment demonstrated the fallacy of this assumption. By the time of Tet '68, the Army’s leadership began to understand that the Regiment’s mobility, firepower, flexibility, and leadership made a difference on the battlefield well beyond its numbers.

Over the course of the 11th Cavalry’s five-and-a-half years in combat in South Vietnam and Cambodia, over 25,000 young men served in the Regiment. Their stories—and those of their families—represent the Vietnam generation in graphic, sometimes humorous, often heart-wrenching detail. Collected by the author through hundreds of in-person, telephone, and electronic interviews over a period of 25-plus years, these “war stories” provide context for the companion volume, The Blackhorse in Vietnam.

Amongst the stories of the Blackhorse troopers and their families are the tales of the wide variety of animals they encountered during their time in combat, as well as the variable landscape, from jungle to rice paddies, and weather. Blackhorse Tales concludes with a look at how the troopers dealt with their combat experiences since returning from Vietnam. Between the chapters are combat narratives, one from each year of the Regiment’s five-and-a-half years in Southeast Asia. These combat vignettes begin on 2 December 1966, when a small column of 1st Squadron vehicles and troopers was ambushed on Highway 1 and emerged victorious despite being outnumbered. They go on to describe the one-of-a-kind crossing of the Dong Nai River on 25 April 1968, as the Blackhorse Regiment rode to the rescue during Mini-Tet 1968, and the 2nd Squadron's fight to clear the Boi Loi Woods in late April 1971.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover

The Blackhorse in Vietnam: The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam and Cambodia, 1966–1972 Apr 14, 2020

by Donald Snedeker

( 128 )

$14.99

This military history chronicles the combat operations of the Blackhorse Regiment, which paved the way for armored cavalry tactics in the Vietnam War.

South Vietnam, September 1966. When the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment came ashore at Vung Tau, it faced a number of challenges. In addition to the threat of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, the terrain and weather posed their own dangers, adversely affecting the use of bulletproof vehicles and helicopters. The dearth of doctrine and tactics for the employment of armored cavalry in a counterinsurgency was equally challenging—especially during pre-deployment training and initial combat operations. But despite all this, the leaders of Blackhorse Regiment found a way to accomplish their mission.

Within a year of their arrival in Vietnam, Blackhorse troopers overcame ambushes that featured anti-tank weapons, numerous landmines, and coordinated assaults. They not only defeated an enemy division twice their size, but also demonstrated how to succeed while operating on and off the roads, in the jungle, and during both the wet and dry seasons. By the spring of 1967, army leaders were beginning to realize the value of troops stationed in Vietnam. And with the Blackhorse Regiment leading the way, armor came to be considered an essential part of the combat team.

Written by a Blackhorse veteran, this regiment history features firsthand accounts from soldiers who served in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Other Formats: Hardcover

More Information

Are you an author? Visit Author Central to change your photo, edit your biography, and more