title: Crucible Vietnam: Memoir of an Infantry Lieutenant
author:  A. T. Lawrence 
description: This is the personal account of an army infantry platoon leader and commanding officer in the central highlands of Vietnam during 1967 and 1968 when he was 21 years old. These were the two bloodiest years of the war, a time when the army employed search and destroy missions with high casualty rates. The author provides a historical overview and casualty report of the Vietnam War, his military and officer training, and his return to civilian life after Vietnam.
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  ![](index-1_1.jpg)
  
  
  the _Crucible_
  
  
  ![](index-3_1.jpg)
  
  
  the _Crucible_
  
  
  _An Autobiography by Colonel Yay,_
  
  
  _Filipina American Guerrilla_
  
  
  _Yay Panlilio_
  
  
  _edited by_
  
  
  _Denise Cruz_
  
  
  RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PRESS
  
  
  NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, AND LONDON
  
  
  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Panlilio, Yay, 1913–1978.
  
  
  The crucible : an autobiography by Colonel Yay, Filipina American guerrilla /
  Yay Panlilio ; edited by Denise Cruz.
  
  
  p. cm.
  
  
  Originally published: New York : Macmillan, 1950, under title The crucible :
  an autobiography by
  
  
  “Colonel Yay.”
  
  
  ISBN 978-0-8135-4681-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8135-4682-7 (pbk.
  : alk. paper) 1. Panlilio, Yay, 1913–1978. 2. World War, 1939–1945—Underground
  movements—Philippines.
  
  
  3\. Women guerrillas—Philippines—Biography. 4.
  
  
  Women
  
  
  journalists—Philippines—Biography.
  
  
  5\. World War, 1939–1945—Personal narratives, Filipino American. 6. World War,
  1939–1945—
  
  
  Participation, Female. 7. Filipi