From shipping strikes, to strafing runs on airfields, step back in time and into the violent days of World War II in the Southwest Pacific. Based on Fifth Air Force photographer John Stava's collection, and undiscovered until the mid-1990s, captured here is a broad scope of the war in the Southwest Pacific, from mundane and ordinary moments to white-knuckle combat rides. Follow he and his 5th AF colleagues as they traverse the war from the turning point days of early 1943 in New Guinea with the 5th Air Force Advon Lab, to serving in the 17th Recon Bomber Group as a tail gunner in the liberation of the Philippines by spring of 1945.
The U.S. Army’s Special Forces are known for their highly specialized training and courage behind enemy lines. But there’s a group that’s even more stealthy and deadly. It’s comprised of the most feared operators on the face of the earth—the soldiers of Ghost Recon.
Elite and highly trained, the 3d Force Recon's eight-man teams were assigned to obtain vital information about NVA operations. Alone, the men of these small teams were sent behind enemy lines, where they all knew that a single mistake could cost everyone their lives. United States Navy Hospital Corpsman Bruce Norton was the only navy corpsman to act as a Marine Force Recon Team Leader. In Force Recon Diary, 1969 Doc Norton chronicles his life, mission by mission, with the 3d Force Recon in the DMZ and the A Shau Valley. He describes the tense patrols, the supreme courage, the sacrifices—in ambushes and hot landing zones—that made this courageous company one of only two Marine units during the entire Vietnam War to receive the United States Army's Valorous Unit Citation.
The six teens of Recon Team Angel, genetically modified and having spent years mastering alien culture so that they can talk, act, and think like their enemies, now have their target in sight but time is running out to save humanity and themselves.
Project Delta - Origins of LRRP, Recondo in Vietnam This document collection includes the original 1970 Combat Recon Manual by Project Delta. It also includes the Special Forces updated version from 1995, and a third book on WW2 Jungle Fighting. Project DELTA was the first of the four Special reconnaissance (SR) units with a Greek letter formed by the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) during the Vietnam War to collect operational intelligence in remote areas of South Vietnam. Project DELTA was established at Nha Trang in 1964 and consisted of six reconnaissance hunter-killer teams each composed of two United States Special Forces (USSF) and four Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces (LLDB) and later supported by the 91st Ranger battalion. It was designated Detachment B-52, 5th Special Forces Group. DELTA's mission included operational and strategic reconnaissance into long-held Viet Cong areas and the direction of air strikes on them. They were also to conduct bomb damage assessment, conduct small scale reconnaissance and hunter-killer operations, capture and interrogate VC / NVA, tap communications, bug compounds and offices, rescue downed aircrew and prisoners of war, emplace point minefields and other booby traps, conduct psychological operations, and perform counter intelligence operations. They were to focus on base areas and infiltration routes in the border areas. During its storied history, Project DELTA captured or destroyed numerous major enemy installations and supply routes. It was awarded numerous honors including the Valorous Unit Award, RVN Cross of Gallantry, RVN Civil Actions Honor Medal (PC) and the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon. Project DELTA was deactivated in June of 1970. The successful Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) training program was originally established by Detachment B-52 of the 5th Special Forces Group (Project Delta). The Project Delta course was first established in May 1964 and would eventually evolve into the famous Vietnam RECONDO school. BONUS book: This ebook collection also contains a historical report on Jungle Warfare, written in 1942 just months into the Guadalcanal campaign during World War II. Via interviews with front lines Marines and Army soldiers it goes into great details of how the Japanese fought, weapons and tactical reports with specifics on what worked and what didn't. This no holds-barred feedback help U.S. military adapt and supply what our troops needed to succeed in the jungle of the Pacific war. Of note is comments from a one, Lt. Col. L.B. Fuller, the legendary 'Chesty' Fuller of Marine Corp fame to this very day.
In 1st Force Recon you performed at a very high level of proficiency. Or you died. . . . In 1969, First Lieutenant Bill Peters and the Force Recon Marines had one of the most difficult, dangerous assignments in Vietnam. From the DMZ to the Central Highlands, their job was to provide strategic and operational intelligence to insure the security of American units as the withdrawal of the troops progressed. Making perilous helicopter inserts deep in the Que Son Mountains, where the constant chatter of AK-47 rifle fire left no doubt who was in charge, Peters and the other men of 1st Force Recon Company risked their lives every day in six-man teams, never knowing whether they would live to see the sunset. Peters's accounts of silently watching huge movements of heavily armed NVA regulars, prisoner snatches, sudden-death ambushes, and extracts from fiercely fought firefights vividly capture the realities of Recon Marine warfare, and offer a gritty tribute to the courage, heroism, and sacrifice of the U. S. Marines. . . .
In this first ever published account, learn what it takes to be an elite Recon soldier in America's toughest military service the Marine Corps. Enter the unknown world of Marine Force Recon and follow new recruits as they descend into the hell of "indoc"- a grueling 48-hour test where physical and mental failure lead to elimination and through the completion of advanced Jungle Environment Survival Training at Camp Schwab, Okinawa. Find out how these men are trained to carry out missions with stealth, speed, and accuracy; how they infiltrate enemy lines to gather intelligence and/or conduct search and destroy missions that only the finest of America's troops could accomplish. Delve into the history and uncover the founding origins of this elite unit. Read about the ten different training grounds, including the mentally challenging eight week Amphibious Recon School and the dangerous Combat Dive Training, just to name a few.
Richard Fleming served as a scout with the elite U.S. Marine 1st Force Reconnaissance Company during the bloodiest years of the Vietnam War. Dropped deep into enemy territory, Recon relied on stealth and surprise to complete their mission--providing intelligence on enemy positions and conducting raids, prisoner snatches, and ambushes. Fleming's absorbing memoir recounts his transformation from idealistic recruit to cynical veteran as the war claimed the lives of his friends and the missions became ever more dangerous.
The leader of one of the most successful U. S. Marine long range reconnaissance teams during the Vietnam War, Andrew Finlayson recounts his team's experiences in the year leading up to the Tet Offensive of 1968. Using primary sources, such as Marine Corps unit histories and his own weekly letters home, he presents a highly personal account of the dangerous missions conducted by this team of young Marines as they searched for North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong units in such dangerous locales as Elephant Valley, the Enchanted Forest, Charlie Ridge, Happy Valley and the Que Son Mountains. In numerous close contacts with the enemy, the team (code-name Killer Kane) fights for its survival against desperate odds, narrowly escaping death time and again. The book gives vivid descriptions of the life of recon Marines when they are not on patrol, the beauty of the landscape they traverse, and several of the author's Vietnamese friends. It also explains in detail the preparations for, and the conduct of, a successful long range reconnaissance patrol.
