The Code is a personal memoir about change of heart. The setting and the events described herein took place in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. The initial fear associated with exposure to enemy fire and the resulting injuries and death of fellow soldiers gives way to an acceptance or numbness of the psyche of the survivor. In any war, the soldier’s need to operate at a high level and to do his or her job often required the trading off of what we know to be reasonable. We changed to survive. When the war was over, for some, the road back to humanness was hard to find. As children, we learn how to love and to be loved back. We never had to practice the skill of loving. It came naturally. The Code is about how, no matter how long it takes, those basic skills are always within our reach with the help of Faith, Family and Friends.
"....[a] powerful sense of sacrifice permeates the book and makes it profound and unique—especially when one considers the void of secrecy in which SOG existed." —Vietnam Magazine The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was a highly classified, multi-service United States Special Forces unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War. The unit conducted strategic reconnaissance missions in South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia; carried out the capture of enemy prisoners, rescued downed pilots, and conducted rescue operations to retrieve allied prisoners of war throughout Southeast Asia; and conducted clandestine agent team activities and psychological operations. This book tells the story of the Teams operating out of FOB2 Kontum, near the tri-border area, in 1968–69. From recon missions over the fence to the heroic, and sometimes fatal efforts undertaken to try and rescue missing SOG members, the events are told through the words of the men themselves, supported by previously unreleased official documents.
Uncommon Valor is a look into the formation and operation of an advanced Special Forces recon company during the Vietnam War. Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most covert U.S. military unit in its time and contained only volunteers from such elite units as the Army's Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Air Force Air Commandos. SOG warriors operated in small teams, going behind enemy lines in Laos and Cambodia and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, tasked with performing special reconnaissance, sabotaging North Vietnamese Army ammunition, attempting to rescue downed U.S. pilots, and other black ops missions. During that time, Forward Operating Base-2's (FOB-2's) recon company became the most highly decorated unit of the Vietnam War, with five of its men earning the Medal of Honor and eight earning the Distinguished Service Cross-America's second highest military award for valor. Purple Hearts were earned by SOG veterans at a pace unparalleled in American wars of the twentieth century, with casualties at times exceeding 100 percent. One, Bob Howard, was wounded on fourteen different occasions, received eight Purple Hearts, was written up after three different missions for the Medal of Honor, and emerged from Vietnam as the most highly decorated soldier since World War II's Audie Murphy.
Major John L. Plaster recalls his remarkable covert activities as a member of a special operations team during the Vietnam War in a “comprehensive, informative, and often exciting…account of an important part of the overall Vietnam tragedy” (The New York Times). Before there were Navy SEALs, there was SOG. Short for “Studies and Operations Group,” it was a secret operations force in Vietnam, the most highly decorated unit in the war. Although their chief mission was disrupting the main North Vietnamese supply route into South Vietnam, SOG commandos also rescued downed helicopter pilots and fellow soldiers, and infiltrated deep into Laos and Cambodia to identify bombing targets, conduct ambushes, mine roads, and capture North Vietnamese soldiers for intelligence purposes. Always outnumbered, they matched wits in the most dangerous environments with an unrelenting foe that hunted them with trackers and dogs. Ten entire teams disappeared and another fourteen were annihilated. This is the dramatic, page-turning true story of that team’s dedication, sacrifice, and constant fight for survival. In the “gripping” (Publishers Weekly) Secret Commandos, John Plaster vividly describes these unique warriors who gave everything fighting for their country—and for each other.
In its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends.
In its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends.
Is the Dreamer good or evil? As war looms between Britain and Argentina over the barren Falkland Islands, Major David Elliott is having nightmares. Long ago, in a dark jungle near Cambodia, he failed to do his duty. That duty was to execute a member of his team. David s weakness eventually led to his team s capture. Tortured by the Viet Cong, they revealed the dark secrets of the CIA s Phoenix program. Forced to leave the service in disgrace, his men now live in the darkness . What do the dreams mean for them? David s wife, Sonia, sees them as harbingers of evil things to come. A revolutionary in Argentina before the war, she escaped to America and became a citizen. Now, Captain Alvarez, head of the Argentine Secret Police, wants her back. He devises a plan that lures her into returning to Argentina where she is imprisoned on Los Estados Island. Meanwhile, a mystical creature has summoned David and his former team to gather once more to honor the covenant, a pact they made with each other when they believed their lives were coming to an end. Together, with an errant priest, Father Perez, they reluctantly agree to assault Los Estados and free Sonia. As they travel across Mexico, Central and South America, they encounter the CIA, Contras in Nicaragua, the M-19 narco terrorist group and the United States Navy; while all along being shadowed by the mystical entity. Is the entity God or Satan? Will submitting to the will of the entity allow David and his men to stand in the light of men once again? Is the Dreamer good or evil? You decide. "Dreamer" is a tale of redemption, honor, courage, belief in God and betrayal!
The 281st AHC gun platoon named the "Wolf Pack" was the 3d platoon where a select and well-known platoon of professional helicopter pilots and crew flying the C-model Huey UH-1C known as the Charlie Model from 1965 through 1971 in Vietnam. These men were like the knights of old, going day after day in twos or threes, to hold the battlefield against all comers and to do battle in defense of the Fifth Special Forces and its long-range reconnaissance unit. Detachment B-52, Project Delta. Pilots and aircrews felt like they were invincible, 6 Feet Tall, bulletproof, and kin to the gun-slingers of the old west. Unfortunately, some made the ultimate sacrifice, others were wounded, and to this day, some still have to deal with that time. Indeed, the legacy of the 281st Wolf Pack is a story of a remarkable, unyielding spirit and uncompromisingly fierce defiance in the face of death with a determined enemy. This book is a work of respect and honor covering the life and times of the U.S. Army's first special operations helicopter company, the "Wolf Pack." As an element of the 281st Assault Helicopter Company, the Wolf Pack provided armed helicopter support for the special forces units in Vietnam, with emphasis on aerial weapons support for Project Delta and the MACV Recondo School, which was recognized as the deadliest school in the armed forces. This book contains the real-time stores of the men who flew and maintained the helicopters that operated under the banner; "Hell From Above." For the most part, these young men were fresh out of school and had been expeditiously trained to fly and maintain their helicopters. Few had previous combat experience. In performing one of the most dangerous missions of the war, these young men, proudly known as the "Wolf Pack," developed aerial gunnery and support skills that identified them as one of the top helicopter gun units of the war! This book tells their story and honors each of them. John "Jack" Mayhew was a major and the 281st AHC commander in 1967-68. He later retired as a colonel with more than 30 years of service. William McCollum was the NCOIC of flight operations in 1967-68. He later retired as a Sergeant First Class with more than 20 years of service Keywords – Vietnam, Army, Special Operations, Helicopter, 281st Assault, Wolf Pack, Pilots, Aircrew, Special Forces, Platoon, Sacrifice
In its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends.
