This book on the naval air war over Vietnam should be required reading not only for all military pilots, but for every military and civilian official who is involved in planning strategy, tactics, or military weapon procurement.
But don't get the idea it's a boring book; besides giving the reader a clear view of what happened in the air over Vietnam, the author makes his points in a very readable fashion, not by preaching but by simply pointing out what we did, and why we could have done so much better -- in the conduct of the war, in providing better (often SIMPLER) equipment, and in better training.
It's definitely worth obtaining from an out-of-print dealer or from your library. Even if you have no connection with the military, this will expand your understanding of that period in US history.

This work is a clear-headed, no holds barred look at the Vietnam air war from the naval perspective. Don't let its even tone fool you. It cuts to the bone and damns by simple observation, with no need for editorializing by the authors. It points up the facts, fictions, failures and achievements of the naval air war against North Vietnam in a quick, easy style, with superb organization and excellent supporting material in the appendices. Any student of the Vietnam air war who misses this title is not a serious person. It is required reading on the subject, and should be complemented by Marshal Michel's "Clashes" for the USAF side of the story.

I was LCDR meteorologist on USS Coral Sea during the same period as CDR Nichols. Through his book, I am able to understand many of the discrepancies in aerial warfare that I saw and did not understand at the time. I saved several to many pilots lives with my "not too optomistic" forecast during the "cratchin conditions" in the winters in Tonkin Gulf in 66 and 67. If I can locate CDR Nichols, I will personally shake his hand. I visited Vietnam, and Hanoi in 1995, and found absolutely no hostility, and found very little battle damage. After all, I briefed many Alfa strikes to Hanoi and I wanted to see what we had done, My daughter now lives in Hanoi and her husband is building a luxery hotel for western tourist and Japanese tourist. She lives on a Hanoi cul-de-sac and all the neighbors are very friendly and they share food, baby sitting and shopping sprees. Isn't it funny how the times change? I love it... Wildbill

On November 21st, 1970, a rescue mission would be launched inside North Vietnam that would eventually gain status as being possibly the most incredible operation ever conducted during the Vietnam war.

The culmination of months of grueling planning and training, intensive coordination through military channels, extensive secrecy, and special operations wizardry would lead to the daring raid on the Son Tay POW camp just 20 short miles outside of Hanoi. So well prepared was the team that after the raid's accomplishment, no lives were lost and everyone returned safely after just 26 minutes on the ground. Everyone except U.S. POW's, that is, who were unfortunately not at the POW compound being that it had been abandoned only months previously. Information discovered as to why the Son Tay facility was empty would prove to be both revealing and disturbing to the raid planners and executers.

In assessing the aftermath of the mission itself, although deemed a failure by the mainstream media and squabbled over by Congress, the military, and intelligence agencies, positive aspects would eventually come to light to justify the raid a success after all. Unknown to many outside the purview of the POW's themselves, the raid was an eye opener to the North Vietnamese who now fully realized that America would defy the greatest of odds to repatriate their POW's and show them that they were not forgotten. The Son Tay rescue mission was a serious morale booster for our U.S. captives and also hastened their improved treatment from their North Vietnamese jailors.

Benjamin F. Schemmer has written a fascinating and in-depth study into one of the most sensational rescue missions ever accomplished in the history of warfare. Richly detailed and researched, included are photographs, maps, and appendixes with a multitude of statistics and operational facts. Whether just a casual reader or an avid fan of Vietnam era history, The Raid is an excellent book from start to finish. For those readers interested in the complete story of POW rescues in Vietnam, I would highly recommend the book "Code Name Bright Light: The Untold Story of POW Rescue Efforts During the Vietnam War" by George J. Veith.

The Son Tay Prison Raid was a good idea but was based on poor intelligence. Benjamin Schemmer did a good telling the story. It's too bad it doesn't have a happy ending.

Sam McGowan
Vietnam Veteran, author "The Cave"

Before reading this story, I simply had no idea that the raid on Son Tay had such a major impact. I found the story very emotional yet informative. The audio is a wonderful presentation.

Before this one, many other books provide the one-sided view from Washington by war historians, scholars and analysts (who did not know off-hand the combat and strategic position at the time nor the moral, spirit and willingness to fight by the young and heroic Special Branch Commandos). These books were based largely from declassified War Department MACV-SOG material since 1995, with few interviews with actual SB personnel. The sacrifice these Commandos made (in secrecy from 1956 to 1975) were not told the way it deserves in these books.

At Paris, in 1972, the Lost Commandos had been totally ignored by Henry Kissinger. Their American team members got released while the Vietnamese are kept 10 years or longer in prisons. Years later, these Commandos are betrayed again and cheated of the praise they deserve in many books by American writers.

Finally this is one of the two books (the other is by Ken Conboy and Dale Andrade) about the secret war waged by the CIA and Colonel Ngo The Linh's Special Branch. Mr. Tourison interviewed the Vietnamese side and have made great effort to provide a more complete and accurate account of success and failure of CIA & Special Branch and SOG & Coastal Security Service.

Many of these young SB Commanods died in North Vietnamese cruelest prisons. The rest spent between 15 to 22 years in hard-labor prisons until 1982.

Their stories are now finally told...

Before this one, many other books often provide one-sided view from Washington by war historians, scholars and analysts (who did not know off-hand the combat and strategic position at the time nor the moral, spirit and willingness to fight by these young, heroic and patriotic Special Branch Commandos). These books were based largely from declassified War Department MACV-SOG material since 1995, with few interviews with actual SB personnel. The sacrifice these Commandos made (in secrecy from 1956 to 1975) were not told the way it deserves in these books.
At Paris, in 1972, hundreds of these Commandos had been betrayed by Henry Kissinger and their American allied. The American team members got released while the Vietnamese are kept 10 years or longer in prisons. Years later, they are still cheated by many books that often lack the acknowledgement of their heroic sacrifice.

Finally this is one of the two books (the other is by Ken Conboy and Dale Andrade) about the secret war conducted by the CIA and Colonel Ngo The Linh's Bureau 45B (or Special Branch). Mr. Tourison interviewed many Vietnamese commandos & case officers and have made great effort to provide a more complete and accurate account of success and failure of CIA & Special Branch and SOG & Coastal Security Service.

Many of these Commandos died in North Vietnamese cruelest prisons, the rest spent between 15 to 22 years in hard-labor. Their stories are now finally told.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Thank you Mr. Tourison.

Before this one, many other books often provide one-sided view from Washington by war historians, scholars and analysts (who did not know off-hand the combat and strategic position at the time nor the moral, spirit and willingness to fight by these young, heroic and patriotic Special Branch Commandos). These books were based largely from declassified War Department MACV-SOG material since 1995, with few interviews with actual SB personnel. The sacrifice these Commandos made (in secrecy from 1956 to 1975) were not told the way it deserves in these books.

At Paris, in 1972, hundreds of these Commandos had been betrayed by Henry Kissinger and their American allied. The American team members got released while the Vietnamese are kept 10 years or longer in prisons. Years later, they are still cheated by many books that often lack the acknowledgement of their heroic sacrifice.

Finally this is one of the two books (the other is by Ken Conboy and Dale Andrade) about the secret war conducted by the CIA and Colonel Ngo The Linh's Bureau 45B (or Special Branch). Mr. Tourison interviewed many Vietnamese commandos & case officers and have made great effort to provide a more complete and accurate account of success and failure of CIA & Special Branch and SOG & Coastal Security Service.

Many of these Commandos died in North Vietnamese cruelest prisons, the rest spent between 15 to 22 years in hard-labor. Their stories are now finally told.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Thank you Mr. Tourison.

Rich with honesty. Historically relevant.

The narrative on this book was excellent. Trujillo gives a interesting view of how the Latino/Chicano community conducted themselves during times of savedry. Its bluntness of battle against an enemy that was covert and deadly. This book makes you visualize the rawness of pure inhumanity. Trujillo, in this book, brings to light the fine line between sanity and insanity.

This book is very much a modern day "Los De Abajo." Los De Abajo was the first book written about the Mexican Revolution, using the language of those who fought in the battles. In Soldados, Charley Trujillo also captures the language and feel of the Chicano soldier who survived Vietnam. From truck drivers to infantrymen, these voices tell stories that only Vietnam veterans can tell. Trujillo made a valiant attempt to let the sounds of the voices flow in their natural state, and he edited little, so the words sound as if they come from one who stands on a street corner, talking to whomever will listen. Read this book and get a whole new side of the Vietnam war. Read this book and see the committed, dedicated side of a community that has contributed to the creation of the United States for over two hundred years.

This author has the ability to draw the reader into his "space". Through his written words, one feels the pull..the draw to become a part of each poem, each dream, each memory and all tolled, it becomes a story within itself; each leading down a pathway where one has once walked.
None speaks so loudly to me than "Lessons in the Earth" It brings to mind of a time once lived...a time now gone but forever etched in a readers heart.
This small but profound collection is truly a gift from the author to all of his readers.....even the very brightest of a future will always be based on a never totally forgotten past.

As a son of a Vietnam veteran, I can higly recoomend this book. It is very well done, easy to read and treats the war with a fresh perspective.
Mr. Richardson's approach is unique, using well written verse to give insights into the life of a veteran from that era.

This book should be owned and rwad by poets, veterans, and you. It presents the ignored story about a war we should have never fought. And, it provides some of the most heart-felt personal poetry ever written for public viewing. The author has given blood - that of a man who has fought and lived, and can now forgive those whose actions took away his youth, but gave him high values for a good life. Read it, and weep, read it and laugh, read it and wish that you could write as well.

This book was a tragic, candid look at the lives of everyday soldiers caught up in a hellish conflict. This reality is so unimaginable for my generation today, yet these men confronted it with honor and dignity. The author's affection and admiration for his companions makes his memoir both powerful and moving.

An incredibly detailed, truthful, moving, and painful personal account of war as experienced by a front line soldier in the Vietnam War.
This book was obviously written from extensive notes taken by the author when he had the time in the field to write down his feelings and experiences. For reasons of his own, the book was not published until after his death in April 1994.
This book will have immense meaning to anyone who has experienced the hell of war, as well as, anyone who wishes to understand the sacrifices our fighting men and women in battle must endure. President Bush and his top advisors should read this book before they send our treasured youth to fight another war. If those in positions of highest political authority, after reading Sgt. Peterson's war memoir, still decide we must go to war then they will understand we must fight the war to the finish with the best military tactics and strategies available not hindered and defined by vague political considerations.
I recommend this book to all. I sincerely thank Mr. and Mrs. Peterson for their service to our country.

one of the best memoirs i have read on the vietnam war.
maybe even one of the best books i have ever read.
peterson's daily account of his vietnam experience is meticulously described,providing a view of his metamorphosis from an average midwestern farm boy to combat-weary grunt that is brilliant. reads more like a novel in the sense that the character in the first few chapters could not even fathom the feelings,thoughts, and experiences of the character at the end.
also provides compelling illustrations of the frustrations and inner conflicts felt by an average american required to follow orders which he is morally opposed to and intuitively wary of.
the book grows darker by the page and the reader is drawn into his sense of impending doom and constant fear.
i highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the vietnam war.

A GOOD BOOK ABOUT HUE, BUT I THINK IT NEEDED MORE DETAIL IN DESCRIBING THE URBAN WARFARE AND THE HOUSE TO HOUSE FIGHTING. I NEVER GOT THE FEELING THAT I WAS THERE WHILE READING THE BOOK. THATS WHAT I LOOK FOR IN A MILITARY BOOK.

who fought at Hue. And it is written by somebody who was there. Hue was every bit as tough a battle against every bit as formidable an enemy as any Americans have ever faced. The soldiers who fought and died there deserve all the respect due them for having fought an incredibly tough battle. Most paperbacks I dispose of after reading. Not this one. It goes into the Vietnam collection.

This Book was very informative. The writer puts you right there in the city,fighting with them.. I would give this book a ten. The writer is right about the Arvn. I have been with the Arvn airborne units and they never did once run from a fight while I was with them. They were not given the accolades that were due them in their fight for the city of Hue.The Marines are always claming they are the best which I will say they are very good, but there were time when the Army had to come in and help them. Roadrunner 6 Out

One of the earliest (1986) accounts from the survivors of the Pol Pot regime, "The Stones Cry Out" seems to have set the style and standard for another more recent child's-eye perspective on the same era, "When Broken Glass Floats". The minute details of everyday life, not abstract poltical assessments, form the basis for our childhood memories. The author's account carries an unvarnished realism which draws the reader into her film-like image of daily life under threat of starvation and execution. This is probably as close as a reader can come to the truth of events in Cambodia during 1975-79. Oral histories such as "The Stones Cry Out" are perhaps the best way for survivors of human rights abuses to indict the perpetrators. Sadly, tribunals driven by international politics are unlikely to have the same impact as the simple testimony of a victimized child. Highly recommended reading for all those with an interest in human rights, Cambodia, and Southeast Asian culture.

Actualy I would rate this 4 and 1/2 stars.

Having read "First they killed my father" by Loung Ung It would be difficult for me to review this book with out comparing it to Loung Ung's memoir.

Both are essentially the same story, a young upper middle class girl living in Phnom Phen in april of 1975 when thier life, family and happiness are torn from them by the khmer rouge.

Many of thier experinces are similar as you might expect (long hours in forced labor, family deaths, witnessing murder ect..) but each has a unique story of thier own.

The writing styles also vary greatly and this is where Loung's "First they killed my Father is the better" book. Molyda tells her story in a very straight foward manner. Her discriptions of murder, torture and rotting corpses are alomost clinical in tone as if she is afaid to visit or express her real feelings at the time (and who could realy blame her) we are giving only hints about her family and life before April 17th 1975 (to be fair this may be in part to spare distant family members still in Cambodia from retalation)

In Loung's book however we are treated to two light hearted chapters discribing her life in Phnom Pehn before April 17th 1975 this gives the reader a chance to feel they realy know her, her brother's, sisters and parents thier strengths and weakness'.

Loung's memoir is far more emotional in tone and feeling leaving the reader almost gasping for air at points.

For those overly squimish that makes "The Stones Cry Out" the better of the two books. It is also the better of the two books if your sole interest is the surrounding history of the killing fields.

But for those just wishing to read a great emotional book "first They killed My father" is the better choice but I would highly recomend both to all.

I am a 12 year old reader, and this book was heart-breaking. It is so sad that something like this hapenned, and so many peoples' lives were destroyed. Molyda Szymusiak's story makes me realize how lucky I am to enjoy my freedoms.

This book is about a group of soldiers, who are under the leadership of Captain Jim Hollister, that were under a short leave of absence of action for a while and let a bunch of things like, drugs, and racial discrimination get between them. It takes a lot of work for Captain Hollister to get his men into shape and ready for very difficult tasks that they must complete, but survive throught it. This novel showed me that when it comes to war, it can bring all kinds of people together to get the job done. If you love war stories, this absolutely meant for you to read.

Dennis Foley has again produced a novel that is intriguing, entertaining and keeps the reader in suspense. But Take Back The Night is more than a splendid novel, it is a textbook on small unit leadership that should be studied by the schools of the US Army and Marine Corps. Foley illustrates the effective way to deal with problem soldiers and less than competent unit noncommissioned officers and officers.

The author has masterfully woven into the story the painful themes of the last years of the Vietnam War - The drug problems are put in perspective to the combat situation and life back in the States. The disenchantment by the American public with the prolonged war and its impact on morale of soldiers in harm's way is ever present. The failure of national leadership takes an appropriate whack as do the suck-up career officers and the often self-important advisors.

Foley presents a sensitive treatment of the plight of the Montagnard people and shows the disdain and abuse inflicted on them by both the North and South Vietnamese military.

Key to the success and survival of the grunts in the dirt, is the extremely strong bond and mutual respect between Rangers and aviation crewmen that flows through the entire book. The intimacy is reflected in the always correct terminology and techniques relating to flying and employing helicopters in the thick of fighting with the Rangers in desperate situations

A great read, Foley. Keep those stories and books coming!

As usual I read this book before I read Dennis's first book. I still enjoyed the book very much. Dennis puts you in there with Hollister. I as a member of a LRRP/RANGER unit(Echo 50thLRRP /Echo 75th RANGER unit would have loved to have had someone like him leading our unit. Dennis made this book sing. I lost a lots of sleep,because I couldn't put the book down. Ialso have his other book, I will go back, and read them both again. Roadrunner6 Out

The content of of Leigh Wade's book is exactly what the title says and this is not War and Peace. There is a lack of structure, particularly near the end where the final chapters seem tacked on and the writer seems to have run out of gas. Nonetheless, it is a quick and satisfying read and will have resonance with the thousands of combat soldiers who served in Vietnam. The former Special Forces soldier, Leigh Wade, tells an interesting and honest story which contrasts particularly well against the background of current military events. The state of affairs was much different in Vietnam than it is in theAfghanistan of today, but the Special Forces mission was pretty much the same. Wade tells his story with matter-of-fact honesty and cool authority. He doesn't take pains to embellish the story and readers will see that no embellishment is necessary. Tan-Phu is a story of quiet heroism.
Tan-Phu was a Mekong Delta outpost set up in South Vietnam in 1963. It housed a small Special Forces contingent, a Vietnamese civilian defense force, and a company of Vietnamese Rangers. The U.S. Special Forces missions was to enlist, train, and advise Vietnamese combatants in the war against the Viet Cong. As one reads the various accounts of actions and initiatives, one gets a good understanding of why the war was so problematic for the American soldier. Although the Mekong Delta would eventually become one of the safest places in the Vietnam, it was in the control of the Viet Cong in 1963. Tan-Phu was under attack just about every night in the "nightly haps", as the soldiers termed them. Mortar fire, probes of the perimeter, harrassing fire of machine gun or assault small arms. In the daytime, the soldiers would conduct "sweeps", forays into the jungle and rice paddies to locate, recon and kill the enemy. In one particularly grim battle account, the soldiers at Tan-Phu are hammered, with a large number of them killed and captured. The soldiers at Tan-Phu were nonchalant about it all, businesslike, with a sense of duty. For them, death was a routine, the by-product of the mission.
There's a particular sadness in this story of Tan Phu. In this story of a single encampment, one can see the ever-present tragedy of Vietnam, a war with sometimes murky objectives, a body-count war. Yet the common heroics and devotion to duty of the American soldier shines through and is a bright spot in this nuts and bolts account of what it was like by a man who was there again and again and again.

I enjoy Leigh Wade's writing style and had read one of his other books. This book is his account of his first tour in Vietnam as a junior commo sergeant in a remote A-Team. Lt. Nick Rowe was on this team, and Wade's account of the operation that lead to the capture of Rowe (author of Five Years to Freedom) and Cpt. Rocky Versace (who was awarded a CMH posthumously for his actions as a POW) is a good addition to the historical record. After reading this book I re-read the beginning of Five Years to Freedom. It is very enlightening to read the two first person accounts of the battle. Both were accurate and insightful, and the differing perspectives helped illustrate some of the chaos of battle and fog of war. This book is a good personal record of the war from a junior green beret's point of view, uncensored and unapologetic.

Leigh Wade proves that with American ingenuity, and old fashion guts, you can do a lot of damage while minimizing friendly casualties. He also shows the reader that regardless of your primary MOS - he was a commo man - while assigned to a Special Forces A-Team, you are going to fight and kill like a proven grunt, which he did well, and often. Reading Wade's story helps me put Vietnam in perspective. He tells it the way it happened to him, and there's plenty to get your attention. He - through his writings - makes me proud to be an American. Way to go, Leigh!