Stanton's book traces the evolution of US Army Special Forces in Southeast Asia from 1956-1975. He addresses the varied programs and missions that were conducted under Special Forces auspices during the period of American military involvement in Laos, Cambodia, and Viet Nam. His use of official records coupled with interviews with many of the participants provides an insight that all serious students of Speicial Forces will appreciate. The book includes maps of operational areas and provides a listing of Special Forces personnel classified as missing in action as well as Special Forces recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I made the decision to join Special Forces in 1987 after reading this book. It is by far the most detailed and comprehensive account of Special Forces units and missions in Southeast Asia. There are plenty of "There I was ....." books written by SF men who fought there, and these are great reads and definitely of great historical importance, but this one puts all of it into chronological order. The book begins with the activation of 1st Special Forces Group in 1957 and ends with the final missions of the early 70s. All major operations and facets of SF participation are covered, to include MACV-SOG, CIDG, LLDB, and the Mike Force units. I give this book 5 stars in spite of the fact that the author has failed to respond to allegations in the book "Stolen Valor," which maintains that the author lied about participating in combat missions as well as being wounded in Laos, and used thousands of stolen unit records to write this and other historical works. These accusations do not detract from the book's quality, but if they are true I give the author zero stars for integrity.

Mr. Santon presents an excellent and authorative review of Special Forces (Green Berets) overt, covert and clandestine special warfare operations in Southeast Asia from 1956 through 1975. I was especially pleased to see some of the photos that I took while serving in B36, Third Mobile Strike Force, from 1969-1970 in War Zone D. Good Job! The text is a must for every Green Beret's library. I sincerely want to locate a copy for my Special Forces / Special Operations library.

There have been many books written on this subject within the Vietnamese community, this just happen to be one of the very few that was written in english. The author is currently working as a journalist and political commentary, and his articles have appear regularly in several respected vietnamese newspaper.

Unlike other book on the same subject, the author did not force his view on the readers,nor did his writting fill with hatred and venom regarding his tormentor. instead, he merely recount his experience in the re-education/slave labor camp with clear and consise writting. It's should be noted that although vietnam have a 5,000 years history and through much of that time, war have always been with the vietnamese, the vietnamese have a long tradition of forgiving the losers once a war ended. It's not uncommon for the vietnamese to build temples to honor their foreign invaders if the invaders behave chivalrously during the war. case in point the temple of ching's general sam nghi dong in hanoi.Throughout vietnamese history, once a war ended, the losing soldiers would be allow to strip their uniforms, shed their weapons and return home to work the fields. Usually only the top generals or leaders of the losing army was punish by the victor. The nguyen dynasty and how they deal with rebels is the only exception to this unwritten rule. The year 1975 marked the first time in vietnam's 5,000 years history where people on the losing side, regardless of their rank or profession was force to go to the "Corrective Labor Re-Education" camps for long period of time, some as long as 20 years. The numbers maybe sketchy but former communists such as Doan Van toai or former Vietcong prime minister truong nhu toan claimed that over a million s.vietnamese soldiers, writters, journalist, teachers .etc.. was sent to these camps. No one knows how many dies in such camps, although estimates rangefrom 66,000 to several hundred thousands. If anyone ever want to know what it's feel to experience first hand living in a concentration camp, or what's it's like when political correctness get carry too far, this is the book to read.

This is a very readable, detailed, and lengthy account about the author's 1,632 days in various reeducation camps in South Vietnam after the collapse of Saigon. He was not judged nor convicted of any crime: he was just thrown into a camp for having been a military officer from the defeated army.

This is not the typical treatment for a convicted felon or criminal, but the deliberate incarceration and harsh punishment of a prisoner of war. Some stories are laughable, while other are bitter and painful. The treatment of the prisoners is repugnant and marked by constant beatings, forced starvation, excessive hard labor, indoctrination, and inhumane treatment. Inmates are dehumanized and victimized by the wardens who are simply sadistic and just look for reasons to inflict punishment. Many of the inmates simply died of starvation, lack of medical care, and from infection. Others could not stand any longer and took their own lives. One could understand why, once released from the camps, they all looked for ways to get out of the country.

The sheer number of information the author has been able to recollect and relay to us would be useful to those who are interested in learning about the communist system.

The aftermath of the American retreat from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia is most easily marked by the "reeducation camp" boom in the region. Many Vietnamese prison memoirs have been published in the United States, but unfortunately "My 1632 Days" is the only one I've seen in English. Americans don't enjoy reading of our failures and defeats, so few will bother with Tran Tri Vu's exceptional work on the fate of our former allies. That is our great loss, and the equally great gain of the Vietnamese communists. Readers of Vietnamese will find "Thep Den" by Dang Chi Binh and "Dai Hoc Mau" by Ha Thuc Sinh to be two of the best Vietnamese prison memoirs. As Nguyen van Thieu once said, "Being friends with the Americans is more difficult than being their enemies." Perhaps so. Pham Quang Giai's 1987 satirical and sarcastic look back at the re-education camps entitled "Lan Cuoi Ben Anh" (Last Time at Your Side) includes imaginary exchanges between the ghosts of a Vietnamese camp cadre and an inmate who died in the camp system. In one scene the Vietnamese communist cadre tells the hapless inmate "Just you wait! Before long the Americans will change their position again and see us as not their enemies but as their friends. They'll love us even more than they loved you." Pham Quang Giai clearly saw the future! The Lao seem not to have written on their experiences in the "seminar camp" system copied from the Vietnamese. Few Cambodian prisoners survived to write anything at all, but David Chandler's "Voices From S-21: Terror and History in Pol Pot's Secret Prison" tells their stories for them. Two new books by the Documentation Center of Cambodia (dccam.org) tell the stories of both the victims and the perpetrators of these acts of terror committed by the "victors" of the Southeast Asian "conflicts."

There has been some very good writing on the USAF side of the airwar over North Vietnam(for example 'Thud Ridge' by Col, J Broughton). This book gives at least a glimpse of what that war looked like from the other side.
The dialogue has a slightly scripted feel, but given that English is a second (at least) language for most of those involved, and the descriptions are to some degree at least the formalised language of the combat report, this is perhaps understandable.
The production is to Osprey's usual high standard with an interesting selection of colour profiles, and some very striking b/w's, the shot of a MiG 21 being airlifted into position under a Mil 6 being particularly memorable. Another feature is the attempt to reconcile the claims of each side with admitted losses.
Primarily a modelling resource, this is also a useful historical document, drawn from primary sources. I found it interesting enough to look for the author's other volume on MiG 17/19 units.

Thoroughly recommended

Dr Istvan Toperczer has produced several books on the North Vietnamese People's Air Force and surfaced more photography and information on their side of the battle for the skies over North Vietnam against the United States than all the other researchers combined who have tried to elicit this type information. This volume is a welcome addition the Osprey series that deals with type aircraft (in this case the MiG-21) in conflicts. As the thirtieth anniversary of the conclusion of hostilities over North Vietnam approaches in 2003, it is fitting that this work has arrived for the many veterans and interested readers to be able to add to the considerable work on the subject which is always light on the aspect of the NVPAF perspective. The ability of this fledgling air force to introduce the MiG-21 into combat with "home-grown" pilots with a modicum of success in challenging the latest US fighters is a worthy read.

As a US Navy Radar Intercept Officer flying in the back-seat of Phantom IIs, I had two engagements with Mig-21s during the Vietnam war...won one, lost one. Winning is a lot more fun, that's for sure, but both types are very interesting. Reading Istvan Toperczer's book, "Mig-21 Units of the Vietnam War" was like taking a little peek inside the Mig pilots' play book...it gave me an idea of how they planned and set up their attacks... and it reinforced for me that we already had pretty good ideas of what was coming when we took them on in aerial combat.

This book has a lot of superb photographs, drawings, illustrations and words which all flow together very nicely and make reading it a real enjoyment. If you are interested in fighter-flying it will be very interesting, and for those who actually fought against the Migs in Vietnam, or tried to engage one, it will be intensely interesting. It was a unique experience for me to read this book and be able to critique it from the vantage point of one who actually lived through it. I highly recommend it as a purchase, and certainly it will make a great gift for any aviation buff, most particularly any military pilot. This book is not just another "book about flying", it is the product of some very thorough research and painstaking efforts to match-up all the reports by Dr. Toperczer, and reading it is like reading a colorful history book on a subject which you love.

Excellent pictoral of the Viet Nam era. Would especially like the author's email and a contact address for Rod Macon who is featured in the "special operations" section of this book for the purpose of research in the history of the War. and need Mr. Macon for a consultant.

Great book, my dad's friend gave it to me to read, i couldn`t put it down, and most the time i hate reading, but it read it very quickly, the fastest i have ever read a book, its so vivid, i can picture it, just the best book i have ever read!

Its very well made, chapter 1 starts with how each soldier joined, to the final chapter when they came home, Not a book about the author, but the lives of many vets, and told word for word by the vets.

I received this book as a gift from one of the mortarmen who served with me in Lima 3/4. I was in country about the same time as this book but in a different unit.

Since it is excerpts form the writings and thoughts of the Marines on the ground it gives a very good first hand view of what was going on.

Well worth the read.

I VERY MUCH ENJOYED THIS BOOK. IT IS A COMPILATIION OF FIRST PERSON ACCOUNTS RELATING TO THE WAR IN VIETNAM. STORIES AS SEEN BY THE COMMON MARINE, PUT TOGETHER AND TOLD AS ONE MIGHT HEAR THE STORIES IN CASUAL CONVERSATION. THIS IS THE AUTHOR'S FIRST BOOK AND I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE GIVEN THE BOOK A 5 STAR RATING. I WOULD HAVE, BUT I READ BONNIE SUE JUST BEFORE I READ THIS BOOK. STILL, I THINK ANYONE INTERESTED IN HISTORY AND THE WAR IN VIETNAM WILL VERY MUCH ENJOY THIS BOOK.

Honor the Warrior! What a great and appropriate title for this book. The list of medal winners alone make this book a must buy for students of the war in Vietnam. The book is prodigiously researched and reminds me of the Jane Blakeney classic, Heroes-U.S. Marine Corps 1861-1955. It is about time that a book like this was written. The author does not try to embellish an unpopular war but rather writes about the individual Marines who were fighting and dying in Vietnam. Thank you Billy Myers for writing it. This book should become a classic in Marine Corps literature. I know that it will occupy a prominent place on my bookshelf.

very diappionted in the book.

I can honestly say "it's like being there" because I was.As a member of 1st Force Recon '70-'71 I filed opperations reports after each mission and to see them printed as a book has blown me away. It was an honor to serve with these men and in our unit, now it's part of USMC history. Cpl. M.A.Hobbs (I'm in the book) 1st. Force Recon, DaNang '70-'71

This book is very accurte. It tells the storys of the Recon Marines. I was a rifleman in the Marines and alaways wondered what the recon was like, this told me. This is a very good book and I would read it if I hadn't already.

Remembering the first, or the reinstatement of that first Lottery Draft was one of the most difficult times of my teenage years. We all had heard of a war and knew of even a few of our friends that had gone to serve and some that had died. Civics class was full of discussions and debate that paralleled those raging in our own Congress. It seemed so strange to be fighting a war when there was this huge debate on whether we should be involved or not. I met or knew few people that wanted to die somewhere in Southeast Asia that many had never even heard of or could even spell.

Paul Reed gives an honest and straightforward story of the events that led to his enlistment, training, and volunteering to go and fight in Vietnam. It's hard to imagine the reality of a life in the jungle for an entire year. If the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan's gutwrenching, muscle steeling attack on one awaiting there own demise is the only experience you can call on to imagine what war is about, then this first hand description is available. It's not Homer or Shakespeare, but a straightforward accounting by a well trained boy and his observations as a soldier.

I did not want to go to Vietnam. I did not want to fight somewhere or die somewhere that could not be agreed on by a government that rules us all. We should have gone to win or not gone. Those that went, either by draft or by conviction, are to be commended not only for their bravery, but for their sense of duty and the fact that they merely obeyed the call of their country. Their heroism was displayed when they put the uniform on and put themselves in harms way. Not that they showed some action in duties "above and beyond", but that they were there, they were ready, while those of us, myself included, holding lottery number 311 did not have to go at all. I was merely lucky.

I cannot imagine the carnage of war or the ability to remove those sights and sounds from my mind. I do not think it can be done. Veterans must be much stronger than those of us who stayed behind, to be able to cope with their lives after such a war and to go on as if it did not happen. Paul Reed's account describes the process by which he chose to open his eyes and see the humanity of his enemy through a captured diary and to allow the forgiveness of our Creator to come into his life and that of Nguyen van Nghia and extend the gift of freedom to those of us who did not go and fight those terrible battles in that terrible war.

The poetry of the diary is not complex, but it has been translated. What may rhyme in English or structurally be wonderful is sometimes lost when translated into other tongues. In this case, what was written in Vietnamese may lose something in its translation into English, but the message comes through beautifully.Nguyen van Nghia's words speak for themselves:

Love bears no grudge ... Do not rush love in order to enjoy it... Handle love with care... Calm yourself, listen to the world speak... Show the way for the younger generation...

For this person that stayed behind, Kontum Diary showed me for the first time that a mistake had been made in entering that war. Those that died did not die in vain, for they answered their country's call. For those us of who did not or did not have to, I am, and we should all be eternally grateful. Read this with book with an open mind and see if you too find it a bit easier to exclude the prejudice, hatred, and the stupidity from our lives that make it so difficult to grow and become what it is that we desire to be.

As a fellow Vietnam veteran, I found Paul Reed's diary memorable and moving. All of us should be thankful his mother saved his keepsakes which motivated Paul Reed to follow his heart and reconcile not only with the man who wrote the diary but also with himself. The book is well written and reflects the author's courage in facing an incendiary time in his life and the life of the nation. His book contributes to the healing process.

The Kontum Diary was the beginning of a journey for me. Reading about Paul's experience in Viet Nam and the years that followed touched a deep chord inside. My first husband died young after his own tour of duty there in the sixties. He was exposed to agent orange which exaserbated the heart attack which eventually killed him. He also suffered from post traumatic stress syndrom, although it didn't have a name then. The Kontum Diary inspired me to write a song which, for me, was a catharsis, a way that I could personalize what I had read in Paul's book and understand what my husband had struggled with. I could, like Paul, let go of the pain and become healed. This is a book that goes far beyond the documentary of two men's lives and the way they came to bury their swords. It is an inspirational story of hope and sends a very strong message about letting go of prejudice and fear and embracing a path of love and friendship.

The author provides us with beautiful photographs of Vietnam, a thousand year old country. Pictures of mountains, seas, paddy fields, towns and villages alternated with those of children afflicted with war induced deformities and a veteran amputee receving treatment. What makes the book interesting is the juxtaposition of black photographs of the war and colored images of the present.

For the past is interwined with the present. The horrors of the war have left indelible marks on the people and country alike as Raymer has shown us in his book.

The authors do an excellent job of transposing the "American Image" of Vietnam into the beautiful and complex country that it really is. It draws from that "American Image" rooted in the drama of the war years, and gradually leads us to a clearer understanding of just what the country is today (and what it was before the intensity of the U.S. involvement)and where it may go in the future. It is encouraging, and very hopeful, to see the country and its people re-anchored in their traditional values--in spite of the current relic of communism--and to appreciate the renewed emphasis on education, family, business, and integration into the world economy. Clearly, it has been a long hard row to hoe, but it is moving in the right direction. Jack Smith's introduction lays this out, and it is reenforced by the text and Mr. Raymer's revealing photographs. The result is a far better sense of place and people.

Jack Smith's introduction says it all -- Vietnam is a beautiful, peaceful land that is going places. Doing this book brought back a lot of memories and was a tonic for the soul. Enjoy it!

Otto Lehrack has edited a vast compilation of recollections of the front line grunts who fought the war up close and personal. The good, bad and grotesque are equally represented. Unlike the REMFs who conducted the war from air conditioned offices in the rear or in Washington, Lehrack talks with the foot soldiers who suffered, lost their buddies and were forever changed by their experiences. Perhaps most prominent is the unique sense of brotherhood embodied by these story tellers. Driven together by the senselessness of the Vietnam conflict they come together out of need for one another.

This book hits home because of the clear message it sends; the troops didn't always know what they were fighting for but it was clear that they had to support one another if they were going to get home. As Capt John Ripley, winner of the Navy Cross in 1972 on his second tour puts it, "The worst that can be said about a Marine is that he wasn't around when we needed him, that we couldn't count on im. That was absolutely unthinkable to him." The Marines who recount their tale in this book provide a clear understanding of what it was like to spend thirteen months in-country with the enemy trying to kill you each and every day.

Perhaps if Americans at home understood what was going on sooner this war might have had a different outcome. By the end of No Shining Armor, the reader will certainly have a new respect for the tremendous sacrifices made by those who chose to honor their country by serving in Vietnam.

These are the words and reflections of Marines from one unit which saw a lot of combat action west and north of DaNang. The author has done a wonderful job of interviewing a good cross-section of officers and enlisted men and organizing their stories chronologically from 1966 to 1970. The pride of the Marines and these mostly young soldiers is evident even 30 years after the war. This is the "grunts" story told in their own words with humor, pride, and passion. J.Kratz, US Army, Vietnam '66-67, '70-71.

Everyone, regardless of whether they were "for" or "against" the Vietnam War should READ THIS BOOK! It gives an unflinching, brutal and grim portrayal of ground combat by the men (specifically U.S. Marines) who know it best because they were there, they experienced it, and they lived to tell others about it. It shows what heroism and duty to country really are and it shows by the examples of these men. I've read many, many books, both fiction and non-fiction on the war, and none come close to giving the sense of how it really was for these men in ground combat in Vietnam.

Many veterans are still paying the price in physical, psychological and/or emotional terms for doing their duty as American citizens. And most non-participants will never realize the sacrifices these citizens/soldiers made. Personally I have no knowledge myself since I was only 17 when the war ended in 1975, however, I am still un-nerved by the treatment these men received by fellow-countrymen then, and to some extent now (even though it is now "OK" to be a Vietnam veteran).

Read this book and see how it truly was for these brave men in their own words (and for those of all the other services involved, as well). Whether you thought this war was good or bad, right or wrong, moral or immoral...READ THIS BOOK and see how it truly was for the soldiers fighting on the ground.

Halstead's book is a good history of the anti-war movement, much of which has been forgotten. The book's weakness, however, is the trotskyite sectarianism of the author which causes him to disparage the contributions of others like Dave Dellinger, Tom Hayden (who in a book once referred to the "hardworking Trotskyist foot soldiers" of the movement), the Chicago 8 and SDS. In the process Halstead unwittingly recycles right-wing stereotypes about hippies and student protestors. In particular, his rendition of the events of the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968, which Halstead and his followers walked away from, is closer to the version of events promulgated by Mayor Daley than it is to what actually happened which as a presidential commission correctly determined was a "police riot." Halstead tries to justify this by making a false dichotomy between "ultraleft" extremism and "mass action." In actuality the protest in Chicago, like the civil rights march in Selma in 1965, was a peaceful mass protest which was attacked by the authorities who refused to allow the demonstrators to exercise their constitutional rights. In spite of certain contradictions among the various progressive forces in the radical movement (contradictions which the US government sought to exacerbate through programs like COINTELPRO), the historical fact is that the great mass protests of the anti-war movement were the product of a broad based united-front among all on the left. The most notable examples were the Oct/Nov 1969 protests organized by New Mobe and the Vietnam Moratorium and the April 1971 protests organized by NPAC, PCPJ and Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW).

Like almost all of the real leaders of the antiwar movement, Fred Halstead, is an unknown name when the antiwar movement is discussed in the press and media. He was a respected figure across the movement by people who agreed and disagreed with him, an an important leader who helped chart a central political course for the movement, often selected to negotiate with the government and police in the biggest demonstrations of the 1960s and 1970s. He also was an experience revolutionary working class militant with experiences going back to the antiwar struggles of GIs and sailors at the end
of WWII. His history is the only decent political history of the struggle against the Vietnam war, and the only political analysis that is useful. It is written not as nostalgia, not as memoir, not as history for academics, but written so future generations of fighters against war, for workers, for women, for Blacks, Chicanos, and other oppressed people can use it to deepen their fights and win the way the antiwar movement did. The pictures in the newest editions of this book are so good that I bought it even though I had the book since it came out.

This book by Fred Halstead is the most detailed and accurate account of the movement against the war in Viet Nam in the U.S. which has been written. A particular strength of the book is that it places the war and the movement against it within an international context. The author's attention to fact and detail (the book is well footnoted) recreate the mood and the political battles of the movement's conferences and debates. This book is a good starting place for a person who knew nothing about the anti-war movement or the 60's and early 70's. It is essential for anyone studying the war in Viet Nam. It is a particularly useful book for those looking to learn how a powerful political movement can be built.

Halstead's discussion of the debates within the civil rights organizations and unions is an important contribution.

This book though stands above all others in it's treatment of the anti-war organizing of active duty G.I.s and Viet Nam veterens. G.I.s were an essential componant of the movement. These sections of the book are among it's strongest and are an antidote to both liberal and conservative views of the war.

Finally, Halstead states that he has an opinion. A member of the Socialist Workers Party he was a key player in the events he recounts. Because of his honesty and fairness this is a strength of the book, rather than a weakness.