Wilbur E. Bowe was living on his family’s farm when he was drafted in 1965 and assigned to Alpha Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Calvary. The 5/7th Cavalry was formed as a brand-new battalion in order to fill out the 1st Air Cavalry Division’s 3rd Brigade. The young men of the battalion were largely drafted together in 1965 as the build-up of regular Army forces in Vietnam had just begun. Together, these impossibly young men would be trained in the airmobile infantry and become what were known as “skytroopers”. They would then be sent deep into the jungles of Vietnam, where together they would learn what “search and destroy” meant and face the reality of this new war.The story features many of the letters and photographs my dad sent home from the war zone. His dispatches were sent from some of the most remote valleys and outposts in Vietnam, written under the most austere of conditions, often scribbled in haste before another mission, or by flashlight, under a poncho in the rain. They would travel over 8,000 miles across the ocean, to be placed in a mailbox that stood across from a farmhouse, along a rural county road in Wisconsin.Many former skytroopers of Alpha Company were interviewed for this story, and their personal accounts recall much of the humor and friendship they shared, along with the sadness and tragedy that would accompany a year spent in the jungles of Vietnam. The story also draws upon the 5/7th Cavalry’s daily staff journals and situation reports for every day of the battalion’s first year in Vietnam.This is their story, told in great detail from their time spent training together at Fort Carson – through their historic journey across the ocean aboard the USNS Gaffey, where they would encounter a massive typhoon – through their many battles fought together in Vietnam – and eventually, their final patrol.

    The CIA wanted to kill him. This is the remarkable true story of Australian war hero Barry Petersen. In 1963, 28-year-old Australian Captain Barry Petersen was sent to Vietnam as part of the 30-man Australian Training Team, two years before the first official Australian troops arrived. Seconded to the CIA, he was sent to the remote Central Highlands to build an anti-communist guerrilla force among the indigenous Montagnard people. He was sent off with bagloads of cash and a vague instruction to 'get to know the natives'. Petersen took over the running of the paramilitary force that had been started by the local police chief and started to earn the Montagnards respect. He lived drank and ate with the Montagnards, learned their language and respected their skills. The Vietcong dubbed Petersen's force 'Tiger Men'. When Petersen he heard this, he had special badges made for their berets and supplied tiger print uniforms. The Montagnards loved Petersen and flocked to join his force but the CIA were worried. They thought he was out of control and too close to the Montagnard people...

    Navy fighter/attack pilot from 1956 to 1980. (What it was like to fly jets off aircraft carriers in the days before smart bombs, GPS, and automated carrier landing systems.) After two years at the University of Arizona, the author entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in Pensacola, Florida, and became a carrier-qualified jet pilot at age twenty. As a naval aviator, he flew 3,669 hours in thirteen different types of aircraft, made 652 carrier landings (163 of them at night), and flew 183 combat missions during the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and thirteen Air Medals. He went on to command Attack Squadron 35 aboard USS Nimitz.This is the story.

     He would remain part of the French Foreign Legion for the next five years. After swearing to the cause of liberté, égalité, fraternité Manington was immediately transported away from France to begin his training in Algeria. But Africa was not where he would be fighting, instead he and his comrades, from Germany, Scotland, America and the rest of the world, were sent to south-east Asia. Tonquin in French Indochina was their destination, to help quell the rebels against colonial rule that had emerged after the Sino-French War. The Yên Thế Insurrection had been continuing for twenty-two years in this area before Manington arrived, and he entered into the midst of this of this vicious war. Manington’s work A Soldier of the Legion is a fascinating account of life in one of the most famous regiments in history. Although loyal to the legion, he saw many faults in the colonial administration and developed friendships with the locals. This work gives brilliant insight into the guerrilla warfare used by the Tonkinese rebels. Methods of warfare that would be once again used in this area in the twentieth century, first against the French and later against the Americans during the Vietnam War. George Manington left the French Foreign Legion in 1895. Prior to joining he had been a student in France and Germany and a prospective doctor in Paris. After his time serving under the French flag he continued to live in Southeast Asia as an interpreter, traveller and journalist. This work was published in 1907.

    

    Then, if he makes it, life doesn’t get easier—he gets tougher. He may get to do the toughest job around: combat infantry. And in 1966, he will almost certainly end up in Vietnam. Frank Evans is a Navy sailor willing to do whatever is necessary to become a Marine. He’s tough enough—and he has a General interested in his success. But success is measured in many ways. Frank finds out combat and the Marine Corps’ definition of success change a man. Some of the changes are a matter of pride. Others—well, you learn to live with them.

    Complete opposites thrown together, cut off, and outnumbered, Chief Warrant Officer Erik Sabiston and his flight crew answered the call in a race against time, not to take lives—but to save them.   The concept of evacuating wounded soldiers by helicopter developed in the Korean War and became a staple during the war in Vietnam where heroic, unarmed chopper crews flew vital missions known to the grateful grunts on the ground as Dustoffs.   The crew of Dustoff 7-3 carried on that heroic tradition, flying over a region that had seen scores of American casualties, known among veterans as the Valley of Death. At the end of Operation Hammer Down, they had rescued 14 soldiers, made three critical supply runs, recovered two soldiers killed in action, and nearly died. It took all of three days.

    W4964 was the seventieth Lanc to arrive on squadron, in mid April 1943. She flew her first op on the 20th, by which time No 9 had lost forty one of their Lancs to enemy action and another five had been transferred to other squadrons and lost by them. A further thirteen of the seventy would soon be lost by No 9. All of the remaining eleven would be damaged, repaired, transferred to other squadrons or training units, and lost to enemy action or crashes except for three which, in some kind of retirement, would last long enough to be scrapped after the war. Only one of the seventy achieved a century of ops or anything like it: W4964 WS-J. Across all squadrons and all the war, the average life of a Lancaster was 22.75 sorties, but rather less for the front-line squadrons going to Germany three and four times a week in 1943 and '44, which was when W4964 was flying her 107 sorties, all with No 9 Squadron and all from RAF Bardney. The first was Stettin (Szczecin in modern Poland), and thereafter she went wherever 9 Squadron went, to Berlin, the Ruhr, and most of the big ops of the time such as Peenemunde and Hamburg. She was given a special character as J-Johnny Walker, 'still going strong' and on September 15 1944, skippered by Flight Lieutenant James Douglas Melrose, her Tallboy special bomb was the only one to hit the battleship Tirpitz. During her career, well over two hundred airmen flew in J. None were killed while doing so, but ninety-six of them died in other aircraft. This is their story, and the story of one lucky Lancaster.

    BUT CHARLIE OWNED THE CLOCK! One morning there was nothing but hot, thick jungle and steaming swamp. And the Viet Cong. The next morning there were three hundred sweating, groaning men chopping and chain sawing a hole in that particular hunk of hell. And that's where Captain Mack Gerber and his Scorpion Squad were going to set up shop. Right in the VC's backyard. Gerber's orders were simple: Let the VC know they didn't own the delta anymore; let them know they were in a lastditch fight; and make sure it was the last thing they'd ever know. But Victor Charlie had their own plans. A clock was ticking. Soon all hell would break loose and there wouldn't be enough survivors left to do a ... body count.

    What amazing violence can be meted out in the blink of an eye." In the mid-nineteen sixties, Harry Constance made a life-altering journey that led him out of Texas and into the jungles of Vietnam. As a young naval officer, he went from UDT training to the U.S. Navy's newly formed SEAL Team Two, and then straight into furious action. By 1970, he was already the veteran of three hundred combat missions and the recipient of thirty-two military citations, including three Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.Good To Go is Constance's powerful, firsthand account of his three tours of duty as a member of America's most elite, razor-sharp stealth fighting force. It is a breathtaking memoir of harrowing missions and covert special-ops—from the floodplains of the Mekong Delta to the beaches of the South China Sea—that places the reader in the center of bloody ambushes and devastating firefights. But his extraordinary adventure goes even farther—beyond 'Nam—as we accompany Constance and the SEALs on astonishing missions to some of the world's most dangerous hot-spots . . . and experience close-up the courage, dedication, and unparalleled skill that made the U.S. Navy SEALs legendary. Includes 8 Pages of SEAL Team Action Photos!

    They kicked their way into a house and held a mob of 200 at bay for three hours... until they were rescued by a QRF including Cpl Terry Thomson CGC. The QRF lost a man of their own and battled their way through to Bryan and his men with amazing bravery.CSgt Matt Tomlinson CGC RM and Cpl Shaun Jardine CGC ran straight towards men with machine guns, ignoring a hail of fire to kill their attackers.Pte Michelle Norris MC climbed up onto the top of a Warrior armoured vehicle, in the middle of a huge firefight, to save the life of her sergeant. Around 60 rounds were fired at her, some clipping her webbing or hitting the vehicle two inches from her body. (She remains the only woman to win the Military Cross.)LCoH Andrew Radford CGC ran 70 metres through the Taliban's rocket propelled grenades and machine gun fire to rescue a terribly injured mate...then ran all the way back with him on his shoulders.Lt Tim Illingworth CGC charged Taliban positions on his own, after the Afghan army men with him were killed or fled.Flt Lt Matt Carter MC jumped out of a flying helicopter, at night, straight into a firefight with the Taliban, because his comrades were in trouble.Lt Hugo Farmer CGC led his men through ferocious Taliban fire to recover the body of Cpl Bryan Budd VC.This list goes on and on... astonishing stories by amazing people, of whom Britain should be tremendously proud.From the elite shock troops of the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Marines, to heroes from other famous regiments like The Royal Anglians, The King's Own Scottish Borderers, The Royal Welch Fusiliers, The Life Guards, The Blues and Royals, The Queen's Dragoon Guards, The Queen's Royal Hussars, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, The Light Infantry, The Royal Horse Artillery, The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, The Royal Logistic Corps, The Royal Engineers, The Royal Army Medical Corps, The RAF Regiment, and The Territorial Army, these are tales from the very sharp end of modern warfare.The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan may not enjoy popular support, but our soldiers - who do not have the choice of where and who they're fighting for - do.Each day in these two countries is a desperate battle for survival against deadly and implacable enemy forces, and each day brings new acts of bravery, courage and self-sacrifice that seem to belong to a bygone age. These enthralling and captivating stories shine new light on our fighting men and women.'Enthralling, awe-inspiring, untold stories' - The Daily Mail'Excellent... simply unputdownable. Buy this book.' - The Sun'Modesty and courage go hand-in-hand... an outstanding read.' - Soldier Magazine'The book everyone's talking about' - News of the World'Astonishing feats of bravery' - Independent on Sunday'A book that was crying out to be written' - Defence Focus'A remarkable book...

    Little did he know that he would see some of the war's most intense action, including the Tet offensives. Carlock portrays countless dangers, from an elusive enemy and treacherous terrain to blinding weather, faulty equipment, and friendly fire. He rides the pendulum between fear and fearlessness during his many brushes with death. Along with the danger and tension, Carlock tells us about the camaraderie and humor shared by men who lived on the edge. Carlock's stories will sometimes shock you, sometimes bring a smile to your face, and sometimes make you angry. Learn about "secret" missions into a neutral country. Discover how the Walker spy ring cost American lives. Most of all, find out what it was like for a twenty-one-year-old farm boy to find himself suddenly immersed in vicious daily combat, making decisions that determined the fate of hundreds of lives.

     The inaugural edition of 'SOG Chronicles Volume One' will be the first in a series of books focusing on the many untold stories from that eight-year secret war where Green Berets went deep behind enemy lines without conventional support from artillery, tanks, or ground support troops where communist forces massed 50,000-100,000 troops to combat them while keeping the Ho Chi Minh Trail supply lines open. The centerpiece of 'SOG Chronicles Volume One' is the 1970 story of Operation Tailwind, features a SOG element of 16 Green Berets and 120 indigenous soldiers that went deeper into Laos than any operation during the secret war. Every Green Beret received at least one Purple Heart, including the sole medic, Gary Mike Rose. He is slated to receive the Medal of Honor from President Donald J. Trump in October 2017 for his valor and medical skills tending to more than 60 wounded troops during that four-day mission. “John Meyer’s story about Operation Tailwind does justice to the valor and heroism of the men involved in the four-day battle. Meyer writes about this historic SOG mission with clarity and attention to detail that is long overdue in regards to this top secret mission. 'SOG Chronicles Volume One' is mandatory reading for anyone remotely interested in SOG history or simply in how the Green Berets operate deep behind enemy lines.” —Billy Waugh, SOG/CIA operative

    Author Max Miller spent many weeks at sea gathering material for his book, and presents his observations in an easy-to read fashion. Carrier! is intended to provide civilians with a glimpse into what life aboard these massive ships was like during World War 2.*New 2019 edition includes footnotes and images.