Book picks similar to
Melody Hill by Rick DeStefanis


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Pathfinder: First In, Last Out


Richard R. Burns - 2002
    Within just one month, during a holiday called Tet, the Communists would launch the largest single attack of the war--and he would be right in the thick of it. . . .In Vietnam, Richard Burns operated in live-or-die situations, risking his life so that other men could keep theirs. As a Pathfinder--all too often alone in the middle of a hot LZ--he guided in helicopters disembarking troops, directed medevacs to retrieve the wounded, and organized extractions. As well as parachuting into areas and supervising the clearing of landing zones, Pathfinders acted as air-traffic controllers, keeping call signs, frequencies, and aircraft locations in their heads as they orchestrated takeoffs and landings, often under heavy enemy fire.From Bien Hoa to Song Be to the deadly A Shau Valley, Burns recounts the battles that won him the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and numerous other decorations. This is the first and only book by a Pathfinder in Vietnam . . . or anywhere else.From the Paperback edition.

The Expendables


Leonard B. Scott - 1991
    This is the story of the men who fought with them -- and the 304 who didn't return.

SOG Chronicles: Volume One


John Stryker Meyer - 2017
     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

D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard


Ken Wiley - 2007
    But what of the sailors who manned the landing craft, going back and forth under fire with nowhere to take cover, their craft the special targets of enemy gunners?In this book, Ken Wiley, a Coast Guardsman on an Attack Transport in the Pacific, relates the intricate, often nerve wracking story of how the United States projected its power across 6,000 miles in the teeth of fanatical Japanese resistance. Each invasion was a swirl of moving parts, from frogmen to fire support, transport mother ships to Attack Transports, the smaller Higgins boats (LCVPs), and during the last terrifying stage the courageous men who would storm the beaches.The author participated in the campaigns for the Marshall Islands, the Marianas the Philippines and Okinawa, and with a precise eye for detail relates numerous aspects of landing craft operations, such as ferrying wounded, that are often discounted. He conveys the terror and horrors of war, as well as, on occasion, the thrill, while not neglecting the humor and cameraderie of wartime life.An exciting book, full of harrowing combat action, Lucky 13 also provides a valuable service in expanding our knowledge of exactly how World War II's massive amphibious operations were undertaken.

Detained


Don Brown - 2015
    But when they arrive in the US, they are arrested, accused of terrorism, and incarcerated at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba, all on false charges. Suddenly, they face the nightmare of death by execution.Their only hope is Navy JAG Officer Matt Davis, who has been assigned to the case of his life--to defend the Makaris in court at Guantanamo Bay. Matt believes his clients are innocent but faces monumental opposition--not only from powerful federal prosecutors with a huge agenda and an unlimited budget, but also from the woman he loves who, as a fellow JAG officer, has been ordered onto the prosecution team to convict the Makaris.As the drama unfolds in Cuba, Emily Gardner, a top-ranking TSA lawyer, has just received a larger-than-life nomination as General Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security. While preparing for confirmation by the US Senate, she discovers a shocking scheme that will turn her life upside down. Can Emily expose the truth in time to save the lives of those being accused--and escape with her own life? Somewhere between the war-torn plains of Northern Lebanon and the secret torture chamber of Guantanamo Bay lie the keys to justice.

Troubled Sea


Jinx Schwartz - 2009
    But their chosen sea has a serpent: Mexico's out-of-control drug trade. After witnessing a drug-deal gone wrong, they set off a deadly chain of events that lands them in a sea of intrigue involving a best friend, the Mexican Federal Police, the DEA, US Coast Guard, the INS, and a nasty drug cartel.This fast-paced adventure is a must-read for anyone who has ever dreamed of cutting the lines and shoving off to adventure.Show More Show Less

LRRP Company Command: The Cav's LRP/Rangers in Vietnam, 1968-1969


Kregg P.J. Jorgenson - 2000
    Jorgenson spent 7 years in the Army; three as an infantryman and four as a journalist. After surviving a number of missions as a LRRP with Hotel Company (Airborne), Jorgenson transferred to Alpha (aka Apache) Troop, where he walked point for its reaction force, the Blues. Jorgenson brings his considerable experience as a soldier and journalist to bear in this absorbing account.

Six Silent Men


Gary A. Linderer - 1997
    . ."By 1969, the NVA had grown more experienced at countering the tactics of the long range patrols, and SIX SILENT MEN: Book Three describes some of the fiercest fighting Lurps saw during the war. Based on his own experience and extensive interviews with other combat vets of the 101st's Lurp companies, Gary Linderer writes this final, heroic chapter in the seven bloody years that Lurps served God and country in Vietnam. These tough young warriors--grossly outnumbered and deep in enemy territory--fought with the guts, tenacity, and courage that have made them legends in the 101st.

Body Count: A Special Forces thriller set in the Vietnam War


Eric Helm - 1984
    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.

A Hundred Feet Over Hell: Flying With the Men of the 220th Recon Airplane Company Over I Corps and the DMZ, Vietnam 1968-1969


Jim Hooper - 2009
    Flying over Vietnam in two-seater Cessnas, they often made the difference between a soldier returning alive to his family or having the lonely sound of “Taps” played over his grave. Based on extensive interviews, and often in the men’s own words, A Hundred Feet Over Hell puts the reader in the plane as this intrepid band of U.S. Army aviators calls in fire support for the soldiers and marines of I Corps.

Titanium Security Series Box Set: Volume II


Kaylea Cross - 2014
    A mind-blowing kiss finally changed that, but then he disappeared from her life. Now he’s back, to recruit her for a job with his NSA-sanctioned Titanium Security team. They’re going after the terrorist responsible for the recent attacks on their team and Jordyn is eager to lend her skill set to the hunt. She’s determined to prove to Blake that she’s capable of holding her own—both in the bedroom and on the battlefield.He’s never walking away again…Former Marine Scout/Sniper Blake Ellis hid his true feelings for Jordyn for years out of respect for her and her family, but once he learns those feelings aren’t one-sided, he can’t keep his distance any longer. When a team tragedy thrusts Jordyn into the front line with him on a battlefield, Blake will do whatever it takes to protect her. She’s everything he ever wanted in a woman but he was too stubborn to see it. Now it might be too late for them. As they race to capture the terrorist they’re hunting, Blake and Jordyn find themselves fighting for their lives. If they want to make it out alive they must work together to defeat an unseen, powerful network that will stop at nothing until their entire team is dead.Rekindled:He left her when she needed him most…Four years ago, Dr. Grace Fallon lost everything that mattered in a terrorist attack she barely survived. Now she’s stronger than ever and in Pakistan with a UN-sanctioned team for the most important assignment of her career. She’s dedicated her life to eradicating the world of chemical weapons, and long ago accepted the inherent risks associated with her job. Until the man whose memory has haunted her for so long suddenly reappears and inadvertently makes her the target of one of the most dangerous terrorists on the planet. Forced to accept Alex’s protection, it’s impossible to deny the white-hot attraction still burning between them. And while she trusts him to guard her from this new threat, Grace must once again decide whether to risk her heart to the man who once shattered her entire world.Now he’ll risk everything to win her back…Four years ago, NSA agent Alex Rycroft left Grace because had no choice. But never again. Malik Hassani has escaped custody, he’s on the run, and has locked onto Grace as a means to target Alex. This time Alex will do whatever it takes to protect her—and convince her to give them another chance. Walking away from her nearly destroyed him and now that she’s back in his life, he can’t let her go. When the unthinkable happens and Grace’s life hangs in the balance, he’ll sacrifice everything to save her—including himself.Blindsided:It’s a Titanium Christmas reunion…Grace and Alex Rycroft have just moved into their newly renovated house in upstate New York and they’ve invited the whole Titanium Security crew to celebrate an early Christmas with them.But not all is merry and bright.Unfortunately things don’t go as planned. When the unthinkable happens at a veteran’s charity event in the middle of Manhattan, the team must pull together to take down the attacker and rally around a wounded teammate in the tragic aftermath. With one of their own left fighting for his life, it’s going to take a Christmas miracle to pull him through and make the holiday season bright.

Snatched: How A Drug Queen Went Undercover for the DEA and Was Kidnapped By Colombian Guerillas


Bruce Porter - 2016
    She also falls for dangerous men and finds herself drawn into the highest levels of the cocaine trade.After two failed marriages and a harrowing escape from the drug life, she settles down to a quiet existence in Florida with her children--until her second husband tries to cut short his prison term by giving her name over to members of a new task force being formed by the DEA. They induce Pilar, now a middle-aged woman, to infiltrate the Cali cartel as the head of a vast money laundering sting. Named "Operation Princess," the scheme leads to the seizure of tens of millions of dollars, along with some $500 million worth of cocaine and the exposure of hundreds of high-level traffickers, becoming one of the most daring and successful stings in DEA history. But Pilar plays her part too well. Her success as a money launderer gets her kidnapped and then ransomed by a band of guerrillas in South America--and the US government refuses to negotiate. It's left to her low-level handlers in the DEA to get her back, before it's too late and her kidnappers discover they have a federal agent in their clutches.

Charlie Rangers


Don Ericson - 1988
    For eighteen months, John L. Rotundo and Don Ericson braved the test of war at its most bloody and most raw, specializing in ambushing the enemy and fighting jungle guerillas using their own tactics. From the undiluted high of a "contact" with the enemy to the anguished mourning of a fallen comrade, they experienced nearly every emotion known to man--most of all, the power and the pride of being the finest on America's front lines.From the Paperback edition.

On Full Automatic: Surviving 13 Months in Vietnam


William V. Taylor Jr. - 2021
    Taylor Jr. and his brother Marines are assembled into a new reaction force that is immediately tested in the fire of a bloody conflict known as Operation Beaver Cage. After a traumatic first fight, they push through back-to-back operations with little time to rest or reflect. Those who survive will return home ensnared by everlasting memories of a real, but entirely surreal nightmare. Now after more than fifty years of holding everything in, Taylor shares his experience in explicit and often horrific detail and with a reverent honor for those Marines who did not live to tell the tale.Taylor reveals what it truly means to walk the path of a warrior, to sacrifice, and to live a lifetime with the memories of a war—seeking answers to the question, “Was it worth it?"

RATS


Joe Klingler - 2013
    Summer greets the land of the midnight sun as a lone rider races across the last American wilderness, delivering on a promise he made long ago. He has many names, but the world only knows a shadow called the Demon. Soon to be drawn into the Demon's world, Claire Ferreti, an Army sniper, sips sake in Washington, DC with her lover, a young, ambitious General whose geosecurity specialty remains classified. When a boy finds a small machine, Claire embarks on a a black-ops mission that leads to a test of skill, a clash of ideologies, and her unconscious body lying in a typhoon-ravaged jungle. In that instant she becomes the hunted, the Demon's tool for survival, and an unforeseen threat. As the General pursues them into a labyrinth of cyber-secrets, political necessity and financial reality collide like a fireball piercing steel.RATS, Joe Klingler's award winning techno-thriller, is filled with fierce writing and fully fleshed out characters. It explodes from the remnants of a war long past to headlines of Washington secrets masquerading as corporate incompetence when two modern-day warriors face off. Both skilled at violence. And deception. Both accustomed to winning."A nuanced techno-thriller with both brains and brawn." -- Kirkus Reviews (Kirkus Recommended List)[RATS] is a fun romp-and-motorcycle-ride through intrigue, explosions, action, betrayal, politics, and victory. Non-military readers will thoroughly enjoy it, and military readers will too. -- San Francisco Book Review (4 of 5 stars) "Even during the summertime in Alaska, the sparseness of the environment is detailed, as opposed to the lush jungle scenes in Vietnam. This gives the book a well-rounded feel as the intensity ratchets up...Fans of international thrillers and espionage books will enjoy this novel." -- Foreword Clarion Reviews (4 of 5 stars)