Rice Paddy Recon: A Marine Officer’s Second Tour in Vietnam, 1968–1970


Andrew R. Finlayson - 2014
    Marine officer recounts his experiences of the Vietnam War over a nineteen month period. He graphically describes what it was like to perform three distinct combat missions: long-range ground reconnaissance in the Annamite Mountains of I Corps, infantry operations in the rice paddies and mountains of Quang Nam Province and special police operations for the CIA in Tay Ninh Province. Using Marine Corps official unit histories, CIA documents, and his weekly letters home, the author relies almost exclusively on primary sources in providing an accurate and honest account of combat at the small unit level. Of particular interest is his description of his assignment to the CIA as a Provincial Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) advisor in Tay Ninh Province, where he participated in several secret missions as part of the controversial Phoenix Program. The name and contribution of the CIA’s most valuable spy during the war, the famous “Tay Ninh Source,” is revealed.

Slick Driver: Memories of Black Widow 14


Bobby G. Ingram - 2017
     I include my own thoughts about bravery and what it takes to fly into a HOT Landing Zone and hoover there while determined well-trained warriors do their best to shoot you down. You might have wondered if You have the courage to do that? I believe You do, but you havn't been in a situation where that level of courage was needed. You would be amazed to know the level of YOUR courage when the circumstances call for you to stand up, and like many of us who went through our fear and shot back at the enemy trying to kill us, combat, took on an almost holy quality. The desire to kill your enemy can be a big part of PTSD, many warriors felt it and some even feel it today. Because it was so powerful I discuss it through out the book.

Making a Night Stalker


David Burnett - 2019
    His journey starts in a conventional Army unit where he doesn't feel fulfilled in his duties and obligations. This lack of responsibility drives David to pursue the dream of becoming an MH-47G Chinook helicopter crew chief in the most secretive and elite aviation unit in the world. David is met with constant hurdles and set backs trying to achieve his ultimate goal but he is more determined than ever. After graduating from the units five week selection process he is thrown into school after school and non stop training before being able to step foot on the aircraft he so desperately dreams of crewing on. After almost a year in the Special Operations unit he is trained and ready to deploy with 160th, and it is nothing short of intense. He learns quickly that his new units mission op tempo is exactly what he had hoped. He is eager to prove himself among the ranks and continues to hone his craft over the next four years. After five deployments with the unit as a crew chief he is discharged from the military. After leaving the fast paced world of the SOF community he falls into a deep depression. Alcohol becomes the new most important thing, and he finds himself in a new and reckless battlefield. He never saw this coming.

Without Parachutes: How I Survived 1,000 Attack Helicopter Combat Missions in Vietnam


Jerry W. Childers - 2005
    He arrived in Vietnam in 1964 and volunteered to join the worlds first attack helicopter company. The Utility Tactical Transport Helicopter Company (UTT) had deployed to Vietnam in 1962. It came equipped with the U.S. Armys brand new UH-1 Huey, a helicopter originally designed as an aerial ambulance. The crews, not happy with a passive combat role, began experimenting with ways to strap guns on their aircraft and attack the enemy. Through a deadly process of trial and error the pilots pushed their machines to the edge. Mistakes were made, crews were lost and lessons were learned. These lessons evolved into combat tactics and became fondly known as the 12 Cardinal Rules of Attack Helicopter Combat. Upon joining the unit the author learned about the rules. He studied them and on his first day in combat, developed his own 13th rule. Over his ensuing three years in Vietnam, the rules, especially the 13th, helped him survive over one thousand combat missions. This book provides the reader with a cockpit level view of dozens of those missions and describes several additional near disaster situations encountered by the author during over 25 years flying Army Aircraft. The author is successful in striking a balance between the grim realities of combat and the often humorous aspects of life among a group of high spirited aviators who fly into the jaws of death daily without a parachute on their back. He suggests that the 13 rules, although developed during a different war and at a different time, are applicable to armed helicopter combat operations in the 21st Century. The book contains about 200 pages and is nicely illustrated with 50 photographs.

LZ Bingo


Reid F. Tillery - 2019
    Boe entered the Vietnam war. Twice wounded during his one-year tour of duty, he endured some of the war's hottest moments, including the Tet offensive. He served honorably, facing an onslaught of bullets, mortars, rockets, hand grenades, and land mines. Through Bill's account, the reader gains a vicarious understanding of the day-to-day life and challenges of an American infantryman in Vietnam. This book's primary purpose is to honor those who made it home and those who did not by telling their story through Bill's eyes and ears. Written in the form of a novel, what makes Bill's true story so compelling is that his experiences likely are similar to those of many other men who served in the infantry in Vietnam. If you served in Vietnam in the infantry, Bill's story will likely bring back vivid memories. If you didn't serve, and if you have a friend who's a Vietnam infantry vet, you'll look at him differently after reading Bill's story. You'll come away with a deeper understanding of the challenges and hardships he faced.

LRRP (Provisional) 2nd Bde 4th Infantry Division Vietnam 1966-67


Frank Camper - 2021
    

Chasing Understanding in the Jungles of Vietnam: My Year as a Black Scarf


Douglas Beed - 2017
    After two years of college he couldn't afford to continue so he was forced to relinquish his student deferment and enter the draft. He tried various strategies to get a non-combat job; nevertheless he ended up in the infantry and was assigned to Vietnam. The stories in this book depict the year Doug spent in Alpha Company where he spent days on patrols finding and killing North Vietnamese soldiers along the hundreds of miles of trails heading for the Saigon. These stories range from funny to tragic, from uplifting to extremely frustrating and from touching to horrifying. This book gives the reader a sense of life in the infantry in 1968 and 1969.

Mayhem 337: Memoir of a Combat Advisor in Afghanistan


Chad Rickard - 2019
    He was a seasoned infantryman and senior Army NCO with a burning desire to deploy to Afghanistan and join the fight against Taliban and Al Qaeda forces bent on keeping American influence out of the Middle East. Like many Americans Chad felt personally stricken by the attacks on 9/11 and he yearned to take part in his Nation's retaliation for the atrocities planned within the sanctity of Afghanistan's borders. When the opportunity arose to deploy as a Combat Advisor to an Afghan Infantry Battalion he seized the opportunity and headed to Fort Riley, Kansas to attend U.S. Army Combat Advisor School. After months of intensive training in Afghan customs, culture and language in addition to tactical training on the direction of close air support and artillery Rickard was dropped into a hotbed of action in Afghanistan's Khost Province. In Khost, former home to one of Osama Bin Laden's largest terror training camps, Rickard's team went toe to toe with Haqqani Taliban on numerous occasions, often leaving a staggering body count in their wake. In Mayhem 337, Rickard powerfully recounts his experiences during a nine month period of intense combat deep in the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan. His graphic account guides you through intense combat from the streets of Khost City, to deadly mountain warfare while based at an austere combat outpost. He vividly describes the sights and sounds of battle as well as the heartbreaking aftermath of fallen comrades. From IED laden roads to air assault missions and hostage standoffs, Rickard's story leaves nothing to the imagination. His riveting memoir brings recognition and honor to the Embedded Transition Team legacy that is but a footnote in U.S. military history.

Triple Sticks: Tales of a Few Young Men in the 1960s


Bernie Fipp - 2010
    The author assures us it is not!Three years before they came together, four young American men left their fraternities and college campuses for an adventure exceeding their imaginations. Wanting something more than the draft and unknown to each other, they chose Naval Aviation as the next step in their lives. Generally, they were better than their navy peers, all qualifying for high performance aircraft to be flown from steel decks over foreign seas. They would become the pointy end of the stick in aerial battles over North Vietnam, the most heavily defended patch of real estate in the history of aerial warfare. They were to do this in 1967, the year in which Naval Aviation experienced its greatest losses.These four young men, now Lieutenants Junior Grade, United States Navy, were ordered to Attack Squadron 34 to fly A4 Skyhawks into combat. They were assigned Junior Officer's stateroom 0111 aboard USS Intrepid, a venerable aircraft carrier with a distinguished history. This "bunkroom" better known to them as Triple Sticks was the repository for a log (in navy terms) or journal written by these four young aviators. Forty years later this log was the genesis of this memoir.In the lethal environment over the northern reaches of North Vietnam or ashore in the Officer's clubs and bars of Asia, the writing brings to life wonderful humor, bizarre behavior, vivid aerial battles, uncommon loyalty, anger, frustration and respect. One survived or did not according to his skill and luck.

Pucker Factor 10: Memoir of a U.S. Army Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam


James Joyce - 2003
    He flew both Huey "slicks" and Huey "gunships": the former on defense as he flew troops into battle, and the latter on offense as he took the battle to the enemy. Through this book, the author relives his experiences flying and fighting, with special attention given to the pilots' day-to-day lives - such as the prankish smoke bombing of Disneyland, the nickname for a United States Army-sponsored compound for prostitution. Some of the pilots Joyce served with survived the war and went on to have careers with commercial airlines, and many were killed.

SONS OF KOLCHAK: A company commander during the Vietnam Tet Offensive of 1968 tells the story of his men's raw courage and valor.


Michael Wikan - 2020
    

The Colonels / The Berets / The Generals


W.E.B. Griffin
    Unbound) ISBN-10: 0515098914

Phantom Strike


William H. Lovejoy - 1993
     Their Sukhoi-24 bombers, capable of undertaking short-range lethal raids, have orders for a test target: three refugee camps, filled with women, children and the old. Millions of innocent lives are set to be destroyed in this flexing of the high command’s muscles, but at the first sign of aggression the entire region is set to erupt into total war… Spurred on by the intelligence reports yet unable to wage an overt pre-emptive attack, the White House is forced to turn to Andrew Wyatt. A “covert specialists” and former top gun pilot, Wyatt marshals his squad of unmarked F-4 Phantoms as a C.I.A. agent on the ground tries to learn more prior to their arrival. Wyatt must lead them through the deadly net of Libya’s air defences, risking everything as he endeavours to deliver a final blow in the name of international peace… Phantom Strike is a gripping, contemporary military thriller. Praise for Phantom Strike ‘Lovejoy writes in afterburner!… action that leaves you dry-lipped, moist-palmed and hungry for more. An excellent read.’ – M.E. Morris ‘Fast-paced aerial action… Phantom Strike is a supersonic rush toward a deadly target that rings with authenticity!” – Jimmie H. Butler, The Iskra Incident William H Lovejoy is the author of twenty-five thriller, suspense, and mystery novels, including Delta Blue and Delta Green. A Vietnam veteran, he resides in Colorado and is Vice Chancellor Emeritus from Mohave Community College. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7

Long Black Stockings: A turn-of-the-century memoir


Ethel Benson Soper - 2014
    The details are exquisite and take one back to beloved books of childhood such as Little House on the Prairie while at the same time providing full grown-up fare for history buffs. Wry humor and insights are deftly woven throughout, making the reader smile precisely because the author is not trying to do anything but authentically tell her story. And a wonderful story it is.” Kate Turpin

Ghost Fleet


D.A. Boulter - 2011
    Experts say they are scanner echoes tossed out of the past by the Phenomenon. The rumors and a cryptic entry in an ancestor's diary propel Lieutenant-Commander Mart Britlot of the Confederation navy into the dangerous Sivon sector of space. There, Britlot hopes to find help for the Confederation, now facing a two-front war. As the last living Confederation descendant of the Adian nation, Britlot is obsessed with finding the ghost ships, believed destroyed during a mass emigration 300 years in the past. He dreams of riding to the rescue at the head of the never defeated Adian fleet; he dreams of finding family after the death of all his near relatives at the hands of the Combine. He'll drive his ship and crew beyond endurance to achieve this. The felid Tlartox Empire, eager to avenge their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Confederation, has voted to annul the long-standing peace treaty. The glory of The Hunt beckons. Admiral Tood Tlomega has focused on the human planet Lormar, with its great naval base, as a fitting target for retribution. She will return dignity to the people of Tlar. She will return them to the path that Tlar illuminated so many centuries ago.But a small band of Tlartox subversives intend to rake a claw across the plans of the war-mongers, and give both the Empire and the Confederation something they hadn't counted on.