One of the cool things about being a writer for SOFREP is all the interesting people you get to talk to. Such was the case when I made contact with the LRRP/Ranger community of Vietnam veterans recently. I read all of their books as a kid, which was what inspired me to join the Army and go to the 75th Ranger Regiment. Despite this, former members of the Regiment, such as myself, are wholly ignorant of much of the history of the American Ranger. When it comes to the American public in general, I find that they know virtually nothing about Army Rangers.
Ross Hall has set out to correct this with his Ranger history book, aptly titled: The Ranger Book. Since Rangers are probably the oldest military formation in US history it comes as no surprise that Hall’s book is fairly extensive, so much so that there is also a companion CD that diligent researchers can buy separately.
Its easy to sit down and flip through this book all day, brushing up on various subjects and turning directly to ones you knew nothing about for clarification. With a history this epic, there are plenty of misconceptions and historical gray areas that sometimes I get lost in myself.
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One of the cool things about being a writer for SOFREP is all the interesting people you get to talk to. Such was the case when I made contact with the LRRP/Ranger community of Vietnam veterans recently. I read all of their books as a kid, which was what inspired me to join the Army and go to the 75th Ranger Regiment. Despite this, former members of the Regiment, such as myself, are wholly ignorant of much of the history of the American Ranger. When it comes to the American public in general, I find that they know virtually nothing about Army Rangers.
Ross Hall has set out to correct this with his Ranger history book, aptly titled: The Ranger Book. Since Rangers are probably the oldest military formation in US history it comes as no surprise that Hall’s book is fairly extensive, so much so that there is also a companion CD that diligent researchers can buy separately.
Its easy to sit down and flip through this book all day, brushing up on various subjects and turning directly to ones you knew nothing about for clarification. With a history this epic, there are plenty of misconceptions and historical gray areas that sometimes I get lost in myself.
For instance, did you know that Robert Rogers’ 19 standing orders are essentially a fake? They came out of the book Northwest Passage, although Rogers did write Rogers’ Rules of Discipline which were quite different. A talented writer and veteran of the French and Indian War, Rogers was not a man to be trifled with, Hall describing him as an, “excellent soldier and opportunistic mercenary.”
Beyond early Ranger history there is much more. How did RRD come into existence? What is the difference between LRRPs and Rangers in Vietnam? What was the role of Rangers at Desert One during Operation Eagle Claw? The Ranger Book sets the record straight and does a fine job at it. There are also lots of interviews and biographies of prominent Rangers. Although I’ve been reading through this encyclopedia-like book, I’ve barely scratched the surface.
If you are still not convinced, take a look at the table of contents below:
Introduction
Foreword
The Ranger Book
1634 – Present Day
Up In The Air
Ranger Creed
Ranger Thoughts On the Creed
Keith Nightingale
Wayne Downing
Kenneth Leuer
William F. “Buck” Kernan
Ron Rokosz
Keith Antonia
Steve Hawk
Edison Scholes
Validation of the Concept – Colonial Era
Benjamin Church
Pre-Revolutionary War Ranger Units
French and Indian War – 1754-1763
Who Was Robert Rogers?
Rogers’ 19 Standing Orders?
Rogers’ Rules of Discipline – The Real Version
Revolutionary War
Thomas Knowlton
Nathan Hale
Francis Marion – Swamp Fox
Daniel Morgan
War of 1812 – Indian Wars
Civil War
Mosby, Ashby, Morgan – Confederate Rangers
Unit History and Lineage
75th Ranger Regiment
Quick Lineage Reference
World War II
World War II – Ranger Style
The Man: William Orlando Darby
John Raaen, Jr.
The First of the 1st – Darby’s Rangers
Achnacarry
Dieppe
2nd Army Ranger School
North Africa
TORCH
The Attack – The Rangers’ First Test
St. Cloud – LeMacta
Tunisia
Sened Station
Dernaia Pass
Djebel el Ank – El Guettar
Trained But Not Used – 29th Infantry Division Rangers
3rd and 4th Ranger Battalions Come On Line
Raymond Noel Dye
Sicily and Beyond
Noel Dye
Butera
Italy – The Bloody Boot
Salerno – Maori
Anzio – The End of the Beginning
The Hell of Cisterna
Noel Dye
Darby’s Rangers Spread Their Skills Without Him
Birth of the 2nd and 5th Battalions
Camp Forrest
Rudder – A Short Biography
The Mission – D-Day
Omaha Beach – Dog Red – Dog White – Dog Green – Charlie
Operation Overlord Becomes Reality
Ike Eikner
John Raaen
Charlie Beach – Vierville Draw
Thomas Herring – 5th Ranger Battalion
Was General Norman Cota Responsible For The Phrase, “Rangers Lead The Way?”
Keith Nightingale
Tom Herring
The Assault On Pointe du Hoc
John Raaen
Ike Eikner
Leonard Lomell at the Pointe
Relief Heads For The Pointe
John Raaen
Casualties – D-Day
Frank South – Medic, 2nd Battalion
John Raaen
Maisy
Rest, Then Brest
5th Battalion – Brest Campaign
Lochrist Battery
Edlin’s Patrol Takes The Prize
Saar Campaign – 5th Battalion Trains, Fights, Rests
Hurtgen Forest – Hill 400
Vossenack – Germeter
Bergstein – Castle Hill
2nd and 5th Battalions Invade Germany
Crossing the Rhine
5th Battalion at Irsch-Zerf
Harry Herder
6th Ranger Battalion – Pacific Theater
Henry Mucci – The Story of a Slave-Driving Man
Leyte Gulf Mission
Leo Strausbaugh
Cabanatuan
Robert Prince
Leo Strausbaugh – Mucci Leaves
GALAHAD – 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) – Merrill’s Marauders
The New GALAHAD
Myitkyina, 475th, MARS, and China
Howard Garrison
Korean War History – Ranger Training Center – 1950-51
Birth of the Korean Ranger
The Great Debate
From Center For Military History – TO&E, TDA History
Ranger TO&E 7-87
Korean War Ranger Units
Eighth Army Rangers
Ralph Puckett
Origin and Formation
8 ARCO Speaks – Puckett, Walls, Summers, Cassat, Anderson, Bunn, Ross, et al.
Hill 205
Korean War Airborne Rangers Training and Action
Ranger Infantry Companies (Airborne)
RICA Battle High Points
History – 1st – 15th RICA
Changmal Raid
Al Bukaty
Chipyong-ni
May Massacre
Majori-ri to Chechon
Musan-ni – First Ranger Combat Jump
2nd RICA – Queen, Payne, Allen, Lyles
Bloody Nose Ridge
Musan-ni
Ed McDonough
Hwachon Dam
Hill 383
Objective Sugar
299 Turkey Shoot
Hill 628
Topyong-ni
Who Fought In Korea?
LRP Foundation – Cold War Europe
Mike Martin
Jack Daniel
Steve Melnyk
Bob McMahon
Bill Spies – 157H
V Corps LRRPs to Company A, 75th Infantry (Ranger)
Vietnam
Sacrifice and Success – A New Day for Rangers
White Star – 1959-62
LRRP, LRP, Ranger
Vietnam Ranger Evolution
The First of the First – 1st Brigade, (LRRP), 101st Airborne Division
Company F (LRP), 58th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division
Darol Walker, Division LRP Company First Sergeant
Company L, 75th Infantry (Ranger), 101st Airborne (Airmobile)
Steve Pullen and Robert Suchke
Training and Preparation Influence Mission Outcome
Bob McMahon
LRRP/LRP/Ranger Units of the Vietnam Era
Lineage, Linkage, and Acceptance
Rangers In Non-Ranger Units And As Advisors (Co Van)
Edison Scholes
John (Jack) Daniel
William Spies
Ken Bonnell
Mike Martin
Doug Perry
Earl Singletary
Suchke – My First Mission
Roger McDonald
The Near Miss at Son Tay
Sydnor – Ground Forces Commander – Son Tay Raid
In-Country Training
MACV Recondo
Steve Pullen
Stateside Recondo
Roger McDonald
Earl Singletary
Howard Denton – 82nd Recondo
State-Side Ranger Training During Vietnam
Bill Spies
The Big Jump – War and Peace – And War
Alpha, Bravo and Charlie Companies – Pre-Battalion Days
David Cress
Formation of the 1st Ranger Battalion – 1974
Keith Nightingale – Standing Up A Ranger Battalion
Kenneth Leuer
Ron Rokosz
Bill Spies – Abrams and the Creation of 1st Ranger Battalion TO&E
Steve Hawk
David Hill
Steve Bishop
Eagle Claw – Desert One
Grenada
Brendan “Duke” Durkan
Richmond Hill Prison
Gary Curtis
Securing The Students
Bill Kinsland
Grand Anse
Tragedy At Calvigny Barracks
Perry Doerr
Special Operations – How It All Fits Together
The 75th Ranger Regiment
Ron Rokosz
Keith Antonia
Why Rangers Are Elite
75th Ranger Regiment Honors
Keith Antonia – Changes in Regimental Support Forces and Training
Regimental Reconnaissance Detachment
Wayne Downing – Bio
Wayne Downing
Tools of the Trade – Modern Era
Standard Weapons Systems per battalion
At The Armory – Kazziah, Brown, Burkhead
Panama
Steve Pullen
Rio Hato
Torrijos-Tocumen
Leader of the Pack – Kernan Biography
William “Buck” Kernan
Wayne Downing
Michael Kelso
Keith Antonia – Grenada To Panama
Duke Durkan – MIA
Ed Scholes
Operation Desert Storm
Perry Doerr F/51 LRSC
Rangers In Other Times and Places
Task Force Ranger – Somalia
The Battle of Mogadishu
War In The Middle East
Afghanistan – Operation Enduring Freedom
The First Drop
Order of Battle
Rangers In Operation Anaconda
Takur Ghar
Strykers in Afghanistan
IRAQ
Tony Torres
The Deaths of Odai and Qusai
Brad Bonnell
Rangers Help Rescue POW
How Hot Is Iraq?
The War Is Over, But Not Over
Coalition Support
Ranger School
The Ranger Tab
The Ranger Training Brigade’s Mission
Why Go To Ranger School?
Barry Blackmon
Keith Antonia
Ed Scholes
David Cress
Perry Doerr
Steve Bishop
Doug Perry
Ken Bonnell
Pre-Ranger, RIP, and ROP(e)
Keith Antonia – Ranger Training Elsewhere
Jack Daniel – ROTC Ranger Training
Luca Bertozzo – Italian Ranger
Patrick Corcoran
Three Phase Memories
Ranger School 1972 – City Phase
Howard Denton
Mountain Phase Memories
The Swamp Phase
Jack Daniel
Mountain Ranger Students 2004
Bob McMahon
Earl Singletary
Evolution of Ranger Training Camps
Keith Nightingale
Jack Daniel
Bill Spies – Walking Lanes
John Lange
Daniel Barnes
Doug Perry
OPFOR (Opposing Forces – Aggressors)
Barry Blackmon
Tony Torres
Brian Cunningham
Camp Frank D. Merrill
Johnny Burt 1948-1953
Steve Hawk
Perry C. Doerr
Ken Bonnell
Douglas Flohr and Glenn Legg
Brian Cunningham
Greg Jolin
Steve Bishop
Keith Antonia
Steve Hawk
An Afternoon Raid in North Georgia
General Ranger-Related Information
CSM Kelso – The Top Non-Com of USAIC
Michael Kelso
Bonnells – A Family of Rangers
Brad Bonnell
Mike Martin Marches On
The Black Beret
The History of the Ranger Black Beret By Robert Black
Just How Many Rangers Are There?
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
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