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