On This Day Special Forces A -Camp at Thuong Duc Defended

The U.S. Army Special Forces built a number of camps to defend South Vietnam from Communist infiltration during the war in Vietnam. These would be manned by a typical Special Forces A-Team and manned by paramilitary Montagnard tribesmen, called camp strikers, in the Civilian Irregular Defense Program (CIDG). Special Forces camp A-109 at Thuong Duc […]

LTC Peter Dewey, OSS, Is the 1st US Soldier Killed in Vietnam, Sept.26, 1945

The United States involvement in Vietnam began long before the 1960s as most U.S. citizens tend to believe. Most don’t know that at the end of World War II, the United States sent several Office Of Strategic Services (OSS) operatives into then French Indochina, to facilitate the release of American pilots. LTC Peter Dewey was […]

5th Special Forces Group, Activated 21 Sep 1961, “The Legion”

On this day during the early 1960s, the 5th SFG (A) was activated at Ft. Bragg, NC. One of the most storied units during the Vietnam War, the 5th SFG has been the vanguard of Special Forces units in Operation Enduring Freedom and during the Global War on Terror. The 5th SFG like all of […]

Green Beret Robert Anspach is Still MIA in Vietnam

There are still men missing in action from the war in Vietnam and for the family of Green Beret MSG Robert Anspach, there is no closure, no grave to visit on Memorial Day, only questions as to when will their husband and father ever come home. Army Sgt. Robert Anspach will forever be 33. Fifty-one […]

Captain Ernest Medina, Commander During My Lai Massacre Dies at 81

When one brings up the Vietnam War, invariably the subject of the My Lai massacre will come to the forefront. And Captain Ernest Medina, the commander of Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry of the 11th Brigade, Americal Division, who conducted the operation was court-martialed for his role in it. Medina was eventually cleared and […]

Special Operations Soldiers Honored in Ceremony at Ft. Bragg

Gary Rose was a Green Beret medic in Vietnam and was recently awarded the Medal of Honor from President Trump for actions he performed in a particularly hazardous and dangerous mission there in 1970. Rose and eight other Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and Psychological Operations troops were honored by being named “distinguished members of the Regiment” […]

My father was always the storyteller

We all hope to lead long, full lives that end quietly, surrounded by our loved ones. That wish permeates throughout our culture, manifesting in everything from marriage vows to “god bless you” after a sneeze — from meaningful gestures to meaningless courtesies. Different words, different blessings, the same longing: just a little bit longer on […]

On This Date in 1954, The French Surrender at Dien Bien Phu

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the culminating piece of the guerrilla war fought between the French and the Viet Minh from 1949 until the garrison was overrun and the French withdrew from the country. After fighting a losing guerrilla war, the French dropped paratroopers and Foreign Legionnaires into Dien Bien Phu, a small […]

The honorary Chinese paratrooper

I received some odd assignments as assistant adjutant of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) in the fall of 1962. I supervised the carving of a large pair of parachute wings out of ice for a formal ball. I ordered the names of officers departing from the Group headquarters engraved on boxes of dessert bronzeware […]

War Story by Jim Morris Is the Definitive Special Forces Book on Vietnam

  This book is dedicated to anybody whoever died for something he believed in, whether he was right or not. The difference between a fairy tale and a war story, is that a fairy tale starts out with “Once upon a time,” and a war story starts out with, “This is no shit.” Before you […]

Book Review: SOG Chronicles by John Stryker Meyer

This is the most horrendous combat story I have ever read. Just to put that in contest I have read about 1500 of them, in the course of editing around 200 and writing seven. I have heard but not read two that rival it, either on the phone or leaning on a bar. I mention […]