SOG: A Photo History Of The Secret Wars
by John Plaster
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Book Summary Information
Author: John PlasterEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-01-01
ISBN: 1581605978
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Paladin Press
Book Reviews of SOG: A Photo History Of The Secret Wars
Book Review: An Unknown War
Summary: 4 Stars
SOG does not stand for Special Operations Group, rather Studies and Observation Group and for a long time after the Vietnam war the activities of this group were not known to the public despite the high number of bravery awards issued to its members. The authorities were determined to keep its activities secret and all its records and official photographs were ordered to be destroyed.
The author was a member of this group and has set out to detail its history despite the best efforts of the authorities. Many photographs were kept privately contrary to orders and they form the backbone of this book. The author provides the meat through his own knowledge and interviews with other surviving members. The group was comprised mainly of Green Berets Special Forces and their Montangyard allies. Their primary role was surveillance on the Ho Chi Minh trail. Once they had located North Vietnamese supplies moving southwards they called in air strikes.
However a consequence of this role was that small groups of them were in enemy territory surrounded by large groups of Vietnamese regular troops whose orders were to find and eradicate them. The casualty rates were high with a large number of them still listed as Missing in Action. Apart from surveillance the SOG were also responsible for retrieving downed airmen and the attempted PoW rescue at Son Tay. The author also strongly maintains that many of the groups missions were betrayed by a Vietnamese official in the groups command centre. This, the author maintains, was the reason behind the large casualty lists.
The book is published through Paladin Press and this is the source of its biggest problem. Paladin Press publishes manuscripts without much prior editing and editing is what is required. This would have helped the layout of the book and to better present its contents which is somewhat haphazard. Another fault is that the author is obviously, and rightly, proud of the group's achievements but the book would have benefited from a more critical appraisal and a more detailed review of their effectiveness.
Despite these shortcomings the book is a worth addition to the library on the Vietnam war and highlights the incredible bravery of the group whose actions deserve a wider audience.
Summary of SOG: A Photo History Of The Secret Wars
This is the companion photo history to SOG: The Secret Wars of American's Commandos in Vietnam. In 1972 the U.S. military took steps to ensure that such a book could never be printed by destroying all the known photos that existed of the top-secret Studies and Observations Group. But unknown to those in charge, SOG veterans brought back with them hundreds of photographs of SOG in action and kept them secret for more than three decades. More than 700 irreplaceable photos bring to life the stories of SOG legends Larry Thorne, Bob Howard, Dick Meadows, George Sisler, "Q" and others, and documents what really happened deep inside enemy territory: Operation Tailwind, the Son Tay raid, SOG's defense of Khe Sanh, Hatchet Force operations, Bright Light rescues, HALO insertions, string extractions, SOG's darkest programs and much more.Vietnam Books
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