Sog: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam

Sog: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam
by John L. Plaster

Sog: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam
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Book Summary Information

Author: John L. Plaster
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2010-09-07
ISBN: 045123118X
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: NAL Trade

Book Reviews of Sog: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam

Book Review: All the guts without the glory.
Summary: 4 Stars

Very well written account of SOG's birth and development into the most feared fighting force put into Vietnam. Small, heavily armed reconnaissance teams dropped way behind enemy lines into Cambodia, Laos and North Vietnam who's missions were to extract downed pilots, gather intelligence or snatch enemy prisoners.

John L. Plaster recounts mission stories for us as told to him by those who were the main protagnosit of the story, and/or, eye witness accounts by those men also on the mission. He uses plain language and recounts the stories as best he can given the sources. He doesn't try to paint a picture of invincibility around the Green Berets but more tries to relay to us the circumstances under which these men operated.

Always outnumbered, always in the enemy's back yard, these men volunteered time after time to put themselves into almost suicidal situations to rescue a buddy, American or indigenous, and bring him back to safety. Awesome heroism and brotherhood.

Plaster breaks the book up by chapters detailing the evolution of SOG in Vietnam then, by chapters, he details the missions by their code names, "Prairie Fire" and "Bright Light" to name just two.

By the very nature of their top secret missions these men had trouble receiving the military awards they were so deserving of. The majority of the missions were, top secret and denied vehemently if compromised thereby making mention of the men and the mission impossible. I feel the men were more about the mission than the medals so, maybe, this technicality was of no great importance to them?

Very well written book with the right amount of detail. These men are all guts for little glory.

Side Note: I was in a coffee shop in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin early in 2011 and I got talking to the owner. We chatted and got to talking about personal interests. I mentioned I loved to read memoirs written by Vietnam Vets and currently I was reading SOG. "Oh" he said, "Do you know the Ballad of the Green Berets"? When I answered in the positive he told me his Uncle was SSgt Barry Sadler the writer/performer of the ballad.

Summary of Sog: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam

Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most secret elite U.S. military unit to serve in the Vietnam War-its very existence denied by the government. Composed entirely of volunteers from such ace fighting units as the Army Green Berets, Air Force Air Commandos, and Navy SEALs, SOG took on the most dangerous covert assignments, in the deadliest and most forbidding theaters of operation.

John L. Plaster, a three-tour SOG veteran, shares the gripping account of SOG's stunning operations behind enemy lines-penetrating heavily- defended North Vietnamese military facilities, holding off mass enemy attacks, and launching daring missions to rescue downed U.S. pilots. From sabotage to espionage to hand-to-hand combat, these are some of the most extraordinary true stories of honor and heroism in the history of the U.S. military.

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