Plaster - Secret commandos: behind enemy lines with the elite warriors of SOG

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Praise for SOG A Military Book Club Main Selection

Unbiased and sober... reveals an astonishing record of valor and sacrifice... the most compelling account of the missions to date.... An engrossing and thoroughly exciting account of this unknown aspect of the Vietnam War.

Library Journal

Some of the achievements [Plaster] limns would be rejected by the editors of action-filled war novels, but it is time that theyand the men, living and dead, who performed themare properly chronicled.... Indispensable.

Booklist

A combat-heavy, laudatory accounting of the SOGs little-known role in the Vietnam War.... Those action-filled accounts are based on the authors personal war-zone experiences and on interviews he conducted with dozens of former SOG operatives.... The most comprehensive examination of widespread covert American actions during the Vietnam War.

Kirkus Reviews

The enormous contribution of SOG in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos is a story that needs to be told.

Henry Kissinger

SOG played an important role during our operations against the communist enemy in Vietnam. SOG is a superb and compelling account of their dedication and heroism.

Gen. William C. Westmoreland, U.S. Army (Ret.)

At last, a quarter century after their top-secret deeds, we can recognize the Vietnam Wars greatest unsung heroes, SOGs covert warriors. The dramatic true stories in SOG fill a major gap in special operations history.

Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub, U.S. Army (Ret.)

A magnificent book of enormous power and a milestone in the literature of special operations. SOG is an excellent account of secret warriors who gave their all for country, for mission, and for each other.

Col. Robert Howard, Medal of Honor Winner, the Vietnam Wars Most Highly Decorated Soldier

Authoritative and insightful... does much to illuminate this frequently misunderstood group and its extraordinary participants.... A true insiders account, this eye-opening report will leave readers feeling as if theyve been given a hot scoop on a highly classified project.

Publishers Weekly

ALSO BY JOHN L. PLASTER

SOG: A Photo History of the Secret Wars

SOG: The Secret Wars of Americas Commandos in Vietnam

The Ultimate Sniper: An Advanced Training

Manual for Military and Police Snipers

A book containing this amount of detail is possible only with the generous assistance of many people, especially fellow SOG veterans. The names of those I interviewed will be found in the text, and I sincerely thank all of them. Many others helped, too, including Steve Sherman, whose voluminous SOG files aided in confirming many facts; Jack Kull likewise helped me find declassified annual SOG reports; Roxanne Merritt, director of Fort Braggs JFK Special Warfare Museum, was helpful, as always; Joe Caver, director of the USAF Historical Research Agency archives at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, responded to my every request; Jimmy Dean of the Special Forces Association helped me find old comrades, as did my old SOG recon friend, Brendan Lyons; during repeated trips to Fort Bragg, former One-Zero Ron Knight and his wife, Sandra, opened their home to me; CCN Hatchet Force veteran Chuck Pfeifer did likewise when I visited New York City; Cathy Chance spent hundreds of hours transforming my taped interviews into useful transcriptions; photo credits accompany each picture, but for these I especially thank SOG veterans Frank Greko and Ted Wicorek, along with photo technicians Roger Kennedy, Charles Farrow, and Douglas Black; my editor at Simon & Schuster, Robert Bender, never wavered in his support, encouraging me at the moments when I most needed it; and, of course, my lovely bride, Gail, provided inspiration. I must also acknowledge some unknown peoplethe helicopter crewmen, fighter pilots, and Forward Air Controllers who braved enemy fire to extract me and my teams from sometimes grave situations. Without them this book would not exist.

To todays U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers, who continue the great tradition of MACV-SOG

Larry Trimble held the pen and pad, sitting there in the Bamboo Lounge with his recon buddies, Jim Lamotte and Ricardo Davis. Theyd been drinking most of the day and felt the glibness that comes with alcohol. But they still werent getting it quite right.

On a week-long break between missions behind enemy lines on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, this afternoon the three Green Berets reckoned it was time their unit, SOG, had a mottobut it had to say it just right, had to capture the flavor of taking on deadly risks to bring back intelligence under circumstances some people might find suicidal. It was hard to explain, even to themselves, the euphoria after each mission, and the gamblers daring that stirred them to go again. Camaraderie held them together, for there was no fanfare for their covert actions. It had to say that, too.

As the night mellowed and the balls of discarded paper piled up, they almost had ita few more changes, then, yes! That was it, that explained it! Larry Trimble read it aloud:

Youve never lived till youve almost died.

For those who fight for it,

Life has a flavor

The protected will never know.

Lamotte and Davis agreed. It was perfect.

I have fought a good fight,

I have finished my course,

I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:7

There was a chill in the northern Wisconsin air, that October afternoon of 1998. Bayfield Countys apple harvest was underway, and colorful leaves converted my roadway into a sublime cathedral through which I drove to the Iron River post office. On Main Street, I waved to neighbors who as readily waved back. Inside her tiny office, the postal clerk, Peggy, handed me a small package.

Postmarked, Quantico, Virginia, it was from FBI Special Agent Barry Subelsky, a friend andlike mea former Green Beret. This was curiousI hadnt expected anything from Barry. After an hour running errands, I drove home with the box on the seat beside me. Retrieving it from my truck, I opened it to find an old cassette tape and Barrys note: John, heres a recording of radio messages, apparently a recon team in trouble in Laos. Where and when isnt certain.

Hed recently found the tape among some forgotten Vietnam War memorabilia. Barry couldnt remember how he got it. Maybe you can tell from the jargon, he continued, if this was SOG, meaning the Studies and Observations Group, which ran top secret missions along the Laotian Ho Chi Minh Trail. Hed been stationed at Ben Het, a remote camp near the border, so that was entirely possible.