Rating: 
Summary: Wish I could buy in hardcover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I have 2 copies in softcover. But man as good as this book is, it should {always} be available in hardcover, always and forever! Books like this deserve to be in hardcover so they will always be guaranteed to last for years and years for :all americans" to learn about these caring , brave and men above men who always put their lives on the line and cared for one another, and our great country; so that you and i may be here {free} and well today! If we all acted and cared as these fine men did, our country wouldnt be in the termoil its in today. if we were all like them, the men of sog; respect for one another, our country and freedom would always prevail in this fine country of ours. Theyll never be another "fine" group of men in any generation; like the brave /fine warriors of SOG!
Rating:
Summary: Your are still the best Mr Plaster!
Review: Your book is undoubtedly the best SOG book out there. After also seeing two programs on History Channel on SOG; with you included , told me that there must be some truth here. You were there and were a "true" american hero. I wish I could be the man that you are. Please do more books! Please! respectfully, Tony Pache, Jr. You, all the men of SOG (are) what Americas all about!God Bless you all, now and always! Thanks to you, I can still be alive and free today. best Sog book of all time, a must read over and over again. thats why i have two copies, in case one wears out, ill have a backup its that good.
Rating:
Summary: top of the line
Review: extremely enjoyable book. edge of your seat reading throughout the entire book. unbelieveable accounts revealed here publicly for the first time. a MUST read for ALL Special Operation men. woke up many mornings with this book in my hands!! hats off to all our SOG heroes.
Rating:
Summary: A Fitting Salute For America's Bravest
Review: The late USAF General Bob Russ, Commander of TAC and ACC used to say there are two kinds of class...First Class and No Class! Everything involved with SOG (and this book) is first class. While John Plaster's account of these very brave men is anecdotal it also documents their activities in a level of detail you seldom see. Plaster spares no trouble in providing the names of each and every individual associated with each activity. Which results in a remembrance or memorial for many young soldiers that will never get to see a Super Bowl or smell the flowers in the Spring. The book does a wonderful job of providing a complete story around each and every Medal of Honor that was awarded to the numerous SOG recipients. While there are numerous outcomes in the book that will "break your heart" the saddest for me was the failure of the USAF to support Cavaiani at Outpost Hickory with air support that was available and en-route when ordered home. To all the senior leadership in this country (both civilian and military) with either self-serving or political agendas that resulted in less that 100% support for these brave men throughout all their endeavors..."May you burn in hell". I drank with several of the men mentioned in this book on Hon Tre Island, RVN when the SF used it as an initial in-country training site. They used the barracks and facilities that were vacant after the HAWKs went home. I saluted them then and I continue to have nothing but respect for their deeds and bravery. Now you can sit at home in a comfortable chair and read about these deeds thanks to the efforts of John Plaster. Essential reading for anyone interested in learning about those that went over the fence.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely astounding.
Review: I have ready many books on the war in Vietnam and this is the best book I have ever read. What these Green Berets put themselves through and the sacrifices they made are just unbelievable. It is the kind of stuff you see in a Hollywood movie. I was left dumbfounded. The brave men of these recon teams should be given elite status in this great country. Thank you to all those who served in Vietnam.
Rating:
Summary: Those Gentle Heros You Left Behind
Review: For those who have read this book, my father was a personal friend of Larry Thorne who was MIA in Laos early in the war. He was a very brave Fin who told my father the Soviet Union would never invade Finland because they would have to kill every man woman and child in the country and the cost would not be worth the gain. I also believe the Russians had a price on his head. He came to the house for dinner when I was very young at Ft Bragg. I was unable to put this book down for any length of time. I have read countless books on the Vietnam War and it is easily one of the best. I leave the readers with this poem which I carry in my wallet. Written by Michael Davis O'Donnell who was MIA in Vietnam and listed on the wall. If you are able, save for them a place inside of you... and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go.... Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always .... Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own ... and in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind.
Rating:
Summary: Oustanding inside Look at the war in SE ASIA
Review: An outstanding book which tells the story of very brave men who fought and some died for the cause in SE ASIA. It clearly shows the immense almost stupid restrictions that were imposed on our fighting men by the Johnson Administration, diplomats, and ambassadors for fear of bringing the soviets and/or red chinese directly into the struggle. However, even with the odds clearly stacked against them, these brave SOG warriors kept the aggressor forces off balance for several years and saved countless American and South Vietnamese lives. Right to the end of our involvement in SE ASIA, these men provided valuable intelligence information to Henry Kissinger and peace negotiators in Paris which allowed our regular forces to withdraw without getting their butts shot off. Lots of referenes are made about the Montagnards, the brave ethic Vietnamese that fought the struggle too and were promintently featured in "National Geographic" in 1965. The history and background information describing SOG brass was excellent, these men combat veterans with the OSS in europe, south pacific or korea, guys that knew what their SOG forces were up against. After the first chapter of this book, you the reader, will realize that the exploits described therein are the basis for such movies as the "A Team", "Rambo" and the like, but the book is far better. I highly recommend this book, John Plaster has done an excellent job honoring the few that did so much for so many, yet are mostly still unrecognized even today. Maybe that's the way SOG would have prefered it.
Rating:
Summary: Best SOG account so far...
Review: Books on SOG are thin on the ground, but John Plaster, a SOG Veteran, really delivers the goods here. Loaded up with action, detailing some of the most daring and deadly missions, and profiling the some of more infamous SOG heroes such as MIA Jerry 'Mad Dog' Shriver, this book should quite simply not be missed by those on the trail of the true history of MACV's Studies and Observation Group. An absolutely first-class read.
Rating:
Summary: Accurate, well researched & documented and damn good reading
Review: As a former member of Special Forces serving in RVN, I know many of the soldiers and stories mentioned in this finely researched book. This book is factual about real people and events. For years I had searched for a book of this kind, I just found it by accident a few days ago. Major Plaster, Thank You Sir! CSM, USAR Retired.
Rating:
Summary: These brave men, (SOG) /all vets, deserve utmost respect!
Review: I , when I whine or complain daily, stop, open up Mr. Plaster's book and Photo History book; and think: wow! I am so stupid; I have "no right" whatsoever to ever complain about anything! How we all are today! How lucky I am that I am here in America; never knowing what it would be like to be in a foreign land, fighting for "our great country" or to be a P.O.W.! mR. pLASTER'S BOOKS HELP ME "DAILY" APPRECIATE MY LIFE, FAMILY, AND MY COUNTRY so mush better! The book's by Mr. Plaster helps us to understand just what our men and women had to endure in S.E. ASIA! Yet these (SOG) men goes mant steps further; out on-a-limb; for you and I; risking their lives and limbs to keep us all safe and "free" here, in America on some of the most-dangerous-secret missions ever done during The Vietnam War for our country! If only "we" in today's society could be (true) team players such as these fine-brave men of SOG were; our country wouldn't have the disrespect problem that it has today! We "all" need to go back, read Mr. Plaster's book and photo history; and realize how " truly-really" blessed we "all" are to have had such a "fine-brave-unselfish" units of men like the SOG units; that so-gallantly fought in S.E. Asia in Vietnam War; so that we all might be here, today, free and democratic! Mr. Plaster's work's are; as far as i am concerned; true/definative and complete work's of the SOG units! Can't get any better than this! Thank's Mr. (Major-ret.) Plaster/ SOG! I'd give anything to someday be able to meet "all" you brave men in person, GOD BLESS YOU ALL! Much respect!
|
