Phantom Warriors

Informationen zum Autor Gary A. Linderer is the publisher of Behind the Lines , a magazine that specializes in U.S. military special operations. In Vietnam he served with the LRPs of the 101st Airborne Division, earning two Silver Stars, the Bronze Star with V device (for valor), the Army Commendation Medal with V device, and two Purple Hearts. Klappentext MORE GRIPPING, NO-HOLDS-BARRED LRRP ACCOUNTS FROM THE FRONT LINES During the Vietnam War, few combat operations were more dangerous than LRRP/Ranger missions. Vastly outnumbered, the patrols faced overwhelming odds as they fought to carry out their missions, from gathering intelligence, acting as hunter/killer teams, or engaging in infamous "Parakeet” flights- actions in which teams were dropped into enemy areas and expected to "develop” the situation. PHANTOM WARRIORS II presents heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat stories from individuals and teams. These elite warriors relive sudden deadly firefights, prolonged gun battles with large enemy forces, desperate attempts to help fallen comrades, and the sheer hell of bloody, no-quarter combat. The LRRP accounts here are a testament to the courage, guts, daring, and sacrifice of the men who willingly faced death every day of their lives in Vietnam.Introduction As a matter of historical importance, the 1982 Veterans Day dedication of the Vietnam Memorial was a time of realization, of opening wounds that had scabbed over in time, but now were bleeding profusely. It was also a time intermixed with extreme joy and pride. I distantly recall now a gathering in Washington, D.C., during the dedication of the memorial in November 1982, when a handful of LRRP, LRP, and Rangers, along with author Lee Lanning and publisher Owen Lock, gathered in a hotel hospitality suite to comfort ourselves with men who had common experiences and to seek refuge from the scores of news reporters lurking about looking for stories. In the course of our impromptu meeting we recalled fallen teammates, both American and Vietnamese, and courage and moral resolve under tremendously trying circumstances. We also spoke of the courage and ability of the North Vietnamese Army, Viet Cong, and Warsaw Pact counterparts who faced us, serving as the measure of the danger, daring, and resolve we contested as members of LRRP/Ranger units, lest we be delusional in our chest beating and paint a fantasy picture of extremes that would for the most part be untrue to what really took place. I was grateful for this, for, as a Sicangu Lakota Kit Fox soldier, it had been a long-standing tradition in the Tokala Society to recognize your enemy and his courage as a measure of your own ability and courage. A long-dead Sicangu Tokala elder once said, "If you cannot respect your enemy as your equal, how can you respect yourself?” However, over Jack Daniels, copious rum and Cokes, and sundry drinks, a consensus was reached among us former LRRPs, LRPs and Rangers: we needed a formal organization, an organization capable of representing and substantiating our combined historical experiences. In relation to this organization, a conduit would be needed to give our folks the opportunity to tell their stories, not in the manner of the clinical, official, military unit histories and after-action reports, but more in the form of individual and team oral histories based on accurate recollection of their missions. One of the chief drivers behind all of this was 101st Airborne Division LRRP/Ranger veteran Kenn Miller, whose influence among us grew out of his LRRP experience and his extremely well-received novel based on it, Tiger the LRRP Dog. Inspired by Miller's book and the advice of Owen Lock, Lee Lanning, and some of the boys who were lawyers, we were reminded by those gathered in that hospitality suite that organization and media are and were important in telling our story. Armed with this...

Product details

• Authors: Gary Linderer, Gary A. Linderer
• Publisher: Presidio Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 03.04.2001
• EAN: 9780804119405
• ISBN: 978-0-8041-1940-5
• No. of pages: 400
• Dimensions: 107 mm x 175 mm x 27 mm
• Series: Phantom Warriors; Phantom Warriors
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book