Only The Light Moves

Only The Light Moves PDF Author: Francis A Doherty
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1399057057
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Only the Light Moves tells the story of a twenty-four-year-old US Army pilot who volunteered to fly covert S.O.G., or Studies and Observations Group, reconnaissance missions over the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a region that came to represent not only the United States’ war with Vietnam, but also the “secret war” with Laos and Cambodia. But this is not simply a war story; it is a love story about flying. Captain Francis A. Doherty spent every day for ten months above the jungle battlefield in a Cessna O-1 Bird Dog. The first all-metal fixed-wing aircraft ordered for and by the United States Army following the Army Air Forces' separation from it in 1947, the single-engine Bird Dog was a liaison and observation aircraft. And for this role, it was completely unarmed. It was from the cockpit of a Bird Dog that Captain Doherty observed this illusive war, perhaps searching out enemy troop movements or calling down waiting F-4 Phantoms to strike a new target. It was a war in which he followed his father’s footsteps in his dream to become a pilot, and where he learned a compassion that extended both to his comrades and the civilians caught in the middle of that terrible war. In Only the Light Moves Captain Doherty only reveals the highs and lows of his year at war in Vietnam but expands beyond his time in the conflict. He explores the emotional struggle he and his comrades faced after they returned home, reconciliations with lost faith, and the incredible impact of war on families. We are also given an insight into Francis’ subsequent journey to becoming a commercial airline pilot. His story makes no effort to glorify the violence that took the lives of so many. There are no broad stroke proclamations about the war, only a very personal, sensitive account of a terrible conflict seen through the eyes of a then young pilot in the air, illuminating the reality and the cost of when one's country decides to go to war.

Only The Light Moves

Only The Light Moves PDF Author: Francis A Doherty
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1399057057
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Get Book Here

Book Description
Only the Light Moves tells the story of a twenty-four-year-old US Army pilot who volunteered to fly covert S.O.G., or Studies and Observations Group, reconnaissance missions over the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a region that came to represent not only the United States’ war with Vietnam, but also the “secret war” with Laos and Cambodia. But this is not simply a war story; it is a love story about flying. Captain Francis A. Doherty spent every day for ten months above the jungle battlefield in a Cessna O-1 Bird Dog. The first all-metal fixed-wing aircraft ordered for and by the United States Army following the Army Air Forces' separation from it in 1947, the single-engine Bird Dog was a liaison and observation aircraft. And for this role, it was completely unarmed. It was from the cockpit of a Bird Dog that Captain Doherty observed this illusive war, perhaps searching out enemy troop movements or calling down waiting F-4 Phantoms to strike a new target. It was a war in which he followed his father’s footsteps in his dream to become a pilot, and where he learned a compassion that extended both to his comrades and the civilians caught in the middle of that terrible war. In Only the Light Moves Captain Doherty only reveals the highs and lows of his year at war in Vietnam but expands beyond his time in the conflict. He explores the emotional struggle he and his comrades faced after they returned home, reconciliations with lost faith, and the incredible impact of war on families. We are also given an insight into Francis’ subsequent journey to becoming a commercial airline pilot. His story makes no effort to glorify the violence that took the lives of so many. There are no broad stroke proclamations about the war, only a very personal, sensitive account of a terrible conflict seen through the eyes of a then young pilot in the air, illuminating the reality and the cost of when one's country decides to go to war.

Legacy of Lies: Over the Fence in Laos

Legacy of Lies: Over the Fence in Laos PDF Author: Henry G. Gole
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781929932412
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
In a war that was already lost, there was a small group of dedicated soldiers who refused to quit. Operating from camps in places like Kontum and Dak To, Special Forces recon men risked their lives behind enemy lines on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos and Cambodia, conducting missions whose detection often meant death or something worse.Officially, they did not exist. Their government denied that they were operating in "neutral" countries; Hanoi denied the very existence of the Trail. If killed or captured in Laos or Cambodia, the Green Berets would be reported MIA or KIA-in Vietnam. They fought for each other and for their honor as soldiers.It is 1970. The United States Government is seeking a way out of the war "with honor" via a face-saving program called "Vietnamization." This is the story of the fate of the recon men and the missions they conducted while highly skilled and motivated NVA hunter-killer teams pursued them on the enemy's home turf.A recon team discovers a choke point on the enemy's line of communication. For every day the Trail is blocked, enemy support of forces in the south is set back a month, giving South Vietnam a leg up. The special operators in Kontum are given the mission to do just that.There is a rub; the American president and his government must have "plausible deniability." Therein lies the legacy of lies."Very few authors have captured the action, intrigue and backstory of the secret missions as well as Colonel Gole does in 'Legacy of Lies.' A must read for those seeking the precursor to today's military support to sensitive activities." -Michael S. Repass, Major General, US Army (Retired) Special Forces"Gole's novel is Fantastic! The best part, the top to bottom approach-from the White House, JCS, CINCPAC, MACV, down through SOG, right to the One-Zero firing tracers to mark his position for Covey." -Colonel, USAF, (Ret) Tom Yarborough, author and decorated Covey pilot for SO

Vagabonds

Vagabonds PDF Author: Nick Brokhausen
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612009964
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Two ex-Green Berets recount their missions after two decades in Special Forces, from running counter-terrorism training to rescuing kidnap victims & more. A lot of confusion, a lot of humor, a lot of broken dreams and broken promises, an occasional triumph . . . 1978—A chance meeting on a remote military airbase between two Green Berets involved in the same operation leads to a partnership that will last over forty years. Four years after that meeting, Nick Brokhausen and Jeff Miller leave the service within a few weeks of each other and begin an odyssey that takes them to dozens of countries on five continents. Along with a small coterie of fellow former Special Operations and intelligence community veterans like Penguini, Max, Reek, The Spider Woman, and a score of others—some heroes and some villains—they undertake a variety of missions for the government, other governments, large multinational corporations mostly in the aerospace or resource development industries, and occasionally just for suffering individuals who cannot find help anywhere else. In the process they lay the groundwork for an entire new industry of private military contractors. Two men sadly just a bit ahead of their time. Every episode in this book actually happened. Not always precisely as described herein, but close. Changes have been made sometimes to make the narrative flow more smoothly, some to obfuscate events that might be flirting with classification issues . . . Names have been changed, not always to protect the innocent. But the underlying story is, for the most part, the reality as they lived it. “A fascinating account of an extraordinary series of adventures.” —Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International

Dawson's War

Dawson's War PDF Author: B. Marshall
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
"Other than getting a lot of people killed, it doesn't seem like we're accomplishing much. What are we doing this for?" Dawson asked. "That's why our operations are classified for twenty years." the Major replied. "By the time your kids are grown and you can tell them what you did, I'm sure they'll have come up with something." Alan Dawson did not want to go to war. But circumstances drew him closer and closer, until finally, he is thrust into Vietnam's most dangerous missions. Surviving a determined enemy was difficult. Surviving the incompetence of command often proved impossible. Fast-paced action from perilous missions behind enemy lines, to the brothels of Saigon, creates a page-turner you won't put down. The characters are so genuine and ultimately decent, you'll miss them long after you finish Dawson's War. The hoped they were contributing to the war effort. little did they know they were creating a legend. Inspired by the daring exploits of the Green Berets of MACV-SOG. HISTORICAL FICTION IS THE LIE THROUGH WHICH WE LEARN THE TRUTH

Unconventional Warfare (Special Forces, Book 1)

Unconventional Warfare (Special Forces, Book 1) PDF Author: Chris Lynch
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 0545861632
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
"All the sizzle, chaos, noise and scariness of war is clay in the hands of ace storyteller Lynch." -- Kirkus Reviews for the World War II series Discover the secret missions behind America's greatest conflicts.Danny Manion has been fighting his entire life. Sometimes with his fists. Sometimes with his words. But when his actions finally land him in real trouble, he can't fight the judge who offers him a choice: jail... or the army.Turns out there's a perfect place for him in the US military: the Studies and Observation Group (SOG), an elite volunteer-only task force comprised of US Air Force Commandos, Army Green Berets, Navy SEALS, and even a CIA agent or two. With the SOG's focus on covert action and psychological warfare, Danny is guaranteed an unusual tour of duty, and a hugely dangerous one. Fortunately, the very same qualities that got him in trouble at home make him a natural-born commando in a secret war. Even if almost nobody knows he's there.National Book Award finalist Chris Lynch begins a new, explosive fiction series based on the real-life, top-secret history of US black ops.

Going Back to Bisbee

Going Back to Bisbee PDF Author: Richard Shelton
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 9780816512898
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
The author shares his fascination with a distinctive corner of the country--Bisbee, Arizona--with a narrative that reflects the history of the area, the beauty of the landscape, and his own life

Secret Commandos

Secret Commandos PDF Author: John L. Plaster
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439142475
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
Major John L. Plaster recalls his remarkable covert activities as a member of a special operations team during the Vietnam War in a “comprehensive, informative, and often exciting…account of an important part of the overall Vietnam tragedy” (The New York Times). Before there were Navy SEALs, there was SOG. Short for “Studies and Operations Group,” it was a secret operations force in Vietnam, the most highly decorated unit in the war. Although their chief mission was disrupting the main North Vietnamese supply route into South Vietnam, SOG commandos also rescued downed helicopter pilots and fellow soldiers, and infiltrated deep into Laos and Cambodia to identify bombing targets, conduct ambushes, mine roads, and capture North Vietnamese soldiers for intelligence purposes. Always outnumbered, they matched wits in the most dangerous environments with an unrelenting foe that hunted them with trackers and dogs. Ten entire teams disappeared and another fourteen were annihilated. This is the dramatic, page-turning true story of that team’s dedication, sacrifice, and constant fight for survival. In the “gripping” (Publishers Weekly) Secret Commandos, John Plaster vividly describes these unique warriors who gave everything fighting for their country—and for each other.

The Praetorian STARShip : the untold story of the Combat Talon

The Praetorian STARShip : the untold story of the Combat Talon PDF Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428990437
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 507

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Book Description
Jerry Thigpen's study on the history of the Combat Talon is the first effort to tell the story of this wonderfully capable machine. This weapons system has performed virtually every imaginable tactical event in the spectrum of conflict and by any measure is the most versatile C-130 derivative ever produced. First modified and sent to Southeast Asia (SEA) in 1966 to replace theater unconventional warfare (UW) assets that were limited in both lift capability and speed the Talon I quickly adapted to theater UW tasking including infiltration and resupply and psychological warfare operations into North Vietnam. After spending four years in SEA and maturing into a highly respected UW weapons system the Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) chose the Combat Talon to lead the night low-level raid on the North Vietnamese prison camp at Son Tay. Despite the outcome of the operation the Talon I cemented its reputation as the weapons system of choice for long-range clandestine operations. In the period following the Vietnam War United States Air Force (USAF) special operations gradually lost its political and financial support which was graphically demonstrated in the failed Desert One mission into Iran. Thanks to congressional supporters like Earl Hutto of Florida and Dan Daniel of Virginia funds for aircraft upgrades and military construction projects materialized to meet the ever-increasing threat to our nation. Under the leadership of such committed hard-driven officers as Brenci Uttaro Ferkes Meller and Thigpen the crew force became the most disciplined in our Air Force. It was capable of penetrating hostile airspace at night in a low-level mountainous environment covertly to execute any number of unconventional warfare missions.

Apollo's Warriors

Apollo's Warriors PDF Author: Michael E. Haas
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 9780788149832
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
Presenting a fascinating insider's view of U.S.A.F. special operations, this volume brings to life the critical contributions these forces have made to the exercise of air & space power. Focusing in particular on the period between the Korean War & the Indochina wars of 1950-1979, the accounts of numerous missions are profusely illustrated with photos & maps. Includes a discussion of AF operations in Europe during WWII, as well as profiles of Air Commandos who performed above & beyond the call of duty. Reflects on the need for financial & political support for restoration of the forces. Bibliography. Extensive photos & maps. Charts & tables.

A Glorious Nightmare

A Glorious Nightmare PDF Author: Gamble Dick
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN: 9781689138604
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
A Vietnam veteran shares the story of his first tour to the jungles of Vietnam. What began as a short letter to his grandchildren evolved into a book chronicling his experiences as a Special Forces (Green Beret) soldier and honoring those who so gallantly fought beside him. Join Gamble in the jungle and get a firsthand look into a true life of a Green Beret in Vietnam.