5 comments about 4/4: A LRP's Narrative.

1. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the soldiers perspective during the Vietnam War. To make it even more interesting, the reader is told an account from the mind of a ranger. How anyone could infiltrate enemy territory with just six men is still an enigma to me? These men were nothing more than kids, yet they were given the horrific task of seeking and destroying a people in their own backyard. This is not the first book I have read about Vietnam, and yet I still couldn't put it down.

   To all you Vietnam Vets reading this, you have my utmost respect!




2. Having known hundreds of combat soldiers, dozens of whom were rangers, and having read more than a hundred of their after action debriefings, this is the best no frills account of the LRP war by a member of an elite group. It is from the heart. I could tell he still doesn't exactly understand a few things, and that is what separates this book out for me... This book is essential reading for those who seek simple truths from basic men, as are the books of Tim O'Brien and John Leppelman. Ford's tale is the only one that brought tears to my eyes after all these years.



3. I find this book very imformative. Having been with a LRRP/RANGER (Echo 50/75) I think that the writer lived it, and knew just what he was talking about. Roadrunner6 out



4. This book is a must for those interested in what really happened in LRP units in Vietnam. The bond that existed among these men and the sacrifices they would make for each other was what the LRP's were all about. Mr. Ford is the only credible author to come out of F/51st LRP, and his book, like those of Kenn Miller, Rey Martinez,Kregg Jorgensen and a small handful of others are must reads if you are either a military history buff, or just want to know the truth.



5. Having been the first paltoon to go through training at Nha Thrang with the Special Forces once 51st Infantry LRRP was formed. I can honestly say Gary speaks the truth. Many of the incidents recorded in the book were shared with some of my fellow employees where I work at. To my surprise one afternoon, a friend presented me with a copy of the book. Many things that I had related to him were in the book. I am very glad the book was written. I had no idea that the unit was awarded so many awards for valor.

No comments about War Paint: The 1st Infantry Division's LRP Ranger Company in Fierce Combat in Vietnam.

5 comments about LRRP Company Command: The Cav's LRP/Rangers in Vietnam, 1968-1969.

1. Kregg Jorgenson has written a outstanding tribute and account of the men and C.O of 'Hotel Company' Rangers in LRRP COMPANY COMMAND. Then Captain George Paccerelli was a seasoned Special Forces / SOG combat veteran when he assumed command of the LRRP Company in 1968. Intelligent, devoted to training and caring about the well being of the men that were being sent behind the enemy's lines. You will find this book well written and informative about the ever-changing warfare the LRRP's were employing and adapted to. While reading this book I found very detailed accounts of being in 'the backyard' while the small LRRP teams set up their ambushes, prisoner snatches and intelligence gathering missions. You will come to appreciate these highly trained and heroic soldiers as they dealt death to the enemy on his level. In closing Col. (ret) George Paccerelli was inducted into the 'Ranger Hall of Fame' in 1993. During his speech at the induction he made the statement ' Getting into the Ranger Hall of Fame was easy with the kind of caliber of people I had in that company, I was very fortunate and the honor is very much theirs as it is mine.' This alone says something about what an outstanding person this man is. Where will you find this retired Colonel today? Having earned a Ph.D. he teaches History at a Community College.



2. Good reading(listening). The Real stuff. Very well read. This will take you in to the realm of true warriors.



3. "In a war zone, things never go bump in the night; they go BOOM!" That pretty much says it all with regards to Kregg's finely written tribute to Captain George Paccerelli and the LRRPs of Company E, 52d Infantry. Better keep your head down as you read this intensive tale of LRRP-style warfare. Those green tracers cracking over your head have your name on them! I got to know and admire Paccerelli for his tough, no-nonsense approach to building his LRRPs into a highly-effective, elite reconaissance unit that could fight the enemy on his own terms and win. Kregg doesn't embellish events. He gets down to the nitty-gritty and tells it like it is. This book will go on the shelf in my classroom for my high school students to read and write book reports on. Eminently readable, packed with action, and studded with truly unforgettable characters, Kregg's book stands out as a great antidote to the liberal media's hateful degradation of Vietnam vets as subhuman dopers bent on raping and pillaging hapless civilians. "LRRP Company Command" will help dispel that ugly myth for my students.



4. Kregg Jorgenson has done it again.
   
   This is his latest work about his own unit, H company of the 1 cav divison
   
   Kregg is a very skilled historian, and this show in this book, it is clear that Kregg has done his homework on this one
   
   By far right, many pages are spend on military leadership is defines by one of the greatest LRP company comanders the vietnam war has seen, Capt G Paccerelli
   
   Go buy this book, its a smashing read
   
   Bo Hermansen
   Denmark



5. I bought this book because I knew the man that it is about. I wanted to have this book in my collection, and to read how his story was presented. I have not read the entire book but it is a good book. It is what I expected it would be.

5 comments about Phantom Warriors: Book I: LRRPs, LRPs, and Rangers in Vietnam.

1. I have read all of this author's books and found them all well written and captivating in description of the horrors of war, the brotherhood of warriors and the rise of ordinary American young men to heroic deeds in the face of a determined enemy. As an eye witness to some of the events described I find some of those all too captivating in their reality and accuracy. I consider it my extreme good fortune to have known the author both as dedicated warrior and true American patriot, who after leaving the Army has used his experiences in offering a strong hand or a sympathetic shoulder to any other veteran in need. Unfortunately, there is one veteran whose choice was to return that hand with teeth marks in it. This veteran, fancying himself as a modern day Oliver Twist frequently posts reviews laden with inaccurate and irrelevant staff duty logs as evidence that the actions on 20 Nov 68 never happened or are distorted fantasies created Gary Linderer. He often identifies himself as "a reader" or with handles like Mark Twain "Joy", but never his real name and all his facts Oliver Twisted. If Linderer fantasized the action of 20 Nov 68 it surely was a mass hallucination, taking in some 30 pilots, the Company Commander and even Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division all who actually there that day Oliver. The dream was so realistic that team members and reaction force soldiers can still show one the scars inflicted by this author's imagination. It also took in an unknown, but clearly large number of enemy soldiers who spent the better part of ten hours trying to shoot me out of the sky every time I went near that hill. Maybe I just imagined myself in a very large hornets nest, but the difference was that I was there that day and Mr. Reader was not. Reader questions the author's awards, but fails to mention that the U.S. Army saw fit to hand out dozen of valorous awards for that action that included two Distinguished Service Crosses. I visited the author in the hospital the next day so I am convinced that he earned a Purple Heart that day whether it made it into his records or not. Have your mommy read you Mr. Dickens work again, you may discover that Oliver did get what he wanted when he asked for, "More please."



2. The following is stated on the cover of Gary Linderer's books: "Gary A. Linderer is the publisher of `Behind the Lines,' a magazine that specializes in U.S. military special operations. In Vietnam, he earned two Silver Stars, the Bronze Star with V device (for Valor), the Army Commendation Medal with V device, and two Purple Hearts. His first two books were selected by the Military Book Club."
   
   Gary Linderer has consistently claimed to have earned two Silver Stars and two Purple Hearts, all for the same day's combat in Vietnam, on 20 November 1968. He used these high honors to enhance his professional reputation and credibility as an author and his fitness to be consulted as an expert on LRP operations. Records I obtained in 2000 by FOIA request from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO., refute Mr. Linderer's claims of two Silver Stars and two Purple Hearts for the same day's combat actions of 20 November 1968. Because Mr. Linderer has lied about his medals, according to the NPRC records, then readers have to view everything Mr. Linderer writes in his book with a skeptical eye. The text of Linderer's NPRC record is as follows:
   
   National Personnel Records Center Military Personnel Records
   9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100
   OFFICIAL LIST OF AWARDS The Official Military Records of GARY A. LINDERER [SSN removed] show that he is authorized the following awards and decorations for his service in the US Army:
   
   SILVER STAR
   BRONZE STAR MEDAL W/FIRST OAK LEAF CLUSTER AND "V" ARMY COMMENDATION MEDAL
   W/FIRST OAK LEAF CLUSTER AIR MEDAL
   GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL NATIONAL DEFENSE
   SERVICE MEDAL
   VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL W/4 BRONZE SERVICE STARS
   COMBAT INFANTRYMAN BADGE
   REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM CAMPAIGN RIBBON W/DEVICE (1960)
   REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM GALLANTRY CROSS W/PALM UNIT CITATION BADGE SHARPSHOOTER
   BADGE W/RIFLE & MACHINE GUN BARS EXPERT BADGE W/AUTO RIFLE BAR
   ////////NOTHING FOLLOWS/////////////
   R. L. HINDMAN,
   
   Director



3. At first i was a bit amazed by the cheap thin papers of this book and wasn't quite sure what to except from it all.
   
   True combat stories of Vietnam, and that is exactly what it is. This book is filled with action. Action so real that your skin will crawl, and you will get chills when reading it.
   
   Unreal action stories combined with sometimes humorous moments, and off course the unimaginable things done during warfare.



4. He was anxious to get them, and now he says they were everything he hoped for. He is enjoying them.



5. This is an excellent account of the Long Range Patrol teams in Viet Nam (abbreviated LRP and later LRRP and pronounced "Lurp"). These guys were inserted by helicopter into enemy areas to gather intelligence, snatch prisoners, ambush the enemy, call in artillery or air strikes. Since a normal team was six men, they were always vastly outnumbered and in mortal danger if discovered. Their bravery and heroism is legendary, and they achieved successes far out of proportion to their numbers. This book, part of a series of three, tells the stories of individual patrol missions factually but dramatically. All three are great reads.

5 comments about Six Silent Men, Book Two (101st Lrp/Rangers).

1. A GREAT SECOND STEP IN THE TELLING OF THE LRP ROLE IN VIETNAM FROM ONE WHO WAS THERE. KEN MILLER TELLS THE STORY IN THE THIRD PERSON SO YOU DON'T GET THE "I DID THIS AND I DID THAT" NARRATION WHICH GETS OLD.



2. This is a great book, Kenn Miller is the LRP with one of the higest number of missions in Vietnam...he know what it was like, he has been there, done that
   
   An exelent read, gives a very accurate account about what happend on the 20 of November 1968 and there by rames a spike in the rubbish that a certain Seattle resident has been whining about, " the army record does not match what is written in several vietnam books, so there for Gary Linderer, Larry Chambers, Kenn Miller, WT Grant and Bill Meacham must be fake and they make all the other veterans not like me, bu-hu huh hu, where is my wife's apron so I can hide"
   
   Miller....you are one of my Hero's



3. Read a memoir by a general and then read Six Silent Men. You'll see the difference right away. Nobody is holding back here, and nobody is trying to let anybody off the hook. This is volume two of three, a series that covers the entire life of the unit from activation to stand down. There is no self-serving BS anywhere in any of them. The words that come to mind are honor, honesty, and guts. Somebody once said Vietnam was a "war without heroes." They just weren't looking.



4. Where Book 1 was filled with mission information which was interesting reading, Book 2 is disappointing for the lack of the same energy. Book 2 just plods along. One problem with the Kindle version is that there are many spelling errors; "the" becomes "die", etc. This is probably due to the conversion process into the Kindle format, but it caused the flow to be very awkward. Didn't finish the book.



5. Ever since reading Gary Linderer's "The Eye's Of the Eagle", I have become very interested in LRRP action in Vietnam. I read both Linderer's book's on his tour in Vietnam and the three book series, "Six Silent Men". Out of the three books in the series this book is the weakest link. But it is still a great book that is well written but just not as well written as book one and certainly not as good as book three. It doesn't have the action and detail the other two have. But if you have any intrest in the LRRP's, I suggest this series of books and both books by Linderer.

5 comments about Six Silent Men...Book Three (101st Lrp/Rangers) (Book 3).

1. The 101st Screaming Eagles LRRP/Ranger Company in Vietnam helped set the legacy of all LRRP/Ranger operations in the war. Since there were no 75th Ranger Battalions in existance at the time each of the separate 13 LRRP/Ranger companies that were attached to Division or Field Force units did the dangerous and grueling work of establishing the foundation for the later battalions one mission at a time.
   What is remarkable and admirable is the teamwork that authors (and LRRP/Ranger veterans) Gary Linderer, Kenn Miller and Rey Martinez performed in turning out this excellent three book series.
   Gone are the egos of 'I did this or that' and in its place comes a carefully researched history of their unit that spotlights the company over the course of the war.
   The pen may be mightier than the sword but these authors were adept with each and they easily cut through the years to get to the heart of the Screaming Eagles soldiers who added to the Division's long list of accomplishments. And as I said they helped set the foundation for the 75th Ranger battalions that followed.
   The Army owes a debt to combat Ranger operations.



2. Before I start it must be pointed out that Gary Linderer is a man whom the USA own alot, still he is being attacked here on Amazon by a man few understands, this "man" must have some kind of inferiority complex and/or just plain old envy, he has posted his balony gibberish on every review ever written on Gary Linderer, Gary Linderer is bonafied Hero, he deserves the thanks and gratitude from everybody in the free world, not getting smeared by some village idiot.
   Please take no notish on this, just as you newer would listen to the village idiot
   
   Gary Linderer has written the last part of the thrilogy about the 101 airborne Divisons LRRP companys
   The author start out just as the company has changed name, with a penstroke F company 58 INF became L comapny 75 Ranger regiment, It was the straightleg general "Tanker" Abrams who masterminded this, perhaps he thought that making the LRRP's Rangers would make them more "manageble".... boy did he think wrong.
   The Book tell the story about the LRRP/Rangers all the way up to the 101 Airborne was pulled home from Vietnam
   Its a smashing good read, Gary Linderer has clearly done his home research.
   Go buy it, you will not regret it !!!
   
   Once more for the undestandingly challenged, Don't listen to the village idiot !!!
   
   Bo
   Denmark



3. One is good, two is better and three is just what he wanted. He asked for them several times and now he is enjoying. Very good reading in this threesome set



4. Well written and obviously well researched. I enjoyed the book very much. Only complaint involves proof-reading of the Kindle version. The text is riddled with misspelled words, random use of parenthesis, no close perenthesis, random symbols instead of letters of the words. Example: the word the is repeatedly printed as die throughout the book. Many times a slick was referred to as a suck. This is, in the least, annoying and takes time to try to translate some of the words. Don't know who to fault for this but I really enjoyed the book and the stories of the LRP and LRRP, and Rangers. Some of the bravest and the best. I am going to purchase the previous volumes at a later date and hope they do not have the same problem.



5. This is a very good book. Very desciptive. It's a tradegy of how war affects people. These soldiers are very brave. I love how the book was written

5 comments about Six Silent Men (101st Lrp/Rangers).

1. This book is very informative, and includes the accounts of various LRRPs who served in the LRRPs of the 101st. This is excellent, as you get different views on the experiences. If you are interested in the LRRPs of Vietnam, then this is one you should definately add to your collection!



2. THE THIRD OF THE THREE BOOKS TELLING THE STORY OF THE LRP'S ROLE IN THE VIETNAM WAR. TOLD BY ONE WHO WAS THERE FOR MORE THAN ONE TOUR. GO ON PATROL, FEEL THE TENSION AND EXPERIENCE THE FEAR AND EXCITEMENT OF COMBAT. A GREAT READ!!



3. Martinez writes about the early years of the LRRPs in Vietnam; about formation and transformation of the unit and their training and equipment. Furthermore the book is filled with dozens of accounts of LRRP missions. From observation missions to kidnap missions etc. These accounts come from a nummber of ex-LRRPs who Martinez interviewed and from the author who was a LRRP himself. Result is a book full of interesting facts and stories full of heroism, action, drama, humor or whatsoever.



4. This is a great book written about war and comraderie. The stories are riveting and the bond between these brothers is something I miss to this day.



5. The book is interesting reading. The story does jump around a bit being told by different guys point of view but it's easy to follow.