Papa Bravo Romeo: U.S. Navy Patrol Boats at War in Vietnam Review

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(More customer reviews)Wynn Goldsmith's memoir has interesting personal insights and stories. Seeing the brown water navy from the point of view of junior officer provides for an exceptional perspective. Perhaps the BEST PART of this book is what he does to counter a popular myth that has been perpetuated by recent trends in publishing. Mr. Goldsmith contends that too much has been made of the contribution of SEALs to the TF116 effort. Based on historical numbers of personnel and operations conducted, it is safe to say that the SEALs, while contributing greatly to the war effort, have been over-represented in the book stores. Mr. Goldsmith's book is a fine, personal reminder of what the cold facts already say; most of the sailors who went to Vietnam to fight were regular fleet personnel who volunteered to serve their country in a unique way. Their story needs to be told in books like this. Well done.

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"Our mission was independent, no-holds-barred combat against a stubborn enemy in the enemy's backyard." In Vietnam, river warfare was often conducted in the dark. It was always dangerous, sometimes fatal--especially in the eastern end of the Cong-plagued Mekong Delta. In 1967, U.S. Navy Lt. Wynn Goldsmith was the "river rat" who led the first MK II PBR patrol boats in brutal combat. It was a deadly business. These sailors, famous for their courage and combat effectiveness, faced sniper bullets, machine guns, and mines while searching sampans, patrolling treacherous enemy-controlled waterways like Ambush Alley, and rescuing crews from burning boats in the middle of firefights. During the Tet Offensive, Goldsmith's area saw some of the most hotly contested fighting in the entire Mekong Delta. This gripping account is a tribute to these brave men and their agony, sacrifice, and heroism.

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Never Fight Fair: Inside the Legendary U.S. Navy Seals Review

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(More customer reviews)This book consists almost exclusively of interviews, printed verbatim, with former (and a few still active) Navy SEALS. As such it is quite different from almost all other books with a similar subject matter.
The interviewed SEALS come across as fairly average guys except that they liked adventure, didn't require a secure home life and were willing to take risks. The degree to which these SEALS displayed being rather average surprised me. In particular I had assumed that members of elite military forces would be fairly intelligent, but the impression I got from reading these interviews was that high intelligence was definitely not a requirement.
In a way the honesty displayed by this book is refreshing. The SEALS aren't made to look like supermen or even heroes. They were men who had elected to do a particular job, received training for that job and then went out and did it. Often they were successful, but often things went wrong, sometimes with fatal results.
One third of the book covers the Vietnam War during which the SEALS were involved in a lot of real combat. But the Vietnam War has two problems relative to a modern book about the SEALS: it happened 30 years ago and the USA lost that war.
The last half of the book covers developments and experiences since the Vietnam War. This includes up-to-date information about the newest diving and parachuting and water-borne landing techniques, all of which I found quite interesting. But this part of the book includes no real combat experiences except for a few pages about Grenada (including a disastrous mission where four SEALS died parachuting from a plane that was flying too low) and the Gulf War in 1991 (a 4-page story about a group of four SEALS who saw the Iraqi army advancing on them and wisely retreated without firing a shot).
In conclusion, if you're looking for a book about how utterly fantastic the Navy SEALS are then you should steer clear of this one. If you're curious as to what kind of men enjoy jumping out of airplanes at 37000 feet and getting their eyeballs frozen, and prefer honest accounts that include disastrous missions where men died and objectives were not met, then this is a good source.
Rennie Petersen

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They go in first, they go in fast, and they do whatever's needed to get the job done. Their motto: The only easy day was yesterday. The only rule: Win. From their early days in World War II through the jungles of the Caribbean and Vietnam to the shores of Qadhafi's Libya and Iraqi-controlled Kuwait, the elite, highly disciplined military units that came to be known as SEAL teams have done the dirty work of war. Behind enemy lines, under cover of darkness, on sea, air, and land, they conduct the high-speed, high-adrenaline operations that never make headlines but always make the enemy pay -- and make victory possible. This is the book for the real stories, straight from the SEALs themselves. The combat experiences the SEALs share -- the daring rescue missions, the underwater demolition operations, the withering kill-or-be-killed firefights -- come vividly and brutally to life as never before, in NEVER FIGHT FAIR!

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Combat Corpsman Review

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This is a very readable and informing memoir by a past Marine and eventual Navy SEAL Corpsman, better known as "Doc" to all those broken in combat he mended.
The majority of the book tells of his service in Vietnam during the mid to late 1960's, with the west coast branch of SEALS. Most SEALS were only stationed in country for 6 months at a time, for as the author states, the constant intensity could dull their senses, and that could cost them their lives. The North Vietnamese put bounties on all these "green faced men" hoping to kill a SEAL whenever possible. The bounty was both a tribute of their respect for the SEALS but also a sign of their deep-seated fear of the SEALS.
I was leaving the Navy to come back for college at about the time Greg McPartlin was entering the Navy. So some of the topics he talks about are very familiar to me, but a reader does not need to be "prior service" to read and enjoy this book.
In a review written for The Military Book Club recently, I stated that this book is one of very few excellent books it's been my good fortune to encounter. His story and that of his fellow SEALS will give the reader an insider's view of the "above and beyond" nature of service all these men gave, and each of these individuals are true heroes in the best sense of the word. Though undoubtedly each would not find that a compliment with which they are comfortable. They, for example, would turn down a Purple Heart award, unless they were terribly wounded. No rear echelon types here; however that may be, all of these men are some of the finest to ever wear the uniform of the United States.
Only two items would have made this a stronger book: a good map of Vietnam showing the area Mr. McPartlin describes; and a few pictures of all the men in his group. But that not withstanding, this is a very readable and memorable book written by a combatant as seen through the eyes of a medic. A truly unique writing from one who not only took lives, but saved lives.
Semper Fi.

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All his life, Greg McPartlin wanted to be a Marine corpsman, a medic skilled at saving lives. Three months of "bagging-and-tagging" bodies during Vietnam's Tet Offensive took the luster off being a Marine-but not off McPartlin's desire to serve his country. After assisting in the sea-recovery of Apollo 11-the first ship to bring men to the moon-the twenty-year-old McPartlin was redeployed to Vietnam as an elite Navy SEAL. Barred as a medic by the Geneva Convention from the make-or-break training considered vital to service as a Navy SEAL, McPartlin had to show he had what it took. In a war where soldiers partied with their buddies in Saigon one day and crawled through an enemy-infested jungle hell the next, McPartlin proved that he was not only an outstanding medic but a real Navy SEAL-the toughest of the tough. Combat Corpsman is McPartlin's account of his year in what had been a Viet Cong stronghold until the SEALs took control. It's the first inside story of a Navy SEAL medic, a man who wanted to heal-not to kill-but did both to save lives.

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U.S.Navy Seawolves: The Elite HAL-3 Helicopter Squadron in Vietnam Review

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(More customer reviews)First I wish to congratulate the author for a pleasant and fast read.
Joe, you sir should have remained silent and kept us wondering about your obvious lack of historical knowledge. Instead you choose to make ridiculous statements and remove all doubt ........
First, US Navy Seawolves is written not about Mr. Kelly or his missions, it's about how and why the Seawolves were created and how they did there jobs. If you had read the Dan's first book you would know this.
You state the stories are not first hand accounts. From what area of your all knowing Seawolf and SEAL history is this statement based? Yes they are first hand accounts from the people that WERE THERE! Did you bother to read the preface?
You again state your expertise on Vietnam era weaponry. Which nomenclature is incorrect and what are you so sure about? Joe you obviously don't know anything about the SEALs or Seawolves.
"Myopic glamorization of death.....were you there? What part about WAR and reality don't you like? I think Mr. Kelly did a great job in conveying the circumstances and situations without excessive gory details. As to your concern of historical presentation of facts, I can assure you the accounts describes are true and confirmed by SEAL Team One personnel, Capt. Spencer, and the other people mentioned in the forward. If you had read it you would know this.
Regarding the rocket window account. It is stated as an accident in the book. Did you really READ the entire book?
Lt. John Luscher provides the first hand accounts of the actions in question during the Tet offensive. If you have issue with his history, call him and ask!
You state "As is the fact that the helicopters could fly 120 MPH three feet off the ground through the streets of Saigon and take corners at full speed. Sorry, but that all seems like quite a stretch." Well Joe, I WAS THERE and would be willing to offer you ride to see just what a UH1-B can't do.
As I stated above, I was there and give the author high marks for being as accurate and clear as possible. This book provides a third person view of what really happened to a group of brave soles that few have heard of and history for the most part chooses to forget.
If and when I get the opportunity to meet the author, I plan to shake his hand for those of us that never came home protecting people like you "Joe."


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There were no dry runs for Seawolves in Vietnam. They put their lives on the line—every time.In the Viet Cong-infested Mekong Delta, where small SEAL teams were always outgunned and outnumbered, discovery brought swift, deadly consequences— and a radio call for backup from the United States Navy's very best: the Seawolves. The whir of approaching rotor blades signaled their arrival as they tore through the jungle at treetop level, gunners hanging off the skids, shooting M-60s, raining down their lethal mix of high explosives and incendiary death.Seawolf Dan Kelly describes the origins of this extraordinary outfit. Put through a training program unlike any other, these men emerged to perform unparalleled feats of courage. The stories of these elite warriors capture America's real heroes in all their guts and glory, and demonstrate why the Seawolves are known as the most successful and most decorated unit in the Vietnam War.

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Good to Go: The Life And Times Of A Decorated Member Of The U.s. Navy's Elite Seal Team Two Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a frank and honest look at the exploits of a Navy SEAL.
While his actual combat exploits I have no way of proving true, his revealing and in-depth look at his own personal failures and in service power struggles surely don't all have happy endings, and the author is unflinching in his appraisal.
His time in country could of ended on his first mission. He first got tangled in the tow rope, and the boat pulling away dragged him underwater before he cut himself free, struggling with his gear and swimming back to shore. He then mistakenly interpreted a hand signal and made his first killing as a scared SEAL when he silently intercepted a VC lookout and knifed him. He was told to keep silent. He then got seperated from his recon platoon and made his way back to the rendevous point by himself while being pursued, and all the while he was unsure of which way to go. This was the start of three tours of duty that saw much action and direct combat with VC and NVA. This elite soldier found himself in the business of hand to hand combat many times, and his stories are told as if this author actually relished the amount of violence he was able to bring to bear. A warrior who looked for action, he later leaves this theater and sees firsthand the rivalry and disrespect he and other warriors feel for those officers spent little or no time in Vietnam and looked disdainfully upon those who actually fought there. This jealously, and the countering lack of respect, almost cost the author his Navy career on more than one occasion. In the end it proved his undoing in the military.
A very interesting tale of an insiders view of Vietnam, this book also explores his personal struggles and the bonds he forged in combat.

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Operation Thunderhead: The True Story of Vietnam's Final POW Rescue Mission--and the last Navy Seal Killed in Country Review

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(More customer reviews)//Operation Thunderhead// follows Captain John Dramesi, an American pilot who was shot down and subsequently captured during the Vietnam War. As a guest at one of the POW prisons (nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton by the men who were held there), he is constantly underfed, tortured, and humiliated. But despite the brutal techniques applied to make him give up information, Dramesi sticks to the American Code of Conduct. He resists his captors and repeatedly creates plans to escape, never deterred by the threats of the guards or the failures of his past attempts. One such plan was the seed for a secret rescue mission called Operation Thunderhead.
Kevin Dockery is a military historian, and he writes with accuracy and precision. He also writes simply, explaining complex terminology and events in a way that is accessible to the average reader. Unfortunately, in his effort to make //Operation Thunderhead// easily understood, Dockery often states the obvious or over explains the complicated which bogs down the narrative. Despite that, the story of Captain John Dramesi and the other American men who were held as prisoners of war is definitely worth reading and remembering.
REviewed by Kayli Crosby

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The war was all but over-but there was still one battle the United States had to fight. In the last year of the Vietnam conflict, even as American troops were leaving for home, there were still those fighting for their lives: prisoners of war being held in the Communist north. This is the incredible true story of a rescue mission that was classified Top Secret for years-Operation Thunderhead. The Navy SEALs and the Underwater Demolition Teams who took part knew that if they were captured, they would be killed, tortured, or simply disappear forever. They went in anyway. Here, the details of Operation Thunderhead are revealed-the mission, the materials, and the men who put their lives on the line to save their brothers in arms.

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