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| Stealth
Patrol: The Making of a Vietnam Ranger ($15.95) By Bill Shanahan and John P. Brackin Book Description From Publishers Weekly |
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| A two-tour Vietnam infantry veteran and a freelance writer join forces to
produce this informative personal memoir that also casts light on the war's
effect on American infantry tactics. When he went to Vietnam in 1968, Shanahan
quickly discovered that company-sized search and destroy operations were clumsy,
noisy and ineffective. Volunteering for the Long Range Patrols (or "Lurps"),
he received special training and then went out as part of the group's light,
six-man teams. Moving quietly, the Lurps could ambush small enemy units and call
down heavy weapons (including the battleship New Jersey) on larger
ones. Favored
tactics were evasion rather than firefighting, so the patrols' casualties were
lower, and the Lurps attracted legendary warriors such as five-tour Ranger
Patrick Tadina. The Lurps also gave their members a variety of experiences, such
as a
waterborne surveillance mission that went awry off the coast and an
observation mission through VC territory on which an enthusiastic, then
terrified, supply sergeant came along as a guest. Shanahan and Brackin maintain
a friendly, conversational tone throughout the book, so that this volume gives
readers the feeling that they're listening to a loyal, even-tempered veteran
recount his experiences over a few beers. This is a useful book about useful
soldiers; one that is likely to appeal to serious and casual students of the
Vietnam War. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Further Acclaim for Stealth Patrol |
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“[A] well written and well constructed memoir of one man’s journey through a combat tour in Vietnam ... authentic.” —Patrolling
"A great book ... A great account of spying on the enemy." —Nam Magazine "Emotionally engaging ... it reveals what it takes to go beyond the call of duty." —Curled Up with a Good Book “The
book details intelligence-gathering methods which were innovative thinking
for the United States military at the time. Stealth Patrol is also
a tribute to the author’s battle comrades in an era when appreciating
and respecting our Vietnam War veterans is finally and appropriately in
vogue.”
"[Shanahan] does an excellent job sketching his eventful tour of duty in
his readable memoir." —The
VVA Veteran
"This book brought back a lot
of lost memories especially the stories from the An Do and An Lao valleys. ...
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about the Vietnam war." "[G]ives the reader a fox-hole view on a unique kind of warfare ... This story is well worth telling and it will inspire and
entertain. Bill was a real hero as were the men he fought with in his Ranger
unit. I believe that this book gives justice to what they did.
A highly recommended book to read; it is given our Top Rating!" "Brackin
and Shanahan have crafted a personable and finely detailed memoir of one
man's war—in
this case, the two tours of duties Shanahan spent with a Long Range
Patrol and Ranger company in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970. Brackin
recounts Shanahan's missions in remarkable detail—the
grit thrown up by a helicopter's rotor wash, the clanking of canteens as a
line company struggles through the jungled brush, the urgent whisper of an
RTO calling in an artillery strike on nearby enemy troops. Stealth
Patrol puts its reader squarely and authentically in the thick of the
action." “The
book’s not a shoot ‘em up John Wayne style war story … Nor is it a
dark psychological journey in the tradition of an Oliver Stone movie.
It’s about people—real people—and their mission … about their
successes and failures and about how they learned from both.” “The
author’s greatest asset is his ability to cut straight to the core of
events—especially the simple and pervasive need to keep quiet—and
to give credit to the many people who served for much longer and with
greater skill. Throughout history commanders in chief have always said 'If
we only had a few more like these …' Well, the LRP teams were some of
'these' few." —The
War Times Journal |
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Finalist 2003 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award