Special Men

A recipient of two Purple Hearts gives readers an inside view of US Army special forces through his own trial by fire during the Vietnam War. Days before he was drafted in 1962, Dennis Foley volunteered to join the army in the hopes of someday getting into West Point. He was only eighteen years old. At basic training in Fort Dix, New Jersey, a presentation by two impressive, self-confident special forces sergeants made an indelible impression on him. His career would come full circle. In 1972, wearing a green beret, Foley would be given command of his own A-Team. But between those two pivotal moments, his determination, loyalty, and mental and physical strength would be tested as never before, fighting in the jungles of Vietnam alongside the bravest men he would ever know. In Special Men, Foley describes his experience at the 7th Army NCO Academy in Germany, where he learned more about leadership than at any other school he would later attend. He takes us moment-by-moment on his heart-pounding introduction to combat—a nighttime, amphibious ambush patrol with the South Vietnamese Navy. We see the shock set in upon realizing that conventional training left him unprepared for the guerrilla army he faced in Vietnam. And we share his sadness over fallen comrades and his own relief at surviving his injuries. This is an unvarnished account of horror and heroism and a tribute to the unselfish devotion to duty of the LRPs, Rangers, and Green Berets.

No Ordinary Men peels back the cloak of secrecy and reveals four untold special operations that Joint Task Force 2, an elite counterterrorist unit, conducted in 2005–06 in which their courage, tenacity, and impressive capabilities meant the difference between life and death.

Seventy years ago the army?s elite air assault force, the Parachute Regiment was formed, tough and well-trained, designed to fight hazardous operations behind enemy lines, with little or no backup. These are the `Sky Men?. Any army?s mavericks. Trained to operate independently in testing conditions. Dropping into the middle of enemy territory, these tough British, American, German and Russian soldiers engage in gruelling combat the most dangerous conflict zones in the world. Robert Kershaw, an ex-Parachute Regiment officer, reveals the history of these airborne forces, and their important role during the most dramatic battles of the twentieth century. He finds out what makes them tick, what drives a `Sky Man? to take these extraordinary risks, what marks these sky warriors out from ordinary soldiers? Based on exclusive interviews with soldiers from around the world, as well as letters and diaries, Sky Men is full of vivid personalities, and nail-biting action. It is the story of the army?s biggest risk-takers, The Paras.

Throughout his several tours of Vietnam, Dennis Foley served with America's finest warriors -- men like David Hackworth, the nation's most decorated living soldier, and Jim Gardner, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for sacrificing his life so that his men might live. Now, in a tough, clear-eyed account, he recaptures the raw courage and sacrifice of American soldiers fighting a savage and desperate battle for survival.

The wild and scenic Allagash River flows northward a hundred miles through uplands of unbroken forest. A skilled writer links us to this remote and beautiful area.