Review (PDF) Secret Green Beret Commandos In Cambodia: A Memorial History Of MACVSOG's Command And Control Detachment South (CCS) And Its Air Partners, Republic Of Vietnam, 19671972
We could call this book Special Operations Recon Mission Impossible. A small group of highly trained, resourceful US Special Forces (SF) men is asked to go in teams behind the enemy lines to gather intelligence on the North Vietnamese Army units that had infiltrated through Laos and Cambodia down the Ho Chi Minh trails to their secret bases inside the Cambodian border west of South Vietnam. The covert reconnaissance teams, of only two or three SF men with four or five experienced indigenous mercenaries each, were tasked to go into enemy target areas by foot or helicopter insertion. They could be 15 kilometers beyond any other friendly forces, with no artillery support. In sterile uniforms with no insignia or identification, if they were killed or captured, their government would deny their military connection. The enemy had placed a price on their heads and had spies in their Top Secret headquarters known as SOG. SOG had three identical recon ground units along the border areas. This book tells the history of Command and Control Detachment South (CCS) The CCS volunteer warriors and its Air Partners - the Army and Air Force helicopter transport and gunship crews who lived and fought together and sometimes died together. This is the first published history of CCS as compiled by its last living commander, some forty years after they were disbanded. It tells of the struggles and intrigue involved in SOG's development as the modernday legacy of our modern Special Operations Commands. Forbidden to tell of their experiences for over twenty years; their After Action Reports destroyed even before they were declassified - surviving veterans team together to tell how Recon men wounded averaged 100 percent; and SOG became the most highly decorated unit in Vietnam and all were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
Paperback: 740 pages
Publisher: AuthorHouse (November 12, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1477273085
ISBN-13: 978-1477273081
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 1.7 x 11 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #995,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #275 in Books > History > Military > Regiments #595 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Military > Vietnam War #1695 in Books > History > Military > United States > Vietnam War
The tireless efforts of Lt. Col. Lindsey and those of his daughter to document for posterity the service of those of us who had the privilege of serving in Command and Control South (CCS), is greatly appreciated. This work documents with great accuracy the actions of the officers and men of CCS to accomplish the mission of the unit. I am proud to have served as a medic in the unit and under Lt. Col. Lindsey. This document portrays the lives and the deaths of many of those served with honor and distinction in this Top Secret unit. We cannot thank Lt. Col. Lindsey enough for giving accurate voice to a little known but highly effective unit in the Viet Nam war. Thank You.Kenneth "Doc" Quackenbush, Medic CCS 1969-1970PS. I did not burn the s*** house down, I knocked it over.
LTC Fred Lindsey's meticulous research and dogged determination to get to the men who ran the missions has resulted in a tremendously well-documented research tool for historians interested in filling in the huge gaps in the history of MACVSOG's Command and Control South detachment. The timing of this work could not have been more critical, since so many of the men who fought in this ultra-secret unit are leaving us to finally join teammates that never made it home. Fred filled in gaps in these histories up until the last minute, finding men who had been living quiet lives after getting home, and interviewing them and getting additional names and details that led him further down the trail.This large book deserves an honored place in any Vietnam War historian's library - and Fred Lindsey deserves our collective slow hand salute for his tireless and devoted efforts to preserve the history of CCS, its aviation support units and our men who did not make it home.Superb!
We knew they were where they weren't supposed to be but now have a precise description of what was going on for these brave men. It had to take years to get all that information gathered. I am thankful to Fred Lindsey and all the named and unnamed heros.
This book IMO (nothing humble about it) encompasses some of the best recollections and observations of the finest group of Special Forces men to ever and "continuously" fight and take the war "to the enemy in Cambodia" not just in SVN where they practiced but right to where the NVA lived and cozyed up thinking they were out of reach of the US Army SF. Many of these men can proudly say they gave the Viet Cong and NVA PTSD payback many times over while teaching them that theme "catch me if you can" and embodying the slogans like "best thing in life is to observe your enemy when he does not have a clue"! Had our government more agressively taken decisive and quicker action on much of the intelligence gathered by CCS and sister groups CCC and CCN there may have been changes to the eventual play out we eventually suffered thorough politically and socially as a nation due to VN. This was before Special Ops was Cool and the talk up topic of the politicains as it is today. CCS eventually was parlayed into the political history books as part of the fairly disasterous and ostensibly greater "political" Vietnamization Program that unfortunately has kinship to what we see going down and IMO again in Afghanistan today. Somebody should have read this book and others on SOG! I salute the many men both in the Recon teams, hatchet Forces and support (helicopters, medics to armorers and commo to name a few) that made CCS a truly great unit. The Army buried the TS history of CCS due to fear of political reprisal - or plain jealosy I think at times. This book tells all! Much deserved Salute! to Ltc Fred Lindsey - SGM Waugh (and special remeberances to Madison, Dale, and Richard Hendricks and so many many more I admired and still do! They taught with dedication, compassion and brotherood and lead with You Know What! George W. "Sunny" Hewitt - CCS'69A must read and a fine piece of work by a dedicated commander.
This book, by political design, has been too long in arriving for the public sector, but no fault to the author. The amount of detail and the number of SOG members dying off, it has been hard to re-account what went on in CCS. Since SOG destroyed all of its afteraction reports, this may be one of the few remaining books detailing what really happened in CCS.The book is extremely accurate, as precise as human memory allows, and it engages in divulging no secrets, yet the text remains truly authentic. It is a historical classic, indeed. Thank you all for all of your efforts writing this history of MACVSOG, CCS.A.Bodhi
I bought this to learn more about my Dad who is now deceased. It wasn't until recently that we learned about this part of his life as he never mentioned or spoke of it. It was fascinating to read a little bit about him, but also to read the other stories and accounts. The way it was written It gives a great perspective and adds a different depth than most books. Thank you for writing this and helping to share what you all went through. For our family, thank you for shedding a little light on a side of our Dad we never knew about. Humility is an admirable trait, but this really opened our eyes.
I loved this book. The research the author has done into the history of this organization is amazing. The book is basically a chronological history of the missions CCS ran during its existence. Drawing on first hand accounts from team members, aviators and others the book gives a brief summary of each know mission. In addition to the above mentioned accounts award narratives are used if no other information is available. If no information is available the author will state as much. Considering almost all of MACV-SOG records were destroyed after the war this book is a true labor of love. If you are interested in Special Operations or the Vietnam Conflict this is must have history.
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