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57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Elite Soldier - Elite Unit - Great Friend, September 14, 2005
This review is from: Across The Fence: The Secret War In Vietnam (Paperback)
Anyone interested in the Vietnam War in general, and the secret war in particular, will appreciate this well-written narrative of a SOG warrior's first tour of duty at FOB 1, the Phu Bai launch site for what would eventually be known as CCN. The author, whose nickname "Tilt" comes from his days as a youngster playing pinball machines in Trenton, New Jersey, is an educated, skilled writer who has taken what others might recite as cold facts and woven a taut, suspenseful series of episodes from one of the deadliest years in the history of the Studies and Observation Group. The history of this war will not be told by one book, but Tilt has added an important piece to what one day will be a total picture of the Second Indochina War.
The book opens with Tilt's arrival in country and his journey to Phu Bai, where he lands just in time to witness the disappearance of Spike Team Idaho into the maws of the North Vietnamese Army in Laos. As he checks in, gets his gear, and becomes familiar with the small camp, the tension builds as continued silence from the field signals the worst possible fate for the veterans on ST Idaho. The gravity of the situation, both for the missing team and for the Bright Light team that is given the duty to go back in to see what happened, is palpable. The events which follow and the inescapable conclusion reached by the team leader of the Bright Light leave no doubt in the mind of the young Green Beret that he has joined a dangerous outfit - just as the folks back at Training Group warned him. Regardless of his realization, the fact that he confronts his mortality and chooses to go on is testament to his courage, a courage which will be needed in spades as he begins his seasoning in earnest.
As he undertakes his first missions, and as close calls get closer and closer, Tilt witnesses (and the reader experiences with him) men under stress who react in expected, and quietly respected, ways. It is no shame for a recon man to pull himself off a team after a particularly dangerous mission where the reaper's scythe has missed him by centimeters. A couple of examples of extraordinary courage under fire by team members followed by their decision to leave the team humanize the stories, since the reader must wonder, "What would I do under similar circumstances?" It is this aspect of the book which gives it a richness which is often lacking in war memoirs. In one particularly chilling example (especially for anyone who ever rode out on a "string") involves Tilt's extrication from a hot insertion point in which he is forced to use a Swiss seat. Because of the stress of the situation, he fails to secure his second D ring and as soon as the helicopter takes off, Tilt begins to . . . well . . . tilt. Not humorous at all to be dangling upside down from 4,000 feet as your Swiss seat begins to make its way off your waist, down your hips, down your knees . . . . My hands were dripping with sweat as he related this event.
Although the majority of his missions were into the Prairie Fire AO, his team volunteers to go south for a few missions into the Daniel Boone AO as a result of a special request from Saigon. Those of us who served in the mountains of I Corps always thought the guys who served in the lowlands had it easy -no lung-bursting humps up the mountains. Well, Tilt and his guys had the same idea, until they realized that flat also meant not much cover or concealment. Lucky for them that the Green Hornets of the U.S. Air Force 20th Special Operations Squadron were always nearby, since these flatland missions were literally "hit and run."
One aspect of the book which the reader will come to appreciate is Tilt's honest respect and admiration for the Vietnamese members of his team and for the courageous Vietnamese pilots of the 219th Special Operations Squadron, RVNAF, who time after time came into hot LZ's to pull RT Idaho out of death's grip. These old Kingbees with their outdated Browning .30 caliber machine guns hanging out the side were often the only reason teams made it out of Laos. To characterize the pilots who flew these missions as "cool under fire" is an understatement. A funny anecdote with a Marine corps "Scarface" pilot underscores the danger all of these pilots faced when picking up a recon team from Laos: the officer complains to Tilt that every time his helicopter picks up a team, it gets all shot up. Not that he minds picking them up, just that it takes him off the flight line while getting repairs!
This book belongs in the library of any serious student of the war. It gives added depth and understanding to the mission of SOG, and more importantly, of the men who were charged with this thankless mission. It may have taken over thirty years for these stories to come out, but what is important is that they are coming out and being recorded so that the protected will begin to know and more importantly, never forget.
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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the finest war memoirs ever written, May 26, 2011
"Across The Fence" by John Stryker Meyer is one of the very few memoirs written by and about the highly classified Studies and Observations Group or SOG. Running cross border operations during the Vietnam war, small teams of Special Forces soldiers partnered with indigenous team members launched missions into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. These missions were so secret that it wasn't until the 1990's that information started to become available about this unit. To this day, details are somewhat hard to come by, only three or so former SOG members having written about their time running recon in one of the most dangerous assignments of the war.
As a former Ranger (3/75) and Greet Beret (5th SFG) myself I have a few patrols under my belt in Afghanistan and Iraq, but I can tell you that reading this book made me feel like a pansy. I don't have anything on my predecessors, especially those who served on SOG conducting missions deep behind enemy lines, often outnumbered ten to one (on a good day).
"Across The Fence" recounts the authors personal journey through SOG, but also tells the stories of many of his fellow soldiers and comrades to include the South Vietnamese and American pilots who daringly flew into hostile fire again and again to extract Meyer's team.
Eventually Meyer attains the coveted position of One-Zero, the Team Leader on SOG Recon Team Idaho. Although initially uncertain if he is ready for such a promotion he quickly adapts, leading his men through the exceedingly dangerous and extraordinary absurd, two characteristics that came to characterize the Vietnam War as a whole in my opinion. Meyer also has the unique experience of having led patrols into both Laos (his primary AO) and Cambodia, giving the reader a sense of how those two areas differed from each other. He also leads a patrol into the tri-border region that legendary SOG operator "Mad Dog" Shriver remarks to the author that no one had returned from alive in months!
You will also read about poor Lynn Black, who I think must have done something bad in a past life to have had drawn a short straw and literally got the patrol from hell. It seems like everything that could have gone wrong did. Black's team had to stack dead NVA like chord wood as things continued to deteriorate, all while screaming at a fellow team mate to stop praying to God and fire back at the enemy!
There is plenty in here for the gear heads as well. The author gives extensive detail on the types of weapons and equipment that SOG teams carried, including highly specialized and advanced kit designed specifically for SOG teams by CIA technicians.
To date, I feel that this is the best book written about this secretive unit. The author tells it like it is and like it was, not sparing himself in the process. The book itself is well written and hard to put down. I also appreciated the fact that it was specially formatted for the Amazon Kindle, making this book a must have for those interested in the military. The Kindle edition also includes pictures provided by the author and his friends and although Kindle doesn't do pictures all that great it is good that they are in there and give the reader some insight into visualizing the people and places. I would still like to have a hard copy for my collection but at 3.29 this is a no-brainer.
Jack Murphy
Author of "Reflexive Fire"
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"This ain't no Bull S_ it" used to be the phrase..., May 19, 2011
Back when someone started to tell a war story we'd most often begin with "This ain't no Bull S_it!" but more often than not it was.
Not this time. John Meyer does a great job of laying it out like it truly was, blemishes and all. The stories take you back to where your heart begins to race just a bit and you notice perspiration beginning to form on your face. If you never ran Special Ops but wanted to know what it was like this is the book that will take you there.
In the mid '60s through early '70's America's "Secret War" in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam was waged by small teams of just 2 or 3 Americans and up to 5 Indigenous troops; sometimes South Vietnamese, sometimes Montagnards and sometimes Chinese Brue, but always very capable, loyal and fierce warriors who knew how to operate in the jungles with stealth and outstanding bravery as well as Platoon size teams - called "Hatchet Forces". John Meyer tells the stories of several teams from MACVSOG FOB 2/CCN (Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observation Group - originally Special Operations Group but changed to be more PC, Forward Operating Base/Command and Control North). The stories are as real as they can be including the fear, frustration, sadness and humor.
Over the years there have been many so-called first hand renditions but most are full of hype, bravado and on-occasion pure fantasy. This is the true exception. No one is made out to be more than he was and no one is depicted as the hero. Yet uncommon valor, heroism and bravery come out all the same. Reading Across the Fence makes you proud of our US Army Special Forces Warriors and all the others who supported them including the most brave of all, the King Bee pilots of the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam. If you ever doubted the bravery and dedication of the South Vietnamese to their own cause this book will tell the "rest of the story".
Highly recommended for all war story advocates, history buffs and especially for those going through the US Army Special Forces Q-Course and Navy SEAL Buds Course as well as anyone in Special Ops or thinking of volunteering for Special Operations. The lessons learned from this book are something even the best of the military training can't provide.
"Across the Fence" is of the same caliber as Phillip Caputo's A Rumor of War! And if you like this book you'll absolutely love "On the Ground" also by John "Tilt" Meyer.
CB "Cork" Motsett
Head Frog
Vietnam 1068, '69 '70
MACVSOG CCC, 5th SFGA, IV Corps Mike Force
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