18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A tough book to put down!, March 27, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Hard to Forget : An American with the Mobile Guerrilla Force in Vietnam (Mass Market Paperback)
I read this book cover to cover in one evening. I simply could not put the book down. In retrospect, I suppose my main interest when I bought the book was to see if there were any references to some of the places I was at during the Vietnam war having been stationed very near his area of operations.
Indeed, the author did not let me down. I was taken back in this paperback "time machine" to a different world where I once belonged. The author did an excellent job of telling his story. He told us where he came from, his training, and his experiences both during and after his tour of duty. I usually feel a sense of loss when I read any book about Vietnam. This book was different! I actually felt pretty good about my time spent in Tay Ninh Province. The final chapters served as a reminder to never feel badly about being involved in that conflict so many years ago.
The only thing in this book that detracted me was the author's few careless remarks thrown in about the Kennedy administration. The remarks were not needed and were misleading.
If you want to read about one man's journey into the jaws of death and back, read this book. Don't let the political views of the author stop you. This man was a true warrior and he is a man that tells his story in a gut-honest method that will leave you thinking for a long time.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Explodes like a grenade. Couldn't put it down., September 16, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Hard to Forget : An American with the Mobile Guerrilla Force in Vietnam (Mass Market Paperback)
HARD TO FORGET
AN AMERICAN WITH THE MOBILE GUERRILLA FORCE IN VIETNAM
STEVEN M. YEDINAK __________________________________________________
Review by David H. Hackworth, Author of Vietnam Primer, About Face and Hazardous Duty __________________________________________________
Explodes like a grenade. Couldn't put it down. When I finished, I was disappointed only because I wanted more. Yedinak has written a gripping account of SECRET green beret missions he and 13 other Americans, and their Cambodian brothers, conducted in the heart of War Zone D in 1966. He reveals in go-to-hell passion how MGF avoided annihilation by Viet Cong guerrillas and NVA units on their tail. Small, quiet, elusive, on foot and light to fight, this heroic group of volunteers fought the war sans the heavy sounds and pounds of conventional forces. MGF blew the b-Jesus out of the Cong, and destroyed their camps, while zeroing out two intelligence missions of National interest. Black Box was a United States response to recover the SECRET System 13A device from a U-2 spy plane after it exploded over the jungled mountains of Nui Ba Ra. When MGF fought its way through VC units to find the device, President Johnson was immediately notified. Had the Black Box fallen into NVA hands, the entire U.S. strategic reconnaissance effort may have been compromised. On Blackjack-31, the first successful mobile guerrilla force mission in Vietnam, the small, outgunned, always on the move, and operating mostly at night MGF survived 52 separate engagements while registering 51 enemy KIA and 17 base camps destroyed. Going well beyond green beret tactics, Yedinak deals frankly with the enigma of war, sharing his difficulty in coming home, and his terrifying transformation from destroyer to husband, father, friend and peacetime soldier. The nightmares he suffered for over twenty years cut through me like a rusty jungle blade. Parents, wives, children, and friends of vets, as well as those who did not serve, will better understand Vietnam. The author suggests we begin to listen to each other's stories in the hope that we can put Vietnam behind, and repair the damage we have suffered personally, and as a nation. Great book about real fighting men, written by a real fighting man. Everything a Vietnam war memoir could possibly be -- high adventure, scary as hell, and behind-the-enemy-lines true. Steve fought with me in the 44th Special Tactical Zone in 1971. He is a real stud who took no prisoners.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
He writes like he's talking to you; it's great!, September 11, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Hard to Forget : An American with the Mobile Guerrilla Force in Vietnam (Mass Market Paperback)
A great eye opener about special forces in Vietnam. And a very close and personal look at the type of person it takes to be in special forces. Not being a man or military, I probably read this book from a totally different perspective than the author intended. He's a tough man, a survivor, with a caring side for his family. All I know is, I couldn't put it down. Read it! You'll like it!
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