Customer Reviews

Pathfinder: First In, Last Out

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was a Pathfinder in the 101st Airborne after Burns and served two consecutive tours. Although I did not know him, I recognized many names from the book including Torch, the dog. I was rivetted by this factual recounting which was eerily real. With few exceptions, this could have been my diary. I am ordering two more copies for my family so they can better understand a very significant part of my experience. Airborne... all the way!

I was a friend of Richie Burns so I guess I'm a little biased when it comes to reviewing his book. However, that being said let me add that PATHFINDER is a remarkable first-person war story in that Richie not only told it like it was but made it a very moving, personal account as well. There's no ego here, no 'I was better than yoiu were' war story, just a good look at the Vietnam War.
As you read you're there with him, getting an inside look to the Pathfinder operations he took part in the war and better yet, a closer look at someone you would have been proud to call a friend as well.
When he died of cancer he left behind grieving family and friends and, this book that reminds us that a good man served his country with pride and integrity in the war and long afterwards as a career Special Forces soldier.
What the book doesn't tell you is that he also served as a veteran's counselor and that he had helped so many others try to make some sense of their own war stories.
Buy this book and hold on to it. People like Richie don't come around in life that often and the book is a reminder of what we all lost with his passing.

This book never drags, and kept my interest throughout. Different from a Special Forces story, Burns seemed to be on the receiving end of enemy fire most of the time while he guided helicopters for landings. He knew some of the other well known authors on LRRP's and special forces in Vietnam. He was lucky to not be hurt while being blown over by mortars or lightning, and also have a dud mortar round land a foot away. Very upbeat and refreshing.

"Pathfinder" by Richard Burns is a great book. This is a very honest narrative about a military unit most people know nothing about. Someone has to be the first in to a landing zone and guide the "birds" in. That's what the Pathfinders do. They are the eyes and ears for the helocopters.

This is an especially good book because Richard Burns seems like somebody you knew in your neighborhood growing up. This isn't a story about some larger than life make believe hero. This is the real life kind. The book is hard to put down and will leave you wanting to learn more about this small unit of men who wear the black hats.

I was sad to read in the introduction about Richard Burns recent death to cancer. It is good to know that his memory will live on with this book.

I was not in Vietnam, I wasn't even in the service, but the recent movie WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE resparked my interest again in a war so few of us really understood. I didn't burn my draft card, protest, or march. I have read 20 books in the past 3 months about Vietnam, 1 was 9 lbs., 3 were the country as in the present. Richie put me right next to him on every page and in every situation. Where is that dog? The good and bad side of not taking gun to a chopper crash site. The Recondo school, I felt the cool breeze coming out of that rock cave as Burns looked inside. This book is writen as a young man would write, not like a middle aged mature man who had lived a good life after returning to the world. I am not sure how Burns does that, but it makes for great reading. I am truly sorry to hear that cancer has cut Richard R. Burns life short. I will make a monetary donation in his memory. Cancer has claimed many of my family members. The History Channel ran a special on Recon Teams and there sat Richie Burns talking about his weeks at Recondo.

I was a Pathfinder in Vietnam in 1966/1967 surviving about 150
Pathfinder missions. Pathfinders, from WWII to Afganistan are
rarely mentioned and this book is long overdue. I did not know
Pathfinder Burns but I knew many like him. May God rest and keep
you Richard, Airborne! All The Way!

I was in Vietnam with the 9th Inf Div Pathfinder Det (13 Pathfinders for the entire division) and the 1st Bde 101st. I knew about half of the people that were with Rich Burns at the time, but don't remember meeting him. I can vouch for his accuracy of a lot of what happened during that period of the war.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about what we did. There is a US Army Pathfinder Association that is trying hard to gather more information from those of us that did this job. It's located at www.USPathfinders.org. For those interested, There is a history section that might be helpful.

As a former Airborne/Pathfinder, I could totally relate to the book.

It should be required reading for all students at Pathfinder School. Richard Burns does a great job relaying the complex and varied missions of Pathfinders.

If you have earned the "Torch" you need to get this book.

richie was a friend first and later my brother-in-law. you need to read this book to understand what the brave pathfinders endured. i was very lucky to have personally know him before and after the war. writing this book was both theraputic and heart wrecthing for him but, he knew he had to write it. the big c took his life much too early. rest in peace brother.

Great book. Absolutely loved it. Very sad he's gone and won't be able to follow up on the next tour he did.