Protected Will Never Know [Mass Market Paperback]

Leigh Wade (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 28, 1998

STAYING ALIVE

Commander Leigh Wade outwitted death through five harrowing SF tours in Vietnam. n 1965, during his second assignment in Vietnam, Wade volunteered for duty with the newly arrived 173rd Airborne and participated in the first battalion-size helicopter assault in Vietnam. Later he helped set up a Special Forces A-camp and worked with the 1st Cav, eventually taking part in SOG operations, where he was a recon team leader. In early 1966, after joining the highly classified all-volunteer C-5 unit, he engaged in unconventional warfare and clandestine ops in Cambodia, roving deep into areas crawling with NVA.

Unlike many others, Wade lived to tell about what he saw. Captured in these pages is the horror, courage, and carnage of every moment spent trapped precariously between life and death.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

STAYING ALIVE

Commander Leigh Wade outwitted death through five harrowing SF tours in Vietnam. n 1965, during his second assignment in Vietnam, Wade volunteered for duty with the newly arrived 173rd Airborne and participated in the first battalion-size helicopter assault in Vietnam. Later he helped set up a Special Forces A-camp and worked with the 1st Cav, eventually taking part in SOG operations, where he was a recon team leader. In early 1966, after joining the highly classified all-volunteer C-5 unit, he engaged in unconventional warfare and clandestine ops in Cambodia, roving deep into areas crawling with NVA.

Unlike many others, Wade lived to tell about what he saw. Captured in these pages is the horror, courage, and carnage of every moment spent trapped precariously between life and death.

About the Author

Leigh Wade was born in Perry, Oklahoma, in August 1942. His father was a professional Army officer, and the family moved frequently. Leigh joined the Army in 1961, a week after he graduated high school. He spent most of the next ten years with Special Forces units in Southeast Asia. He left the Army in 1971 but returned in 1982. He retired a sergeant first class in 1992. He has two sons and a daughter and lives with his younger son in Tucson.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 245 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (January 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804117136
• ISBN-13: 978-0804117135
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,945 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SFC Wade tells a good story for all Special Forces readers., May 4, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (McAllen, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Protected Will Never Know (Mass Market Paperback)

Leigh Wade was at the RECONDO School in 1966-67 at the same time I was. Later we served in the 46th Special Forces Company in Thailand. Leigh is for real--he lived what he writes about and it really shows. Buy this book! LTC Jeff Berry (ex-SSG Berry of 66-68).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A personal look at this War, July 28, 2009

By 

Matthew Smith "Roger Mexico" (TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Protected Will Never Know (Mass Market Paperback)

Leigh Wade's books are not an intellectual dissection of the Vietnam War. There is no attempt whatsoever at looking at this conflict from the top. There is no geopolitical analysis or Cold War Domino Theory speculations about the importance of this conflict, instead this book is a very visceral description of life for the combat soldier in this war. In my opinion this makes it a very important contribution to the literature on this conflict. This isn't a scholastic work at all, but it will give readers an insiders look at what war really is for those who actually participate in the fighting.

What this book does really well is to show the psychological realities of war. The reader gets to see the ebb and flow of conflict, and see what its affects are on the soldiers on the ground. This is very important for those people who look to understand war and its affects. His descriptions of extreme highs during combat followed by the compelling need to release that energy once being removed from the action is amazing in its psychological insights, and it works so well because the author isn't engaged in his own analysis, but is instead attempting to honestly recount his feelings and actions. What eventually became his catharsis is a wellspring of information for anyone looking to see the raw and honest affects of combat.

Beyond the psychological, this book does a great job detailing the life of a Special Forces soldier in Vietnam. Anyone interested in the history of this war will do well giving this short, entertaining work a read.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Protected Will Never Know, July 14, 2002

By 

John Ford (Penitas, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Protected Will Never Know (Mass Market Paperback)

Reading a book by Leigh Wade is like listening to the man speak; it is a good writing style. Those who were not over there will feel like they were after reading this, or any other book, by Mr. Wade.