Customer Reviews

Soldier'S Medal (Vietnam Ground Zero)

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Soldier's Medal (SM) is one of the early books in a long running series about a Special Forces A-Team in Vietnam. I tells the story of a member of the Green Berets who survives many horrific battles and slowly starts to believe he is invincible. Under valued by the Top Brass he decides to take the war into his own hands and leaves the restrictive practices imposed by the American Army behind.

An enjoyable read, and not as far fetched as you may think. Don't read this until you have read the preceeding Vietnam Ground Zero books.

Soldier's Medal, April, 1987, is number 5 in the GOLD EAGLE series of Vietnam: Ground Zero books. This series began for GOLD EAGLE in 1986 and continued with 27 regular books each approximately 218 pages in length, with 5 super volumes containing near 350 pages each. The four previous books to Soldier's Medal are: 1. Vietnam: Ground Zero, 2. P.O.W., 3. Unconfirmed Kill, and 4. The Fall of Camp A-555. Having most of the entire series by GOLD EAGLE, I believe it to have been, next to the Mack Bolan series, one of the best all round series GOLD EAGLE ever offered.

Before GOLD EAGLE began publishing the books in 1986, four other original books were issued by Pinnacle Books: Body Count, The Nhu Ky Sting, Chopper Command, and River Raid. Adding these books to the number in the GOLD EAGLE line the total books available for the Vietnam: Ground Zero series becomes 35 regular books and 5 super books. As Don Pendleton, creator of The Executioner (Mack Bolan) series stated: "Vietnam at ground zero is where this book is written. I recommend it." He should be a very good judge of things of that sort.

For me, Soldier's Medal, book #5, is somewhat of a strange entry to the series. It is very readable and is as informative as the others, however, its main focus is Sgt. Sean Cavanaugh, who becomes not only AWOL but a rogue soldier as well. Due to a combination of extreme, and horrible situational fire fights he is mentally disturbed wanting to massacre and then disfigure Viet Cong or NVA soldiers. In this he has a dozen or so helpers, leaving the confines of Camp A-555 in the middle of the night, they establish their own hunter/killer camp across the Cambodian border. According to MACV rules this illegal entry into Cambodia and lone wolf missions of this type are not sanctioned.

Being a Vietnam era serviceman, I read quite a few fiction and non fiction books of these years, but have never encountered an American serviceman, in this case Army Special Forces Green Beret, as extreme as Cavanaugh, nor ever read of our need to pursue and kill one of our own due to his becoming not only a rogue, but a threat to not only the enemy but his own Special Forces brothers as well.

The book is as valid a read as any other in this series, just a little atypical and off center to me. Reading this series, fictional though the books may be, will bring any reader in touch with the insane situations of those extreme years where good individuals were caused to see and experience many terrible events. The average age of the young man fighting in Vietnam was only 19, with many thousands coming home in body bags never reaching the age of 20.

Semper Fi.

Below are listed the complete series of Vietnam: Ground Zero books:

Body Count

The Nhu Sting

Chopper Command

River Raid

Vietnam: Ground Zero

P.O.W.

Unconfirmed Kill

The Fall of Camp A-555

Soldiers Medal

The Kit Carson Scout

The Hobo Woods

Guidelines

The Ville

Incident a Plei Soi

Tet

The Iron Triangle

Red Dust

Hamlet

Moon Cusser

The Raid (super)

Dragons Jaw

Cambodian Sanctuary

Payback

MACV

Tan Son Nhut

Puppet Soldiers

Shifting Fires (super 2)

Strike (super 3)

Gunfighter

Warrior

Target

Recon

Empire (super 4)

Sniper (super 5)

Warlord

Spike