SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam (Paperback)

by John Plaster (Author) "It was a miserable sea yet navigable despite the looming islands and the swells that propelled the heaving 38-foot junk..." (more)
Key Phrases: recon men, recon company commander, recon man, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Hatchet Force (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Plaster (The Ultimate Sniper), a retired Army major, served three tours with the secretive "Studies and Observation Group," aka SOG, during the Vietnam War-a background he has put to good use in this authoritative and insightful look at the now defunct commando unit. Plaster does much to illuminate both this frequently misunderstood group and its extraordinary participants. Made up entirely of volunteers, SOG tackled a wide range of vital and dangerous duties, including missions deep into enemy territory and rescues of downed American pilots. Special Forces veterans in particular will delight in the descriptions of America's old tribal allies, the Montagnards of Vietnam. Specialists in poison-arrow warfare, the primitive "'Yards," Plaster explains, were both fierce fighters and a constant source of wonderment to the Americans. Plaster reveals the core of the relationship between 'Yards and Yanks in a telling anecdote in which two Green Berets win over a village chieftain with the help of some pipes and two cans of Prince Albert tobacco. Elsewhere, on a more somber note, Plaster sheds light on part of the ongoing mystery of POWs and MIAs in Southeast Asia. The secretive nature of SOG, he writes, was such that its members were accounted for via a "double bookkeeping" system. The method "proved so confounding that the Pentagon had understated casualties, a fact that became evident when families of MIAs demanded more information." A true insider's account, this eye-opening report will leave readers feeling as if they've been given a hot scoop on a highly classified project. Photos not seen by PW. Military Book Club main selection.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
For all the negative imagery attached to Americans who served in Vietnam, an unbiased and sober review of the historical accounts reveals an astonishing record of valor and sacrifice. Largely unknown outside of military circles, the Studies and Observation Group (SOG) was a U.S. Special Forces detachment formed to penetrate the Ho Chi Minh Trail and to rescue downed airmen. Plaster (Ultimate Sniper, Paladin, 1993), a veteran of three tours of duty with SOG, has written the most complete account of the missions to date. Together with their Montagnard and Nung allies, these small-raiding, observation, and rescue parties were inserted within enemy strongholds on uniformly perilous missions. Always outnumbered, SOG volunteers suffered catastrophic casualty rates. They also earned ten Congressional Medals of Honor. Written as a tribute to the memory of fallen comrades, Plaster's narrative is an engrossing and thoroughly exciting account of this unknown aspect of the Vietnam War. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries.?John R. Vallely, Siena Coll. Lib., Loudonville, N.Y.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Onyx (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451195086
• ISBN-13: 978-0451195081
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (106 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #74,532 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fast-paced, excellent book..., June 4, 2003

By	Ryan Jones (Cos Cob, CT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I haven't written a review in a while, perhaps because my search for more engaging literature on the military and special forces has not been fruitful lately. This is the first piece of writing in some time that I read cover to cover without putting it down. I first heard of Plaster's work when I heard of Robert Howard, the most highly decorated living soldier. I have the utmost respect for men who have more medals than their age, and so I decided I needed to find out more about Howard and his unit in the Special Observation Group (SOG) during the Vietnam War. I was told that this book was the best on the subject, and now I can safely say that I completely agree. Plaster has the unique perspective of an individual who served side by side with men like Bob Howard and Frank Zabitoski, two winners of the Congressional Medal of Honor. All of the men of SOG are truly the epitome of heroism. They were deployed deep behind enemy lines in teams of two and three, along with a group of indigenous Montagnards who were resisting the NVA. Though outnumbered in almost every fight, these SOG squads were able to wreak havoc upon the North Vietnamese. Plaster's work is commendable because it is a full look into this unit which was only recently declassified by the Department of Defense. It gives the reader extremely interesting details through an insider account of SOG's actions in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The book does a great justice to a group of individuals who have yet to be appreciated by the general public.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And You Thought the Navy SEALs were the best., June 10, 1999

By	[e-mail] (San Diego) - See all my reviews

Actually, Navy SEALs are undoubtedly the best. But unfortunately, they were underused in Vietnam because their existance as a guerilla warefare unit was still relatively short at that time. This book gives us continual action throughout the book because green beret operations were frequent and consisted of an unlimited supply of Montangard volunteers to keep the fight going. Also, unlike the SEALS, whose area of activity existed mainly in central Vietnam, the Green Berets were almost indegenous to areas such as Laos and Cambodia where the NVA possessed its most heavy concentrations of fighting forces. As a result, the Army Special Forces activty in Vietnam as described in this book gives a whole new meaning the term "suicide missions". Before I read this book, I knew only of the SOG missions that were portrayed on the syndicated television show "Tour of Duty" if you can remember. On the show, a regular army infantry platoon eventually ascends to the status of "SOG" team probably as an attempt to revive the shows falling ratings and bland plot line. As a "SOG" team, I don't believe the TV soldiers ever set foot in hot spots like Cambodia or Laos; and, as with every TV show, noone ever really dies. That is not the case as you will come to realize after reading this book. I don't think you could show what real SOG mission was like on TV not because of the SOG's secret nature, but because SOG mission were gorier than gory and would probably look like something out of Saving Private Ryan. What strikes me as most peculiar is the fact that the son of the owner of Walgreen's served three (or was two tours) as a SOG agent in Vietnam when he could've stayed home with his family's millions. That's dedication. Not to say that everyone else wasn't dedicated, but I'm sure that not everyone had that kind of option waiting for them back home.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam, May 30, 2008

By	Sherman R. Batman - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a veteran of SOG having served with CCC, FOB-2, Kontum RVN. After being assigned to ST Illinois I pulled several missions and suddenly found myself One-Zero (Team Leader) after the One-Zero quit Recon and moved on to the Hatchet Force.

I have conversed with John Plaster on several occasions and have purchased all his books. In this particular book I am mentioned on pages 89-90 where he (Plaster)tells what he says is the story of the "Bright Lights" mission that recovered the body of SP5 John Kedenburg MOH. I and my assistant Team Leader, One-One,Mike Tramel have read this tale and were absolutely astounded to learn from Plaster's book what a couple of bumbling heroes we were. In short, the only truthful details is our names. The date, and details of the mission are l00% BS.

In addition to our mission Plaster makes several stupid statements in his book that defy the imagination. For example:

He states that Thunderstorms in VN (SE Asia) do not produce lightning only thunder.

He was issued a Silenced Swedish K SMG. To the best of my knowledge and belief we had a plethora of Silenced Sten Guns/.22 cal colt woodsman pistols, a conex container of Swedcish K"s but none had silencers.

He always checked his safety just prior of getting out of the Helicopter to insure, due to humid weather in VN, that it had not rusted solid. Now this would be a real trick since the receiver of the CAR-15 was aluminium alloy and did not rust.

Going to the Club and singing "Old Blue" everytime a US SF soldier was lost. This never happened while I was at the FOB ,again to the best of my knowledge and belief. However, SFC James McGlon was known as "Old Blue" because he was always singing "Old Blue" at the Club.

This is just a few of the untruths I found in his book and I don't have it in my possession so I might extract other parts of his tales that I know to be incorrect. Suffices to say, that every SF Soldier (circa1968), that I have spoken with have the same opinion of the Plaster's Books.BTW Neither Mike or myself were interviewed by Plaster prior to the publication of his book