Tan Phu: Special Forces Team A-23 in Combat (Mass Market Paperback)

by Leigh Wade (Author) "It was October 29, 1963. I was standing outside the palm thatch building that served as our operations center and was trying to talk on..." (more)
Key Phrases: commo bunker, commo check, open rice paddy, Tan Phu, Special Forces, Pee Hole (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"IF YOU ENJOYED GETTING SHOT AT, TAN PHU WAS A GREAT PLACE TO BE. . . ."

Vietnam, 1963. Leigh Wade was a radioman for Special Forces Team A-23, a twelve-man unit sent to Tan Phu, a hell on earth in the Mekong Delta where the VC had the advantage of knowing the tangled terrain. Wade's mission: run sweeps and hammer-and-anvil operations, kill or capture as many VC as possible, and move back to camp before they could strike back.

But in those early days, Special Forces didn't have the "luxury" of proper air, artillery, and logistical support, so patrols moved through the black tropical night with the danger of death lurking in every shadow. By the time Team A-23 returned to Fort Bragg in December 1963, after a six-month tour, all but two of its original twelve members had been killed or captured. Wade left Vietnam thinking the Americans would pull out within twelve months, unaware that he would serve five more years of bloody combat. . . .

From the Inside Flap
"IF YOU ENJOYED GETTING SHOT AT, TAN PHU WAS A GREAT PLACE TO BE. . . ."                                                                



Vietnam, 1963. Leigh Wade was a radioman for Special Forces Team A-23, a twelve-man unit sent to Tan Phu, a hell on earth in the Mekong Delta where the VC had the advantage of knowing the tangled terrain. Wade's mission: run sweeps and hammer-and-anvil operations, kill or capture as many VC as possible, and move back to camp before they could strike back.



But in those early days, Special Forces didn't have the "luxury" of proper air, artillery, and logistical support, so patrols moved through the black tropical night with the danger of death lurking in every shadow. By the time Team A-23 returned to Fort Bragg in December 1963, after a six-month tour, all but two of its original twelve members had been killed or captured. Wade left Vietnam thinking the Americans would pull out within twelve months, unaware that he would serve five more years of bloody combat. . . .

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ivy Books (March 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804116164
• ISBN-13: 978-0804116169
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #511,724 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TAN PHU captured and maintained my interest throughout!, March 11, 1999

By	Steven M. Yedinak ([e-mail]) (Newport News, VA) - See all my reviews

Leigh Wade proves that with American ingenuity, and old fashion guts, you can do a lot of damage while minimizing friendly casualties. He also shows the reader that regardless of your primary MOS - he was a commo man - while assigned to a Special Forces A-Team, you are going to fight and kill like a proven grunt, which he did well, and often. Reading Wade's story helps me put Vietnam in perspective. He tells it the way it happened to him, and there's plenty to get your attention. He - through his writings - makes me proud to be an American. Way to go, Leigh!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An easy read for a hot summer's day with a cold six pack., June 13, 1997

By A Customer

Tan Phu was the Special Forces camp from which three Americans were captured in South Vietnam on 29 October 1963. If you read James N. (Nick) Rowe's Five Years to Freedom, then you'll want to read Tan Phu to get the rest of the true story on what happened to the 12-man Special Forces Team A-23. As the cover says: "every night you fought just to stay alive." Well written, and a good book to whet your appetite for reading more history about Special Forces operations. After reading Tan Phu, rent The Green Berets video starring John Wayne, which did a good job overall in portraying the daily struggle of isolated Special Forces camps to stay alive surrounded by the Viet Cong

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early A-Team Operations with Nick Rowe and Rocky Versace, December 15, 2002

By	"billmidge" (Yorktown, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

I enjoy Leigh Wade's writing style and had read one of his other books. This book is his account of his first tour in Vietnam as a junior commo sergeant in a remote A-Team. Lt. Nick Rowe was on this team, and Wade's account of the operation that lead to the capture of Rowe (author of Five Years to Freedom) and Cpt. Rocky Versace (who was awarded a CMH posthumously for his actions as a POW) is a good addition to the historical record. After reading this book I re-read the beginning of Five Years to Freedom. It is very enlightening to read the two first person accounts of the battle. Both were accurate and insightful, and the differing perspectives helped illustrate some of the chaos of battle and fog of war. This book is a good personal record of the war from a junior green beret's point of view, uncensored and unapologetic.