Uncommon Valor

Uncommon Valor
Author: Stephen Moore
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2018-10-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1682473120

Uncommon Valor is a look into the formation and operation of an advanced Special Forces recon company during the Vietnam War. Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most covert U.S. military unit in its time and contained only volunteers from such elite units as the Army's Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Air Force Air Commandos. SOG warriors operated in small teams, going behind enemy lines in Laos and Cambodia and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, tasked with performing special reconnaissance, sabotaging North Vietnamese Army ammunition, attempting to rescue downed U.S. pilots, and other black ops missions. During that time, Forward Operating Base-2's (FOB-2's) recon company became the most highly decorated unit of the Vietnam War, with five of its men earning the Medal of Honor and eight earning the Distinguished Service Cross-America's second highest military award for valor. Purple Hearts were earned by SOG veterans at a pace unparalleled in American wars of the twentieth century, with casualties at times exceeding 100 percent. One, Bob Howard, was wounded on fourteen different occasions, received eight Purple Hearts, was written up after three different missions for the Medal of Honor, and emerged from Vietnam as the most highly decorated soldier since World War II's Audie Murphy.

Vietnam War Slang

Vietnam War Slang
Author: Tom Dalzell
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2014-07-25
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1317661877

In 2014, the US marks the 50th anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the basis for the Johnson administration’s escalation of American military involvement in Southeast Asia and war against North Vietnam. Vietnam War Slang outlines the context behind the slang used by members of the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. Troops facing and inflicting death display a high degree of linguistic creativity. Vietnam was the last American war fought by an army with conscripts, and their involuntary participation in the war added a dimension to the language. War has always been an incubator for slang; it is brutal, and brutality demands a vocabulary to describe what we don’t encounter in peacetime civilian life. Furthermore, such language serves to create an intense bond between comrades in the armed forces, helping them to support the heavy burdens of war. The troops in Vietnam faced the usual demands of war, as well as several that were unique to Vietnam – a murky political basis for the war, widespread corruption in the ruling government, untraditional guerilla warfare, an unpredictable civilian population in Vietnam, and a growing lack of popular support for the war back in the US. For all these reasons, the language of those who fought in Vietnam was a vivid reflection of life in wartime. Vietnam War Slang lays out the definitive record of the lexicon of Americans who fought in the Vietnam War. Assuming no prior knowledge, it presents around 2000 headwords, with each entry divided into sections giving parts of speech, definitions, glosses, the countries of origin, dates of earliest known citations, and citations. It will be an essential resource for Vietnam veterans and their families, students and readers of history, and anyone interested in the principles underpinning the development of slang.

The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English

The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English
Author: Tom Dalzell
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 5135
Release: 2018-05-11
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1351765205

The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang offers the ultimate record of modern, post WW2 American Slang. The 25,000 entries are accompanied by citations that authenticate the words as well as offer examples of usage from popular literature, newspapers, magazines, movies, television shows, musical lyrics, and Internet user groups. Etymology, cultural context, country of origin and the date the word was first used are also provided. In terms of content, the cultural transformations since 1945 are astounding. Television, computers, drugs, music, unpopular wars, youth movements, changing racial sensitivities and attitudes towards sex and sexuality are all substantial factors that have shaped culture and language. This new edition includes over 500 new headwords collected with citations from the last five years, a period of immense change in the English language, as well as revised existing entries with new dating and citations. No term is excluded on the grounds that it might be considered offensive as a racial, ethnic, religious, sexual or any kind of slur. This dictionary contains many entries and citations that will, and should, offend. Rich, scholarly and informative, The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English is an indispensable resource for language researchers, lexicographers and translators.

Across the Fence

Across the Fence
Author: John Stryker Meyer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2011-02-15
Genre: Vietnam War, 1961-1975
ISBN: 9780983256700

QUOTE: "As the commander of SOG, I can say that "Across The Fence" accurately reflects why the secret war was hazardous for our troops and so deadly for the enemy. Major General John K. Singlaub (U.S. Army Ret.) ----------------------------------------- Far beyond the battlefields of Vietnam, across the fence in Laos and Cambodia, America fought a deadly secret war. Known only as SOG, the Special Forces men of the Studies and Operations Group didn't play by the rules. They used every trick in the book to defeat the communist forces and if those didn't work they made up new ones. SOG operators tapped into phone wires, ambushed enemy units and gathered some of the most important intelligence of the war. All of this came at a staggering price in terms of casualties. At one point the casualty rate exceeded one hundred percent. So, what kept these extraordinary men running missions that were sure to get them wounded or killed? Why did they return to Vietnam for a second tour of duty with SOG? The answers to those questions are in this book.

Recce

Recce
Author: Koos Stadler
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2018-07-13
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1612006957

A gripping firsthand account of life and combat operations in the elite South African Special Forces, known as Recces, by a veteran Recce officer. The South African Special Forces are one of the most effective—and mysterious—military units in the world. Working in secret on covert operations, the legendary Recces have long fascinated, but little is known about how they operate. Now Koos Stadler, a career officer in the South African Special Forces, shares a revealing chronicle of his life and his experiences in the Border War. Shortly after passing the grueling Special Forces selection course in the early 1980s, Koos Stadler joined the so-called Small Teams group at 5 Reconnaissance Regiment. This sub-unit was made up of two-man teams and was responsible for many secret missions behind enemy lines. Sent to blow up railway lines and enemy fighter jets in south Angola, Stadler and his partner stared death in the face many times.

Tales from the Tailgate:

Tales from the Tailgate:
Author: Stephen J. Koreivo
Publisher: Author House
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2011-07-13
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1463416873

In January 2013, Tales from the Tailgate received an Honorable Mention from the New England Book Festival at the Omni Parker Hotel. Today, one hundred-twenty NCAA schools compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Over the past 30 years, one fan made the effort to attend a game played by every team at least once. He did it, and he has two kids and has been married to the same woman for 22 years! Here is his fun story every college football fan will enjoy reading!

Brothers of the Cloth

Brothers of the Cloth
Author: George Hand, IV
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2021-04-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781735543529

Master Sergeant (Ret.) George E. "Chik" Hand IV, better known as geo to the public. geo served for 10 years with the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, colloquially known as Delta Force. As the U.S. Army's premier counterterrorism, hostage rescue, and direct action Special Missions Unit (SMU), Delta Force has been at the tip of the spear of the American military ever since the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979. To serve there, a man has to climb physical and mental mountains; to remain there, a man has to show remarkable consistency and professionalism. Before his assignment to Delta, geo served in the 7th and 1st Special Forces Groups as a Green Beret.A rare wordsmith, geo is a master of the English language. But, it takes more than that to create a compelling memoir, especially one so heavily focused on others. Indeed, it takes empathy and emotional intellect. By empathizing with his subjects, geo puts you right next to them. You can see them breaching a door; you can smell their sweat after an operation; you can hear the radio chatter and the Little Bird helicopters whooping above; you can sense the joke that's about to crack and send everyone rolling; you can feel the pain of loss and the emptiness that death carves. That's why readers of all ages and walks of life rally around his stories.