Rice Paddy Recon: A Marine Officer's Second Tour in Vietnam, 1968-1970

A young U.S. Marine officer recounts his experiences of the Vietnam War over a nineteen month period. He graphically describes what it was like to perform three distinct combat missions: long-range ground reconnaissance in the Annamite Mountains of I Corps, infantry operations in the rice paddies and mountains of Quang Nam Province and special police operations for the CIA in Tay Ninh Province. Using Marine Corps official unit histories, CIA documents, and his weekly letters home, the author relies almost exclusively on primary sources in providing an accurate and honest account of combat at the small unit level. Of particular interest is his description of his assignment to the CIA as a Provincial Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) advisor in Tay Ninh Province, where he participated in several secret missions as part of the controversial Phoenix Program. The name and contribution of the CIA's most valuable spy during the war, the famous "Tay Ninh Source," is revealed.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents List of Maps viii Acknowledgments Preface 1. Back to Vietnam and the War 2. Deja Vu 3. An Hoa—Patrols Redux 4. Base Area 112 5. The Idylls of March 6. The Arizona Territory 7. Liberty Bridge 8. The Que Son Mountains 9. Hill 65 and the Palace Guard 10. Qua’s Story: The Life of a Viet Cong Guerrilla 11. The House on Doan Cong Bu Street 12. The CIA Embassy House 13. First Impressions 14. Bad American Policy—A New Focus 15. London Interlude 16. America’s Most Valuable Spy 17. The Pru Winter Offensive of 1969 18. The Cambodian Invasion 19. My War Ends Epilogue Glossary Chapter Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Andrew R. Finlayson served for 25 years in the U. S. Marine Corps retiring as a colonel and went on to work in the defense industry in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Romania. He is the author of several defense and intelligence related articles and studies. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Review :
“fascinating...deserves our full and undivided attention”—Leatherneck Magazine; “Finlayson has penned a fascinating account of his 19 months in Vietnam. In this extremely well-written memoir, Finlayson takes the reader on a very personal narrative of his experiences in combat. His detailed accounts...provide a revealing glimpse into the deadly cat-and-mouse pursuit-and-escape clashes between reconnaissance Marines and North Vietnamese soldiers in the remote jungles and mountainous terrain of Base Area 112...gripping. His spellbinding description of the action is riveting. Finlayson has a unique ability to weave infantry tactics into his narrative without making the story read like a textbook. This wonderfully written book is more then a personal memoir; ‘it is firsthand account of how one young Marine officer fought in that war’”—Proceedings; “the author offers a well-researched and well-written account of his experiences in Vietnam, and his recollections of his service with force reconnaissance, infantry elements, and especially the PRU provides readers with a wide scope of America’s history of involvement in Vietnam. While his inclusion of so many elements of the war, ranging from his own personal experiences to sweeping discussions of the US military strategy in its entirety, offers a wide lens through which to view the war, Finlayson ultimately achieves the goal of his memoir by broadening the value of American understanding of the war in Vietnam.”—H-Net Reviews; “Finlayson’s formidable analysis of strategic logistics and strategic geography is very fine.”—Catholicism.org; “recommended...well-written...McFarland has done the serious reader of Marine Corps Officers memoirs a service. This book ranks right up there at the top of the genre’s heap”—The VVA Veteran.