SOG Kontum: Top Secret Missions in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, 1968–1969

A year with the men of MACV-SOG at Forward Operating Base Kontum. The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was a highly classified, multi-service United States Special Forces unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War. The unit conducted strategic reconnaissance missions in South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia; carried out the capture of enemy prisoners, rescued downed pilots, and conducted rescue operations to retrieve allied prisoners of war throughout Southeast Asia; and conducted clandestine agent team activities and psychological operations. This book tells the story of the Teams operating out of FOB2 Kontum, near the tri-border area, in 1968–69. From recon missions over the fence to the heroic, and sometimes fatal efforts undertaken to try and rescue missing SOG members, the events are told through the words of the men themselves, supported by previously unreleased official documents. AUTHORS: Joe Parnar served in the U.S. Army Special Forces from August 1966–April 1969. After military service he became involved in several veterans' organisations. He is a lifelong member of the American Legion and served as Commander of Gardner Post 129 in 1989 and 1990. He is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Special Forces and Special Operations associations. Robert Dumont was born in Oklahoma in 1947 and graduated from Tulsa University before moving to Brooklyn, NY. He worked in the General Research Division of The New York Public Library before retiring in 2010. He co-authored Bac Si: A Green Beret Medic's War in Vietnam (Casemate 2014) with Jerry Krizan and has also written two fiction collections, "Borough of Churches" and "NYC Transit[s]."

Table of Contents:
Road Mining Mission with Tony Love Kedenburg Loss Tony Love - Bob Barnes Duffield - RT Hawaii Hunt and Love - Wolfkeil Grommett - Tho wounded Bryant Bright Light Dennis Mack Ghost Helo SOG SLAM VII w/Jaeger comments Last Days SOG SLAM VII Russian Helo Scherdin-Jerson Loss- Huey Crash with RT-Vermont Insertion Attempt RT-Iowa HP Recon in Force Goulet-Cadenbach; Insert RT-NM Insert HP - Hill 1152 Attack on FOB - March 2 Loss of Ripanti Operation Nightcap Attack on 'Yard camp Operation Spindown

About the Author :
Joe Parnar served in the U.S. Army Special Forces from August 1966 to April 1969. After military service he became involved in several veterans' organisations. He is a lifelong member of the American Legion and served as Commander of Gardner Post 129 in 1989 and 1990. He is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Special Forces and Special Operations associations. Robert Dumont was born in Oklahoma in 1947 and graduated from Tusla University before moving to Brooklyn, NY. He worked in the General Research Division of The New York Public Library before retiring in 2010. He co-authored Bac Si: A Green Beret Medic’s War in Vietnam (Casemate, 2014) with Jerry Krizan and has also written two fiction collections, Borough of Churches and NYC Transit[s].

Review :
Every one of the personnel mentioned in SOG Kontum is a hero. The book also provides a list of medals/decorations awarded after some missions described, but the awards are only a footnote to the highly engaging narrative. The men of SOG-MACV fought for each other, not for the awards or glory. This book is a very moving tribute to the heroism of the top-secret unit based on research and oral histories gathered from SOG veterans themselves. . . [A] powerful sense of sacrifice permeates the book and makes it profound and unique—especially when one considers the void of secrecy in which SOG existed. The format of the book works well. The move from one eyewitness account to the next is seamless . … [A] tribute to the SOG personnel and to the helicopter crews who risked their lives picking up endangered units