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SLINGSHOT, by Edward Vick
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This is a story about one mission in a River Patrol Force operation called Giant Slingshot in the Mekong Delta. It is based on real events.
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212 pages. Publisher: Bedford Press
$21.99 (Paperback)
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VIETNAM IRONCLADS, A Pictorial History of US Navy River Assault Craft, 1966-1970, by John M. Carrico
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Vietnam Ironclads presents a fascinating look at the specially designed armored gunboats used during the Vietnam War. This volume combines years of meticulous research with many never-before-seen photographs taken by Navy Combat Veterans, and from official government archives. Each type of riverine combatant is explained in its own chapter. The book begins with a historical overview providing insight into the unique challenges of America's twentieth century Riverine Assault Force. Discover the interior details of an Armored Troop Carrier, Monitor, and Assault Support Patrol Boat. Also explore the only surviving River Assault Craft of the Vietnam War, a program 5 Command and Communications Boat. This book will appeal to any naval history enthusiast, scale modeler, or military veteran.
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136 Pages, Color + Black & White Photos
$39.95
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Amazon Review
RIVER RATS, by Ralph Christopher
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By far the greatest contribution of the narrative is the insight it provides into the hows and whys of United States involvement in Vietnam, and the attempt of that involvement to bring freedom to those who were unable to achieve it by their own efforts. We see the United States more as a caretaker and less as a policeman in terms of motivation for its involvement half a world away. Andwe see the tremendous price paid by those who served to ensure that freedom ordinary men who, by fate, were thrown together in a strange land, and who fulfilled a part of their destiny, and their Nations, on the brown water.
292 Pages
$19.75
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Amazon Review
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DUTY HONOR SACRIFICE, by Ralph Christopher
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For two-thousand years, the Chinese, French, Japanese and Republic of Vietnam forces tried to pacify the Mekong Delta and failed. The United States Ninth Infantry Division, and U.S. Naval Forces of Vietnam, did it in a little over three years, but at a high cost. They fought for freedom, they fought with honor, but in the end they fought for each other.
421 Pages
$20.49
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Amazon Review
RIVERINE PHOTO ALBUM, by Ralph Christopher
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The Riverine Photo Album is a tribute to those forces that served in the river coastal war of South Vietnam, which was made up of small units of sailors that manned forward firebases, floating detachments, and rode small fast patrol boats and the larger heavy riverine craft alongside South Vietnamese troops, mercenaries, and regional forces, who were fighting for their independence from communist rule. These Navy units were often the first to intercept communist forces trying to transport weapons and fighters into the Republic of Vietnam. Along with the 9th Infantry River Raiders, they severed communist lines and defeated their armies. And then their units were dis-established and sent home after turning over many of their beloved boats, bases, and responsibilities to the South Vietnamese Navy, whom they had trained. The River Rats and River Raiders fought for freedom and they fought with honor, but in the end they fought for each other. Praise is hardly enough.
$29.99
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IRON BUTTERFLY, by Ralph Christopher & Chief Jim Davy
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The true story of an elite group of men who wrote a page in Naval history.
They patrolled the waterways in thirty-one foot river patrol boats powered by Detroit diesel engines with water jet-propulsion. Armed with machineguns and grenade launchers, as well as sheer guts and determination, these sailors faced danger around every bend in the river. Working together, they became one of the finest weapons in Admiral Zumwalts arsenal for turning back the tide of communist infiltration into Saigon, taking control of the inland waterways. These are true accounts of their bravery, which they proved time and again by spearheading operations into enemy controlled territory. United together in brotherhood, they accomplished all their missions and won their part of the Vietnam War.
396 Pages
$19.99
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Amazon Review
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SEAWOLF 28, by A.J. Billings
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“Seldom do I ever read a military aviation book where I come away thinking that I would have really loved to have flown with the author of that memoir. Author Al Billings is a veteran’s veteran! He is a man among men. It was men like Al that made flying in Huey's the heroic aviation adventure it was. His book “Seawolf 28” explodes with energy and action and much more. His personality certainly comes shinning through and shows him for whom he was."
Billings was awarded over 40 medals and citations including the Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross. He was a member of the Navy’s most decorated helicopter attack squadron in the Vietnam War. When you finish reading his book you will be left with many emotions about war, the men, leadership in the military and what it means to stand up and be counted when someone has to be accountable and honest. Al Billings is a true leader in the real sense. I think most veterans will agree that he would be the guy that you would like to have had in the pilot’s seat on your flight!
This is a must read book and receives the MWSA”s HIGHEST RATING – FIVE STARS!”
394 Pages
$16.95
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Amazon Review
A RIVER OF PAIN, AN OCEAN OF JOY,
by Michael Matthews
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Day Hopper from Springfield, Oregon is old, fat and ugly or at least that's how he sees himself. He lives a solitary, boring life as his time in Vietnam, many years ago has left him incapable of developing close relationships. That is until a beautiful, tiny, Chinese, Private Investigator brings him news that his daughter is looking for him. While this might seem like good news, it comes as a bit of a blow to him as he was not aware that he had any children. A string of sudden and unfortunate events forces him to go and meet this mystery daughter. In the process, he discovers that he is not the only lonely person in the world and that the Vietnam war that he thought was over, is still being fought. This time the enemy is just as mysterious and unforgiving as the enemy he went to battle with long ago. As this new war unfolds, Day Hopper discovers that the old wounds that have caused a lifetime of pain might possibly be healed by the very relationship that he has avoided for so long.
228 Pages
$10.95
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Amazon Review
THROUGH THE WATER AND THE FIRE,
by Charles Hunt
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While most of us who grew up in the late 60s and early 70s sentimentalize the flower-covered VWs, the Beatles, bell-bottom jeans and tie-dye t-shirts, and even the party-like atmosphere of some of the anti-war demonstrations, there exists a smaller segment of men who conversely recall days and days of sitting in the blazing sun, bathing in murky rivers, being bitten unmercifully by swarming mosquitoes, and being fired upon by a hidden enemy. Charles Hunt, the author of Through the Water and the Fire: A Swift Boat Sailor's Story, falls into this latter group. Within the pages of his book lies not only a true war story but also a history lesson, an autobiography, and a witness to the love and grace of God. Based on his letters and audios sent home during his days serving on a Swift Boat, Hunt allows the reader to glance through a window into the mind, heart, and emotions of a Vietnam combat sailor as well as glimpse his reflections of the Vietnam era as a retired veteran decades later. Between the covers of his book, he heralds the value of freedom, reveals the cost of freedom, and shares his laments when sacrifice is wasted. ---Laura T. Gainsborg