Volume One
HARDCOVER WILL BE IN STOCK SOON!
The inaugural edition of 'SOG Chronicles Volume One' will be the first in a series of books focusing on the many untold stories from that eight-year secret war where Green Berets went deep behind enemy lines without conventional support from artillery, tanks, or ground support troops where communist forces massed 50,000-100,000 troops to combat them while keeping the Ho Chi Minh Trail supply lines open.
The centerpiece of "SOG Chronicles Volume One" is the 1970 story of Operation Tailwind, features a SOG element of 16 Green Berets and 120 indigenous soldiers that went deeper into Laos than any operation during the secret war. Every Green Beret received at least one Purple Heart, including the sole medic, Gary Mike Rose. He is slated to receive the Medal of Honor from President Donald J. Trump in October 2017 for his valor and medical skills tending to more than 60 wounded troops during that four-day mission.
"John Meyer's story about Operation Tailwind does justice to the valor and heroism of the men involved in the four-day battle. Meyer writes about this historic SOG mission with clarity and attention to detail that is long overdue in regards to this top secret mission. 'SOG Chronicles Volume One' is mandatory reading for anyone remotely interested in SOG history or simply in how the Green Berets operate deep behind enemy lines." --Billy Waugh, SOG/CIA operative
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Operation Tailwind
About Gary RoseMilitary Occupation (MOS) 18D Special Forces Medical Sergeant
Tours of Duty: Thailand, 1969; Republic of Vietnam, 1970; Panama, 1971-1973
Operation Tailwind | Sept. 11-14, 1970 | Chavane, Laos
Now Retired Capt. Gary "Mike" Rose received his most serious injuries on the first night of the mission that they were on the ground, September 11, 1970. Hit by RPG round, those round went past them, exploding sending shrapnel backwards.
During an assault by a company-sized element of North Vietnamese Army, one of the Montagnards was wounded 40 to 50 meters outside the company area. Rose ran, crawled, and maneuvered his way to this wounded man, shielding the Soldier with his own body, as he rendered lifesaving medical treatment. Rose then dragged the wounded Soldier back to the company with one hand while holding back and engaging the enemy with his weapon in the other hand.
On October 23, 2017, President Donald J. Trump will award the Medal of Honor to United States Army Captain Gary M. Rose (retired) for conspicuous gallantry during the Vietnam War.
Captain Rose will receive the Medal of Honor for voluntarily risking his life on multiple occasions during combat operations, while serving as a medic with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). From September 11 through September 14, 1970, while his unit was engaged with a much larger force deep in enemy-controlled territory, then-Sergeant Rose repeatedly ran into the line of enemy fire to provide critical medical aid to his comrades, using his own body on one occasion to shield a wounded American from harm.
On the final day of the mission, although wounded himself, Sergeant Rose voluntarily exposed himself to enemy fire while moving wounded personnel to the extraction point, loading them into helicopters, and helping to repel an enemy assault on the American position. As he boarded the final extraction helicopter, intense enemy fire hit the helicopter, causing it to crash shortly after takeoff. Again, ignoring his own injuries, Sergeant Rose pulled the helicopter crew and members of his unit from the burning wreckage and provided medical aid until another extraction helicopter arrived.
The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was officially activated Sept. 21, 1961, at Fort Bragg, N.C.A year later, elements of the 5th Special Forces Group began serving temporary duty tours in the Republic of Vietnam. Full deployment of the Group was completed in February 1965.
Units from within the group deployed from its operational base at Nha Trang, to the four military regions of Vietnam. Operational detachments established and manned camps at 254 different locations, to train and lead indigenous forces of the Civilian Irregular Defense Groups, and regular units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam.
The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) also formed specialized units that conducted special reconnaissance and direct-action missions.
Despite being one of the smallest units engaged in the Vietnam conflict, the Group's colors fly 20 campaign streamers. Soldiers from the group are among the most highly decorated warriors in the history of our nation. To date, 17 Medals of Honor have been awarded (eight posthumously), to Soldiers in the group for actions in Vietnam.
The group was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation (Army) Vietnam 1966 to 1968, the Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army) Vietnam 1968; the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Vietnam 1964; and Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, 1st Class, Vietnam, 1968 to 1970.
On March 5, 1971, the colors of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) were returned to Fort Bragg by a 94-man contingent led by then-Col. (Retired Maj. Gen.) Michael D. Healy, thereby terminating their official Vietnam service.
For more information about special operations in Vietnam, download MACV: The Joint Command in the Years of Withdrawal, 1968-1973 (PDF - 4.8 MB).
"The best military history is written by those who were there and those who humped a rucksack and stood shoulder to shoulder in the mud and the blood. John "Tilt" Meyer and John E. Peters are two such authors who were Special Forces."
-- Jim Donahue Special Forces Combat VeteranFormer Marine Highly Decorated in the Vietnam War
Author of Mobile Guerrilla Force, Blackjack-33, and Blackjack-34.
--W.E.B. Griffin & William E. Butterworth IV
For eight years, far beyond the battlefields of Vietnam and the glare of media distortions, American Green Berets fought a deadly secret war in Laos and Cambodia under the aegis of the top secret Military Assistance Command Vietnam - Studies and Observations Group, or SOG.
Go deep into the jungle with five SOG warriors surrounded by 10,000 enemy troops as they stack up the dead to build a human buttress for protection. Witness a Green Beret, shot in the back four times and left for dead, who survives to fight savagely against incredible odds to complete his missions.
Shudder as an enemy soldier touches a Green Beret's boot in the dark of night. Cringe as a Sergeant on SOG Spike Team Louisiana calls in an air strike on his team to break an enemy's wave attack. A team member dies instantly, and a Green Beret has an out-of-body experience as he watches his leg get blown off.
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.)
Born 19 January 1946, John Stryker Meyer entered the Army on 1 December 1966.
He completed basic training at Ft. Dix, New Jersey, advanced infantry training at Ft. Gordon, Georgia, jump school at Ft. Benning, Georgia, and graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in December 1967.
After a 12-week training session in Ft. Gordon, on radio teletype, Meyer landed in South Vietnam in April 1968, and arrived at FOB 1 in Phu Bai in May 1968, where he joined Spike Team Idaho.
When FOB 1 was closed in January 1969, ST Idaho was helicoptered to FOB 4 in Da Nang, which became designated Command and Control North, CCN.
He remained on ST Idaho through the end of his tour of duty in late April.
Returned to the U.S. and was assigned to E Company in the 10th Special Forces Group at Ft. Devens, Massachusetts until October 1969, when he rejoined ST Idaho at CCN.
That tour of duty ended suddenly in April 1970 after the CCN commander refused Meyer s first request to pull his four-man team from an A Shau Valley target.
He returned to the States, completed his college education at Trenton State College, where he was editor of the school newspaper, The Signal, for two years, worked at the Trenton Times for 10 years, eight years at the San Diego Union and has been an editor at the North County Times for 10 years in Oceanside, California, where he also writes occasional columns. Meyer received his 20-year membership pin from the Special Operations Association in 2002. He and his wife Anna have five children and live in Oceanside, Ca.