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Laos File
Military Writers Society of America 2011 Book Award From the bestselling author of Platoon comes a military thriller about one Marine’s quest to leave no POW behind. The death of a salty old senior noncommissioned officer who ran special operations in Vietnam leads US Marine Gunner Shake Davis on a shocking and potentially lethal mission to find out what happened to hundreds of American prisoners of war. With “plenty of action and lots of military detail” (Vietnam Veterans of America), Laos File is a great read for fans of Tom Clancy and W. E. B. Griffin.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2008
23 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Dale A. Dye
30 books35 followersDale Adam Dye is an American author, actor, and businessman. He served for many years in the U.S. Marine Corps, rising in rank from Private to Captain during the course of his career, which included service as a Marine Combat Correspondent during the war in Viet Nam. He retired from the USMC in 1984, and has since worked primarily in film and television in addition to writing several books.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 14, 2016
One of the best military actions
The story itself was believable, but a stretch. The military description of action and normal military activities was correct and enjoyable.
The story itself was believable, but a stretch. The military description of action and normal military activities was correct and enjoyable.
August 5, 2012
Retired Marine Sergeant Major Quick died at his cabin in a remote part of the Ozark Mountains - never knowing what had happened to his son, a confirmed POW in Laos during the Vietnam war. When the American POW's were released in Hanoi after the war, his son and many other confirmed prisoners from Laos were not a part of that contingent of freed soldiers. It was reported that 213 POW's were collected from various prison camps in Laos and were en route to Hanoi. The prisoners and guards, over three-hundred men in total, were following the Ho Chi Minh trail northward. However, just prior to reaching the gateway into North Vietnam, the entire group vanished. There were no survivors, evidence on the trails or documentation regarding the march and its outcome - 213 American families would never know what happened. So it was said...
After the Vietnam War ended, Sergeant Major Quick spent four years with the "Spooks" in South East Asia trying to solve the mystery of his missing son. He had heard rumors of existing evidence, and followed up on every lead. He created a log of his own during this time and recorded every tidbit of information - keeping it hidden and secret from the Spooks and others. After his death, this package and other pertinent information ended up in the hands of Marine Gunner Shake Davis. Warrant Officer Davis and Sergeant Major Quick served together in Vietnam and other hot spots during their careers. They were close friends, and it was Shake who held the Sergeant Major's head in his arms - comforting the older man until his heart finally stopped and he took a last breath. The Warrant Officer was contemplating retirement and was ready to sign the papers when these secret documents arrived. In order for him to carry on, Shake had to find a way back to Vietnam with a good enough cover - one that would enable him to conduct his clandestine investigation behind the scenes. The perfect opportunity came up when the Marine Corps asked Shake to postpone his retirement and join up with a MIA delegation in Vietnam. This was also a front for the real reason the government was sending him there. Shake Davis was tasked with spying on Vietnamese military strength, tactics and weapons in addition to those discussions about MIA's. Could he do this and conduct his private investigation about the Laos disappearances at the same time?
Shake Davis found Vietnam much different from how he remembered it during the war. Most of the people encountered were not even born when the war was fought and did not show any resentment for the Americans. It was a different story with the older generation. There were many secrets, ex-soldiers harbored guilt and wanted retribution, there were indeed survivors of the Laos March and evidence of what had happened was also available and hidden in a secret place. However, people are now dying and Shake Davis is in the cross-hairs of assassins; somebody was going to great lengths in wanting to keep the Laos file a secret.
This book is a cloak and dagger thriller with many twists and turns. Shake eventually finds himself at the outer walls of Hue and the Imperial Palace. The familiarity of these sights forces him to relive the battles he fought here during the 1968 Tet offensive. When his mind stops the movie, he realizes that he is standing in the exact place where his foxhole had been some forty-two years earlier. In fact, he even meets a former NVA soldier, who turns out to be the one who fought Shake, hand to hand, in this very spot.
The truth is out there! Can Warrant Officer Davis find it? Will the US and Vietnamese governments try to stop him? Will he escape the assassins? Will there be closure? This is a stay up late at night book - well worth the reader having to drag his ass the next day. Highly recommended. Well done Dale!
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel
After the Vietnam War ended, Sergeant Major Quick spent four years with the "Spooks" in South East Asia trying to solve the mystery of his missing son. He had heard rumors of existing evidence, and followed up on every lead. He created a log of his own during this time and recorded every tidbit of information - keeping it hidden and secret from the Spooks and others. After his death, this package and other pertinent information ended up in the hands of Marine Gunner Shake Davis. Warrant Officer Davis and Sergeant Major Quick served together in Vietnam and other hot spots during their careers. They were close friends, and it was Shake who held the Sergeant Major's head in his arms - comforting the older man until his heart finally stopped and he took a last breath. The Warrant Officer was contemplating retirement and was ready to sign the papers when these secret documents arrived. In order for him to carry on, Shake had to find a way back to Vietnam with a good enough cover - one that would enable him to conduct his clandestine investigation behind the scenes. The perfect opportunity came up when the Marine Corps asked Shake to postpone his retirement and join up with a MIA delegation in Vietnam. This was also a front for the real reason the government was sending him there. Shake Davis was tasked with spying on Vietnamese military strength, tactics and weapons in addition to those discussions about MIA's. Could he do this and conduct his private investigation about the Laos disappearances at the same time?
Shake Davis found Vietnam much different from how he remembered it during the war. Most of the people encountered were not even born when the war was fought and did not show any resentment for the Americans. It was a different story with the older generation. There were many secrets, ex-soldiers harbored guilt and wanted retribution, there were indeed survivors of the Laos March and evidence of what had happened was also available and hidden in a secret place. However, people are now dying and Shake Davis is in the cross-hairs of assassins; somebody was going to great lengths in wanting to keep the Laos file a secret.
This book is a cloak and dagger thriller with many twists and turns. Shake eventually finds himself at the outer walls of Hue and the Imperial Palace. The familiarity of these sights forces him to relive the battles he fought here during the 1968 Tet offensive. When his mind stops the movie, he realizes that he is standing in the exact place where his foxhole had been some forty-two years earlier. In fact, he even meets a former NVA soldier, who turns out to be the one who fought Shake, hand to hand, in this very spot.
The truth is out there! Can Warrant Officer Davis find it? Will the US and Vietnamese governments try to stop him? Will he escape the assassins? Will there be closure? This is a stay up late at night book - well worth the reader having to drag his ass the next day. Highly recommended. Well done Dale!
Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel
May 17, 2016
3.5 stars really. I had hoped that this book was set in Laos, but it was actually set in Vietnam. In the end I liked this book, more than I thought I would, and I am glad I had the opportunity to read it.
Sheldon (Shake) Davis is a soon to be retired Marine, whose best friend Gus Quick (also Marine) died at the beginning of the book. Shake is given the responsibility of taking care of the arrangements. As he is making the necessary phone calls, he finds that his friend was involved with some things that he had no knowledge of. So, the story takes off from there.
Sheldon (Shake) Davis is a soon to be retired Marine, whose best friend Gus Quick (also Marine) died at the beginning of the book. Shake is given the responsibility of taking care of the arrangements. As he is making the necessary phone calls, he finds that his friend was involved with some things that he had no knowledge of. So, the story takes off from there.
July 27, 2016
This is a remarkably well-written, chilling and aching thriller portraying danger in secrets of turbulent events of the Vietnamese War. My rating 5.0.
US Marine Gunner Shake Davis served as a gunner in Vietnam when he was barely out of his teens. He has never forgotten the fear when he faced a young enemy in a bunker as they fought hand to hand. Shake never planned to return but fate has different plans. Shake stayed with his commanding officer as he died in a remote cabin. After burying the man, Shake begins to call family and authorities to advise of the passing. He soon learns that his longtime friend had secrets, including a tour with the CIA. Also two of the commander’s family members advise that, having received news of the death, they are following instructions to mail packages to Shake.
The material that Shake receives has him postponing retirement and setting out to determine what happened to hundreds of American prisoners of war who never made it out of Vietnam and remain unaccounted for all these years later. Among the missing was his old friend’s only son. Now Shake has been given a last mission: find the rumored “Laos File” that tells what happened to the 200+ soldiers who disappeared as they were being marched toward prisoner exchange.
Shake drives his daughter to Miami to get her settled in college before he leaves on this new mission. When Shake is attack in a concert crowd he begins to suspect that someone does not want him researching the facts. Shake is pulled onto a team that is headed to Vietnam to make ‘reparations.’ As he proceeds, Shake quickly discovers that the Miami attack will not be the last of the assassination attempts he will have to dodge. Shake gets support from a young female officer among the team, not realizing that she is keeping secrets too.
Although it started a bit slowly, I enjoyed the writing style which consists of wonderful wording prose and yet is direct and distinct, fitting the sound of a gruff soldier. I was soon drawn into the story and placed in the scenes and amidst the fast paced action by the strong visuals painted by the author. The author blends current and past reminisces for Shake and for another character, Minh, a Vietnamese man. About a third of the way in the pasts of the characters intersect. From there the paths of Shake and Minh are on a collision course for a traumatic meeting.
There is rough language – again consistent with a salty Marine and adding to the authenticity of the story. The recounting of the struggles, fears and horror of the young soldiers during the Vietnam War are chilling and the mental scars, as well as physical scars, of the characters are aching. I found the presentation utterly remarkable and engrossing. At the conclusion of the book there is a brief biography of the author that is impressive and supports the first hand atmosphere conveyed in the story. I highly recommend this military thriller and I plan to look for more intense stories by Mr. Dye.
I received this title through NetGalley for an honest review.
US Marine Gunner Shake Davis served as a gunner in Vietnam when he was barely out of his teens. He has never forgotten the fear when he faced a young enemy in a bunker as they fought hand to hand. Shake never planned to return but fate has different plans. Shake stayed with his commanding officer as he died in a remote cabin. After burying the man, Shake begins to call family and authorities to advise of the passing. He soon learns that his longtime friend had secrets, including a tour with the CIA. Also two of the commander’s family members advise that, having received news of the death, they are following instructions to mail packages to Shake.
The material that Shake receives has him postponing retirement and setting out to determine what happened to hundreds of American prisoners of war who never made it out of Vietnam and remain unaccounted for all these years later. Among the missing was his old friend’s only son. Now Shake has been given a last mission: find the rumored “Laos File” that tells what happened to the 200+ soldiers who disappeared as they were being marched toward prisoner exchange.
Shake drives his daughter to Miami to get her settled in college before he leaves on this new mission. When Shake is attack in a concert crowd he begins to suspect that someone does not want him researching the facts. Shake is pulled onto a team that is headed to Vietnam to make ‘reparations.’ As he proceeds, Shake quickly discovers that the Miami attack will not be the last of the assassination attempts he will have to dodge. Shake gets support from a young female officer among the team, not realizing that she is keeping secrets too.
Although it started a bit slowly, I enjoyed the writing style which consists of wonderful wording prose and yet is direct and distinct, fitting the sound of a gruff soldier. I was soon drawn into the story and placed in the scenes and amidst the fast paced action by the strong visuals painted by the author. The author blends current and past reminisces for Shake and for another character, Minh, a Vietnamese man. About a third of the way in the pasts of the characters intersect. From there the paths of Shake and Minh are on a collision course for a traumatic meeting.
There is rough language – again consistent with a salty Marine and adding to the authenticity of the story. The recounting of the struggles, fears and horror of the young soldiers during the Vietnam War are chilling and the mental scars, as well as physical scars, of the characters are aching. I found the presentation utterly remarkable and engrossing. At the conclusion of the book there is a brief biography of the author that is impressive and supports the first hand atmosphere conveyed in the story. I highly recommend this military thriller and I plan to look for more intense stories by Mr. Dye.
I received this title through NetGalley for an honest review.
October 17, 2015
This review is from: Laos File (The Shake Davis Series Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
The Laos File, despite the title, is about the Vietnam war and some of its enduring legacies of sorrow and pain.
Specifically, it is about one man's search for missing POWs and what might have happened out there on a forced march from Laos to NVN.
Between the macho, military bluster and jargon scenes, there are some really fine, moving moments in the book that made me wish the author had aimed a bit higher in his novel. But it's his book and he knows his audience, so who am I to say.
Mr. Dye knows combat, the bond between fighting men that transcends old animosities and painful memories that are seared deeply into souls. He also knows, firsthand the country in which the novel takes place
For fans of military thrillers, a good read.
The Laos File, despite the title, is about the Vietnam war and some of its enduring legacies of sorrow and pain.
Specifically, it is about one man's search for missing POWs and what might have happened out there on a forced march from Laos to NVN.
Between the macho, military bluster and jargon scenes, there are some really fine, moving moments in the book that made me wish the author had aimed a bit higher in his novel. But it's his book and he knows his audience, so who am I to say.
Mr. Dye knows combat, the bond between fighting men that transcends old animosities and painful memories that are seared deeply into souls. He also knows, firsthand the country in which the novel takes place
For fans of military thrillers, a good read.
November 21, 2015
Laos File hits the mark!
Disclaimer: I indirectly served with Capt. Dye on Okinawa '79-'80. This is the first of his books that I have read and I must say I am impressed. I'm a Gulf War veteran and based on conversations I've had with Vietnam Veterans this storyline was right on target. You don't have to have been a Marine, veteran of another branch or have any ties to the military whatsoever to understand and value this book. I won't regurgitate the cover explanation or give spoilers. I'll simply say, get it, read it!! Note: please disregard the time-line from start to finish. I started, read about 10 pages and life took over. Picked it back up 3 days ago and finished it in 6 hours.
Disclaimer: I indirectly served with Capt. Dye on Okinawa '79-'80. This is the first of his books that I have read and I must say I am impressed. I'm a Gulf War veteran and based on conversations I've had with Vietnam Veterans this storyline was right on target. You don't have to have been a Marine, veteran of another branch or have any ties to the military whatsoever to understand and value this book. I won't regurgitate the cover explanation or give spoilers. I'll simply say, get it, read it!! Note: please disregard the time-line from start to finish. I started, read about 10 pages and life took over. Picked it back up 3 days ago and finished it in 6 hours.
September 3, 2016
A Tough But Worthy Read!
Although a bit disorienting at times, Dye's first-hand experience as a marine in the Vietnam war shines through in the horrendous reality we should never forget. In addition to the horrors of war, the distortion which the politics of that era added, serves as a reality check for the informed as well as the informed. Definitely worth the read.
Although a bit disorienting at times, Dye's first-hand experience as a marine in the Vietnam war shines through in the horrendous reality we should never forget. In addition to the horrors of war, the distortion which the politics of that era added, serves as a reality check for the informed as well as the informed. Definitely worth the read.
July 10, 2015
Gotta be a jarhead to understand
I have the highest respect to all who served, and would like to buy dinner for the author. That being said, as a layman there were whole chapters written in jargon I could not understand
I have the highest respect to all who served, and would like to buy dinner for the author. That being said, as a layman there were whole chapters written in jargon I could not understand
August 18, 2019
Must read for the Commandant's reading list
Definitely a story that I didn't want to put down. Although many quick phrases are easier for old grunts to understand, the story should flow very well for all readers. Excellent book, Sir. Can't wait to read the next.
Definitely a story that I didn't want to put down. Although many quick phrases are easier for old grunts to understand, the story should flow very well for all readers. Excellent book, Sir. Can't wait to read the next.
December 9, 2015
Good book with good imagery.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews