Green Berets At War: U.S. Army Special Forces in Southeast Asia 1956-1975

by Shelby L. Stanton

Traces the combat experiences of U.S. special forces in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia and looks at special operations and guerrilla warfare techniques

Genres: History, Military Fiction, War, Military History, Politics, Nonfiction

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Capt. Shelby L. Stanton graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate of the ROTC program at Louisiana State University, Shelby was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Regular Army. Shelby went to infantry officer school and was awarded the Parachute Badge, Ranger Tab, Special Forces Tab. He served for six years on active duty during the Vietnam War as a paratrooper, combat rifle platoon leader in the 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry (Airborne) of the 3d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division; with the U.S. Army Special Forces, Thailand, as a Ranger Advisor to the Royal Thai Special Warfare Center, at Lopburi. He commanded a Special Forces long-range reconnaissance team in Laos and southeast Asia.

Overseas, Shelby was wounded in action in hostile fire at Nam Yu, Laos. Shelby medically retired from the U.S. Army with the rank of captain and numerous military accolades. For his military service, he was awarded the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Air Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Special Forces Combat Patch, Combat Infantryman Badge, Scuba Diver Badge, Thailand Parachute Badge, Thailand Fourragere,and Royal Laotian Parachute Badge.

After separating from the U.S. Army, he returned to Louisiana State University where he earned a Masters in Educational Administration and a Juris Doctor. He was admitted to the bar in the states of Louisiana and Texas.

Starting in the late Seventies he would have a brisk second career as a military historian of the 20th century U.S. Army.

Reviews

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a literary fraud.

See STOLEN VALOR pp 435-443

This guy is in a class by himself, he's written about a dozen "non fiction" books and ALL ARE LIES.

He was never stationed in Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia, nor did he
perform covert operations.

All of the medals he claims were awarded him don't exist.

While working for the government he did STEAL THOUSANDS OF PAGES of government documents and photographs which he use to write his many books of lies.
The FBI was able to get some of those documents back, but not all.

Army CID spent two years and tens of thousands of dollars preparing an investigative report and presented it to the US attorney's office, which assured investigating officers they would see action.

But federal attorneys ultimately declined to prosecute Stanton.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a literary fraud.

See STOLEN VALOR pp 435-443

This guy is in a class by himself, he's written about a dozen "non fiction" books and ALL ARE LIES.

He was never stationed in Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia, nor did he
perform covert operations.

All of the medals he claims were awarded him don't exist.

While working for the government he did STEAL THOUSANDS OF PAGES of government documents and photographs which he use to write his many books of lies.
The FBI was able to get some of those documents back, but not all.

Army CID spent two years and tens of thousands of dollars preparing an investigative report and presented it to the US attorney's office, which assured investigating officers they would see action.

But federal attorneys ultimately declined to prosecute Stanton.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the Author seems to be controversial, and may not be who he claims, this is still an exhaustive work covering all aspects of US Army Special Forces Activity in Asia during the VietNam War Era. Not a great work of writing, this book does go into rivetting/boring detail of the many facets of the anti-communist effort that may not be as well known. It seems that he covers every single attempt to overrun SF camps, and almost every major action involving ethnic minorities' forces like the Montagnard and the Nung. Wargamer/Military Enthusiasts will love the book for its many scenario starters, and inside information but regular readers may find the soporific style hard to endure.

[C Teahouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly not well known, this is the most researched and thorough history of Special Forces in Vietnam AND in neighboring countries. Highly recommended

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Special Forces at War is, as the full title suggests, an illustrated guide to the US Army SF contribution to the war in Vietnam from the early days until their removal from the field. It covers a vast array of topics in regards to the SF bases, early units, CIDG, Project Delta, Sigma, etc. Hatchet Forces, Mike Forces, their involvement in The Phoenix Program, MACV- SOG, Roadrunner units, and so on.

The book is written well, though it can feel like a dry recitation of places and unit designations at times. This level of detail cuts both ways though, and the author provides a lot of detail on different programs, their purposes, and AO's.

The organization of the book is a little tricky to take on. Given the enormity of the understanding, I'm not sure if organizing it geographically, then chronologically would have worked better or not. Regardless, it's hard to keep things straight at times since things can jump around some.

The photos are plentiful, though I can't attest to Howe many are truly new. I recognized several from John Plaster's book on SOG, but I dint know how many other are available in other books.

Overall it's a good primer - it gives you enough information to know what you want to know more about. For someone like me who's relatively new to reading about SF in Vietnam, it's a great into, but for someone with more than a passing knowledge, it will probably feel shallow.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a literary fraud.

See STOLEN VALOR pp 435-443

This guy is in a class by himself, he's written about a dozen "non fiction" books and ALL ARE LIES.

He was never stationed in Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia, nor did he
perform covert operations.

All of the medals he claims were awarded him don't exist.

While working for the government he did STEAL THOUSANDS OF PAGES of government documents and photographs which he use to write his many books of lies.
The FBI was able to get some of those documents back, but not all.

Army CID spent two years and tens of thousands of dollars preparing an investigative report and presented it to the US attorney's office, which assured investigating officers they would see action.

But federal attorneys ultimately declined to prosecute Stanton.