Operation Thunderhead: The True Story of Vietnam's Final POW Rescue Mission--and the last NAVY SealKilled in Country

by Kevin Dockery

The war was all but over—but there was still one battle the United States had to fight…

In the last year of the Vietnam conflict, even as American troops were leaving for home, there were still those fighting for their lives: prisoners of war being held in the Communist north. This is the incredible true story of a rescue mission that was classified Top Secret for years—Operation Thunderhead.

The Navy SEALs and the Underwater Demolition Teams who took part knew that if they were captured, they would be killed, tortured, or more likely disappear forever. They went in anyway. Here, for the first time, the full details of Operation Thunderhead are revealed—the mission, the materials, and the men who put their lives on the line to save their brothers in arms.

Genres: Military History, Nonfiction, History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Shaun Chittick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essentially a rewrite of John Dramesi's "Code of Honor", with a short bit at the end on the actual POW recovery attempt based on a detailed interview with Operation Thunderhead team member Rick Hetzell. I recommend reading, "Hope for Freedom: Operation Thunderhead", by Edwin L. Towers for a more detailed and accurate account.

[Nicole Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Code of Conduct

Incredible. A must read if you like military/war/history and the human spirit to thrive, survive, and the will to fight and rebel injustice in the worst of circumstances.

[D. L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Misleading subtitle (and picture) on a book written for those who have no idea what life was like in a North Vietnamese prison camp in the late 1960's. It's a well-documented (not to be confused with well-written) account of American POW's in Viet Nam.

The last quarter of the book details a catastrophic rescue attempt using the submarine pictured on the cover. The SEAL died in an accident during the operation - not in-county as the subtitle states.

It does bring up the moral dilemma American prisoners of war face under the U.S. Code of Conduct - duty to escape vs. duty to prevent suffering of fellow prisoners.

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book spent about 80% of its pages on the suffering of a few (mostly one) of the PoWs held by the Vietnamese, and the rest on the operation that failed. This last part wasn't really exciting, probably because it came at the end, and, well, it failed.

[Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read other books about the horrible treatment of our POW in North Vietnan so that was not new information. I ended up think John Dramesi was not a hero but his actions lead to more beating of all our POW some of which died and others with life shorting permanent injuries.

[Jeff Wombold · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was good, but it was more of a historical account of the pilots ordeal in the Hanoi Hilton. It wasn't until the finally chapters that the actual rescue attempt was made.

[Kges1901 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good account of conditions in the Hanoi Hilton and also of the attempt to rescue them.