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SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam
John Plaster’s riveting account of his covert activities as a member of a special operations team during the Vietnam War is “a true insider’s account, this eye-opening report will leave readers feeling as if they’ve been given a hot scoop on a highly classified project” (Publishers Weekly).Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most secret elite US military unit to serve in the Vietnam War—so secret its very existence was denied by the government. Composed entirely of volunteers from such ace fighting units as the Army Green Berets, Air Force Air Commandos, and Navy SEALs, SOG took on the most dangerous covert assignments, in the deadliest and most forbidding theaters of operation. In SOG, Major John L. Plaster, a three-tour SOG veteran, shares the gripping exploits of these true American warriors in a minute-by-minute, heartbeat-by-heartbeat account of the group’s stunning operations behind enemy lines—penetrating heavily defended North Vietnamese military facilities, holding off mass enemy attacks, launching daring missions to rescue downed US pilots. Some of the most extraordinary true stories of honor and heroism in the history of the US military, from sabotage to espionage to hand-to-hand combat, Plaster’s account is “a detailed history of this little-known aspect of the Vietnam War…a worthy act of historical rescue from an unjustified, willed oblivion” (The New York Times).
385 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1997
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February 6, 2020
Have you ever heard of a Special Operations group called MACV SOG? If not, it might be because this is one of the most secretive group during the Vietname War since it operatives had to agree not to talk about their experience for twenty years. Yet much of today’s Special operations group and capabilities in the modern US military owe its tactics and capabilities to this covert group. If you are interested in US special operations forces, military history and also the military side to the Vietnam War this book is a must-read.
The author John Plaster himself is a three tour veteran of MACV SOG which stands for Miliary Assistance Command Vietnam, Studies and Observation Group. Often it was called SOG. This book isn’t really a war memoir or a biography but a fascinating history book of the US’ special operations history in Vietnam and into Vietnam’s neighboring countries (although the author at times gives his personal account when it is appropriate). I was blown away at the amount of details the book provide especially with the early days in the 1950s and early 1960s of US military effort and assistance to anti-Communists. In addition the book tells us of the men who were instrumental in leading that effort whether in the early days or towards the end of the Vietnam War. And these leading men weren’t just high ranking officials but the author gives important operators their credit too. Much of SOG’s secret war didn’t take place in Vietnam but in neighboring Laos and Cambodia where they fought the North Vietnamese who supposedly weren’t suppose to there either but they were secretly sneaking into South Vietnam using the Ho Chi Minh trail.
I read this book and couldn’t put it down. There’s books on the conventional military which already fascinates me enough. Then there’s books on special operations unit and elite outfit and those are especially of interests to me. But this unit SOG and their stories is at a totally different level in terms of what these guys accomplished and the terrible situation they faced where often in small groups of two or three Americans and a few ethnic minority tribal soldiers they fought against hundreds of regular North Vietnamese forces. Outnumbered and outgun these men were daring and ferocious. It might sound cheesy but these guys were like real life Rambo and Jason Borne all roll into one. But this book isn’t just telling exaggerated stories in case some might be doubtful; some of these stories and heroism of men in the unit have received the Medal of Honor and there’s official citation of what happened.
Even for those who are familiar with other military reading when it comes to SOG there’s a totally different lingo and even method of operations. The author does a good job describing that to the readers for their understanding. The seventeen chapters in the book is a rich survey of various types of operations SOG conduced but also various point in their history and also accomplishments. For instance there’s a chapter titled “Bloody ’68” which tells us the difficulties the group faced that year. The group’s casualties exceeded 100 percent the highest rate since the Civil War. Every single operator was wounded at least once and half of the men died. Overall over three hundred SOG operators were lost and 57 of them as MIAs. Yet the causality ratio to enemies killed were astounding and unprecedented.
This is the first book I read about MACV SOG but it definitely won’t be my last.
The author John Plaster himself is a three tour veteran of MACV SOG which stands for Miliary Assistance Command Vietnam, Studies and Observation Group. Often it was called SOG. This book isn’t really a war memoir or a biography but a fascinating history book of the US’ special operations history in Vietnam and into Vietnam’s neighboring countries (although the author at times gives his personal account when it is appropriate). I was blown away at the amount of details the book provide especially with the early days in the 1950s and early 1960s of US military effort and assistance to anti-Communists. In addition the book tells us of the men who were instrumental in leading that effort whether in the early days or towards the end of the Vietnam War. And these leading men weren’t just high ranking officials but the author gives important operators their credit too. Much of SOG’s secret war didn’t take place in Vietnam but in neighboring Laos and Cambodia where they fought the North Vietnamese who supposedly weren’t suppose to there either but they were secretly sneaking into South Vietnam using the Ho Chi Minh trail.
I read this book and couldn’t put it down. There’s books on the conventional military which already fascinates me enough. Then there’s books on special operations unit and elite outfit and those are especially of interests to me. But this unit SOG and their stories is at a totally different level in terms of what these guys accomplished and the terrible situation they faced where often in small groups of two or three Americans and a few ethnic minority tribal soldiers they fought against hundreds of regular North Vietnamese forces. Outnumbered and outgun these men were daring and ferocious. It might sound cheesy but these guys were like real life Rambo and Jason Borne all roll into one. But this book isn’t just telling exaggerated stories in case some might be doubtful; some of these stories and heroism of men in the unit have received the Medal of Honor and there’s official citation of what happened.
Even for those who are familiar with other military reading when it comes to SOG there’s a totally different lingo and even method of operations. The author does a good job describing that to the readers for their understanding. The seventeen chapters in the book is a rich survey of various types of operations SOG conduced but also various point in their history and also accomplishments. For instance there’s a chapter titled “Bloody ’68” which tells us the difficulties the group faced that year. The group’s casualties exceeded 100 percent the highest rate since the Civil War. Every single operator was wounded at least once and half of the men died. Overall over three hundred SOG operators were lost and 57 of them as MIAs. Yet the causality ratio to enemies killed were astounding and unprecedented.
This is the first book I read about MACV SOG but it definitely won’t be my last.
May 15, 2012
Writing about the classified and the denied is always hard. Plaster does his best to produce a systemic account of SOG, the elite crossboarder recon force in the Vietnam War, but at the end of the day, he is a soldier, not a historian. When this book sticks to what Plaster knows, his own war stories and those of his friends, it is very good. When it moves to a different subject, the politics of the war or the broader military impact of SOG, it loses touch.
SOG was composed of courageous men and skilled fighters, and we should be honored that Plaster and his comrades chose to share their stories with us. While this is a good secondary source for the Vietnam War buff, it's not quite literary or insightful enough to recommend to a broader audience.
SOG was composed of courageous men and skilled fighters, and we should be honored that Plaster and his comrades chose to share their stories with us. While this is a good secondary source for the Vietnam War buff, it's not quite literary or insightful enough to recommend to a broader audience.
March 9, 2022
This is a very detailed and fascinating account. Tracking specials ops techniques and personnel from OSS and Jedburgh clandestine operation during World War II as well as the 1st Special Service Force sabotage ski "Devil's Brigade" to the earliest and final days of US involvement in Vietnam. The "Studies and Observations Group" (SOG) was a highly classified, multi-service United States special operations unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War. The detailed actions collected here chronologically tell a story of incredible odds where small numbers of highly resourceful and even reckless personnel held down a myriad North Vietnam soldiers and developed innovative techniques. Among those techniques was HALO jumps. Beside interdictions into the incredibly elaborate transportation routes in Cambodia and Laos, the SOG fighters collected intelligence and saved downed pilots while working with Montagnards and Nùng people. Often those rescues were at very high costs in deaths and equipment loss. With the intelligence gathered was interesting revelation of spies related to the Green Beret Affair. Spying from within Saigon appears to have hampered SOG successes materially and constantly.
June 18, 2019
_SOG_ is the amazing accounts of some of our best soldiers from the Vietnam war era, dying in places where they were not officially operating. SOG is the Special Operations Group that tangled with the NVA while learning what was happening in places outside the Vietnam border. Cross border actions into Laos & Cambodia are here, tracking the movement of men and materials via the Ho Chi Minh trail.
This is a hard book to read at times. I had to put it down for a few days and come back to it with a clear head. The author, as someone who operated within SOG & lead his own missions, knows many of the men involved. A number of them did not come back. He lists out the missions and the names of the Americans involved, providing detail when possible on how they died. Some of the accounts are not for the squeamish. There is a reason why SOG had the highest number of Medal of Honor recipients.
I had uncles over there, one a Marine that saw a lot of action in the center of the country. The author points out how the small band of SOG operators were able to tie down a large number of NVA units & destroy caches. Not enough to turn the tide of the war, but enough to keep many in the front line units alive. SOG went in after aircrews who were operating outside of official boundaries, as the US didn't have any SAR groups that could go there. SOG went back for their dead, sometimes right back into the teeth of a reinforced NVA. The other side had no qualms using SOG prisoners and dead to lure teams in, as they knew SOG never wanted to leave anyone behind.
The 160th SOAR is an outgrowth of one of the last SOG missions. The SOG unit was keeping an NSA site online at the top of a mountain. They were to stay there until it became untenable. SOG had to borrow helicopters to move its units around. One unnamed REMF thought he'd play with lives by threatening the careers of any aircrew who heard the call to pull them out. Americans on a hill that was about to be captured & an American high ranking officer said no. That simply burns raw that we could do that to ourselves.
In reading other accounts of the smaller units in Vietnam, they did the best they could with the resources given. But they really shouldn't have been there. With no real plan from the top, all units like SOG could do was get the intelligence & report it up the chain. Nothing was really done with what they learned. What the leadership didn't realize or wanted to admit was just how prepared and patient the other side was with their goal, that of unifying the two halves of the country.
Read the book to learn about a less known, but no less important part, of the American war effort in Vietnam. Know that these men were over there doing the job given them. They fought and died where the US government said they were not. The author has done a tremendous service to bring their stories to light.
This is a hard book to read at times. I had to put it down for a few days and come back to it with a clear head. The author, as someone who operated within SOG & lead his own missions, knows many of the men involved. A number of them did not come back. He lists out the missions and the names of the Americans involved, providing detail when possible on how they died. Some of the accounts are not for the squeamish. There is a reason why SOG had the highest number of Medal of Honor recipients.
I had uncles over there, one a Marine that saw a lot of action in the center of the country. The author points out how the small band of SOG operators were able to tie down a large number of NVA units & destroy caches. Not enough to turn the tide of the war, but enough to keep many in the front line units alive. SOG went in after aircrews who were operating outside of official boundaries, as the US didn't have any SAR groups that could go there. SOG went back for their dead, sometimes right back into the teeth of a reinforced NVA. The other side had no qualms using SOG prisoners and dead to lure teams in, as they knew SOG never wanted to leave anyone behind.
The 160th SOAR is an outgrowth of one of the last SOG missions. The SOG unit was keeping an NSA site online at the top of a mountain. They were to stay there until it became untenable. SOG had to borrow helicopters to move its units around. One unnamed REMF thought he'd play with lives by threatening the careers of any aircrew who heard the call to pull them out. Americans on a hill that was about to be captured & an American high ranking officer said no. That simply burns raw that we could do that to ourselves.
In reading other accounts of the smaller units in Vietnam, they did the best they could with the resources given. But they really shouldn't have been there. With no real plan from the top, all units like SOG could do was get the intelligence & report it up the chain. Nothing was really done with what they learned. What the leadership didn't realize or wanted to admit was just how prepared and patient the other side was with their goal, that of unifying the two halves of the country.
Read the book to learn about a less known, but no less important part, of the American war effort in Vietnam. Know that these men were over there doing the job given them. They fought and died where the US government said they were not. The author has done a tremendous service to bring their stories to light.
February 8, 2025
The book of books for SOG. No doubt is this the most informative historical book about the almost mythical unit in the Vietnam War. No doubt is this a favorite book of mine, a recommended to either someone wanting to learn more about the clandestine American special forces unit, or one who has read or heard many stories about SOG. Stories that are featured here quite literally fill other books. Only 2 pages are relegated to Lynne M Blacks famous 7 vs 10,000, which has 2 separate books written about it, podcast episodes, and even an episode for a History Channel documentary. Truly a masterpiece, history saved from being forgotten, history pieced together from remaining declassified documents and personal experience
February 13, 2021
Real heroes doing a dangerous and thankless job... working to hinder and reduce the enemy’s war fighting capabilities by directly confronting them on their own turf. The stories of those who survived, those who died and those who were MIA are compelling and sobering. A debt is owed to those who performed such an incredible job. Thanks to them.
January 5, 2025
Every-time I read a sog book I have to remind myself it’s nonfiction and real people actually lived this. Would’ve liked more on Lynne Black’s mission and Dick Thompson’s bright light.
March 25, 2024
This is a pretty sad and depressing story, but told well and respectful. It shows the utter incompetence of the US Govt in military affairs and how it would rather save face than do the right thing regarding soldiers.
December 11, 2020
A very detailed account of secret ops during the Vietnam War.
July 14, 2025
Phenomenal book, this, rivaled perhaps only by Plaster's companion book. "Secret Commandos," which is more an autobiography about the same extraordinary combat tours Plaster and his fellow Green Berets had in Laos, Cambodia and, much less frequently, in Vietnam. This is Rambo for real. These guys have a screw loose somewhere but they are splendid at what they did - which was drop in small teams into deep, triple canopy jungle and fight the dreaded North Vietnamese Army. It's insane, what these crack troops do, and they do it dozens and dozens of times to the point where it seems a miracle any of them survived. Well, they got killed or went missing in action a lot, but some of them, including John Plaster, survived. And now he has given us amazing books on what the vanilla sounding "Studies and Observation Group" attached to Military Assistance Command Viet Nam (MACV-SOG) actually did.
The soldiers in SOG aren't run of the mill troops. Instead, they were America's best trained war fighters, chiefly Army Special Forces green berets, but with the occasional Navy SEAL or Marine Recon guy popping up for the fun and the glory - or gory, depending on your point of view. There is *so much* contained in this book and Plaster's next, "Secret Commandos." These are the guys who wore the Cong's black pajamas on some missions, or went in with no insignia on their fatigues and with Soviet-made AK-47s or other non-American weaponry. This was to help provide plausible deniability to diplomats, who would insist we were not fighting or present in Laos or Cambodia (or on foot in North Vietnam). Of course we were, with the primary purpose of SOG teams to keep eyes on the Ho Chi Minh trail, disrupt supply chains when possible, assess bombing damage, and - always - trying to snatch an NVA prisoner.
In fact, whenever possible SOG teams sought to *avoid* contact, but given the places they were operating that often proved impossible. Their own prowess in combat, along with the incredible air resources they could call on, left thousands of NVA killed in the deep jungle, though we never knew about it. As the war progressed, SOG teams faced even more daunting odds, as the NVA developed anti-SOG tracking teams that, notified by multiple observation posts that helicopters were inserting teams, would hunt the Green Berets and often cut short missions.
You see the SOG teams in grainy black-and-white photos, holding aloft their trophies or prisoners, knowing they will soon have cold beer and real food - and that one of them will be dead in two weeks or less. It is depressing when one photo caption after another ends with "Bill died two weeks later...."
My fascination with the Vietnam War has been re-ignited by these two Plaster books, and I'm grateful to him for writing them (with help from other survivors, of course), just as I'm very grateful for the service of him and his comrades in SOG and the Army.
SOG units had the highest casualty rates of any U.S. units in Vietnam and also - not coincidentally, alas, SOG soldiers also won the most Medals of Honor. Their outrageous feats are well documented and you finish the book astounded, exhilarated, scared and wondering, "Jesus, how on earth did this war go sideways on us?"
HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMENDED; both of theml
The soldiers in SOG aren't run of the mill troops. Instead, they were America's best trained war fighters, chiefly Army Special Forces green berets, but with the occasional Navy SEAL or Marine Recon guy popping up for the fun and the glory - or gory, depending on your point of view. There is *so much* contained in this book and Plaster's next, "Secret Commandos." These are the guys who wore the Cong's black pajamas on some missions, or went in with no insignia on their fatigues and with Soviet-made AK-47s or other non-American weaponry. This was to help provide plausible deniability to diplomats, who would insist we were not fighting or present in Laos or Cambodia (or on foot in North Vietnam). Of course we were, with the primary purpose of SOG teams to keep eyes on the Ho Chi Minh trail, disrupt supply chains when possible, assess bombing damage, and - always - trying to snatch an NVA prisoner.
In fact, whenever possible SOG teams sought to *avoid* contact, but given the places they were operating that often proved impossible. Their own prowess in combat, along with the incredible air resources they could call on, left thousands of NVA killed in the deep jungle, though we never knew about it. As the war progressed, SOG teams faced even more daunting odds, as the NVA developed anti-SOG tracking teams that, notified by multiple observation posts that helicopters were inserting teams, would hunt the Green Berets and often cut short missions.
You see the SOG teams in grainy black-and-white photos, holding aloft their trophies or prisoners, knowing they will soon have cold beer and real food - and that one of them will be dead in two weeks or less. It is depressing when one photo caption after another ends with "Bill died two weeks later...."
My fascination with the Vietnam War has been re-ignited by these two Plaster books, and I'm grateful to him for writing them (with help from other survivors, of course), just as I'm very grateful for the service of him and his comrades in SOG and the Army.
SOG units had the highest casualty rates of any U.S. units in Vietnam and also - not coincidentally, alas, SOG soldiers also won the most Medals of Honor. Their outrageous feats are well documented and you finish the book astounded, exhilarated, scared and wondering, "Jesus, how on earth did this war go sideways on us?"
HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMENDED; both of theml
January 3, 2016
Modern day warriors' stories and lives that must be heard. Never Forget.
July 17, 2025
Mellowing a tad after the 80s decade of blood-soaked ballads and the recent massacre of mayhem that was ANOTHER 48 HRS, Walter Hill went back to basics with TRESPASS for Christmas 1992. Two firefighters in possession of a map that supposedly leads to a treasure of gold end up in the wrong neighborhood and in the company of murderous criminals who believe in the concept of territoriality. Just like the eponymous character of RAMBO (2008) is lectured by a British mercenary, when you TRESPASS (into Burma) you either get FUBAR or you get dead. While Walter Hill's Holiday fare might end with a happy Hollywood ending, the men of SOG who trespassed into Laos, Cambodia, Burma and North Vietnam during the Vietnam War relied on the arsenal they carried and their skills to survive the close-quarters all-out gunfights when contact was made. Often outgunned and vastly outnumbered, SOG: THE SECRET WARS OF AMERICA'S COMMANDOS IN VIETNAM chronicles the Vietnam War's most highly decorated unit (5 MOHs) that couldn't, until now, be credited with the bold and heroic operations conducted while trespassing deep in hostile territory, taking the fight to the enemy, preventing the last domino from falling.
Constituting the United States' largest and most secret special operations organization since the OSS in WWII, the Studies and Observation Group (SOG) attached to Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) was imbued with its predecessor's creed, methods, attitude, work ethic and esprit de corps. Marching lightly into the history and evolution of Special Forces under Kennedy, the beginnings of the Vietnam involvement for America and the birth of SOG, the book also exposes the long and shady involvement of the United States in China, it's internal politics and strife from before the second World War and onwards. Saddled with deep pockets thanks to line items buried in the US Navy's budget, SOG had free reign for eight years after the rush to get raids underway in March 1965. With mostly Green Beret staffed SOG teams successfully penetrating enemy redoubts to wiretap, ambush, kidnap, mine, surveil and undermine the political reliability of the North Vietnamese, and fighting their way out in live-or-die shootouts against vastly numerous enemy greater than at the Alamo, the absurd became the acceptable. Authorized to secretly operate throughout Southeast Asia, SOG owned the rolling, jungled hills, wild rivers, waterfalls, enemy trails, roads, base camps and everything in-between from the Danang, Long Tranh, Kontum, and the Ashau Valley. In best SURVIVOR tradition, recon men had to outrun, outshoot, outmaneuver and outthink the best Hanoi threw at them, in turn evolving its top secret world with its own ethic and an unspoken code tempered by danger, duty and loyalty. Silence was not a virtue; it was THE virtue.
Far from just war action and firefights, SOG: THE SECRET WARS OF AMERICA'S COMMANDOS IN VIETNAM is written in an engaging and very enjoyable style that is devoid of the modern wanna-be hard-case, ink drip, bum-bearded, flag waving, clout chasing GWOT veterans' flavor that more often than not leaves readers with a case of heartburn. In fact, the praise for SOG: THE SECRET WARS OF AMERICA'S COMMANDOS IN VIETNAM that precedes the narrative is from legit sources and not all of them former military moneygobblers who endorse anything for an extra bowl of rice. Including the first HAHO combat jump in US Military history (1970) and dense with missions, information, materiel and SOG personnel, readers could read one page of SOG: THE SECRET WARS OF AMERICA'S COMMANDOS IN VIETNAM per day for a year and still not get close to what people experienced in the duration of 365 and a wake-up. Showcasing the unequaled combat record of SOG in U.S. History, SOG: THE SECRET WARS OF AMERICA'S COMMANDOS IN VIETNAM throws in a few cool tidbits like Hatchet Forces and that it takes twelve seconds for a falling body to reach terminal velocity. While SOG: THE SECRET WARS OF AMERICA'S COMMANDOS IN VIETNAM stands tall as a superb generalized history of the what, where, how, why, when and who of the SOG program during the Vietnam War, A DYING PLACE by another SOG man in Command and Control North (CCN) is a much better book. Nonetheless, SOG: THE SECRET WARS OF AMERICA'S COMMANDOS IN VIETNAM is must-read material for anyone who wants to understand the secret war that was fought in Vietnam and the courageous warriors who battled night and day--the brave men of the Green Beret.
July 11, 2020
Wow - this was a story I did not know - the combined US-ARVN-indigenous force that did recon missions behind NVA lines in Laos, Cambodia, and South Vietnam.
Teams of a few men would be helicoptered in to do recon, inevitably come into contact with NVA line of communications security forces and have to fight their way out to a Landing Zone where they could be picked up.
Unit casualties over time exceeded 100%. One hundred percent. Multiple Medals of Honor, DSCs, Silver Stars and other awards.
The book was written by a SOG member who served three tours in Vietnam and clearly knows what he is talking about. Extensive first person accounts. Heroism beyond belief, time after time. Missions compromised by moles inside the command structure. Rescues that suffered heavy helicopter and aircraft losses to bring out the alive and the dead.
Many of the stories told that span a few pages could easily be book length (e.g. Legend: The Incredible Story of Green Beret Sergeant Roy Benavidez's Heroic Mission to Rescue a Special Forces Team Caught Behind Enemy Lines)
There are a few photos and semi-adequate maps but that doesn't really matter too much as most of the stories take place in the jungle with limited visibility. And, since the missions last for at best a few days, it is not like you need to follow a campaign.
No story of fighting in Vietnam can be read without thinking of the larger context of the war and all that entails:
* Whether the US should have been involved in the first place
* Political pressures that hamstrung the military
* Military commander ticket punching and inflated body count statistics
* Corruption in the South Vietnamese government and other institutions
* 50,000+ dead (Americans); countless more Vietnamese
Plaster mostly avoids all of this and sticks to a straight historical (and chronological) narrative of mission after mission to gain intel, tap phone lines, capture POWs. SOG team members are mentioned by name (including air crew) except when they performed badly (typically, some captain) and those individuals go unnamed.
As you read this, you'll wonder whether the sacrifices were all worth it - especially on some missions where the extraction involved multiple US aircraft being shot down and the aforementioned 100% casualties over time. Or other missions that had to abort after only a few minutes on the ground. Plaster attempts to deal with this in an Afterword, describing how many NVA casualties were inflicted (hard to know if true given US predilection for inflating enemy dead) and number of NVA troops tied up in rear area duties. And, it was hard to know whether the intel generated actually helped win battles and since ultimately, the war was lost, whether the intel made any difference.
Although SOG reconned (repeatedly) the Ho Chi Minh trail supply network through Laos/Cambodia, US interdiction attempts were but pin pricks(albeit with B-52 Arc Light raids) and NVA supply and reinforcement never seemed to stop -- perhaps the intel extended the war and made it more costly for the NVA to win.
But, re-litigating Vietnam wasn't the purpose of the book - the purpose was to celebrate, commemorate, and remember the bravery and sacrifice of truly outstanding soldiers. And Plaster clearly delivers on that goal.
Thoroughly enjoyable
Teams of a few men would be helicoptered in to do recon, inevitably come into contact with NVA line of communications security forces and have to fight their way out to a Landing Zone where they could be picked up.
Unit casualties over time exceeded 100%. One hundred percent. Multiple Medals of Honor, DSCs, Silver Stars and other awards.
The book was written by a SOG member who served three tours in Vietnam and clearly knows what he is talking about. Extensive first person accounts. Heroism beyond belief, time after time. Missions compromised by moles inside the command structure. Rescues that suffered heavy helicopter and aircraft losses to bring out the alive and the dead.
Many of the stories told that span a few pages could easily be book length (e.g. Legend: The Incredible Story of Green Beret Sergeant Roy Benavidez's Heroic Mission to Rescue a Special Forces Team Caught Behind Enemy Lines)
There are a few photos and semi-adequate maps but that doesn't really matter too much as most of the stories take place in the jungle with limited visibility. And, since the missions last for at best a few days, it is not like you need to follow a campaign.
No story of fighting in Vietnam can be read without thinking of the larger context of the war and all that entails:
* Whether the US should have been involved in the first place
* Political pressures that hamstrung the military
* Military commander ticket punching and inflated body count statistics
* Corruption in the South Vietnamese government and other institutions
* 50,000+ dead (Americans); countless more Vietnamese
Plaster mostly avoids all of this and sticks to a straight historical (and chronological) narrative of mission after mission to gain intel, tap phone lines, capture POWs. SOG team members are mentioned by name (including air crew) except when they performed badly (typically, some captain) and those individuals go unnamed.
As you read this, you'll wonder whether the sacrifices were all worth it - especially on some missions where the extraction involved multiple US aircraft being shot down and the aforementioned 100% casualties over time. Or other missions that had to abort after only a few minutes on the ground. Plaster attempts to deal with this in an Afterword, describing how many NVA casualties were inflicted (hard to know if true given US predilection for inflating enemy dead) and number of NVA troops tied up in rear area duties. And, it was hard to know whether the intel generated actually helped win battles and since ultimately, the war was lost, whether the intel made any difference.
Although SOG reconned (repeatedly) the Ho Chi Minh trail supply network through Laos/Cambodia, US interdiction attempts were but pin pricks(albeit with B-52 Arc Light raids) and NVA supply and reinforcement never seemed to stop -- perhaps the intel extended the war and made it more costly for the NVA to win.
But, re-litigating Vietnam wasn't the purpose of the book - the purpose was to celebrate, commemorate, and remember the bravery and sacrifice of truly outstanding soldiers. And Plaster clearly delivers on that goal.
Thoroughly enjoyable
April 11, 2025
Definitive and Authoritative History (and Sometimes Memoir) of the Vietnam War's Premier SOF Organization
I have read many books about elite forces and SOF units in Vietnam, and most of them reference the mysterious Studies and Observations Group (SOG), but John Plaster's book is the definitive and authoritative history of them all when it comes to SOG. Studies and Observations Group was the euphemism for an ultra-secret Special Operations unit created to handle deniable operations in the Vietnam War. John Plaster was a SOG "One-Zero," the code for a recon team leader. Strategic reconnaissance "across the fence" into places like Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam was SOG's specialty. But the unit performed the full-spectrum of SOF missions including deception, Psyops, and behind the lines sabotage. While primarily an Army organization built around Green Beret SF commandoes, SOF also had USAF Helicopter Pilots, SEALs in its "Naval Advisory Group" and Marine aviators and recon assets under its control. SOG, in fact, foreshadowed many of the capabilities the military now takes for granted under the current JSOC construct.
This is a phenomenal book. Plaster knows the secrets and knew many of the heroes whose exploits he reveals in detail between the covers of this book. As SOG operations were both classified and deniable, most of the exploits Plaster describes were never revealed before. Which is sad as many Americans should know the names of that war's great SOG heroes, names like Howard, Shumate, Meadows, Zabitosky, and others too numerous to mention--who won MOHs, DSCs, Silvers Stars and were the pioneers of modern organizations like Delta Force and Task Force 160. But alas, their stories remained buried until the 90s when non-disclosure agreement promises expired and their stories could finally be told. Plaster is among many of these fine men who decided to go public and set the record straight.
For that reason alone I must recommend this book to everyone who is interested in US or Military History.
This book covers the entire history of SOG, and is immensely interesting. It consists mostly of operational stories with historical and policy details meant to give perspective. It is well-written. Plaster sometimes speaks in first person when describing a mission he was either involved in or was a first person witness to in some fashion. But generally it covers this material in a third person narrative POV. There is also a generous photo section.
The end of SOG was a sad time in US SOF history. The SF community had performed some of the greatest battlefield exploits and acts of heroism in US military history. In all military history. Yet their stories had to be withheld due to classification or political sensitivities surrounding the war. And SOG lessons learned were lost when no follow-on peacetime organization existed in the military to carry on these lessons for the next generation. It would not be until after the disgrace of Operation Eagle Claw, the failed US Iran hostage rescue attempt, that the US military would reflect on its degraded SOF capability and invest in restoring all that was organic to SOG.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
I have read many books about elite forces and SOF units in Vietnam, and most of them reference the mysterious Studies and Observations Group (SOG), but John Plaster's book is the definitive and authoritative history of them all when it comes to SOG. Studies and Observations Group was the euphemism for an ultra-secret Special Operations unit created to handle deniable operations in the Vietnam War. John Plaster was a SOG "One-Zero," the code for a recon team leader. Strategic reconnaissance "across the fence" into places like Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam was SOG's specialty. But the unit performed the full-spectrum of SOF missions including deception, Psyops, and behind the lines sabotage. While primarily an Army organization built around Green Beret SF commandoes, SOF also had USAF Helicopter Pilots, SEALs in its "Naval Advisory Group" and Marine aviators and recon assets under its control. SOG, in fact, foreshadowed many of the capabilities the military now takes for granted under the current JSOC construct.
This is a phenomenal book. Plaster knows the secrets and knew many of the heroes whose exploits he reveals in detail between the covers of this book. As SOG operations were both classified and deniable, most of the exploits Plaster describes were never revealed before. Which is sad as many Americans should know the names of that war's great SOG heroes, names like Howard, Shumate, Meadows, Zabitosky, and others too numerous to mention--who won MOHs, DSCs, Silvers Stars and were the pioneers of modern organizations like Delta Force and Task Force 160. But alas, their stories remained buried until the 90s when non-disclosure agreement promises expired and their stories could finally be told. Plaster is among many of these fine men who decided to go public and set the record straight.
For that reason alone I must recommend this book to everyone who is interested in US or Military History.
This book covers the entire history of SOG, and is immensely interesting. It consists mostly of operational stories with historical and policy details meant to give perspective. It is well-written. Plaster sometimes speaks in first person when describing a mission he was either involved in or was a first person witness to in some fashion. But generally it covers this material in a third person narrative POV. There is also a generous photo section.
The end of SOG was a sad time in US SOF history. The SF community had performed some of the greatest battlefield exploits and acts of heroism in US military history. In all military history. Yet their stories had to be withheld due to classification or political sensitivities surrounding the war. And SOG lessons learned were lost when no follow-on peacetime organization existed in the military to carry on these lessons for the next generation. It would not be until after the disgrace of Operation Eagle Claw, the failed US Iran hostage rescue attempt, that the US military would reflect on its degraded SOF capability and invest in restoring all that was organic to SOG.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
February 7, 2023
The United States military today has the world’s finest special operations forces. Their organization, skills, training, and equipment are superb. They have successfully operated in such places as Grenada, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Their expertise was first developed in World War II Europe. During the Vietnam War their covert operations provided valuable intelligence regarding the secretive operations of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) throughout Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Laos, and North and South Vietnam. Their theater of operations stretched from the northwest border of North Vietnam and China, to the southern tip of South Vietnam. Although frequently under resourced and manned and relying on borrowed air transport, they conducted continuous operations from 1964 through the early 1970s.
The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam—Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) or simply SOG, was a premier special operations organization borne out of MACV’s need for timely intelligence on the NVA’s operations, particularly those being conducted in Cambodia, Laos, and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. SOG was created to provide this information, and also to conduct disruptive offensive operations on a small scale to tie down NVA resources. Operating out of remote bases, SOG was organized into small teams, consisting of three to five American special forces personnel (usually Army Green Berets) and seven to ten Montagnards or ‘Yards’, an indigenous people found in Vietnam’s Central Highlands.
SOG teams sometimes spent weeks out on missions, often without immediate support or air cover, although as time passed air cover improved with the assignment of Forward Air Controllers (FACs) during daylight hours. Insertions were dangerous as the teams rarely knew what they might run into once on the ground.
Plaster is a good writer and storyteller. He also has the credibility of having served three combat tours in Vietnam as a SOG team member. The book chronicles SOG team missions in great detail and in doing so provides a valuable historical service. It has been fifty years since the Vietnam War ended. Since 1973 time and the deep divisions the war created among the American people, have left us in a state of collective amnesia, especially about those who fought the war. Disrespected while fighting and forgotten in peace, their sacrifices are largely unknown today.
SOG’s covert nature meant that even during the war it was mostly unknown. Plaster tells us who these people were and we soon learn how difficult and dangerous it was to be on a SOG team. Five Medals of Honor were awarded. Frequently teams had 100% casualty rates. Over 300 were killed in action. Entire teams went missing. Fifty-Seven team members remain MIA today. Plaster preserves their memory in a fitting and matter of fact way.
The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam—Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) or simply SOG, was a premier special operations organization borne out of MACV’s need for timely intelligence on the NVA’s operations, particularly those being conducted in Cambodia, Laos, and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. SOG was created to provide this information, and also to conduct disruptive offensive operations on a small scale to tie down NVA resources. Operating out of remote bases, SOG was organized into small teams, consisting of three to five American special forces personnel (usually Army Green Berets) and seven to ten Montagnards or ‘Yards’, an indigenous people found in Vietnam’s Central Highlands.
SOG teams sometimes spent weeks out on missions, often without immediate support or air cover, although as time passed air cover improved with the assignment of Forward Air Controllers (FACs) during daylight hours. Insertions were dangerous as the teams rarely knew what they might run into once on the ground.
Plaster is a good writer and storyteller. He also has the credibility of having served three combat tours in Vietnam as a SOG team member. The book chronicles SOG team missions in great detail and in doing so provides a valuable historical service. It has been fifty years since the Vietnam War ended. Since 1973 time and the deep divisions the war created among the American people, have left us in a state of collective amnesia, especially about those who fought the war. Disrespected while fighting and forgotten in peace, their sacrifices are largely unknown today.
SOG’s covert nature meant that even during the war it was mostly unknown. Plaster tells us who these people were and we soon learn how difficult and dangerous it was to be on a SOG team. Five Medals of Honor were awarded. Frequently teams had 100% casualty rates. Over 300 were killed in action. Entire teams went missing. Fifty-Seven team members remain MIA today. Plaster preserves their memory in a fitting and matter of fact way.
July 11, 2017
This is the benchmark which all SOF ( special operations forces) should be measured, Major Plaster brings you into the mind of an elite warrior. Deep behind enemy lines with any CAS(close air support) almost an hour away at most times, and the prospect ofa QRF(quick reaction force) to pull their balls off the chopping block, these small 5 to 8 man teams crept through the NVA's home turf collecting intel, destroying critical supply lines and even snatching a live prisoner surrounded by hundreds of enemy. Rambo is a pussy compared to any SOG vet.
As an American/Sof history buff, it's refreshing to see this doesn't make mistakes some books by veterans have made- they'll fail to cover the details of the experience, like the military designation for a fragmentation grenade, the tactics used, and the other finer particulars thatgive you the sense of authenticity, of being there with them as they're being pursued by100 enemy through a jungle with only 4 or 5 of your brothers.
The parts where the ReconTeam's are surrounded by dozens and hundreds of Charlie, armed with AA guns, RPG's and belt-fed MG'S versus the small arms these young men had is heart wrenching. Remember, they had to carry everything in with them. Their CAR-15 or M-16 rifles1 20 to 30 20 round mags, food, water, heavy radios with spotty reception, down to extra socks and medical kits all were in their rucks and on their person for up to 10 days at a clip. Then to be hunkered down behind a small log with your teammates at your side mustbe very sobering and lonely.
with all of the technology our sofguys can use to callin cas such as GPS, drones, and-IRstrobes and lasers, it is truly amazing what they did with maps, a compass and their own eyes to call in500 1b. bombs and napalm within50 meters of their own pos and sadly on top of their pos when their perimeter was broken.
Aside from the incredibly written action where the reader finds himself in the jungle, smelling the rotting vegetation and feeling the weight ofthe CAR-17's metal in your arms, he also makes you feel the loss of comrades and the loneliness and isolation from the high intensity of their everyday lives. Plaster explains the feeling of being ayoung 20-something with the responsibility and power over his men's, and the enemies, lives and how that makes the trivial existence of normal life feel pointless at times. You can't help but question your own life whenyou close the book.
As an American/Sof history buff, it's refreshing to see this doesn't make mistakes some books by veterans have made- they'll fail to cover the details of the experience, like the military designation for a fragmentation grenade, the tactics used, and the other finer particulars thatgive you the sense of authenticity, of being there with them as they're being pursued by100 enemy through a jungle with only 4 or 5 of your brothers.
The parts where the ReconTeam's are surrounded by dozens and hundreds of Charlie, armed with AA guns, RPG's and belt-fed MG'S versus the small arms these young men had is heart wrenching. Remember, they had to carry everything in with them. Their CAR-15 or M-16 rifles1 20 to 30 20 round mags, food, water, heavy radios with spotty reception, down to extra socks and medical kits all were in their rucks and on their person for up to 10 days at a clip. Then to be hunkered down behind a small log with your teammates at your side mustbe very sobering and lonely.
with all of the technology our sofguys can use to callin cas such as GPS, drones, and-IRstrobes and lasers, it is truly amazing what they did with maps, a compass and their own eyes to call in500 1b. bombs and napalm within50 meters of their own pos and sadly on top of their pos when their perimeter was broken.
Aside from the incredibly written action where the reader finds himself in the jungle, smelling the rotting vegetation and feeling the weight ofthe CAR-17's metal in your arms, he also makes you feel the loss of comrades and the loneliness and isolation from the high intensity of their everyday lives. Plaster explains the feeling of being ayoung 20-something with the responsibility and power over his men's, and the enemies, lives and how that makes the trivial existence of normal life feel pointless at times. You can't help but question your own life whenyou close the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2023
In John L. Plaster's book, the stories of the brave men in the SOG were accounted in great detail. Although it may be confusing to have a clear seqeuence of events as some of the chapters jumped between the different years of the Vietnam War, the book was an enjoyable read. John Plaster did not shy away from describing the actions of officers and men in the SOG and other units who fell short of the mark when fighting the war. It was especially galling to read about how the men on Outpost Hickory was denied helicopter support for evacuation due to the vanities of a higher ranking officer at the division level, leading to the uncessary deaths of more men.
The exploits of these men in the John Plaster's book has proved once again that it is the common soldier on the ground who gets the job done while politicians and higher ranking officer bickered over asinine conditions that has to be imposed during a war. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to read about the men working running special operations during the Vietnam War.
The exploits of these men in the John Plaster's book has proved once again that it is the common soldier on the ground who gets the job done while politicians and higher ranking officer bickered over asinine conditions that has to be imposed during a war. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to read about the men working running special operations during the Vietnam War.
June 22, 2025
Detailed read about America's special operations across the border in Vietnam. Operating slightly outside of the law, hamstrung by conflicting directions from political and military masters, this is a brutal account of soldiers dealing with and dealing out brutality on a daily basis. The loss of clarity in mission and morality from the WWII era to Vietnam is devastating, as Americans lost the clarity they had 25 years earlier. As the country turned against the war, it also turned against the warriors who did not set the policy but who carried out the missions. It is a shame that our best and brightest were reduced by political exigency to operating in the shadows. Although I, like many others my age, question the decisions of the political and military leadership who enmired us in this horrible war--yeah, Eisenhower and Kennedy, I am looking at you two first and foremost--the soldiers on the ground were--with few exceptions--answering the same call of duty that their forefathers answered at Bunker Hill, at Gettysburg, and at Normandy.
March 4, 2024
I don't have much to say besides that this was the second book about the military I read where my jaw dropped. Some of the things these men did in the heat of combat would seem totally unrealistic if it wasn't such a detailed and brutal account of the bloodshed, the sacrifice and brutality that is well.
This book was well written and did a great job of explaining everything you needed to know, in context. Chapters in the first half of the book explain where some of the native soldiers came from, how spy and other trade craft were developed, how helicopters were used and how SOG teams were organized before detailing the more hellish missions.
I listened to this on audio book and recommend it for any history buff that wanted an engaging and well told story of special forces in Vietnam.
This book was well written and did a great job of explaining everything you needed to know, in context. Chapters in the first half of the book explain where some of the native soldiers came from, how spy and other trade craft were developed, how helicopters were used and how SOG teams were organized before detailing the more hellish missions.
I listened to this on audio book and recommend it for any history buff that wanted an engaging and well told story of special forces in Vietnam.
February 25, 2021
Wow. This book is absolutely insane from start to finish. The amount of information about SOG is immense there is a lot to absorb here. The tales of bravery, courage, and devotion to the man next to you is truly inspiring. I feel I learned about how to attack life from this book because regardless of the situations you face I guarantee you they aren’t nearly as dangerous as the tasks these men undertook. The reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of is though the material is extremely entertaining and gripping I found some of it a little monotonous. Regardless of that I would still highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about special forces as a lot of this book contains the precursors to what our special forces are today.
January 17, 2022
Wow, this was exciting. If I wouldn't have told that this really happened, I easily could believe that it came from a Jack Reacher novels series or something similar. For 80% of the described commando raids it's hard to believe that humans can pull off something like this.
Lots of previously unheard operational and strategic details about the Vietnam war.
Probably the best "what it was like on the ground" overview of the Vietnam War I've read/listened to so far (after 15+ other books). The author combines his personal experiences and knowledge with putting other commandos' stories in the necessary context. Would give more than 5 stars if possible.
Lots of previously unheard operational and strategic details about the Vietnam war.
Probably the best "what it was like on the ground" overview of the Vietnam War I've read/listened to so far (after 15+ other books). The author combines his personal experiences and knowledge with putting other commandos' stories in the necessary context. Would give more than 5 stars if possible.
February 14, 2019
This book covers the fighting done by Special Operations Groups (SOG) during the Vietnam War. These groups secretly worked within Laos and Cambodia and sought to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail that brought North Vietnamese Army supplies to South Vietnam. I knew nothing of SOG before reading this book. I read it because a client of mine was a part of this group and said this was the best description of the type of fighting he did during the war. It was a fascinating look at special operations, psychological warfare, and courage.
August 31, 2019
I’m not going to give anything away, but this book about the black ops missions mainly in Laos & Cambodia during the Vietnam War. There is a lot information here that has now been declassified, however was kept secret for a long time.
The American Special Forces started in WWII, however they made the identities of the Army Green Beret & Navy SEAL units during the struggles of the Vietnam War to what they now are today. It’s an intense read that shows successes & pitfalls of the ever plagued Vietnam War.
The American Special Forces started in WWII, however they made the identities of the Army Green Beret & Navy SEAL units during the struggles of the Vietnam War to what they now are today. It’s an intense read that shows successes & pitfalls of the ever plagued Vietnam War.
February 1, 2021
Wow, what an amazing book. Faith, courage, loyalty, commitment all are on fine display in this fantastic book by Plaster. I had what I thought was a pretty good idea of what S.O.G. had accomplished in Vietnam, but after reading this book I realized I had no idea of the level of sacrifice made by these incredible warriors. My deepest regret is that Vietnam has not released the bodies of these heroes to be properly buried at Arlington where they belong. I encourage anyone with an interest in the green berets and of U.S. special forced in Vietnam to read this book.
November 14, 2021
Plaster does a good job of covering detailed actions in the context of the war in Vietnam, taking us from 40,000 feet down to the jungle floor.
Though it starts slow as Plaster sets the strategic stage, the narrative quickly ramps up with the pace of operations. The individual actions reach an insane pitch as teams fight for survival and aircrews perform extractions. The amount of effort both sides pour into their operations in Laos and Cambodia ... it's mind boggling.
Recommended for anyone interested in commando or helicopter operations during the Vietnam War.
Though it starts slow as Plaster sets the strategic stage, the narrative quickly ramps up with the pace of operations. The individual actions reach an insane pitch as teams fight for survival and aircrews perform extractions. The amount of effort both sides pour into their operations in Laos and Cambodia ... it's mind boggling.
Recommended for anyone interested in commando or helicopter operations during the Vietnam War.
June 14, 2022
If you know of any young person who wants to be a Green Beret, SEAL, MARSOG, or any other specialised infantry person, have them read this book first. SOG is a biography of green beret activities in Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam war. SOG suffered over a 100% casualty rate, and you could pretty much count on being killed in 10 missions or so. Very sobering statistics indeed. This book is another one that the author spends little time on what bad asses the soldiers were, and spends almost all the 300 pages on their dangerous and often deadly missions.
August 18, 2021
This was an outstanding book, managing to combine scholarly high-level coverage with the kind of stories and insight unique to someone who was there fighting alongside these SOF soldiers and their indigenous force allies. Maj. Plaster brings a unique and welcome perspective to this topic, and I recommend this book to those interested in studies of the Vietnam War.
May 2, 2022
Major John Plaster introduces us to the long classified Studies and Observation Group tasked with the most dangerous covert unconventional warfare unit of the Vietnam War. This is a truly fascinating story of a very small select group of men tasked with seemingly suicidal missions against overwhelming odds.
March 17, 2023
The best book I've read on the subject. Very detailed and well researched. Plaster didnt focus on himself in this book. Instead he gave us the over all picture of SOG ops and highlighted many missions ran by many other heros of SOG. If your interested in SOG's operational history in Vietnam, this is a must read!
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