Uncommon Valor Lib/E: The Recon Company That Earned Five Medals of Honor and Included America's Most Decorated Green Beret

by Stephen L. Moore

MP3 CD Format Uncommon Valor is a look into the formation and operation of an advanced Special Forces recon company during the Vietnam War.

Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most covert US military unit in its time and contained only volunteers from such elite units as the Army's Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Air Force Air Commandos. SOG warriors operated in small teams, going behind enemy lines in Laos and Cambodia and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, tasked with performing special reconnaissance, sabotaging North Vietnamese Army ammunition, attempting to rescue downed US pilots, and other black ops missions.

During that time, Forward Operating Base-2's (FOB-2's) recon company became the most highly decorated unit of the Vietnam War, with five of its men earning the Medal of Honor and eight earning the Distinguished Service Cross-America's second highest military award for valor. Purple Hearts were earned by SOG veterans at a pace unparalleled in American wars of the twentieth century, with casualties at times exceeding 100 percent. One, Bob Howard, was wounded on fourteen different occasions, received eight Purple Hearts, was written up after three different missions for the Medal of Honor, and emerged from Vietnam as the most highly decorated soldier since World War II's Audie Murphy.

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

Audio CD

First published September 1, 2018

Reviews

[John M Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not worthy of reviewing this book

I trained and worked with many of the Special Forces men mentioned in this book, I never went over the fence. As a medic I saw what this kind of Hell did to these men. The wounds described in this book do not address the mental wounds these men suffered., few avoided it. Many went back time after time until they were killed. Leaving team members dead in the jungle was worse than dying! Their sacrifice was never honored, the war was wrong. I had orders to go to Be it Nam, I had a wife and new baby girl and I did not extend to serve. I returned home and became a firefighter. I was paralyze in a fire when I was twenty nine years old. I am now seventy five and became a high school math teacher. I've been married over fifty years and still thank my lucky stars I did not have to go through what these men experienced.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all should be glad such men have lived and fought for us

[lewis t miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, right to the action.

The only bad thing I can say about this book, is that it will make any other books written about SOG seem inferior. Moore's research and detailed writing paints an incredible picture of these missions using the first hand accounts from those who were there, along with the now declassified reports. From the boots on the ground, to the coveys that supported the teams, this book's details describe each mission down to every last detail. After reading this, it leaves no doubt why so many earned their medals and will forever be legends, not only in the annals of SF , but the military as a whole.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this book and greatly appreciate the immense effort that went into documenting the brave actions of MACV-SOG, I found it more on the factual and record-keeping side than deeply engaging storytelling. At times it felt more like a chronicle than a narrative.

What resonated with me, however, was the portrayal of the toll the war took on the SOG operators and the unbreakable brotherhood they formed, a bond that still echoes in stories from Special Forces communities today.

Ultimately, this book feels like a documentary-style ode to camaraderie and to the ones fallen.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Such an amazing story of hero’s who gave their all in service to their country, only to be shunned on their return to the “world”. We need more of these hero’s today as we face the most critical battle on out home ground. God Bless these men

[Bill Zappone · Rating 5 out of 5]

The courage and passion of this elite force was inspirational. Well written in an understanding way. I listen to the audio version which was awesome.

[Scott Cedotal · Rating 3 out of 5]

TRULY WARRIORS! Amazing story about the formation of SOG and the warriors who fought covert missions in Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War.

[Neal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but seemed more like a bunch of facts rather than telling a story around the facts.

[Shannon Pritchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history of FOB 2/CCC

This book tells of heroic individual combats to weave the story of SOG at CCC, from beginning to end in a fast paced riveting manner.

[John Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author did a tremendous amount of research in describing the many missions these incredibly brave men participated in. Highly recommend.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most Americans have no idea what the SOG warriors did and suffered for our country. Stephen L. Moore does a fine job of spelling out much of what these warriors endured. Compelling read.

[Wayne Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed history of a little known special forces company during the Vietnam war. Code-named the studies and observation group it was the most covert U.S. military unit of its time. 4.5 stars

[James Varney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely insane war stories; a miracle so many survived even with the highest unit casualties since the Civil War.

The book has a different tone from so many Vietnam War memoirs because these soldiers in SOG (primarily Army special forces, but the occasional Navy SEAL, too) are basically all warriors. They are very gung-ho about war and what they are doing. And the air support they get (deservedly) is amazing, from both American and Vietnamese pilots. The contrast to other books about Army or Marine operations in which air support is missing or ineffective is remarkable.

This book follows the arc of what was known as Command & Control Central (CCC), which is separate from the CCN readers would have encountered with Meyer's books or "We Few." CCN is also where John Plaster, the author of two justly praised books on MACV-SOG in the war, was based. CCC operated out of the middle of South Vietnam (Dak To) area, and its operations were almost exclusively in Laos. There is some overlap with Cambodia, though that was primarily CCS's area of operation.

The whole thing is simply incredible. As noted, hard to believe *any* of the Green Berets survived. There is plenty of death to go along with the mountain of medals this unit amassed, but there are more happy endings than one would think given the odds.

[Greynomad · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a dirty war regardless what side you were on.
Spent 2 1/2 years in country and no matter where you where you had to worry about your back at all times.......