The Men Behind the Trident: Seal Team One In Vietnam

Naval Institute Special Warfare Series

by Dennis J. Cummings

This is the story of the U.S. Navy SEAL Team One in Vietnam as told by twenty of the elite Navy commandos who fought there from 1962 to 1972. Here for the first time, these unorthodox and sometimes iconoclastic special warriors talk about the missions that are left out of the official histories and existing accounts. Extraordinarily gripping and personal, these narratives reveal what really happened on those covert forays. Dennis Cummings has succeeded in coaxing the SEALs to reveal what made them tick, why they volunteered for such dangerous work and returned for multiple tours in the unpopular war, how they pooled their special talents and motivations, and finally how they overcame fear, frustration, and personal losses. A counter to the uncorroborated barroom braggadocio common to other accounts, Cummings's achievement gives the best picture available of what it really meant to wear the distinctive SEAL trident insignia.

Genres: War, Military Fiction

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[James Varney · Rating 4 out of 5]

An odd mix of great war stories and bureaucratic business. One of the striking things about SEAL books or MACV-SOG commandos is these guys were all superb soldiers and wanted to be there. So the angst, the whole “Vietnam sucked and guys were damaged” aura that envelops more famous books is missing here. These guys all *wanted* to be there. They were scared, to some extent, but so well trained the fear is much less tangible. That makes for some remarkable stories but also an at times curious, matter of fact attitude about what happens in combat. I suppose it’s something most people, myself very much included, will never understand. In any event, I’m grateful for the service of these men. A part of me wishes everyone in the Army and Navy could be as good as these guys, but of course that’s impossible. And maybe not a bad thing: it’s not that these guys are insane, just that they are a different breed of cats.