Tiger Men: An Australian Soldier's Secret War in Vietnam

by Barry Petersen, John Cribbin

Twenty five years after he left Vietnam and his Montagnard tribesmen, Australian Barry Petersen wrote this thoughtful story of his life among the Rhade and other ethnic groups of Darlac Province. He went there to train and lead the local tribes to defend their villages and homes against the Viet-Cong; this book is the story of the Truong Son --Tiger Men--who became the most respected and feared self-defence force in South Vietnam. But it is also the sad story of the subsequent defeat and destruction of the Montagnard villages, culture and way of life--as much due to the Vietnamese and American generals and political leaders as to the Viet-Cong. For his heroic efforts, Petersen himself almost paid the ultimate price--years after his departure from Vietnam, he learned that both the South Vietnamese and some Americans had plotted to have him killed. This is a book which the CIA would rather not see in print.

Genres: Military Fiction, Biography

245 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Barry Petersen is a CBS News Correspondent. He has reported on wars, natural disasters, Paris fashions, the fading popularity of Welsh choirs, and the return of American jazz to Shanghai, China. He has worked for CBS News for more than three decades.

After attending high school in Sidney, Montana, he studied at the Medill School of Journalism.

Petersen wrote about his wife's diagnosis with early onset of Alzheimer's disease in 2005, in a work entitled "Jan's Story", which was published in June 2010. Jan was also a CBS News journalist, reporting from both Japan and the former Soviet Union for CBS News Radio, CBS News Sunday Morning, and the CBS Weekend News.

Reviews

[Al Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the rare autobiographies that is both entertaining to read, and provides historical information that can rarely be found outside of such an autobiography. Barry Peterson has managed to capture his experiences that perhaps only a handful of people can claim similar. He has done so in a wonderful style in a topic that frankly, needs more books written about it. The opening chapter sets the tone and draws you in, with a bit of a twist to segway into the career of this Australian officer that took him from the Malaysian Emergency against the brutal ethnic Chinese Communist terror groups there, to essentially a tribal leader of the Montagnards in Dar Lac province attached to the American CIA. His candid apprasal comes across as honest, especially to those who have served in the military and faced the same frustrating beurocracy, petty jealous rivalry, and upper command incomprehension of the situation on the ground.

Peterson captures the truths regarding the difficulties in insurgent operations and how no good deed goes unpunished. His end chapters cover the years following his removal from the Montagnards, the eventual sad results from a departure from his program, and the fate of those that eventually fell to the Vietnamese and Cambodian Communist forces.

The only reason it did not get a five star was rating was his non linear narrative at times disrupted what could have been a very emotional finish. The segue into Singapore and back to Malaya interupted the attention on the native Montagnards, so that when we did return to learn their fate, it felt more of a PS than anything else. A minor quibble of an otherwise outstanding story for an outstanding officer.

I highly recommend this book for it's historical detail of a mostly unknown period in history, the context of insurgency in Southeast Asia (important now as "historical campaigns" in SE Asia are attempting to reshape understanding of regional history by ignoring these types of conflicts), as well as a human interest story that is entertaining outside of any historical study.

[Steve Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a great story. I met Barry Petersen in Bangkok a decade ago and I really enjoyed our short conversation. he impressed me as a down to earth, practical man with great humility. I enjoyed the story. of course it is well know in military circles, what I found fascinating was the intrigue and the machinations of the Americans. All ego! So typical! Nothing much has changed, They still seem to have the view of themselves and their military that often stands out of all proportion to their effectiveness on the ground. They always bring their own mind set to anything and dominant in that is the idea that since they are the greatest they must always know best. add to that the opportunity for career promotion the Vietnam War provided for many after such a long hiatus and you have the makings for the worst qualities of military leadership that often seemed so much in evidence from field grade up. These people as it turned out were a far greater danger to Petersen than the VC and in the long run they managed as they do to dismantle a highly successful program and replace it with something that served no one but perhaps themselves personally. The Australian Army also has its share of these people, all organizations do but the Yanks really seem to have had the market cornered. Many of their Vietnam Combat veterans cite poor leadership at this level as one of the main reasons for the failure of their efforts in Vietnam and for their own personal sense of alienation. These self seeking incompetent people were the primary cogs in the green machine

I also found the short note on Malaya and his tour with 2 RAR interesting. That was the same time that I was in Vietnam and I agreed whole-heartedly with his observations on the corruption and poisoning not only of the whole of Vietnamese society but the war effort itself by the American approach to just about everything. The description of the infantry operations in the field were right on the knocker.

This book is offers an insight into one of the great tragedies of history. The use, abuse and abandonment of the Montagnard by the US and its allies. These people are still paying today for that treachery. It is one of the most shameful episodes of US history in Asia, and there have been a few!

[Mick Maye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of Barry Petersen and the Montagnard tribesmen in the central highlands of South Vietnam.