Terry Barker and I at the 1974 Christmas party for the orphanage at Vi Thanh.
First Division tunnel rat entering a Cu Chi tunnel.
First Division soldiers on an operation in 1965.
To my father, J. Earl Parker,
who told me to make something of myself
Acknowledgments
John J. “Jack” Lyons Jr.; Sgt. Maj. Cecil Bratcher, USA (Ret.); Robert M. Dunn and his former wife, Linda; Lt. Col. Larry D. Peterson, USA (Ret.); Col. John E. Woolley, USA (Ret.); and Lt. Gen. Robert Haldane, USA (Ret.), helped tremendously with the early chronology.
Col. Leonard L. Lewane, USA (Ret.), the former commander of the Quarterhorse; Col. Edward J. Burke, USA (Ret.), the secretary of the 28th Infantry Association; and Andrew Woods at the McCormick Research Center, 1st Division Museum, provided detailed background information on 1st Division operations.
Jerry F., Hardnose, Digger, Zack, Greek, Va Xiong, Nhia Vang, H. Ownby, Izzy Freedman, and George Taylor contributed to the early CIA days and the war in Laos.
Glenn R., Don K., Tom F., and Jim D. provided invaluable help in reporting on the last days in South Vietnam. Terry Barker helped with accounts of our experiences together in Vi Thanh. George Taylor corroborated details of the actual evacuation of the CIA contingent from Can Tho. Bonnie Myers, daughter of the captain of the Pioneer Contender, the late Edward C. Flink, located the ship’s log and other official reports that expanded my recollections. Ron Ross of Alaskan Barge and Transport helped me to complete the story of Tugboat Control and the hectic scene at Vung Tau on 1 May 1975.
I extend special thanks to Doan Huu Dinh and Nguyen Ky Phong, proud former citizens and soldiers of South Vietnam, who provided information on the deaths of General Hung and General Hai.
I also thank Barbara Johnson, Paul Prester, Sedgwick Tourison, Ron Brown, Dr. Lewis M. Stern, Dr. William M. Leary, Dr. Matt Oyas, and Henry W. Turner for their contributions to the overall manuscript.
Thanks go to my editor and close friend, Terry Belanger, a demanding, marvelously talented lady.
And most of all, I thank my wife, Brenda, who encouraged, criticized, and championed this work.
BLACKJACK-33
With Special Forces
in the Viet Cong Forbidden Zone
by James C. Donahue
In Vietnam, Mobile Guerrilla Force was the only American unit that truly carried out guerrilla-style hit-and-run operations. Its soldiers roamed for weeks at a time through steamy triple-canopy jungle in areas owned by the NVA and VC, destroying base camps, ambushing enemy forces, and gathering the intelligence Saigon desperately needed.
In 1967, James Donahue was a Special Forces medic and an assistant platoon leader for the Mobile Guerrilla Force’s fiercely anti-Vietnamese Cambodian irregulars. On mission Blackjack-33, the Mobile Guerrilla Force was to act as bait, luring VC and NVA regiments into decisive engagements so that the Communists could be engaged and destroyed by the 1st Infantry Division. Well, the MGF did its job, but the 1st Infantry Division didn’t show up.…
Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group.
Available in bookstores everywhere.
15 MONTHS IN SOG
A Warrior’s Tour
Thom Nicholson
Colonel, US Army Special Forces (Ret.)
In Vietnam, the Military Assistance Command’s Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) fielded small recon teams in areas infested with VC and NVA. Because SOG operations suffered extraordinary casualties, they required extraordinary soldiers. So when Capt. Thom Nicholson arrived at Command and Control North (CCN) in Da Nang, he knew he was going to be working with the cream of the crop.
Nicholson commanded the four platoons of Raider Company, comprised of nearly two hundred men, in some of the war’s most deadly missions, including ready-reaction missions for patrols in contact with the enemy, patrol extractions under fire, and top-secret expeditions “over the fence” into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam.
Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group.
Available in bookstores everywhere.
By James E. Parker Jr.:
CODENAME MULE: Fighting the Secret War in Laos for the CIA (also published as Covert Ops)
LAST MAN OUT: A Personal Account of the Vietnam War
Last Man Out Page 38