Sog - by John L Plaster (Paperback)

About the Book

Major John L. Plaster, a three-tour veteran of Vietnam tells the story of the most highly classified U.S. covert operatives to serve in the war: The Studies and Observations Group, code-named SOG. Comprised of volunteers from America's most elite military units, SOG agents answered directly to the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs, with some missions requiring approval from the White House. Now for the first time, the dangerous assignments of this top-secret unit can be revealed.

Book Synopsis

"The most comprehensive examination of widespread covert American actions during the Vietnam War."--Kirkus Reviews

Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most secret elite U.S. 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.

Major John L. Plaster, three-tour SOG veteran, shares the gripping exploits of these true American warriors. Here is a minute-by-minute, heartbeat-by-heartbeat account of SOG's stunning operations behind enemy lines--penetrating heavily defended North Vietnamese military facilities, holding off mass enemy attacks, launching daring missions to rescue downed U.S. pilots. From sabotage to espionage to hand-to-hand combat, these are some of the most extraordinary true stories of honor and heroism in the history of the U.S. military.

Review Quotes

Praise for SOG

"Exciting [and] hair-raising...a detailed history of this little-known aspect of the Vietnam War."--The New York Times

"Superb and compelling."--Gen. William C. Westmoreland, U.S. Army (ret.)

"A magnificent book of enormous power and a milestone in the literature of special operations."--Col. Robert Howard, Medal of Honor winner, the Vietnam War's most highly decorated soldier

"Authoritative and insightful...a true insider's account."--Publishers Weekly

"Indispensable."--Booklist

"Engrossing and thoroughly exciting."--Library Journal

About the Author

Major John L. Plaster is a national authority on sniping, firearms, and special operations, as well as the author of Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines With the Elite Warriors of SOG and SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam. He served three tours in the top-secret unconventional warfare group, Studies and Observations Group, in Vietnam. As a long-range reconnaissance leader, he led tiny intelligence-gathering teams behind enemy lines in Laos and Cambodia before leaving SOG in late 1971. He was decorated for heroism four times and retired from the U.S. Army as a major.