Listed below are some books that you may find interesting on AATTV.  Any suggestions to additions tothelist would be appreciated. Most copies of the books are available from either theAustralian War Memorial book shop on web site http://www.awm.gov.au/shop/or from your local book store. Another web site that is helpful to hunt up literature on Vietnam War is http://www.amazon.com/which if a new copy can not be supplied then a used copy can usually be located.

The Men Who Persevered.  Bruce Davies AATTV and Gary McKay.  Well researched book on the exploits of members of AATTV.  Includes the Nominal Roll of members.  A necessary piece of history of the Vietnam War.  ISBN 1 74114 8316

Special Forces Camps in Viet Nam 1961-70.  ROTTMAN Gordon, colour plates Chris Taylor. Osprey Fortress Series No 33, London 2005.  SC, 64p., photos, drawings.  ISBN1 84176 839 1

A very well produced little book, its author (very prolific) served in SVN with 5th SF Group 1969-70, then long time involvement with the US special action forces community as a Senior NCO and supervisory civilian.  Jam packed full of interesting and appropriate photos, diagrammes, with computer developed colour prints of various aspects of camps, and attacks upon them, the artistic work of these gives a three dimensional feel.  I sent a copy to a friend in Seattle, see saying at he could not fault anything major (there of course being minor errors, probably due to transcription).  Well worth its Australian price of 32 dollars.  If interested can be acquired from Napoleon's Military Bookshop in Sydney, or Battlebridge Books, Parramatta
 

New Release**
ANZAC Elite  by Cliff Lord and Julian Tennant. ".... the book makes a worthwhile contribution to the history of ANZAC airborne and special forces.  is also an important reference publication that should find its place in defence force and public libraries, and ex-service organisations and historical societies."  - Australian War Memorial magazine" Australian War Memorial.  Details on ordering the book are located at site http://transpressbooks.homestead.com/ANZAC.html  Available most book stores.

"SOG, America's Secret War inVietnam"   by John Plaster. It deals with ops in NVN, on the Ho Chi MinhTrail and other clandestine ops in Laos, Cambodia etc.. The whole story ishere, from recon teams and Hatchet Forces to Blackbirds, Green Hornets, and Nastyboats --all  Medal of Honor winners have separate sections, along with extensive coverage of  weapons, tactics, techniques, the Ho ChiMinh Trail, all helicopter units, etc., etc. Some 700 photos are included. There are some Team members that had and still have close links with their US allies.                                                                                                                                                           Author: John Plaster
ISBN 1581600585
** See end of section for details on the book and ordering information.

The Mad Galahs **- A Team member, Capt George Mansford now Brig (Rtd) served 40 years in theAustralian Army and spent 20 years in battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment.  The Mad Galahs weaves historical fact into a stirring tale of Australian Infantrymen at war. They were Citizen Soldiers, K Force, Regulars, Conscripts, and all of them wore the badge of the Royal Australian Regiment.                                                                                                                                           Author:George Mansford
ISBN  0646380044                                                                                                                             AATTV 1966-67
** A book review is locatedatthe end of this section.

Through the Wire  **- ATeam member, Capt David Savage relates his tour to duty in South Vietnam.                                                                                                                                                 Author: David Savage
 ISBN 1 86448 868 9                                                                                                                             AATTV 1968 - 69
** A book review by George Mansford - AATTV  1966 - 67 is located at the end of this section.

The Team - Australian Army Advisers in Vietnam 1962 - 1972                                                Author: Ian McNeill
 ISBN0 7022 2486 3                                                                                                                               AATTV 1965 - 66
Out of Print.  Only source toprocure appears to be through internet auctions.

The Team in Pictures 1962 - 1972 A pictorial history of Australian Army Training Team Vietnam 1962 - 1972  Produced by:  The National Executive AATTV, Canberra ACT
ISBN 0 646 104446

Tiger Men - An Australian Soldier's Secret War in Vietnam                                                   Author: Barry Petersen,  MC with John     Cribbin.                                                                                                                                                    AATTV Aug 63 - Dec 65
ISBN 0 283 99816 4

The Team in Vietnam - The Lighter Side Anecdotes of the AATTV                                          Author: Vic Pennington
ISBN 1 86254 288 0                                                                                                                               AATTV 1970 - 71

Vietnam Veterans - Honours & Awards Army - An excellent reference to those Vietnam Veterans of  the  Australian Army who are recipients of Honours and Awards for the Vietnam War. From Victoria Cross to Mention In Despatches, this book will give you details of honours and awards given  in a very readable format.
You will find many members of Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) mentioned in this book.
ISBN 0646239783                                                                                                                               Author:Alexander M Palmer

Less known activities duringthe Vietnam War were the operations of units known as Mike Force. Even less known are some of the bloody battles they fought such as Duc Lap. The author of Through the Wire provides a fascinating insight into both areas and more.

A word of warning. Do not expect the story to grab you from the first page. Nevertheless, a few pages later when the author, an SAS officer, takes command of a Mike Force Company ensure you have no pressing commitments; better still, take the phone off the hook. It's that sort of book.

You will not need a military background to be amazed at the complexities of command within a unit comprising Montagnards, commanded by American Special Forces and members of the AustralianArmy TrainingTeam. (A misnomer for a unit if there ever was one). You will certainly find it compelling reading as the Author describes in an easy flowing style the changing situations throughout the battle.

First is the suddenness of  being committed to operations with minimum preparation and orders. Of landing by helicopter into unfamiliar and hostile terrain and in a very short time fighting for information on the battlefield. The unexpected setbacks asthe company encounters heavily fortified bunkers and is forced to withdraw.The sheer audacity of  breaking in to reinforce the beleaguered garrison and there is always the continual and immense burden of command when the author, already wounded, has to make snap decisions based on scant information during the stubborn desperate defence as the reinforced garrison continues to be exposed to constant bombardment and infantry assaults.

It is also the story of immense bravery by numerous individuals but regrettably the publisher has not included photographs for the reader to identify with at least some of those who fought alongside the author. Thus by the last page they remain faceless and are simply names. They deserved better.

After the battle the story does not lose its pace. David Savage continues to recall his experiences in a Special Forces environment and there is ample evidence from his detailed observations to reinforce the argument that the military machine in Vietnam too often demonstrated poor command and control. The end result of such inadequate procedures was that on occasions those who bore the brunt of the fighting were exposed tounnecessary misery and danger. The author provides such an example of stupidity and ineptness with his account of two friendly sub units slaughtered by helicopter gun ships as a result of mistaken identity.

Sadly the fog of war during the battle of  Duc Lap combined with misunderstanding caused by total physical and mental exhaustion results in a difference of opinions between warriors who fought in the same company. What appears to be an unfortunate comment uttered by an individual while under immense emotional strain slowly gathers momentum,  spreads as a rumour, and months later challenges and even threatens the reputation of the author.

One can only hope that there ist he opportunity for reconciliation between such men now that sanity and reason has replaced such terrible and confused circumstances on the  battlefield. The dedication and bravery of such warriors is too noble to be overshadowed by rumour, gossip and doubt.

The Author - George Mansford, enlisted as a Private in the Australian Army, and forty years later retired as a Brigadier. His military service included Korea, Malaya and Vietnam.  One of his proudest achievements is that he served 20 years in Battalions of  The Royal Australian Regiment.

The Mad Galahs weaves historical fact into a stirring tale of Australian Infantrymen at war. They were Citizen Soldiers, K Force, Regulars, Conscripts, and all of them wore the badge of the Royal Australian Regiment.

This is a story about soldiers, written by a soldier. It is a work of fiction so if you're seeking historical facts then seek elsewhere, for you won't find them here! Although many of the events depicted are true, they did not happen at the exact moment in history,or in the precise manner described here. On the other hand, if it's a good read you're seeking, one that will hold your interest from cover to cover then look no further, this book is for you.

The author makes no pretence o fprobing for deep psychological reasons why soldiers do what they do. He tells it like it is, with the added authority of  personal experience.Through it spages, this book will introduce you to a group of young Australians who, each for his own reasons, chooses to make the army his career. With them you will live through the savagery that was Korea, you will share their experiences as they patrol the steamy Malayan jungles and you will accompany them as they pit their experience and courage against a fanatical, determined enemy inthe rice paddies of Vietnam, until each, in his turn, has found his ultimate destiny. There are no grand strategies, no brilliant tactical Generals or blustering, Staff Officers so common in war novels.This book is about soldiers, and about the everyday events that shape their lives.

Throughout the book, the author's admiration, one might say his love, of the ordinary "Digger" shines through like a beacon. From my point of view at least, this is one of this book's great strengths.

The author is emphatic that this is a work of fiction and that the characters in it do not represent any persons alive or dead. He is equal emphatic that there has been no intent to associate his own military service with the story. Having said that however, I feel bound to say that those who have served  in the Regiment, those with the military service and indeed many with no service at all, will find the faces of people they know peering at them out of the pages as they "Fall-in" with Macka, Moff and their mates.

SOG was the Vietnam War's only covert special  warfare unit. So well did SOG keep its secrets that only a handful of Vietnam veterans ever heard of it till long after the war was over, and most SOG men thought their missions would never be declassified.  When SOG was disbanded in 1972, its thousands of photographs and negatives were ordered burned. But some veterans had brought home personal copies of it's official photos taken on operations, along with thousands of snapshots taken by the men themselves.When Plaster, himself a three-tour SOG veteran, began working on his history of SOG he contacted his secret  war comrades and uncovered this wealth of photos. The result is the greatest special operations photo collection ever assembled. Be one of the first to get your hands on more than 700 extremely rare of SOG recon teams in action behind enemy lines in Cambodia, Laos and even North Vietnam. This powerful book  8 1/2" x 11", hardcover, photos,illus., 496 pp.
ISBN: 1581600585
Publisher code: SOG.P
Price: $US79.95 plus postage

You can order by going to the  Paladin Press Web Site or direct to the book at: http://www.e-sell.com/e-sellpaladin/Store/prodinfo.asp?prodid=3876

This message came from the author John L. Plaster. If you mail your books to me, I'll be happy to inscribe them for you, but be sure to include anything you want me to cite, such as the name of your recon team, or assignment toCCN/CCC/CCS, 20th SOS or 90th SOS, etc.  My address is PO Box 100, IronRiver, WI   54847.