FIRST FORCE RECON

1968-1969

Chasing Charlie was written about my experiences as a Marine scout in a seven-man Force Recon team. My stories are based on my personal experiences. All took place during during the blodiest years of the Viet Nam War.

Force Recon was an elite unit within the Marine Corps, tasked with special operations. Recon teams were dropped deep within enemy territory, relying on stealth and surprise to complete their objectives: providing intelligence on enemy positions, conducting raids and capturing prisoners. At the time the missions were secret, but many missions are now declassified. Our stories can and should be told.

Chasing Charlie describes the training we received, our tactics and the specialized weaponry that we used. Most of all however, the book tells about the brave men I served with. My experiences were those of an enlisted man, a "Bush Marine", hunting and being hunted, fighting to survive jungle warfare.

Chasing Charlie tells of sudden firefights, night parachute jumps, and deadly ambushes. There are stories of encounters with elephants, snakes, spiders as "big as a dinner plate", and even a nightmarish attack by a tiger!

The book concludes with my return to the United States - to an America that was in the process of tearing itself apart over America's involvement in the war.

Viet Nam was a brutal battleground. Over the course of the conflict over 57,000 American soldiers died there. Hundreds of thousands of Americans were wounded, mentally damaged, or sickened by Agent Orange and other chemicals. It is my hope that Chasing Charlie will help Americans remember the sacrifices that were made on their behalf.