Summary

This book describes what life was like as a United States Army Special Forces "Green Beret" on an A-team in the early-mid 1960's, including the author's 7 months on a mission in Ethiopia during their border war with Somalia in 1964. U.S. Army Special Forces had just begun accepting SF trainees from raw recruits in 1962, when he volunteered. Prior to that, only non-commissioned officers (NCOs) could join SF.The second of a series of three books that describe Dick's experiences as a "Green Beret," most of book #2, "Experiences as a Green Beret, Pre-Vietnam" will show the readers what most Special Forces troops did to further their training and expertise, as well as describe a somewhat typical mission in the remote area of a foreign country. Aiding in Dick's recollections of his past come mostly from the countless letters home, which were saved by his mother, and are now his. He also still has more than five hundred photographs he took along his journey, especially in Ethiopia (200+) and South Vietnam (300+). Added to that is more than a hundred binders of research materials to support his historical memories."Part two of Richard "Slurp" James' trilogy is rich with detail in his evolution to become a Green Beret -- America's elite, most highly trained soldier during the Vietnam War. He interweaves the happenings in America, Vietnam and the world, with the account of his time with the first SF group in Ethiopia, life as a Green Beret demolitions specialist and aviation enthusiast pre-Vietnam. After reading part two I firmly believe that long after we have been buried, historians will turn to his trilogy to capture not only the valor and integrity of being a Quiet Professional, but to feel the pulse of America's heartbeat and civil unrest of the Vietnam War era in America and Southeast Asia."--John Stryker Meyer, author of SOG Chronicles, Across the Fence, and On the Ground