1ST RECON BN.

BOOKS

Rice Paddy Recon

Andy Finlayson's follow-up book to

Killer Kane, has been published and is

available on line at the Amazon.com or Click Here

Nothin’ But A Thing

By Doc Gary Lewis

Available at Amazon.com

(paperback and e-book).

A true personal story of a young Navy

corpsman’s tour-of-duty in Vietnam

with the 1st Marines and the

1st Force Reconnaissance Co.

1967-1968.

Click the photo for more Info.

Click the book's photo for a sample of the Book.

Caged Heroes: American POW

Experiences from the American

Revolution to the Present

By Jon Couch Bravo 79/81

Available at Amazon.com

(paperback and hard copy).

Jon has made the book available

free of charge to all members of the

1st Recon Assn. You can download

the PDF file by:

This is available until March 1, 2018. The link will be lost when the old website goes down. 

Killer Kane: A Marine Recon Team Leader in Vietnam, 1967-1968

By Andrew R. Finlayson

Killer Kane was of one of the most successful U. S. Marine long range reconnaissance teams of the Vietnam War. Team Leader Andy Finlayson’s narrative covers a pivotal period in the war, the year leading up to the Tet Offensive, and presents a highly personal account of the dangerous missions conducted by this team of young Recon Marines as they searched for North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong units throughout the Da Nang area of operations

Killer Kane’s six to eight man patrols searched for the enemy far from friendly lines, in locations such as Elephant Valley, The Enchanted Forest, Charlie Ridge, Happy Valley and the Que Son Mountains, often engaged in desperate fire fights with vastly superior VC and NVA forces. The book also explains in detail the planning, preparation and conduct of, a long range reconnaissance patrol, giving the reader many insights into why Killer Kane was so successful.

Andy Finlayson’s Killer Kane is a gripping first hand account of how a young Marine officer and a highly capable and dedicated group of men did a very dangerous job for their country, while the United States was becoming increasingly disillusioned and weary of the war.

Killer Kane is expected to be published in August by McFarland & Company, Inc. Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640; advance purchases may be made by going to the McFarland website www.mcfarlandpub.com , print out and send the PDF file by:

or ordering from Amazon Books search Andrew R. Finlayson to find the book.

This link is available until March 1, 2018. The link will be lost when the old website goes down. 

Viet Man

By D.S.(Doc Danny) Lliteras

Alpha Co. 69/70

Book Reviews: Click Here

 or the book.

Hill 488

Mulvihill on Hill 488

See Preview: Click Here

Like other volumes in the Spearhead series, this book takes readers to the cutting edge of warfare--for a close look at the make-up, operations, and performance of a military unit operating independently and forcefully at the forefront of battle.

With a focus on aspects of war that most narrative histories omit--logistics and supply lines, communications, battlefield terrain, and command and control--this book offers an unparalleled view of the experience of the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam.

Simon Dunstan provides a brief history of the unit, the theater, and the situation. He moves with the Marines from home base to the battlefield, where readers get a clear picture of the units organization and the order of battle from the beginning of Americas involvement in the Vietnam War to the divisions departure from Vietnam in 1972.

Copiously illustrated with photographs, organizational diagrams, tables, and unit markings (both tactical and individual), the book covers every aspect of this units role in the war, from training and strategic planning to engineering and execution. It is an unusually detailed account of the true nuts and bolts behind the drama of the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam

MARCH 18, 2015 Panel Discussion on the Vietnam War Authors Robert Timberg, Robert Tecklenburg, and D.S. Lliteras participated in a panel discussion on the Vietnam War. Robert Timberg is the author of Blue-Eyed Boy: A Memoir. Robert Tecklenburg is the author of The Boys Next Door: A Marine Returns to Vietnam. D.S. Lliteras is the author of Viet Man: A Novel.

This event was part of the 21st annual Virginia Festival of the Book, held on March 18-23, 2015, in Charlottesville.

Overview
Viet Man by D.S. Lliteras
 

* Winner of the Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) Gold Medal for Best Literary Fiction

Viet Man is about the transformation of a young man who enlisted in the Navy during the Viet Nam War, was trained as a hospital corpsman, was transferred into the Marine Corps, then sent to Viet Nam where he joined the elite First Recon.

It is a first person narrative of alternating episodes experienced in the rear and in the bush. In the rear, Doc encounters a straw-haired mid-western farm boy who shows him how to prepare a meal of long-rats, and Loopie, a Puerto Rican from the Bronx who shares a guilt-torn confession that borders on confabulation. In the bush, Doc experiences the terror of accidentally releasing a live grenade among his men, of rushing to rescue a wounded marine, and of sharing a quiet conversation in a bunker with Trang, a South Vietnamese soldier.

After being assigned to the Recon Dive Team and attending the Navy diving school in the Philip-pines, he returns to Viet Nam were he engages in numerous combat dives and river operations.

At the end of his tour, he is processed out of the military. And upon his return to his hometown as a veteran, he faces a jarring reception of insolence, indifference, and fragmented flashbacks. In Viet Man, D.S. Lliteras unlocks the inner mystery of a man’s combat experience. It is poetic and haunting, authentic and amusing. It is a story told by a man who ultimately survives the war and returns to his homeland, but another country will forever dwell in his soul.

Flames and Smoke Visible

By D.S.(Doc Danny) Lliteras

Alpha Co. 69/70

Book Reviews: Click Here

or click the book or photos.

FLAMES AND SMOKE VISIBLE
A Fire Fighter’s Tale
D.S. Lliteras

The put their lives on the line every day . . . .

Every now and then a clear voice rises from the ashes
of America’s Fireground and Dan Lliteras is one of
these. A former fire fighter, Lliteras knows the voice
of urgency and crisis, elements that make you feel you
are there with the characters in his stories. He is a
writer to watch, and to read.
rainbow ridge
books
Distributed by Square One Publishers
sq1publish@aol.com ORDERS: (877) 900-BOOK
—Dennis Smith, author of Report from Engine Co. 82

Flames and Smoke Visible is the true story about a
veteran fire fighter who was injured on the fireground.
While in the hospital, he is compelled to consider what
it means to be. What emerges from his remembrance of
things past is a lean and eloquent book about brave and
honorable fire fighters who possess the mystery of knowing how to face the living and the dying. 

Their valiant stories are filled with understated wisdom and humility about the beautiful and dreadful things encountered on the fireground. As David Willson, author of REMF Diary: A Novel of the Vietnam War Zone, writes: “With the authority of
experience as a professional fire fighter, D.S. Lliteras has written an authentic and entertaining book . . . a beautifully written, riveting account about this profession that is not only a first-rate entertaining book but also a book which informs, instructs, and allows the reader access to the human heart.”


D. S. LLITERAS is the author of ten books that have received national acclaim. He has served with the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the Norfolk Fire Department. He has a BA and MFA from Florida State University and is a member of the IAFF.

D.S. Lliteras

Bio

Flames and Smoke Visible can be

purchased on Amazon.com,

B&N.com, Independent Book Stores,

B&N Bookstores, Books A Million,

even direct from the distributor

& publisher: Square One Publishers

& Rainbow Ridge Books.

Mike Schneider 1969-1970

Swift, Silent and Deadly:

Recon Marines in Vietnam

Click the Book for more Info.

OCTOBER 12, 2013Flames and Smoke Visible
D.S. Lliteras talked about his book, Flames and Smoke Visible, in which he discusses the hazards of being a firefighter and shares his experiences on the job. He spoke at the Norfolk Fire Department Fire Station Number 1 in Norfolk, Virginia.

A video overview of the novels of author Gordon Ryan.

Gordon Ryan Bravo 63

GORDON W. RYAN www.gordonryan.com was a Recon Marine in the aftermath of the Cuban missile crises. He served in Bangkok with the Air Force during Vietnam, and at the American Embassy in Dublin, Ireland, during the violent 70's. He has also lived in England, stationed near RAF Lakenheath.

State of Rebellion, Gordon Ryan's latest military political thriller, is Book One of the new Pug Connor novels. Book Two, Uncivil Liberties, was released in October, 2010. Look for them from Amazon, Amazon UK, Kindle, and in multiple e-book formatting.

Ryan wrote his first novel, Dangerous Legacy, in 1993. The publisher then accepted a novella, Threads of Honor, and signed a contract for three volumes of historical fiction entitled Spirit of Union. Threads of Honor went to #1 on the regional list for six weeks in 1996. In 1997, Spirit of Union: Destiny 1895-1898, jumped to the top ten on the publisher's regional list. Volume II, Conflict, and III, Heritage, also made the regional bestseller list

Ryan has continued to publish historical fiction and military political thrillers, as a traditionally published author and also as an "Indie." With his recent release, State of Rebellion, a story of illegal immigration, election fraud and the potential secession of California, in both softbound and Kindle. State of Rebellion is the first volume of the Pug Connor novels, depicting an America far removed from the concept of the Founding Fathers.

In addition to these new releases, Ryan has recently added his previous novels to the Kindle Store. He is one of a limited number of Amazon's premier LDS (Mormon) novelists. For LDS standard publications by Ryan, select Kindle books and use the tag "LDS Ryan" to search the Amazon inventory.

Ryan also writes for the national market without an LDS theme in his narrative. For those who love to read dynamic thriller authors such as Tom Clancy, W.E.B. Griffin, Vince Flynn, Dale Brown, and Patrick Robinson, Ryan's novels should be quite satisfying.

Ryan has served as Chief Executive Officer or City Manager in multiple American and international communities including New Zealand. An accomplished public speaker, he frequently accepts invitations for public presentations.

Born in New York City, Ryan holds a Bachelors degree with Honors in Political Science and has completed graduate work in Public Administration. After living and working in many states including Alaska, and internationally in Norway, England, Ireland, Thailand, Taiwan, and New Zealand, Ryan now writes full-time. Together with his wife, Colleen, they spend their time between the American northwest and the beautiful South Pacific.

Swift, Silent, and Deadly

WWII Pacific 1942-1945

By Bruce F. Meyers

Click the Book for more Info.

The Long Way Home:

USMC 1st Force Recon Co.

By Pat Patterson

Click the Book for more Info.

Books I & II, American Heroes:

Grunts, Pilots & "Docs"

by Michael Dan Kellum, 1stLt. and former PFC, USMCR

A 2-book series about Marine Grunts and Recon, Pilots and their crews and the "Docs," the Navy Corpsmen, who worked alongside them all. These books are a 21-year project to gather research material, interview Marines and Navy Corpsmen and finally the writing. Approximately 1,019 Marines and 42 Navy Corpsmen are the focus of Books I and II with personnel from other service making up another 40 or so mentioned. 1st Recon Bn. in 1969-70 in Nam is the main focus of the Recon stories...some of the Reconners mentioned include Lt.Col. Bill Drumright, Lt.Col. Bill Leftwich Jr., Cpl. Larry Feldman, Gunny Terry Moore, SSgt. John Hare, Cpl. Bob Morris, Doc Thurman Mullins, Doc David Snider, 2ndLt. Tony Kupka, 1stLt. Chip Gregson and many more. For more information on who's in the books and some excerpts and photos go to my website at www.michaeldankellum.com and see the Indexes for both books. The website also contains the ordering and pricing form. Any additional questions about the books contact Michael Dan Kellum at kdkellum@aol.com The publisher is Navarro-Hill Publishing Group, P.O. Box 1088, Longview, TX 75606

More Books 

Coming Soon

1st Recon Battalion, New Books from Members

Coming Soon

Lt. Clebe McClary American Hero

Syllables of Rain

Danny Lliteras, one of our members

A published author

Syllables of Rain

By D. S. Lliteras

Danny Lliteras, one of our members is a published author, and he has just published a new book, 'Syllables of Rain’. Here are a couple of reviews: Two Vietnam veterans are determined to confront their war-time pasts and discover that they must also struggle to claim a future with the women they love.

The VVA Veteran—“Syllables of Rain is a novel of pure genius by D.S. Lliteras....My favorite kind of Vietnam War book is short, poetical, and filled with hard-fought truth....This is that book. D.S. Lliteras brings his unique genius to bear on the world of the VietnamWar veteran.

”https://vvabooks.wordpress.com/2017/10/26/syllables-of-rain-by-d-s-lliteras/Library Journal—“Lliteras has created a compact, emotionally charged snapshot of two soldiers trying to make sense of the world around them. Combining prose and poetry, this slim novel [Syllables of Rain] will leave a lasting impression on anyone who is or has known a military veteran.

Just wanted to share with my brothers. It was just announced, Silent Heroes is now an award winning novel.

After thousands of entries, Silent Heroes is a winner.

Awarded by Readers favorite and given this seal. Go to my web site at:

rickgreenbergauthor.com

for more info.

Danny Lliteras

USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114)

About the Book
In 1st Force Recon you performed at a very high level of proficiency. Or you died. . . .

In 1969, First Lieutenant Bill Peters and the Force Recon Marines had one of the most difficult, dangerous assignments in Vietnam. From the DMZ to the Central Highlands, their job was to provide strategic and operational intelligence to insure the security of American units as the withdrawal of the troops progressed.

"ONE OF THE BEST VIETNAM WAR STORIES I'VE EVER READ, one damn good, compelling read. It's almost something out of a Clancy novel, yet it's true. The best thing I can say about it is I didn't want it to end."
--Col. David Hackworth, New York Times bestselling author of About Face

By the spring of 1970, American troops were ordered to pull out of Vietnam. The Marines of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel "Wild Bill" Drumright, were assigned to cover the withdrawal of 1st Marine Division. The Marines of 1st RECON Bn operated in teams of six or seven men. Heavily armed, the teams fought a multitude of bitter engagements with a numerically superior and increasingly aggressive enemy.

Michael C. Hodgins served in Company C, 1st RECON Bn (Rein), as a platoon leader. In powerful, graphic prose, he chronicles his experience as a patrol leader in myriad combat situations--from hasty ambush to emergency extraction to prisoner snatch to combined-arms ambush. . . .

"THIS MEMOIR IS GRIPPING."
--American Way