
Operation Tailwind
Memoirs of a Secret Battle in a Secret War
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Narrated by:
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Dan Nachtrab
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By:
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Barry Pencek
About this listen
The Studies and Observations Group was a covert American military unit in Vietnam that specialized in clandestine cross-border operations in Laos and Cambodia. In September 1970, sixteen Green Berets and one-hundred-twenty Montagnard mercenaries departed on Operation Tailwind, the largest and deepest raid in SOG history. Their mission was to disrupt and distract the enemy in support of a larger CIA operation that originated in the White House.
Over the next four days, as their ammunition dwindled and casualties mounted, these soldiers, and the aircrews overhead that went to extraordinary lengths to keep them alive, achieved the improbable if not the impossible.
Twenty-eight years after Tailwind concluded, CNN produced a documentary about Tailwind, called “Valley of Death,” accusing the participants of war crimes, specifically using nerve gas to kill women, children, and American defectors. This broadcast created a media firestorm that reached around the world.
In Operation Tailwind: Memoirs of a Secret Battle in a Secret War, Barry Pencek gives an incredibly detailed account of the four-day running battle and does a thought-provoking deep dive into the failure of journalistic ethics at CNN that created a media debacle. Besides being one hell of a war story, Operation Tailwind provides a great example of the need for the highest integrity in journalism and should be required reading for all J-school students.
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More, give me more.
- By LEE on 03-06-19
By: John L. Plaster
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Land with No Sun
- A Year in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne
- By: Command Sergeant Major Ted G. Arthurs
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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A no-holds-barred, straight-in-your-face account of combat in Vietnam. You know it's going to be hot when your brigade is referred to as a Fireball unit. From May 1967 through May 1968, Ted Arthurs was in the thick of it, humping an eighty-pound rucksack through triple canopy jungle, chasing down the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. As sergeant major for a battalion of eight-hundred men, it was his job to see them through this jungle hell and get them back home again.
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Great non fiction Vietnam
- By Amazon Customer on 05-08-25
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Born Twice
- Memoir of a Special Forces SOG Warrior
- By: Dale Hanson
- Narrated by: Dale Hanson
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Dale Hanson takes us from a northern Minnesota boyhood to the incredible stresses of US special operations during the Vietnam War, the deadly world of MAC-V-SOG, the top-secret Special Forces project that conducted America’s secret war against the Communist forces on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Shrouded in mystery and equipped with exotic weaponry, SOG operators suffered casualty rates in excess of 100 percent for three successive years.
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Politics
- By Anonymous User on 11-30-23
By: Dale Hanson
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Serving God and Country
- United States Military Chaplains in World War II
- By: Lyle W. Dorsett
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In World War II, over 12,000 Protestant ministers, Catholic priests, and Jewish rabbis left the safety of home to join the Chaplain Corps, following the armed forces into battle across Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the high seas. These are the personal stories of some of the bravest and most selfless men who served. All of them battled the pain of separation from their own loved ones as they gave some of the best years of their lives to keep the military personnel spiritually awake, morally fit—and prepared to make the journey from this world to the next without fear or despair.
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Just not Long Enough
- By J.Brock on 09-14-22
By: Lyle W. Dorsett
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On the Ground
- The Secret War in Vietnam
- By: John Stryker Meyer, John E. Peters
- Narrated by: John Stryker Meyer
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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During the Vietnam War, a “secret war” was fought across the fence in Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam, unknown to the media or the public, under the aegis of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam’s top secret Studies and Observations Group. SOG’s chain of command for missions and after-action reports extended to the White House and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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The audio version was horrible
- By Christie on 06-17-21
By: John Stryker Meyer, and others
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SOG Chronicles: Volume One
- By: John Stryker Meyer
- Narrated by: John Stryker Meyer
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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From 1964 to 1972, far beyond the battlefields of Vietnam and the glare of media distortions, American Green Berets and their indigenous troops fought a deadly secret war in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam under the aegis of the top secret Military Assistance Command Vietnam—Studies and Observations Group, or simply SOG.
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Too important
- By Jim on 10-25-22
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Swift Sword
- The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967
- By: Doyle Glass
- Narrated by: Tim H. Dixon
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Marine Lance Corporal Jack Swan crested the face of a bare, rocky knoll in the Que Son Valley of South Vietnam. Following Swan were the 164 Marines of Mike Company, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division. Their mission was to locate and rescue two understrength and isolated companies of felow Marines who were under attack by the North Vietnamese Army.
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Incredible story
- By Alex on 01-06-25
By: Doyle Glass
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Task Force Black
- The explosive true story of the SAS and the secret war in Iraq
- By: Mark Urban
- Narrated by: Mark Urban
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Following the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq in 2003, the SAS launched one of the most intense and secretive operations in its history: Task Force Black. BBC journalist Mark Urban uncovers the sensational story of this operation and the extraordinary men who carried it out.
By: Mark Urban
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Whispers in the Tall Grass
- By: Nick Brokhausen
- Narrated by: George Spelvin
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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On his second combat tour, Nick Brokhausen served in Recon Team Habu, CCN. This unit was part of MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group), or Studies and Observations Group as it was innocuously called. The small recon companies that were the center of its activities conducted some of the most dangerous missions of the war, infiltrating areas controlled by the North Vietnamese in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The companies never exceeded more than 30 Americans, yet they were the best source for the enemy's disposition.
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OUTSTANDING
- By James on 12-21-19
By: Nick Brokhausen
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Di Di Mau
- A True Story About Tigers, Rock Apes, the Jungle, and War
- By: Darren Walton, Michael J. Coffino
- Narrated by: M.P. MacDougall
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Di Di Mau is Darren’s unabashed personal account of warfare, survival, and brotherhood—and the enduring reflections that followed. It is unlike any book about the Vietnam War.
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Just words
- By John "TOP" Chitwood on 01-17-25
By: Darren Walton, and others
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Abandoned in Hell
- The Fight for Vietnam's Fire Base Kate
- By: William Albracht, Marvin Wolf
- Narrated by: Brian O'Neill
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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In October 1969, Captain William Albracht, the youngest Green Beret in Vietnam, took command of a remote hilltop outpost called Fire Base Kate, held by only 27 American soldiers and 150 Montagnard militiamen. He found their defenses woefully unprepared. At dawn the next morning, three North Vietnamese Army regiments - some 6,000 men - crossed the Cambodian border and attacked.
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Amazing story
- By Effie on 04-12-16
By: William Albracht, and others
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Point Man
- By: Chief James Watson, Kevin Dockery
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Chief Petty Officer James "Patches" Watson was there at the start. One of the first to come out of the famed Underwater Demolition Team 21, he was an initial member—a "plank owner"—of America's deadliest and most elite fighting force, the U.S. Navy SEALs. Through three tours in the jungle hell of Vietnam, he walked the point—staying alert to trip wires, booby traps, and punji pits, guiding his squad of amphibious fighters on missions of rescue, reconnaissance, and demolition—confronting a war's unique terrors head-on, unprotected . . . and unafraid.
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Great book with fresh stories
- By melamama on 06-28-24
By: Chief James Watson, and others
Fake News at its Worst
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I saw a lot of my experiences when he first arrived in country.
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Truth over CNN
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The superior performance of SF during the Vietnam War.
Wayne Caudill, SGM (Ret)
Review / Facts of Op Tailwind
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How self serving the media really is.
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Another example of journalists gone rogue
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Barry's book is amazing in its detail, the obvious research, and the vivid portrayal of American fighting men at their best, their sacrifices, and their devotion to duty in a war that was ugly and remains so to this day. His writing is such that I felt myself back there, could almost see, feel, and smell, the countryside that so many fought and died in.
He writes incisively, sharp, clear, and factual. The depth of detail, the names of those involved, the details of this secret operation, and his follow up on the distortions of the media, particularly CNN, buttressed with the truth, is a book worth reading several times over...as I have. Well done, Barry! Semper Fi, my friend and Marine Corps comrade! Lyle Prouse
Outstanding book
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Well Researched
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Listener received this title free
The author, Barry Pencek, carefully details his role in Operation Tailwind from before his enlistment to after his retirement. He writes with clarity and conciseness, infusing the content with authentic dialogue and logical deductions. His narrative and dialogue flow smoothly, enriched by historical incidents, and the quotes he brings to the narrative are rich in emotion, patriotism, and pride. He immerses the listener completely from beginning to end.
The narrator, Dan Nachtrab, delivers a strong voice reflective of the strength of each character. His delivery is deliberate and resonates with patriotism throughout. His cadence vividly and poignantly captures the emotions and inner strength of each character.
This book brought back my memories of the Vietnam War, Kennedy, Kissinger, and more just from the simple yet powerful words promoting civic action and public service: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. A compelling and emotional book that deeply engages and immerses the listener.
There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.
Excellent! Immersive!
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Great read!!
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