At the outset of the Vietnam War, the Army created an experimental fighting unit that became known as "Tiger Force." The Tigers were to be made up of the cream of the crop-the very best and bravest soldiers the American military could offer. They would be given a long leash, allowed to operate in the field with less supervision. Their mission was to seek out enemy compounds and hiding places so that bombing runs could be accurately targeted. They were to go where no troops had gone, to become one with the jungle, to leave themselves behind and get deep inside the enemy's mind. The experiment went terribly wrong. What happened during the seven months Tiger Force descended into the abyss is the stuff of nightmares. Their crimes were uncountable, their madness beyond imagination-so much so that for almost four decades, the story of Tiger Force was covered up under orders that stretched all the way to the White House. Records were scrubbed, documents were destroyed, men were told to say nothing.But one person didn't follow orders. The product of years of investigative reporting, interviews around the world, and the discovery of an astonishing array of classified information, Tiger Force is a masterpiece of journalism. Winners of the Pulitzer Prize for their Tiger Force reporting, Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss have uncovered the last great secret of the Vietnam War.
Undoubtedly one of the most powerful books I have ever read about the Vietnam War -- not from a political or historical perspective, but a truly human one. This is not going to be a popular book among right-wing military types, and I can already see that in some of the reactions. Unfortunately, the book has served as a forum for those who support what our nation did in Vietnam -- and those who opposed it. The authors describe the once celebrated platoon, Tiger Force, part of the 101st Airborne, and its descent into madness in 1967 in the upper areas of South Vietnam. The soldiers, in their frustration, began torturing and killing civilians. It didn't stop with one event. It went on for months and months, until the men began cutting off the ears of the dead and weaving them into necklaces. Interestingly, the authors write with great care about the soldiers -- never condemning them, but trying to show why the soldiers lost control. This book should serve as a lesson for all the reasons why we should think twice about going into wars and who -- in the end, really suffers. The Tiger Force platoon was eventually investigated for four years by the Army, but the findings were covered up by the top leaders in Washington -- until these authors broke the case wide open. The authors even reaced the original investigators. This book is a tribute to journalism -- and the authors should be commended for their efforts.
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