Swift, Silent and Deadly: Recon Marines in Vietnam

Swift, Silent & Deadly tells the story of Recon Marine heroes in Vietnam. Many of the men covered in the book are no longer with us. Some were casualties of war. Others just haven’t survived the years that have passed since the end of the war. There are still plenty around to tell their story, however, and some of those are included in this book.

Imagine being one of a 7-man team in the middle of a jungle where any person you might encounter will try to kill you. This is enemy territory, inhabited by an unknown number of enemy combatants. You might encounter 1 or 2 of the Viet Cong or North Vietnamese Army or just as easily 50 or more. In addition, there is the danger of man-eating tigers and poisonous snakes! Your mission is to find the enemy without them finding you. You are to report their position so that artillery batteries, bombers or helicopter gunships can destroy them without risking the lives of infantrymen in a hazardous jungle assault. You must keep quiet lest you be detected. The brush is so thick it’s hard not snap twigs or crunch brush. You find a trail; but you can’t walk on it because it may be booby-trapped with land mines. What sort of men would willingly undertake such a mission? Swift, Silent & Deadly tells the story of Recon Marine heroes in Vietnam. Many of the men covered in the book are no longer with us. Some were casualties of war. Others just haven’t survived the years that have passed since the end of the war. There are still plenty around to tell their story, however, and some of those are included in this book

I was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. At the age of 18 I was eligible to be drafted as the Vietnam War was at it's peak. I chose instead to enlist in the U.S. Marines. I spent 14 and 1/2 months in Vietnam with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division. Most of that time my duties were that of a clerk-typist; but I had a short period where I participated in long-range reconnaisance patrols. In 1971 I enrolled at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and received a degree in Civil Engineering in May 1976. I worked for the Federal Government as an engineer from June 1976 until January 2008. I got interested in writing and took two courses in writing for children and teenagers. My instructor assisted me in preparing Swift, Silent and Deadly: Recon Marines in Vietnam. This book is nonfiction targeted at the young adult audience. My first book was The Secret of Sangre de Cristo, followed by Brendan of Kilrush. Both of these books were intended for the young adult market. Both were self published. My latest work is The Mystery of Skunk Hollow. This is a romance/mystery intended for an adult audience.