Killer Kane
A Marine Long-Range Recon Team Leader in Vietnam, 1967–1968
Release Date
Format
Paperback
288 pages
7 x 10 inches
62 photos, 2 maps, glossary, bibliography, index
Collection
Vietnam War Memoirs
ISBN-13 978-0-78647-701-2
The leader of one of the most successful U. S. Marine long range reconnaissance teams during the Vietnam War, Andrew Finlayson recounts his team’s experiences in the year leading up to the Tet Offensive of 1968. Using primary sources, such as Marine Corps unit histories and his own weekly letters home, he presents a highly personal account of the dangerous missions conducted by this team of young Marines as they searched for North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong units in such dangerous locales as Elephant Valley, the Enchanted Forest, Charlie Ridge, Happy Valley and the Que Son Mountains.
In numerous close contacts with the enemy, the team (code-name Killer Kane) fights for its survival against desperate odds, narrowly escaping death time and again. The book gives vivid descriptions of the life of recon Marines when they are not on patrol, the beauty of the landscape they traverse, and several of the author’s Vietnamese friends. It also explains in detail the preparations for, and the conduct of, a successful long range reconnaissance patrol.
Editorial Reviews
"Excellent...deserves our full and undivided attention." --Leatherneck Magazine
"Diminishes none of the luster but dispels many of the myths. Finlayson led 34 long-range reconnaissance and surveillance...and ultimately ambush...patrols into some of the most contested areas of the Vietnam War. That the team suffered very few wounded and just one killed...by lightning of all things...is a testament to Finlayson's leadership, skill, and tenacity...accurately depicts operations...forthright...written in a mood of almost ecstatic disquiet...engaging." --Proceedings
"Recommended...well-written...McFarland, has done the serious reader of Marine Corps Officers memoirs a service. This book ranks right up there at the top of the genre's heap." --Vietnam Veterans of America
You May Also Like
Killer Kane
