Beyond Hell and Back : How America's Special Operations Forces Became the World's Greatest Fighting Unit

by Zimmerman, Dwight Jon; Gresham, John D.

• ISBN13: 9780312363871
• ISBN10: 0312363877
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-10-02
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

An inside look at seven of the most harrowing and significant Special Operations missions ever. Courage beyond reason. Loyalty beyond faith. Perseverance in the face of overwhelming adversity. These are just some of the qualities of the members of the U.S. Special Operation Forces. BEYOND HELL AND BACK details the seven defining Special Ops missions that have made the Special Operation Forces the best fighting unit in the world, including:*THE RESCUE OF BAT-21: The largest and longest Combat Search and Rescue mission in the Vietnam War lasted 17 days and cost the lives of 13 Americans-all to rescue one man and the invaluable knowledge he alone possessed.* TASK FORCE NORMANDY: Planned in secrecy and executed with flawless efficiency, Task Force Normandy was an Army/Air Force Special Operations joint op that fired the opening shots behind enemy lines in Operation Desert Storm.*OPERATION EAGLE CLAW: The devastating Special Forces operation mounted to retrieve 52 American hostages in Iran resulted in the deaths of eight members of the rescue team. This failure ultimately led to the creation of Special Operations Command.*BASHER 52: Captain Scott O'Grady was shot down over the 'no fly' zone above Bosnia, and his daring rescue was one of the Marine Corps' finest operations ever. These are a few of the dramatic true tales that represent the defining moments that helped shape the operational methods, planning, and deployment for all future Special Ops missions. BEYOND HELL AND BACK is the greatest collection of Spec Ops missions ever assembled.

Author Biography

DWIGHT JON ZIMMERMAN has written extensively on military-history subjects for American Heritage, the Naval Institute Press, Vietnam Magazine, and numerous military-themed publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
JOHN D. GRESHAM is a veteran military analyst and co-author with Tom Clancy on his bestselling series of nonfiction "guided tour" books about military units, including Special Forces and Marines. He lives in Virginia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 6
List of Maps	p. 8
Sources for Sidebar Information	p. 8
Foreword	p. 9
Introduction	p. 13
Operation Kingpin: The Son Tay Raid	p. 21
The Rescue of Bat 21	p. 61
For Want of a Nail...Operation Eagle Claw	p. 99
The 100 Percent Solution: Task Force Normandy	p. 137
The Rescue of Captain Scott O'Grady	p. 171
The Immaculate Mission: Oda 551 in the Karbala Gap	p. 207
Twenty-First-Century Alamo: Task Force Viking at Debecka Pass	p. 241
Afterword: The Way Forward	p. 285
Bibliography	p. 290
Military Abbreviations and Acronyms	p. 302
Index	p. 304
About the Authors	p. 320
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