Special Men: A LRP's Recollections

Dennis Foley, a two-time Purple Heart recipient, offers a firsthand account of US Army special forces during the Vietnam War. At eighteen, he volunteered for the army in 1962 shortly before being drafted, hoping to eventually attend West Point. A presentation by two special forces sergeants at basic training in Fort Dix, New Jersey, shaped his path. By 1972, wearing a green beret, Foley commanded his own A-Team, but the years between tested his determination, loyalty, and physical and mental strength. Foley describes his training at the 7th Army NCO Academy in Germany and his first combat experience—a nighttime amphibious ambush patrol with the South Vietnamese Navy. He recounts the realization that conventional training had not prepared him for the guerrilla warfare he encountered in Vietnam. The memoir addresses both the loss of fallen comrades and his own survival of combat injuries. This account presents the experiences of LR Ps, Rangers, and Green Berets, documenting both the horror and heroism of their service and their commitment to duty.