I left my last Ranger unit (46th) after my last tour in RVN and never looked back. Some fairly unpleasant memories.
At this stage of my life, I am ready (I think) to confront my demons. It has been almost 40 years now, and I have forgotten almost everything I once thought I knew. I believe I am ready to learn anew.
Where would you suggest I find some books specifically pertaining to Ranger History. I would like some "reviews" if possible for a suggested reading list.
Reading these books may bring back some suppressed memories, but I (and my VA Doc) think that the basically impersonal nature of most writing would not be traumatic.
Longer one is Try scrolling up to the Army Discussions section then click down to the Infantry and or the USASOC subsection and post your question. I'm sure someone has a clue.
Also try the Military Entertainment section , then scroll down to the Books subsection. Drop more hooks-get more fish-
Years ago I read a book by a real Soldier and a Ranger; Lt.Col. Anthony Herbert...Though not a history of the Rangers, he did mention Ranger things-including his hitch as Cadre/boss of the school. {BTW-William, focus on the Lord not the other stuff... }
You might try "A Ranger Born" by Robert W. Black. Details his service to include as a Ranger in Vietnam. Also wrote "Rangers in WWII" and "Rangers in Korea."
Haven't read it, but his other two were excellent.
I'm a member of the 75th RRA (number 1725) and I have been to the site many a time. You mention look up your old buddies, Hmmmmmmm..I haven't seen that on the site..Mind sharing?
A new book that you might be interested to read is:
Onward We Charge: The Heroic Story of Darby's Rangers in World War II by H. Paul Jeffers.
This book has a lot of good info on the origin and training of the 1st Ranger Battalion and the subsequent 3rd & 4th Ranger Battalions. It has good info on Col. William Darby(posthumously promoted to General). I learned a lot about the Ranger Battalions and the reasons they were disbanded.
The problem with the book is that it has too many distracting reviews and comments on the history of WW2. If these were removed, then the book would have been more enjoyable---but thinner.
Recommended reading.
The other book is Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission by Hampton Sides. This gives an account of the only successful raid by the Rangers during WW2 that released the prisoners held in a PW camp in Phillipines. The book is written in a style that one chapter describes the events going on with the prisoners and the next chapter the plans and operations of the Rangers--- constantly switching back and forth. The movie The Raid was closely based on this movie, even though Hollywood did make some changes to the story and added a love story to it.
dman1948, Yes I should have included clearer information, One, from the main web site you can go to the units wed site if they have one, if not then you can e-mail the unit director and request a unit roster of memebers. That's what we do in the 25th LRRP web site. I found many of the originals guys I know from 1966 & 67.
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