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Ranger Creed
Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I
will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of the Rangers.
Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle
by land, sea, or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move further, faster,
and fight harder than any other soldier.
Never shall I fail my comrades I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong, and morally
straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be, one hundred percent
and then some.
Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well trained soldier. My courtesy
to superior officers, neatness of dress, and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow.
Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am
better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen
comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my
country.
Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete
the mission, though I be the lone survivor.
War books come in every shape and size. From memoirs to biographies, from oral histories to, historical accounts. I read whatever I can get my hands on from "World War I" ("Lest We Forget") to Somalia ("Black Hawk Down"). I don't read much fiction except for a little Tom Clancy, the rest is so off its just not worth looking at. I am going to try and rank everything I've read by particular wars, and in the case of "World War II", theaters. I will judge everything on a one to ten scale. Starting with "World War I"
These books are in no particular order.
World War I
"Lest We Forget" I haven't read this book in awhile, all I remember is it is a good book, and is fairly detailed. 8
"Flying Aces of World War I" Written by Gene Gurney, published by Scholastic. This book lists all World War I Aces, and gives detailed accounts of nine of them. 7
WWII, European Front
"The Journal of Sergeant Giles" This is the journal of Sgt. Henry Giles, A combat Engineer. It is annotated by his wife. It tells of his journey from Normandy, to Germany. 8
"Citizen Soldier" By Stephen E. Ambrose. A heart-wrenching, gut-tearing account of U.S. Soldiers From Normandy to Germany. A definite ten. Must Read. 10
"Panzerjäger:Tank Hunter" Written by a German soldier, Bernhard Averbeck, It gives you the story of the enemy soldier, fighting on the Western and Eastern Fronts. 8
"D-Day"this book is by Stephen E. Ambrose. It gives a minute by minute account of U.S. soldiers on June 6, 1944. It is mainly about the fighting soldiers, it isn't about the Admirals or Generals. It is very good. 10
"Glider Gang" I don't remember much about this book, It was good, it described types of Gliders like the Horsa, and it told about the pilots and about their missions. 7
"Here is Your War" Written by Ernie Pyle, this book is a must read for that reason alone. Other wise its pretty good, and one of the few books on North Africa. 8
"Band of Brothers"Story of the 101st division, 506th PIR, it dscribes the training and the brotherhood that made the 506th PIR. Written by Stephen Ambrose. 9
"Four Men Went to War"The true World War II
adventures of a U.S. air gunner, a British paratrooper, a German tank driver, and an Italian ski commander, written by Bruce Lewis. 8
"Infantry Soldier: Holding the Line at the Battle of The Bulge" This book is an account of a private on the front lines before and during the Battle of the Bulge. It is full of reflections and had a lot of good comparisons between Rear-Echelon and front line soldiering. 9
"The Longest Day"By Cornelius Ryan, this book is a must read due to its history and due to the fact that is like an early version of Stephen Ambrose's "D-Day". The books have a few of the same stories even. A big difference is the fact that this book deals more with the officers than the Ambrose's book. This book doesn't neglect the private's story though. 10
"Missions Remembered" This book has several authors, but just one editer and compiler, John K. Breast. To my knowledge this book wasn't his idea. He was just asked to edit it. It is a very good book with very little almost no boredom. It is written by The Men of the Middle Tennessee Fighter Pilots Association, which means that every story is by a pilot. All of the authors write in the first person with the exception of William S. Miller. His stories were especially interesting. 10
WWII, Pacific Theater
"Guadacanal Diary" Written by war correspondent, Richard Tregaski, this definitive day-by-day account puts you in Guadacanal, and in Tregaski's shoes. I believe it was recently re-released. Scholastic Books. 9
"Merills Marauders" Marauder Charlton Ogburn relives his time, as a communication platoon leader in Burma. 8
"Midway: Incredible victory" This is a great book by Walter Lord. This book is a must-read for anyone who needs to gain knowledge about the batle of Midway. This book increased my knowledge om Midway 100-fold. 10
Korea
"The Coldest War" This book was written by a (at the beginning of the book) 2nd LT. James Brady U.S.M.C. Its really good, though it lacks in combat. 8
Vietnam
"Whadda ya mean I can't kill'em?" A Navy SEALs account as a recon unit in Vietnam. Really good and detailed. 9
"Black Berets and Painted Faces" I can't remember the authors name but this book is good, and it really seems alive. 10
"Sniper in The Arizona" Written by a Marine sniper whose name I can't remember. This book seems uncomplete, but it has a sequel. 8
"Charlie Rangers" By Don Ericson and John L. Rotundo, This is two Rangers' story of patrolling Vietnam. They take turns with the book, and the book is really good. I've read it three times. 9
"Marine Sniper" Is written almost like a novel. It is about Carlos Hathcock who had over nintey confirmed kills. 9
"ChickenHawk"Robert Mason, A 1st Cav pilot tells his story as a Huey pilot in Vietnam. It has a sequel called "ChickenHawk:Back in the World." which I haven't read, but I hope to. 8
"Firebirds" A gunship pilots account of flying combat missions in Vietnam. I haven't read it in awhile. 8
"My Time With the ARVN" Written by a U.S. Army soldier, serving as an advisor with the ARVN. This book gets pretty intense, and these ARVN aren't lousy, like most. 9
"Platoon Leader" A U.S. Army officers account of leading a platoon in Vietnam. 9
"A Patriot After All"I hated this book. It is by a head Marine. 3
"Young Man in Vietnam"By Charles Coe. this book is real short, so its not that great. 6
"Bouncing Back"is written by Geoffry Norman. It describes how a band of POWs in Vietnam survived their imprisonment, and subtly combatted their captors. Great book. 10
"'Nam"This is a compilation of interviews from Vietnam vets. I didn't like how it seemed like the whole book was bent exposing the evils of war, but otherwise it was a pretty good book. Another problem was that it didn't say who was speaking. 7
"The Vietnam Reader"This book is an anthology edited by Stewart O'Nan. It excerpts from books, movies, poems, plays. All sorts of stuff. Some fiction some true. Some that I don't know if it was fiction or true. Its a prety cool book. It has excerpts from the books "ChickenHawk" and "'NAM", which are listed above. 9
The Gulf War
"Company C; The Real War in Iraq" I did like this book, but I have read four reviews by the soldiers that are in the book and three of them "Would not recommend" the book. They went as far as to say that part of the book weren't entirely factual, which is probably true because they were their. On a lighter note one of the men from Company C is from my home town. This book is by John Sack. 6
Somalia
"Black Hawk Down" This book by Mark Bowden, has no barriers. It has almost everyones story, from Rangers to Somalis themselves. It is written like a novel but exceeds any novel in pure action. 10
Miscellaneous, Multiple Wars
"One Shot-One Kill"If you are interested in snipers and what they do, then this is a must read. Written by Charles Sasser and Craig Roberts. 10
I knew him not,
But I know he fought,
To keep me free,
From tyranny.
A fathers son.
Life's just begun.
And now he lies,
'Neath Arlington's skies.
-Eric Killian
In memory of
Sgt. James Casey Joyce
K.I.A. October 3, 1993, Mogadishu, Somalia
On October 3rd 1993, two of Mohamed Farrah Aidid, lieutenants were targetted for capture. On the way in, Pvt. 1st class, Todd Blackburn, of Chalk four, who was supposed to be fast-roping down from seventy feet, fell. Pvt. 1st class, medic, Mark Good started working on him, while Sgt. Joyce covered them. Inaccurate fire was already coming in. Good and Chalk leader, Sgt. Matt Eversmann, dragged Blackburn to cover. Two Delta Force medics, Sgts. 1st class, Kurt Schmid and Bart Bullock arrived and started assisting Good. Schmid examined Blackburn and told Eversmann, that if Blackburn wasn't evacuated, he would die. Eversmann contacted Lt. Perino, and asked for a humvee, his request was denied. Eversmann called to Joyce, and Sgt. Jeff McCaughlin, and told them that they needed to get Blackburn to the humvees. They unfolded a compact litter, and laid Blackburn on it. Then Joyce, McCaughlin, Schmid, Bullock, and Good (holding the IV) took off running hunch-backed for the humvees. Multiple times they had to put Blackburn down to return fire. Schmid worried that this would kill Blackburn ,and said that someone needed to get the humvees to come to them. Joyce took off running alone. Master Sgt. Chuck Esswein was driving the humvee that was evacuating Blackburn. Joyce was also inside. After Blackburn had been evacuated the convoy was on its way to a Black Hawk crash site. A RPG tore up one of the trucks and the convoy stopped to pick up the wounded. Joyce got out of his truck and was on one knee, behind cover, returning fire. A gun barrel stuck out of a window behind Joyce and shot him in the back. A .50 caliber shot the window, and wall around the window, while Sgt. Jim Telscher dragged him back to the trucks. He had been hit in the back and the bullet had gone through his heart. He died in the humvee. He was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star for valor, a Purple Heart, and a Combat Infantry Badge.
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