Whispers in the Tall Grass - Nick Brokhausen

Whispers in the Tall Grass

By Nick Brokhausen

  • Release Date: 2019-10-19
  • Genre: History
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 36 Ratings

Description

“[An] exceptionally raw look at the Vietnam War . . . an excellent tribute to the generation that fought, laughed, and died in Southeast Asia.” —New York Journal of Books

This is the second volume of a Green Beret’s riveting memoir of his time serving in Recon Teams Habu and Crusader, CNN, part of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam—Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG).

Picking up where We Few left off, Whispers in the Tall Grass opens as the war moves into a new phase. The enemy are using special formations to hunt recon teams and missions are now rarely accomplished without heavy contact. Despite the teams’ careful prep, losses are mounting. More and more missions are extracted by Bright Lights until eventually classic recon missions are almost impossible, and the teams briefly trial HALO insertion. Finally, as the US prepares to withdraw, the teams undertake back-to-back missions directing air strikes and disrupting supply lines to ease the pressure on the ARVN. Broken by the pace, but desperate not to leave the Yards, Brokhausen is ordered to out-process, his request for extension denied, and is forced to leave his friends—his brothers—behind.

Written in the same vivid, immediate style that made We Few a cult classic, Whispers in the Tall Grass follows Habu, Crusader and other teams as they undertake missions in this new, deadlier phase of the war. The narrative veers from hair-raising to tragic and back as the teams insert into hot targets, act as Bright Light for stricken teams, and play hard in between missions to diffuse the ever-rising tension.
“Brokhausen tells all in a masterfully gonzo style of reporting and recollection shaped by clever gallows humor.” —Booklist

Reviews

  • Whispers in the Tall Grass

    5
    By D. Floyd 3/75 RGR
    Great follow up to “We Few”
  • One of the very best

    5
    By Tomskindle
    If you read any book about the Vietnam War read this of “We Few” both by Brokhausen. These Special Forces recon units within MACSOG were the most decorated and their units had the highest casualty rate, over 100%. But apart from the combat, there is the futility of the US decision to turn the war over to the South Vietnamese, basically abandoning the country to the communists after losing so much. Prescient of the subsequent wars where the US fights until the liberal media decides its time to quit, then we leave the Iraqis or Afghans to reap the whirlwind, gaining only dead and damaged heroes as reminders of our country’s lack of backbone! Our enemies see this weakening, as they grow stronger, so a time of reckoning is coming and one day we will have to fight for survival.
  • Excellent

    5
    By joegunter99
    Hard to review such a powerful, personal account of the author’s experience in SOG, but it’s a special book, a gift to his brothers in arms, and for his countrymen a window into their startling world. Well done.