The Son Tay Raid

American POWs in Vietnam Were Not Forgotten, Revised Edition

By: John Gargus

Narrated by: Michael Giorgio

Part of the Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History series.

In May 1970 aerial photographs revealed what US military intelligence believed was a POW camp near the town of Son Tay, 23 miles west of North Vietnam's capital city. When American officials decided the prisoners were attempting to send signals, they set in motion a daring plan to rescue the more than 60 airmen thought to be held captive.

On November 20 a joint group of volunteers from US Army Green Berets and US Air Force Special Operations Forces perfectly executed the raid, only to find the prisoners' quarters empty; the POWs had been moved to a different location. Initially the Son Tay raid was a devastating disappointment to the men who risked their lives to carry it out. Many vocal critics labeled it as a spectacular failure of our nation's intelligence network. However, subsequent events proved that the audacity of the rescue attempt stunned the North Vietnamese, who implemented immediate changes in the treatment of their captives. The operation also restored the prisoners' faith that their nation had not forgotten them.

John Gargus not only participated in the planning phase of the Son Tay rescue but also flew as a lead navigator for the strike force. This revised edition incorporates the most recent information from raid participants and includes recent translations of North Vietnamese perspectives. No previous account of this top-secret action has given such a full account or such insight into both the execution and the aftermath of Son Tay.

The book is published by Texas A&M Press.

©2010 John Gargus (P)2015 Redwood Audiobooks

Great book but as usual the small boys ( destroyers) were not mentioned

I was on the USS Benjamin Stoddert in close at Haiphong harbor. I saw the ships in the anchorage close up as we sailed past them read their names on their stern from the gun house door of mount 51. In my lap was a BAR and a bandolier of magazines for the purpose of repelling boarders I also had a case of concussion grenades to toss over the side to repel swimmers in case we went dead in the water. The ship was ultra darkened as we slowly glided into the anchorage. By the way there are no Major Sargents in the Air Force they are Master Sargents

Little known story

Would you try another book from John Gargus and/or Michael Giorgio?

I am not really sure. The story was fascinating, but the book and read were just ok.

If you’ve listened to books by John Gargus before, how does this one compare?

This is the first one I have listened to.

Did Michael Giorgio do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Not really. His reads are are pretty similar.

Do you think The Son Tay Raid needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. I am not sure what you would even write about, the book seemed to wrap it up nicely.

Get another narrator

The history of the raid is interesting, it covers many participants and included details on the diversion missions around the main one.
Narration was flat, and there are a number of edition mistakes and repetitions that were not picked up.
Don't regret the purchase but I don't recommend it either.

Great rendition of history

Great story. a few pronunciation issues of places and acronyms but overall good work. Definitely recommend!

The Son Tay Raid

Great read into the planning of the raid/rescue was just unbelievable. had we done things like this in Vietnam from the get go, thing would have been a lot different today.