Randy Baumgardner, ed., 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion: Vietnam 1965-1969. Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing, 2003. 112 pp.
John Edmund Delezen, Eye of the Tiger: Memoir of a United States Marine, Third Force Recon Company, Vietnam. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003. 186 pp.
Lt. Col. W.C. Floyd USMC (Ret), et al., Green Ghosts: Personal Accounts of Reconnaissance in the DMZ by the Marines and Corpsmen who daily bet their lives in the most dangerous environment in Vietnam. iUniverse, 2004. 259 pp. Floyd as a Captain commanded 3d Force Recon Company from June 1966 to November 1967.
Colonel Andrew R. Finlayson, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired), Marine Advisors with the Vietnamese Provincial Reconnaissance Units, 1966-1970. Quantico, VA: History Division, United States Marine Corp, 2009. vii, 71 pp. Finlayson as a Captain was an advisor to the Tay Ninh PRU in 1969.
Andrew R. Finlayson, Killer Kane: A Marine Long-Range Recon Team Leader in Vietnam, 1967-1968. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2013. vii, 277 pp. Finlayson's first tour in Vietnam ran from February 1967 to early 1968. He was with the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company.
Andrew R. Finlayson, Rice Paddy Recon: A Marine Officer's Second Tour in Vietnam, 1968-1970. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2014. Finlayson returned to Vietnam about the end of November 1968, and was initially assigned to the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. Later he was an adviser to a Provincial Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) in Tay Ninh province.
Rick Greenberg, Silent Heroes: A Recon Marine's Vietnma War Experience. Createspace, 2017. 312 pp. Greenberg served 1969-70.
Donald M. Hamblen, with B. H. Norton, One Tough Marine: The Autobiography of First Sergeant Donald M. Hamblen, USMC. hb New York: Ballantine, 1993. 337 pp. Hamblen lost a leg in an accident in 1962. He returned to duty with Force Recon, then went to Vietnam assigned to SOG (as advisor to a team of RVN Marines based at Camp Black Rock a.k.a. My Khe). He was with SOG approximately May 1965 to November 1967. But there have been credible charges by B.G. Burkett (see Stolen Valor, by B.G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley) that the book is seriously fictionalized.
Ray Hildreth and Charles W. Sasser, Hill 488. New York: Pocket Books, 2003. xix, 359 pp. On the night of June 15-16, 1966, an 18-man platoon of C Company, 1st Recon Battalion was attacked by greatly superior VC and PAVN forces on Hill 488 (Nui Vu Hill) about 34 km west of Tam Ky, during Operation Kansas. The platoon leader, Gunnery Sergeant Jimmie E. Howard, won the Medal of Honor for the action. Hildreth was a participant in the battle. Some names have been changed, and some conversations and scenes have been reconstructed.
Rob Honzell, Sr., M.S., First Person: Combat PTSD. LuLu.com, 2008. 195 pp. Covers Honzell's service in Marine recon unit, and his later life.
Sergeant Major Maurice A. Jacques and Major Bruce H. Norton, Sergeant Major, U.S. Marines. New York: Ivy, 1995. xiii, 464 pp. A substantial portion of the book deals with Jacques' three tours in Vietnam, mostly with First Force Recon, beginning 1965 and ending January 1970.
Steven A. Johnson, Cammie Up! Memoir of a Recon Marine in Vietnam, 1967-1968. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012. Foreword by Ray W. Stubbe. viii, 280 pp. Johnson served from April 1967 to May 1968 with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division.
R.R. Keene, "So Doc, You Wanna Be in Recon?" Leatherneck, LXXXIV:10 (October 2001), pp. 50-55. Story of Robert G. Buehl and Edward Henry Jr., hospital corpsmen who volunteered in 1968 to serve with the 1st Recon Battalion.
R.R. Keene, "Straight Reconnaissance: The Best Assignment in 'the Corps, Bar None". Leatherneck, LXXXV:3 (March 2002), pp. 38-43. Marines who served in Vietnam with the 1st Recon Battalion.
R.R. Keene, "Hill 119 in the 'Nam: The Night Recon Called In 'Guns-A-Go-Go'." Leatherneck, LXXXVI:1 (January 2003), pp. 30-34. Hill 119, about 25 miles south of Danang, had the Thu Bon River Basin and Goi Noi Island to its north, the Arizona Territory to its west, and Alligator Lake to its southwest. The title of the article refers to an incident in August 1969.
Lt. Col. Alex Lee, Force Recon Command: A Special Marine Unit in Vietnam, 1969-1970. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1995. xxxii, 254 pp. Foreword by Gen. Alfred M. Gray. Lee commanded the Third Force Recon Company, northern I Corps, 1969-70.
G. L. "Doc" Lewis, Nothin' but a Thing. CreateSpace, 2007. 340 pp. Gary L. Lewis was a Navy corpsman with the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, 1967-1968.
J. Boyd MorningStorm, The American Indian Warrior Today: Native Americans in Modern U.S. Warfare. Manhattan, Kansas: Sunflower University Press, 2004. 144 pp. MorningStorm, a Menominee, served 1966-67 in the USMC 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. The seven others in the book were in wars from WWII to Desert Storm.
Bruce H. Norton, Force Recon Diary, 1969. New York: Ivy Books, 1991. Norton was a Navy hospital corpsman who somehow became the leader of a team of the Marine Corps 3d Force Recon Company.
Bruce H. Norton, Force Recon Diary, 1970. New York: Ivy Books, 1992. Sequel to the above, covering Norton's service in the 1st Force Recon Company.
Bruce H. Norton, Force Recon Diary, 1969-1970. Military Book Club, 1992. The two volumes above combined into one.
Bruce H. Norton, ed., Stingray. New York: Ballantine, 2000. 357 pp. Much of the book is excerpts from the various volumes of U.S. Marines in Vietnam, which are listed under U.S. Marine Corps Publications.
Dr. Bill Peters, First Force Recon Company: Sunrise at Midnight. New York: Ivy, 1999. xiv, 238 pp. Peters, a Marine Lieutenant, served in Vietnam from mid 1969 to early 1970, with 1st Force Recon Company.
John R. Rhodes, Rejoice or Cry: Diary of a Recon Marine, Vietnam 1967-1968. Danbury, CT: Economy Printing, 1996. 219 pp. Rhodes was in the 3d Recon Battalion.
Lawrence C. Vetter, Jr., Never without Heroes: Marine Third Reconnaissance Battalion in Vietnam, 1965-70. New York: Ivy, 1996. 370 pp. Vetter served as a platoon and patrol leader in the battalion for seven months in 1966.
Francis J. West, Jr., "Stingray '70," Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute, November 1969, pp. 27-37. Actually a discussion of (and strong endorsement of) operations of small strike teams in general, including Navy SEALs and Army patrol units, not just the Marine Force Recon units operating under the name "Stingray."
Ron Yerman, Lead, Follow, or Get the Hell Out of the Way. New York: Vantage Press, 1997. viii, 156 pp. 3d Force Recon Company.
Paul R. Young,
First Recon—Second to None: A Marine Reconnaissance
Battalion, 1967–68. New York: Ivy, 1992. 2LT Young served from January
1967 to January 1968.
The Virtual Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University has placed online a considerable variety of reports from Marine reconnaissance units. The listing that follows is probably incomplete:
First Reconnaissance Battalion.
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology February 1970 (huge file, slow to download).
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology March 1970. Two huge files, slow to download: First part, Enclosure 1: Tabs A-1 to A-205 (operation orders and patrol reports).
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology April 1970. Two huge files, slow to download: First part, Enclosure 1: Tabs A-1 to A-250 (operation orders and patrol reports).
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology May 1970. Three huge files, slow to download: First part, A-1 to A-140, A-141 to A-279.
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology July 1970 (huge file, slow to download).
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology August 1970. Two huge files, slow to download: First part, the bulk of which is Tabs A-1 to A-98 (operation orders and patrol reports), A-99 to A-122, and assorted other material.
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology September 1970 (huge file, slow to download).
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology October 1970 (huge file, slow to download).
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology November 1970 (huge file, slow to download).
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology December 1970 (huge file, slow to download).
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology January 1971 (huge file, slow to download).
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology February 1971 (huge file, slow to download).
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology 25 March to 13 April 1971.
A Company (Rein), 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology March 1971 (huge file, slow to download).
A Company (Rein),
1st Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology 1-14 April 1971 (huge file, slow to download).
Third Reconnaissance Battalion.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for November 1966.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for December 1966.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for January 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for February 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for March 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for April 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for May 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for June 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for July 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for August 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for September 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for October 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for November 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for December 1967.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for January 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for February 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for March 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for April 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for May 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for June 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for July 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for August 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for September 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for October 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for November 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for December 1968.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for January 1969.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for February 1969.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for March 1969.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for April 1969.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for May 1969.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for June 1969.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for July 1969.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for August 1969.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for September 1969.
3d Reconnaissance Battalion, Command Chronology for October to December 1969.
Company C, 3d Reconnaissance Battalion,
Command Chronology for 1-7 November 1969.
First Force Reconnaissance Company
Sub Unit #1, 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, September 1965. 4 pp.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, October 1965. 4 pp.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, November 1965.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, December 1965.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, February 1966.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, March 1966. 3 pp.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, April 1966.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, May 1966 (large file, slow to download).
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, June 1966. 9 pp.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, July 1966 (large file, slow to download).
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, August 1966 (large file, slow to download).
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, November 1966 (large file, slow to download).
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Combat After Action Report, 13 January 1967. Patrols in Quang Tri Province in support of Operation Prairie, 3 August to 17 November 1966.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), Command Chronology, January 1968.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), Command Chronology, February 1968 (large file, slow to download).
1st Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), Command Chronology, March 1968 (huge file, slow to download).
1st Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), Command Chronology, April 1968 (huge file, slow to download).
First Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), Phu Bai Command Chronology, May 1968 (huge file, slow to download). Based at Phu Bai, conducting Sting Ray and clandestine long range patrols in general support of Task Force X-Ray, FMF.
First Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), Phu Bai Command Chronology, June 1968 (huge file, slow to download).
First Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), Phu Bai Command Chronology, July 1968 (huge file, slow to download).
First Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), Phu Bai Command Chronology, August 1968 (huge file, slow to download). Based at Phu Bai, supporting Task Force X-Ray.
First Force Reconnaissance Company, An Hoa Command Chronology, December 1968. On December 10 and 11, the company moved from Danang to An Hoa to support Task Force Yankee.
First Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), An Hoa Command Chronology, January 1969 (large file, slow to download).
First Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), An Hoa Command Chronology, February 1969 (large file, slow to download).
First Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), An Hoa Command Chronology, March 1969 (large file, slow to download).
First Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), Command Chronology, April 1969 (large file, slow to download). Based at An Hoa, supporting the 5th Marine Regiment.
First Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), Command Chronology, May 1969 (large file, slow to download). Moved from An Hoa to Danang, "to begin a period of rehabilitation and training", on 20 May.
First Force Reconnaissance Company (Rein), Command Chronology, June 1969. Training at Danang June 1-12. Conducted deep reconnaissance operations for III MAF June 17-20. Conducted long-range patrols for the 1st Marine Division June 24 onward.
First Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, July 1969 (large file, slow to download). Based at Danang, supporting the 1st Marine Division.
First Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, August 1969 (large file, slow to download). Based at Danang, supporting the 1st Marine Division.
First Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, September 1969 (huge file, slow to download). Based at Danang, supporting the 1st Marine Division.
1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, October 1969 (large file, slow to download). Based at Danang, supporting the 1st Marine Division.
First Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology for the period 010001H November to 232400H November 1969 (large file, slow to download). Based at Danang, supporting the 1st Marine Division, until 24 November, when "The Company was dropped from Operational and Administrative control by 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division and came under the control of III Marine Amphibious Force."
First Force Reconnaissance
Company, Command Chronology, December 1969. Based at Danang,
supporting III MAF.
Third Force Reconnaissance Company
3d Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, August 1969. Not just a chronology, but a huge mass of documents. Large file, slow to download.
3d Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, September 1969. Not just a chronology, but a huge mass of documents. Large file, slow to download.
3d Force Reconnaissance Company, Command Chronology, October 1969. Not just a chronology, but a huge mass of documents. Large file, slow to download.
See also U.S. Marines
See also Marine Corps Snipers
See also U.S. Marine Corps Publications
Copyright © 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2024, Edwin E. Moise. This document may be reproduced only by permission. Revised December 6, 2024.