Bright Light

Review Written By Bernie Weisz, Historian, Vietnam War, March 13, 2011 Pembroke Pines, Florida, USA Contact: [email protected] Title of Review: "To This Day, I Consider Hanoi Jane & The Peace Creeps of the 60's and 70's as Dishonorable Traitors!" There are many memoirs of intense combat in the jungles, rice paddies and hill tops during the Vietnam War, and Stephen Perry's "Bright Light" is no exception. All memoirs of combat have one theme in common: the adrenalin experienced by the combatant can never be equaled in civilian life. Mr. Perry exemplifies this by stating at the outset of this short but intense book with the following Study and Observations Group (SOG) motto: "You've never lived until you have almost died, for those who fight for it; life has a flavor that the protected will never know." This motto takes on special meaning when Perry vehemently points a finger at the people he blames the most for losing the war, i.e. the politicians in a rush to get America out of Vietnam regardless of the promises we had made to that country and the protesters on the streets of America which turned an American victory into an unnecessary defeat. In his dedication, Mr. Perry reminds us that not all casualties of the Vietnam War are accounted for with the following lament: "This book is dedicated to the military forces of the U.S., especially to those left behind in the seething jungles of Vietnam. We must never allow their sacrifice to be in vain!" The author ends this memoir with a current day warning that there can be "no more Vietnam's for this country!" This book tells a story of a secretive group referred to with the acronym "SOG." Their role was to execute missions deemed top secret deep behind Communist lines throughout North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Going deep into the enemies sanctuaries, they conducted officially denied actions to rescue downed airmen where no conventional force could go, monitor and report key enemy installations, conduct prisoner snatches as well as scout out targets for devastating B-52 air strikes. It is also a tale of a man that carries much bitterness, whose superhero as a child was Superman, the "Man of Steel." Values such as "Truth, Justice and the American Way" were values Stephen Perry deemed important as a child as well as ethics he tried to emulate as an adult. The only thing that could hurt Superman was "kryptonite." Forty Two years later, Perry suggested why America is seen as losing this war as follows: "In my opinio

Year

2010

Publisher

Booklocker.com, Inc

Editions

1

Pages

137

ISBN

9781609103996

Data source: Wikidata