The 10th Special Forces Group was the first of the Green Beret 
units. Its five hundred men, all Airborne and mostly Rangers, 
received extensive training in everything from specialized weapons 
to uncommon languages. Their primary mission was to train and 
lead indigenous guerrillas operating in enemy territory. Second 
Lieutenant Colt Terry, who had joined the 82nd Airborne in 1947, 
had already done this in Korea. As a volunteer in the 10th SFG, he 
carried on his service, working with the Montagnards in Vietnam and 
the Khmer in Cambodia. He fought at Pleiku, Duc Co, and Plei Me, 
and he ferried supplies and weapons on elephants into Cambodia.

    From his enlistment as a buck private in 1945 to his retirement as 
a lieutenant colonel in 1970, Terry served five tours in combat, 
trained guerrillas, and earned two combat infantry badges, a Purple 
Heart, and two Bronze Stars. His experiences contributed to Special 
Forces' expertise in ambushes and killing techniques. Even as an 
officer, Terry never shied away from going deep into the jungle in 
search of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army. He personally 
organized a successful effort to save hundreds of men in one of 
Special Forces' most critical A-team camps.

    As one of the original Green Berets, Terry helped set the 
standards by which these units have become known. Anyone who 
has ever wondered what the Green Berets were like during their first 
two decades will appreciate the riveting action and close-up detail of 
Terry's true-life story.

_________________________________________________________

CHARLES D. PATTON heard the late Colt Terry's story from the 
Green Beret himself and, inspired by it, decided to write it down. 
Interviews with other principals, letters, and other documentation 
supplemented Terry's firsthand accounts. Patton, who lives in 
Orlando, Florida, is a senior marketing director for a major leisure 
industry firm. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.


Number 101: Texas A&M University Military History Series


What people are saying about this book

". . . a masterful account of this legendary soldier. . . ."—Armor, 
January/February 2008

". . . a thrilling account of Colt Terry's service career. . . . In a book 
about the exploits of one man's derring-do, this is valuable and goes 
further than almost anything else. . . . a ripping good read."—Mark P. 
Parillo, Kansas State University

". . . a valuable contribution to military history. While U.S. special 
operations forces have long been a niche subject in military history, 
recent U.S. operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have demonstrated 
their increasing importance in modern warfare and raised interest in 
general over the origins and development of unconventional units. . . . 
[This book] provides an important and rarely seen perspective that 
complements a growing body of historical work."—James Jay 
Carafano, National Defense University