In May 1970, aerial photographs revealed what U.S. military 
intelligence believed was a POW camp near the town of Son Tay, 
twenty-three 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 
sixty airmen thought to be held captive.

    On November 20, a joint group of volunteers from Army Green 
Berets and 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. They consolidated all Americans from their 
incarceration in camps to a single downtown Hanoi location where 
prisoners could take better care of each other. 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. 
In the last few years, he has immersed himself in relevant documents 
that have been declassified. He has also conducted extensive 
interviews with others involved in the secret mission. The Son Tay 
Raid incorporates this wealth of unpublished material—air operations 
planning and training, ground preparation, interviews, and even North 
Vietnamese perspectives—with Gargus's own experience. No 
previous account of this top-secret action has given so many details 
or such insight into both the execution and results of Son Tay. This 
book will be an invaluable addition to the history and historiography 
of the Vietnam War.

_________________________________________________________

JOHN GARGUS retired in 1983 from a twenty-seven-year career in 
the U.S. Air Force. Having flown with various Special Operations units 
in Vietnam, Europe, and the United States, he has accrued more than 
6,100 flight hours, including 381 combat hours in Southeast Asia. 
Inducted into the Air Commando Hall of Fame, Gargus currently lives 
in Henderson, Nevada.


Number 112: Texas A&M University Military History Series


What people are saying about this book

"Col. Gargus adds volumes of new and previously unpublished 
information, charts, pictures, and intricate details of ground operations 
in and around the prison camp during the raid."—Captain Joshua Pope, 
USAF, Maxwell AFB, Alabama 

"Colonel Gargus succeeds in documenting individual 
accomplishments of men who planned and executed a daring raid 
deep into North Vietnam to rescue American prisoners from their 
brutal captors. Even though they found the prison camp empty, 
their bold effort proved to the POWs that they were not 
forgotten. In turn, they did not forget those who risked their lives 
to rescue them by honoring them during their homecoming parade 
in San Francisco. Abraham Lincoln said, 'Any nation that does not 
honor its heroes, will not long endure.' All American citizens should 
read this book."—H. Ross Perot