Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War: Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss

In 1965 at the height of the Vietnam war, after thousands of soldiers had been sent into the jungles of southeast Asia, it became apparent that a different kind of unit would need to be developed to fight in the terrain that they were facing. Colonel David Hackworth founded a 45-man unit that he named Tiger Force to "out guerrilla the guerrillas". The unit performed well and was highly decorated though the nature of the unit led to a high casualty rate. In the spring of 1967 though, there was a breakdown in the unit leading a series of war-crimes that were among the worst ever recorded for the American military.

From May through November of 1967 Tiger Force moved through the Song Ve Valley, clearing villagers out of their homes, ostensibly evacuating them for safety, and to cut any food-supply lines to the VietCong. After it became apparent that the villagers wouldn't stay in the camps and were returning to the villages, the valley was declared a free-fire zone. The soldiers were to burn all huts and villages and to open fire on any suspected combatants. Unfortunately, as the summer progressed the death toll began to pile up, but not all of them were enemy combatants. Some of the other soldiers would later report seeing things and doing things that they could never have believed possible. Not only were these things done, they were accepted by commanders.

Though reports were filed and an extensive investigation was done, the Army chose not to press charges. It was decided that nothing beneficial could come of persuing the matter and so it was dropped. The story remained locked in files until former CID commander Harold Tufts donated his files and papers to to an Ohio college. Journalists Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss found the file, labeled "The Coy Investigation," and began researching Tiger Force, of which they had never heard. The research turned into a series of newspaper articles detailing the seven-month rampage in the Song Ve Valley. The series won them a Pullitzer and later became the subject of this book.

I'll admit that this was a very difficult book for me to read. I've read an untold amount of horror novels over the years and seen as-many horror movies but this is different. This is real. As such, it was also a very difficult review to write as well. The Vietnam war has a tendency to evoke very strong passions in many people and a book like this, that explores such a dark and volatile subject, won't be for everyone. One very valuable thing that I did gain from this book however, was a deeper understanding of my own father, himself a Vietnam vet, and the things that he must have gone through in those jungles.
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Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (May 15, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0316159972
ISBN-13: 978-0316159975
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