Spare not the brave : the Special Activities Group in Korea / Richard L. Kiper.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kiper, Richard L., 1945- author.

Standardized Title:

Army raiders

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Korean War, 1950-1953--Regimental histories--United States.

Korean War, 1950-1953.

Korean War, 1950-1953--Participation, American.

Raids (Military science)--History--20th century.

Raids (Military science).

Counterinsurgency--Korea--History--20th century.

Counterinsurgency.

Korean War, 1950-1953--Campaigns.

Soldiers--United States--Biography.

Soldiers.

Korean War, 1950-1953--Biography.

United States. Army. Special Activities Group.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (368 p.)

Place of Publication:

Kent, Ohio : The Kent State University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Special Activities Group (SAG) and its subordinate companies have received little attention from historians, despite being an elite combat unit and participating in highly classified and dangerous missions in Korea. Rarely receiving more attention than a footnote, their story usually begins and ends on the night of September 12, 1950, with an amphibious raid near Kunsan. Until their inactivation on March 31, 1951, SAG simply disappears from most Korean War histories. Spare Not the Brave corrects this omission. Spare Not the Brave tells the story of the extraordinary missions carried out by this group of extraordinary soldiers. Recruited primarily from the Far East Command headquarters, these men received six weeks of training and then were thrust into combat in Korea. Boarding rubber boats in the Yellow Sea and paddling to shore far behind enemy lines, they conducted a diversionary landing near Kunsan, then landed at Inchon, and sailed to the Wonsan area of North Korea. There, SAG was augmented with a battalion of South Korean soldiers. Together they conducted counter-guerrilla operations until overwhelming Chinese intervention forced all Allied units to withdraw from the North. Those critical missions continued into the difficult fighting of early 1951. Much of this volume is based upon the words of the participants themselves. Using previously obscure primary sources, oral histories, and official records, author Richard L. Kiper tells this unit's riveting tale. Wherever possible, first-person accounts have been verified and supplemented with official reports, maps, and documents. Drawing on his twenty-six years of infantry and special forces experience, Kiper brings critical analysis and insight to this previously untold story. Spare Not the Brave fills a gap in the historiography of the Korean War and adds a valuable chapter to the history of U.S. Army special operations.

Contents:

Land of the morning calm

War

Deception at Kunsan : scOPLAN/sc 100-A

Kunsan

Kimpo Peninsula

North Korea

From the North

Back to the South

Chang-to

Another mission

Decisions

The rest of the story

Appendix A: Three were dead

Appendix B: Organization charts.

Notes:

Originally published under title: Army raiders. 2011.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Edition:

Reproduction of: Kiper, Richard L., 1945- Kent, Ohio : Kent State University Press, c2011 (xix, 324 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.) Call number of original: DS919.K57 2011

ISBN:

9781612778570

1612778577

9781612778563

1612778569

OCLC:

888316145