{"product_id":"shadow-commander-the-epic-story-of-donald-d-blackburn-guerrilla-leader-and-special-forces-hero","title":"Shadow Commander: The Epic Story of Donald D. Blackburn―Guerrilla Leader and Special Forces Hero","description":"The fires on Bataan burned on the evening of April 9, 1942 — illuminating the white flags of surrender against the nighttime sky. Woefully outnumbered, outgunned, and ill-equipped, battered remnants of the American-Philippine army surrendered to the forces of the Rising Sun. Yet amongst the chaos and devastation of the American defeat, Army Captain Donald D. Blackburn refused to lay down his arms.\n\nWith future SF legend Russell Volckmann, Blackburn escaped from Bataan and fled to the mountainous jungles of North Luzon, where they raised a private army of over 22,000 men against the Japanese. Once there, Blackburn organized a guerrilla regiment from among the native tribes in the Cagayan Valley. “Blackburn’s Headhunters,” as they came to be known, devastated the Japanese 14th Army within the western provinces of North Luzon and destroyed the Japanese naval base at Aparri — the largest enemy anchorage in the Philippines.\n\nAfter the war, Blackburn remained on active duty and played a key role in initiating Special Forces operations in Southeast Asia. In 1958, as commander of the 77th Special Forces Group, he spearheaded Operation White Star in Laos — the first major deployment of American Special Forces to a country with an active insurgency. Seven years later, Blackburn took command of the highly classified Studies and Observations Group (SOG), charged with performing secret missions now that main-force Communist incursions were on the rise.\n\nIn the wake of the CIA’s disastrous Leaping Lena program, in 1964 Blackburn revitalized the Special Operations campaign in South Vietnam. Sending cross-border reconnaissance teams into Cambodia and North Vietnam, he discovered the clandestine networks and supply nodes of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. Taking this information directly to General Westmoreland, Blackburn received authorization to conduct full-scale operations against the NVA and Viet Cong operating in Laos and Cambodia. In combats large and small, the Communists realized they had met a master of insurgent tactics — and he was on the US side.\n\nFollowing his return to the United States, Blackburn was appointed “Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special Activities,” where he was the architect of the infamous Son Tay Prison Raid. Officially termed Operation Ivory Coast, the Son Tay raid was the largest POW rescue mission — and indeed, the largest Special Forces operation — of the Vietnam War.\n\nDuring a period when United States troops in Southeast Asia faced guerrilla armies on every side, it has been little recognized today that America had a superb covert commander of its own, his guerrilla skills honed in resistance against Japan. This book follows Donald D. Blackburn through both his youthful days of desperate combat against an Empire, and through his days as a commander, imparting his lessons to the newly-realized ranks of America’s own Special Forces.\n\nTable of Contents\n\nIntroduction\n\nCHAPTER 1 Call of Duty\nCHAPTER 2 Off to the Philippines\nCHAPTER 3 The Road to Bataan\nCHAPTER 4 Perilous Journey\nCHAPTER 5 North Luzon\nCHAPTER 6 Against the Tides\nCHAPTER 7 Cagayan Valley\nCHAPTER 8 Combat Operations\nCHAPTER 9 New Beginnings\nCHAPTER 10 Southeast Asia\nCHAPTER 11 SOG\nCHAPTER 12 Son Tay\n\nEpilogue\nCareer Chronology\nBibliography\nIndex\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 1612006531\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: BVV.1612006531.A\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Acceptable\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Guardia, Mike\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: The item is very worn but is perfectly usable. Signs of wear can include aesthetic issues such as scratches, dents, worn and creased covers, folded page corners and minor liquid stains. All pages and the cover are intact, but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include moderate to heavy amount of notes and highlighting, but the text is not obscured or unreadable. Page edges may have foxing  age related spots and browning . May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Blue Vase Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43163386282045,"sku":"BVV.1612006531.A","price":7.79,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0589\/4225\/9261\/files\/1612006531-0.jpg?v=1778446820","url":"https:\/\/www.bluevasebooks.com\/products\/shadow-commander-the-epic-story-of-donald-d-blackburn-guerrilla-leader-and-special-forces-hero","provider":"Blue Vase Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}