Whispers in the Tall Grass

by Nick Brokhausen

Overview

The previously unpublished second volume of Nick Brokhausen's vivid and riveting memoir of his experiences in MACV-SOG in Vietnam.

“This battle-scarred memoir is an excellent tribute to the generation that fought, laughed, and died in Southeast Asia.” -New York Journal of Books

Whispers in the Tall Grass is the second volume of Nick Brokhausen’s riveting memoir of his time serving in Recon Teams Habu and Crusader, CNN, part of MACV-SOG. These small recon teams, comprising Americans and indigenous Montagnards, conducted some of the most dangerous missions of the war, infiltrating areas controlled by the North Vietnamese in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

Picking up where We Few left off, Whispers in the Tall Grass opens as the war moves into a new phase. The enemy are using special formations to hunt recon teams and missions are now rarely accomplished without heavy contact. Despite the teams’ careful prep, losses are mounting. More and more missions are extracted by Bright Lights until eventually classic recon missions are almost impossible, and the teams briefly trial HALO insertion. Finally, as the US prepares to withdraw, the teams undertake back-to-back missions directing air strikes and disrupting supply lines to ease the pressure on the ARVN. Broken by the pace, but desperate not to leave the Yards, Brokhausen is ordered to out-process, his request for extension denied, and is forced to leave his friends—his brothers—behind.

Written in the same vivid, immediate style that made We Few a cult classic, Whispers in the Tall Grass follows Habu, Crusader and other teams as they undertake missions in this new, deadlier phase of the war. The narrative veers from hair-raising to tragic and back as the teams insert into hot targets, act as Bright Light for stricken teams, and play hard in between missions to diffuse the ever-rising tension.

Brokhausen’s account brings home the reality and the detail of operating for days within mere meters of the enemy, and movingly convey the bonds that war creates between soldiers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612007755
Publisher:	Casemate Publishers
Publication date:	10/29/2019
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	404,031
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Special Forces veteran Nick Brokhausen joined the SOG on his second tour in Vietnam, and took part in some of the most dangerous missions of the war, deep in enemy territory. After Vietnam, Nick Brokhausen has led an interesting life, which has included work in security projects in a number of countries. He now runs a tech company and an armoring company.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii

The Presidential Unit Citation (Army) for Extraordinary Heroism to the Studies and Observations Group, United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam ix

Author's Note xi

Prologue xiii

1 The Frying Pan 1

2 Justice Must be Blonde 9

3 Someone is Listening 17

4 Don't Flush, I'm Coming Out 27

5 'Twas the Night Before Christmas 37

6 Ghosts 45

7 Windows into the Past 55

8 Drums along the Mohawk 63

9 Death to Cheetah 71

10 Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws 81

11 No Rest for the Wicked 87

12 Water of Life 101

13 Oh Brother Rat 105

14 Door Number Three 115

15 Bum Job 131

16 Heaven Has Claws 139

17 In the Dark of the Night 151

18 The Peter Principle 161

L9 St. Elmo's Day 167

20 Baptism 171

21 Sidelines 181

22 Fare Thee Well, My Brothers 191

Appendix 197

Editorial Reviews

"Reading with all the inherent and riveting drama of a deftly crafted novel, "Whispers in the Tall Grass" is unreservedly recommended for community and academic library 20th Century American Military History and Contemporary American Biography collections in general, and Vietnam War supplemental studies lists in particular."

Midwest Book Review

Brokhausen’s personal account is gritty, harrowing, descriptive, and full of detail… His account is full of visceral accounts of battle, soldierly descriptions of fellow warriors, and other tales both mundane and exceptional. The various missions described are full of the sort of military detail and recall expected of a reconnaissance operator, giving a vivid impression of the activities of the author’s unit. The everyday prose flows naturally and draws the reader into the narrative.

Christopher Miskimon

"There is much here for the wargamer..''

Miniature Wargames

Brokhausen interconnects anecdotal accounts of small-unit tactical engagements to provide an overview of the challenges, opportunities and risks associated with support from Joint Forces capabilities during the Vietnam War. He transmits details that activate each human sense through an imaginative response to the reproduction of a mission… We Few, U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam is a recommended read for smallunit leaders and others seeking a short but entertaining nonfictional book.

ARMOR Magazine

His account of suicidal missions behind the lines in Vietnam is in the best tradition of military memoirs, startlingly alive, and showing the bonds between comrades.

Leatherneck Magazine

Brokhausen mixes irreverence, perversity, and sarcasm with touches of gonzo journalism to recreate his 1970 tour with the Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observations Group… Brokhausen draws convincing pictures of his fellow Green Berets’ combat skills and idiosyncrasies and the areas in which they operated. He taught me lessons about Special Forces tactics and weapons—more than I learned from Ken Burns’ television saga on Vietnam, which I never finished watching.

Vietnam Veterans of America

"His command of language shows originality, particularly when he describes military feats and individual emotions."

The VVA Veteran

"Brokhausen tells all in a masterfully gonzo style of reporting and recollection shaped by clever gallows humor which meshes with the immediacy and danger of the situation in ways only a true soldier can pull off."

Booklist

Brokhausen is as hard-boiled as they come, but this book is also replete with plenty of humor, even if it is obsidian black … an excellent and exceptionally raw look at the Vietnam War just at the apex of its unpopularity… this battle-scarred memoir is an excellent tribute to the generation that fought, laughed, and died in Southeast Asia.

New York Journal of Books

"Brokhausen tells all in a masterfully gonzo style of reporting and recollection shaped by clever gallows humor which meshes with the immediacy and danger of the situation in ways only a true soldier can pull off."

Booklist