1968 -- Into the Abyss: The Elite Tunnel Rats

1968—Into the Abyss—the Elite Tunnel Rats What if after decades there was still one more untold incredible Viet Nam war saga supported with authentic personal color action photos and peppered with tightly-written notes from then young, not yet twenty, and highly decorated leader of a small group of underground and Special Force combatants who searched and destroyed over 900 tunnels? What if this saga was more compelling than typical battlefield heroics by including experiences of this same elite group of fighters, led by multiple-medal awarded Staff Sergeant Thomas Wergen, who linked up with Special Forces for covert combat missions into areas across the South Vietnamese border such as Cambodia and Laos—where according to the U.S. power’s political spin “they weren’t”? What if along with their bloodstained tales this saga entailed accurate and concise historic tidbits, including anecdotes of the U.S. protests across America, during the bloodiest and heaviest fighting period in the war when America had committed over 500,000 troops—the infamous TET counteroffensive phase of 1968? What if this saga included an award-winning foreword, which depicts a remarkable and factual historical account retrieved directly from the logs of the mighty USS Constitution? Titled warfare on a skewer, this is a short account of how Captain “Mad Jack” Percival had carried out armed aggression against Danang, Vietnam (Turon, China) in May 1845. And more ironic the fact that Captain Percival’s war party—including Marines—stormed the same shores that the initial combat-designated Marines did in 1965, ordered by then President Lyndon Johnson. Then you would have, 1968—Into the Abyss, a book-length war account of—Bronze Star Medal and Combat Infantryman’s Badge decorated—Army Staff Sergeant Thomas E. Wergen—including over forty original color photos snapped by Sergeant Wergen. Young and well-educated, Wergen found himself leading a selected squad of soldiers who meandered, crawled and sought after in the dank darkness where even the most courageous dared not—the dreaded and treacherous jungle tunnels built by the North Vietnamese military. Because they were deadly effective and highly revered they would also find themselves serving on secretive special force combat missions in the enemy-peppered hostile territory across the border, where they weren’t supposed to be. So turn the lights up bright and follow along in these dense jungle war tales—just try not to get lost, or captured--by the enemy, that is. (Upgraded detail on 6-15-12 with added photos) Riley St. James www.rileystjames.com