Bright Light: Untold Stories of the Top Secret War in Vietnam

"To This Day, I Consider Hanoi Jane & The Peace Cr

There are many memoirs of intense combat in the jungles, rice paddies and hill tops during the Vietnam War, and Stephen Perry's "Bright Light" is no exception. All memoirs of combat have one theme in common: the adrenalin experienced by the combatant can never be equaled in civilian life. Mr. Perry exemplifies this by stating at the outset of this short but intense book with the following Study and Observations Group (SOG) motto: "You've never lived until you have almost died, for those who fight for it; life has a flavor that the protected will never know." This motto takes on special meaning when Perry vehemently points a finger at the people he blames the most for losing the war, i.e. the politicians in a rush to get America out of Vietnam regardless of the promises we had made to that country and the protesters on the streets of America which turned an American victory into an unnecessary defeat. In his dedication, Mr. Perry reminds us that not all casualties of the Vietnam War are accounted for with the following lament: "This book is dedicated to the military forces of the U.S., especially to those left behind in the seething jungles of Vietnam. We must never allow their sacrifice to be in vain!" The author ends this memoir with a current day warning that there can be "no more Vietnam's for this country!"

This book tells a story of a secretive group referred to with the acronym "SOG." Their role was to execute missions deemed top secret deep behind Communist lines throughout North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Going deep into the enemies sanctuaries, they conducted officially denied actions to rescue downed airmen where no conventional force could go, monitor and report key enemy installations, conduct prisoner snatches as well as scout out targets for devastating B-52 air strikes. It is also a tale of a man that carries much bitterness, whose superhero as a child was Superman, the "Man of Steel." Values such as "Truth, Justice and the American Way" were values Stephen Perry deemed important as a child as well as ethics he tried to emulate as an adult. The only thing that could hurt Superman was "kryptonite." Forty Two years later, Perry suggested why America is seen as losing this war as follows: "In my opinion, we lost because we did not all stand united for Truth, Justice and the American Way. The kryptonite that brought us to our knees was our loss of honor and dignity as the greatest nation on earth," Who would join a SOG unit, with the stakes of danger so high? Perry explains that it is the man who sat next to you in church, or even your neighbor next door. They came from all walks of life, but the main factor they all had, according to the author, was their "moral compass." Perry elucidates this individual collectively as follows: "They had heard the call of their country and had stood proudly to accept their responsibility as U.S. citizens. They were not afraid of the talk of war or its intrinsic dangers. These men volunteered for the good of their country."

Stephen Perry continues with his scathing attack on the embarrassment and stigma surrounding this conflict. One of the most infamous atrocities of the war was the Communist occupation and ensuing slaughter of all opposed to the North's regime after their temporary occupation of Hue. Perry reflects on this as follows: "Civilians were taken prisoner by the NVA in Hue and were to be tried for "crimes against the people." We later learned that many such people were tried and killed by the Communists and buried in mass graves. These are the peace loving people of Hanoi, Jane Fonda, and the peace creeps back home. We, who served here, had a very different impression of these barbarians." Obviously, Mr. Perry's words will never be found in official U.S. historical versions of the Vietnam War, all sanitized and glossed over. However, there are three sides to every argument, the historical "official version," the combatant's such as Mr. Perry's memoir, and the truth. This book adds much to the ladder. Mr. Perry today looks back at the massive anti-Vietnam War protests and remarks: "Their cries of protest echoed around the world, encouraging our enemies, and finally led to our dishonorable withdrawal from Vietnam. Many fine Americans had given their lives to free the oppressed in South Vietnam, and their work was almost done before Walter Cronkite wrongly announced on national television in 1968 that "we are losing the war in Vietnam." On August 23, 1968, Stephen Perry's tour in Vietnam ended. After a seventeen hour flight from Vietnam to Oakland, with stops in Australia and Hawaii, he processed out of the Army and left for his Huntington Beach residence. Perry laments: "En route, I was confronted by some long haired hippies at the San Francisco airport that shouted obscenities and called me a "baby killer." What had happened to my country while I was away?" "Bright Light" is an essential book in knowing the complete story of this conflict, and as such Stephen Perry has indeed added a poignant contribution.