Point Man; Inside the Toughest and Most Deadly Unit in Vietnam, by a Founding Member of the Elite Navy Seals

New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, Inc, 1993. presumed Book Club Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. 336 pages. Illustrations. Includes Acknowledgments, Epilogue, and Index. Includes chapters on Bright Light; Home and Hearth; Volunteers!; SEALS!; Learn and Then Teach; School Was Never Like This; 1966: Vietnam: First Tour, 1967; Welcome Back to Vietnam; Recovery and Return; and Third Tour. Chief James "Patches" Dennis Watson, III was born March 9, 1937. Chief Watson retired from the United States Navy where he served as a Navy Seal and was the original plank owner of SEAL Team 2. As one of the original "men with green faces," served three tours in Vietnam. For his valor there, he earned sixteen combat decorations, four of which are Bronze Stars, all with Combat "V". He was a member of the American Legion Post. Mr. Watson was the former Curator Emeritus of the UDT Seal Museum in Ft. Pierce and was the author of numerous books including "Point Man" and "Walking Point". Kevin Dockery is an American author and military historian. He is best known for his work detailing the history and weapons of the Navy SEALs. He served in the US Army on the President's Guard, and as an armorer. He worked as a curator for the SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, an historian, a game designer and as a lecturer. He has written 37 books and served as technical advisor for several motion pictures. This book is a candid portrait of death-defying bravery and outrageous behavior, intense loyalties and killer instinct. From Fort Bragg to the Arctic Circle; from Puerto Rico to Vietnam, Watson saw some of the most deadly action in the annals of war. Now, Chief Watson's commitment to his men and his guns in combat, as well as the little-known history of the Navy SEALs, will be remembered. Derived from a Kirkus review: A veteran's salty recollections of what it meant to be a member of the Navy SEALs. Following repeated requests, Watson was finally picked for Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) training in 1959. Having survived an ultrademanding regimen that washes out approximately nine of every ten volunteers, the author was assigned to the first SEAL (sea, air, land) unit. Watson went on to three combat tours in Vietnam, where he served under the hard-nosed Richard Marcinko. Here, with an assist from Dockery, the shotgun-toting author (who invariably took the point on behind-the- lines missions even after he was promoted to chief) offers vivid accounts of his platoon's operations, which ranged from patrolling rivers through interdicting enemy supply lines, liberating POWs, and kidnapping Communist officials. With evident relish, the highly decorated Watson offers brutally candid commentary on the merits of #4 buckshot; indigenous allies; rear-echelon commanders; and a host of other still sore subjects. Nor has his postretirement position as curator of the UDT/SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, mellowed Watson. Toward the end of his unsparing narrative, he asserts: ``The Americans and South Vietnamese may have lost the Vietnam War. But the SEALs won their part....'' An unreconstructedly bad dude's testament to the rewards and risks of going in harm's way.