Ben DeWitt
Description
Product Description
Soldiers become spies, old enemies become friends. This was the politically gray world of Southeast Asia in the sixties. General
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Al Houer sends a team into harm's way on a mission requiring military and CIA skills, led by Major ETS (Eagle That Soars) and Captain Mark Wilson, both Special Forces veterans of the African Congo uprising of '64, the 1968 Tet offensive and the controversial Phoenix Program. Neither had yet turned 30.
Now as civilians, they are sent to find the Thai war lord, White Horse. The volatile mix of soldiers, politicians, spies, prisoners of war and criminals explodes in the poppy fields. Only the "big spook," Colonel William B. Booth has a chance to extract the team before the Thai government blows up The Third Valley.
About the Author
It's been 25 years since the end of the Viet Nam war, and yet the stories continue to be told, as if it was yesterday. Bestselling author, Ben DeWitt, brings his military background and storytelling talents to this latest adventure, The Third Valley, which takes place in Southeast Asia and is part of his highly acclaimed Police Action War Series.
DeWitt writes what he knows. He entered the Army as a private in 1963, assigned to the 82nd Airborne. By 1965, his government made him an officer and a gentleman in the field artillery. Two tours in Viet Nam brought him a chest full of combat medals and an insight into politics and combat which emerged thirty years later in his bestselling fiction.
"With four novels out there now, people are still asking me how I know all this stuff," DeWitt said. "The combat experience can't seem to be forgotten. The rest is old-fashioned research because I try to make the fiction as realistic as possible."
DeWitt brings fascinating characters to his action-packed adventures as well. In the Police Action War Series, readers embrace "The Big Spook," William B. Booth, and "The General," Al Houer, first introduced in No Other Way. In The Third Valley, these men are in power and it is their responsbility to send young warriors, like the blue-eyed Apache ETS and Mark Wilson, into danger.
"I've met a lot of interesting people through the years, especially in the oil patch and the copper mines. But in Viet Nam, it was sometimes hard to tell the soldiers from the spies," DeWitt said.
Excerpt. Β© Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Mark and ETS set about getting the families from Duc Hoa back on their farms with money and supplies to start over. When they were nearly finished, their last orders while serving for the U.S. military came in: Report to Col. William B. Booth.
Col. Booth was six-foot-six and 260 pounds of man and used to getting his way in Asia, as well as Washington, DC. His current assignment was the Phoenix Program, a U.S. and Vietnamese joint operation created by sick minds. At least that was how Col. Booth felt about it.
Booth's operational area was from Saigon south to the IV Corps border. His headquarters were in the province capital of Long Ann, a beautiful city that had been treated kindly by the war. Booth wanted Mark and ETS because they were soldiers, not killers. They were not perfect but they had an appreciation for life and beauty. Booth's plan was to work with them for six months, then turn the area over to them to run. He had business to handle in Laos once again.
ETS and Mark reported to Booth at the Province Chief's house. They marched in, did a perfect right face, saluted and reported in.
"You can cut the military shit. As of now, you are part of the CIA. I am still the boss, but you will have a lot of freedom to act as you see fit." Booth pulled himself out of his chair and walked over to a wall-sized map of III Corps.
"Gentlemen, this is the area where I need you." He pointed to Vung Tau, a city on the Red China Sea being used as an R&R resort by everyone. "You will headquarter there and work with a small team back toward Long Ann.
"The idea of the Phoenix Pro
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