HEROES BOOK I

Copyright 1992.

ABLE TEAM–Razorback by Dick Stivers(David North)

Hermann “Gadgets” Schwarz is part of the three man Able Team. A clandestine group that is part of the organization known as Stony Man. Gadgets was wounded on the last mission and has time off to recover. While visiting his old martial arts instructor he runs into an old comrade from Vietnam. He invites him over to his farm in Arkansas for some razorback boar hunting. He soon finds out his old buddy is in league with a corrupt sheriff. The sheriff is buying stolen military assault rifles from a white supremacist biker gang and selling it to Colombian drug lords. Soon he finds himself fighting for his life while waiting for his teammates to rescue him.

PHOENIX FORCE–Survival Run by Gar Wilson(Mike Linaker)

The U.S. Secretary of State is kidnapped while visiting Saudi Arabia. The group Hammer of Allah is a radical Shiite group lead by the Iranian Abu Niad. The group plans to execute the secretary and broadcast it live on July 4. So Phoenix Force a clandestine group is assigned to rescue him. The search takes the team from Saudi Arabia, to Lebanon and finally an exciting rescue at the terrorists camp in Libya.

VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO–Zebra Cube by David Baxter(Nicolas Cain)

A high level prisoner exchange is taking place on the Cambodian border. Captain Tate and his squad are to oversee the exchange. Only problem is a renegade Arvin police chief Quac is against this exchange and attempts to stop it. The exchange is really a cover for the NVA to go after a high ranking prisoner General Tran. Tran has been imprisoned in the notorious Zebra Cube so named because of its black and white stripe paint job. A shipping container that is constantly moved. Now Tate and his men must stop the NVA from freeing this notorious prisoner.

So back in the early nineties Gold Eagle decided to merge three of their titles into this anthology series. I got this because it has a lost story from Vietnam: Ground Zero an excellent series. First they decided to give the series a whole new face-lift. A new house name was assigned to the author and new characters were created. It was assigned to the writer of the excellent Saigon Commandos series. He did an excellent job of this story. There was also a subplot about a member of the team returning home to Indiana to attend his parents funeral and getting involved with a Vietnamese stripper. It actually tied in to the main plot. This was also the last Vietnam: Ground Zero ever written. Why they decided to abandon the story I have no idea. Possibly by the nineties the Vietnam war craze was dying down and it didn’t hold much appeal anymore. Still an enjoyable take on the series.

The other two stories are spin offs from the popular Mack Bolan The Executioner series. It involved a clandestine organization called Stony Man that fought the various threats to America. Able Team handled domestic threats while Phoenix Force the international ones. I always wanted to try these series out and now I got my chance. I will say that they were very well written. I read the other stories in the next two anthologies and can say the quality was consistent as we will explore in future posts. I have no doubt that more books are in my future.

VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO RECON BY ERIC HELM

Copyright 1990.

Something big is going on in the Three Rivers Secret Zone in Laos. Several special forces recon missions have been ambushed and disappeared. A rescue mission finds the remains of one group. Besides the normal mutilations that the NVA do to corpses one stands out. A Caucasian man is among the corpses whose head and hands were cut off. A search of one of the Green Berets finds a Soviet paratrooper badge hidden in his mouth. It looks like the team captured a Soviet paratrooper and the NVA made sure the body couldn’t be identified. It looks like the Soviets have an active military presence in Laos and the Americans are very interested in finding out why.

So Captain Gerber and Sgt. Fetterman are put in charge of a team to go in and find out why the Soviets are in Laos. They parachute in and are to meet up with a former French Foreign Legionnaire who has a plantation and works for the CIA. When they arrive they find that their contact has mysteriously been killed and they must rely on his beautiful widow. The widow turns out to be an enemy agent and the team discover the Soviets have established a radar base to track American aircraft.

So this is the final book in the series. As we go into the nineties the interest in the Vietnam war was fading. After thirty-six books they were probably running out of story ideas and it was starting to show. Still this book was a solid effort and I think the series went out on a strong note. This was a very interesting series. While the quality varied as you would expect in such a long series most of the books were good. This was actually a sort of history series masquerading as a men’s adventure series. The war was explored from its early days of 1964 to 1968. It covered both North and South Vietnam as well as Cambodia and Laos. Even an adventure in Hong Kong. It explored the various aspects like counterinsurgency and the politics that went on. The CIA programs, the drug trade and corruption in the South Vietnamese government. How Tet affected the war with the NVA taking over from the decimated VC. You learned little tidbits like ham and lime beans were the worst C-ration. They fought NVA, VC, Pathet Lao, renegade Cambodians, The Red Chinese and even Soviet soldiers. This was definitely one of the best Vietnam War series to come out of the eighties.

VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO SNIPER BY ERIC HELMS

Copyright 1990.

A well planted CIA spy has managed to come back with important information that could change the course of the war. The Chinese are ready to commit 100,000 troops to protect the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This would free up much needed NVA troops to wage the war in the south. So Captain Gerber and Sgt. Fetterman are put in charge of a mission to stop this. Senior military officers of both the NVA and Chinese PLA are going to meet in a village in Laos to sign the agreement. Gerber is to lead a team with a Marine sniper to take out this delegation. Gerber has worries about this mission. The sniper is a nineteen year old with over twenty confirmed kills in just two months. Yet he has dreams about the first person he killed a fifteen year old girl running supplies for the VC. He also finds out their old nemesis the Chinese officer that tried to kill them in Hong Kong is still alive and leading the security. He has brought in the most decorated sniper in the NVA to guard the ceremony. Now two of the best snipers are going head to head.

This is the fifth and final Super books in this series. Once again they manage to keep the action interesting with the expanded format. This is basically the story of two snipers. Corporal just promoted to Sgt. Robert Corbett. A nineteen year old with an uncanny accuracy. He also has disturbing dreams and wonders if what he is doing is right. The other is Sgt. Duc Van Co of the People’s Army of Vietnam. He has recently scored 85 kills giving him the highest kills in the NVA army. They also decided to bring back their old nemesis the Chinese officer from the beginning of this series. He was presumed killed in the Hong Kong adventure but left it open that he could have survived. Nice to see they didn’t forget that and gave some closure concerning this character. A very good story for the last of the super sized books.

VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO SPIKE BY ERIC HELM

Copyright 1990.

The rail yard at Son Tay is a major transit point for arms and ammunition coming from China. It’s close proximity to the Chinese border makes a B-52 strike not politically viable. So Captain Gerber and Sgt. Fetterman are tasked to go in and destroy it. With two other Green Berets they form a Spike team and parachute into the north. There they hook up with two Kit Carson Scouts of questionable loyalty. Luckily the fuel tanks are situated on a hill overlooking the rail yard so they can unleash fuel into the site destroying it completely.

So another mission into the north. This time they seem to have a fairly easy time taking out their target. In fact they do a good job of destroying the place. Not much going on in this story otherwise. The backstory of the two men that join them is fairly interesting. One is a veteran on clandestine operations in South and Central America who lost his wife and daughters to a drunk driver. The other has a cheating wife at home who married him for the possibility of getting the guys life insurance. In a twist she is the one who dies in a car accident and he gets the life insurance money.

There are also some interesting Vietnamese. The two Kit Carson scouts that Gerber doesn’t trust get captured and tortured by a KGB agent. One manages to escape and ends up sacrificing himself so the team can escape. Another is Bicycle Chain Tran a NVA officer candidate. He got his name because he hit drunk American soldiers with a bicycle chain. Otherwise not much happens in the book. They wander around. They shoot a tiger for no reason. I think the idea well was starting to run dry for this series. Not an uninteresting book just nothing really stood out about this story.

VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO WARLORD BY ERIC HELM

Copyright 1990.

Captain Gerber and Sgt. Fetterman are assigned an A-team (not that A-team) for their new assignment. They are part of Operation Hard Rain. The mission is to go into Laos and recruit the native Hmong. They will find a suitable location for a new Air Force observation post. This post will guide airstrikes on the Ho Chi Minh trail and into North Vietnam. Sgt. Fetterman has experience with the local tribe. He was actually adopted by the chief.

Now Fetterman has some reservations about the mission. Last time they abandoned the Hmong and he feels that they are being set up again. He does reconnect with them and is made the war chief of the tribe. Known as the White Porcupine he leads the Hmong on successful missions against the Pathet Lao and NVA. The success bring unwanted attention and the village is attacked by a regiment of Pathet Lao and NVA. It looks grim for Fetterman’s adopted people.

So this book is about the secret war in Laos. It is dedicated to the 300,000 who fought for the Americans and 30,000 who died. The author who wrote this seemed to have good knowledge about the Hmong. This is a sad story because the Hmong do get nearly wiped out as they did in real life. That is why we have so many Hmong here in Wisconsin. A real interesting and action packed story. Explored a new side to the conflict.

VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO TARGET BY ERIC HELM

Copyright 1990.

The peace talks in Paris are stalled. The North Vietnamese will not come to the table unless the bombing is halted. This is something the Americans won’t do until the North Vietnamese agree to negotiate. So there is a stalemate with neither side willing to give in. So a young diplomat comes up with an idea. They need to demonstrate that the North Vietnamese political elite are not safe. The answer is to kidnap General Giap from Hanoi. Well naturally Captain Gerber and Sgt. Fetterman are at the top of the list to carry out this mission. So they assemble a team and plan to go into the heart of the enemies capital and kidnap a prominent official. Unfortunately the mission has more leaks than a hundred year old plumbing and the North Vietnamese are waiting for them.

This was a good action packed book. There is a lot of politics about the peace negotiation which I found interesting. The diplomats were trying to figure out how to notify the North Vietnamese that something was going to happen without letting out the details. Of course they failed and the commando team was ambushed. Luckily they managed to escape and along the way rescue a downed American pilot from captivity. This impresses the North Vietnamese enough for them to come to the peace talks. So it worked out in the end.

VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO WARRIOR BY ERIC HELM

Copyright 1990.

Captain Gerber and Sgt. Fetterman are assigned to a small special forces base along the Cambodian border. They have been monitoring the Ho Chi Mihn trail and notice very little activity. That is because the north has already infiltrated the men needed for a new offensive. Now they must find the troop concentrations so a B-52 strike can be called in. Their mission is complicated by the arrival of a new lieutenant. Lt. Connel is fresh out of ROTC and has romantic notions about combat. He has also developed a real hatred for the Vietnamese. Both north and south. After he abandons some strikers and later shoots down stunned NVA troops after a B-52 strike his men desert him. Now Gerber has to rescue him with hundreds of angry NVA after the B-52 strike.

This book was an OK one. I think the most interesting thing for his book was seeing the procedure that new arrivals in Vietnam had to go through. The story also attempts to debate what is a war crime. Lt. Connel’s actions were in somewhat of a grey area. He clearly shot down a whole bunch of soldiers who were not a threat. But was it any different from dropping bombs from high up. Well Connel is transferred to a new base farther up north. He seems to regret what he did. So this book was OK but nothing really special.

VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO GUNFIGHTER BY ERIC HELM

Copyright 1990.

Reports are coming in about a NVA officer who is staging gunfights with POWs. Nicknamed Billy the Zip he is a Vietnamese who spend some time in America and became a fan of westerns. He has taken this love to a whole new level. Dressing up with a stetson and single-action Colt he performs an old fashioned gunfight for this men to enjoy. Then the body is dumped outside an American base with a number on a piece of paper to represent the number killed. Captain Gerber and Sgt. Fetterman are assigned to put a stop to this Vietnamese gunfighter.

You have to admire the writers trying to come up with new ideas for this series. This is definitely one off the wall story. Having an NVA officer dress up as a cowboy and stage gunfights is a unique idea that hasn’t been done before. Now Billy wins because be cheats. He has his sergeant hidden with a rifle to make sure that he isn’t outdrawn. He also draws early and has a woman name Miss Kitty have sex with the victim so he doesn’t get any rest. Yep this is one odd story but kind of interesting. Done by a writer whose style I don’t recognize from previous book. Of course the guy is an abject coward who when faced with a honest fight with Sgt. Fetterman begs and pleads for his life. True to form he draws early but still not quick enough. I have to give this one points for being unique and interesting.

VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO EMPIRE BY ERIC HELM

Copyright 1990.

Captain Mack Gerber is at dinner with his girlfriend and Sgt. Fetterman when they overhear a drunk reporter. He goes on how they will never win the war. Gerber decides the show the loudmouth how wrong he is. He will start to implement his plan in the border province of Binh Long. He sets up a camp with strikers and special forces. Then hits the VC. He keeps hitting them until he drives them out of the province. Then crosses the border into Cambodia and wipes their base out. He can then start real civil projects to improve the civilians lives and win them over. In effect he is building his own little empire. Then his old arch nemesis General Billy Joe Crinshaw comes back newly promoted and out to personally pay back Gerber.

The fourth Super book in the series. Once again the expanded format is put to good use. The story was engaging and moved along. I found it an interesting read to see Gerber’s take on how to win the war. It sounded sound and probably would have worked. This book also saw the return of Crinshaw. A sort of demented Foghorn Leghorn that is interested more in paying back Gerber than winning the war. In the end all the gains are given back. Gerber is forced to admit that the reporter was right. As long as they have the leadership they have the war is unwinnable.

VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO PUPPET SOLDIERS BY ERIC HELM

Copyright 1989.

The NVA have starting to help elevate Cambodian officers into positions of power. If this continues then Cambodia may shift from being neutral to openly helping the Communists in the war. The CIA comes up with a plan to send assassination squads to take out these officers. Captain Gerber and Sgt. Fetterman are assigned the job of assassinating a Cambodian general whose base is just across the border. Now it seems like a simple enough assignment. He has is worries though. Why all the effort for a minor general? The CIA will also sell out their mother to complete an assignment. These worries are proven out when they are betrayed and set up to be ambushed. Now they have to fight their way out.

This book is new in that it explores the Cambodian military. The Cambodian army is a collection of warlords that have seized power and the central government has no authority over them. The CIA has one of their men in place ready to seize control. With luck he will eventually control the military and be an asset to the American war effort. For this to happen the CIA has it arranged for this man to kill the assassins of the general and thus solidify his position. Of course they didn’t foresee how bad-ass Gerber and his Green Berets are. An interesting and action packed story with some insight into the Cambodians who so far have been out of the picture in spite of their country being the scene for many a story.