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USMC Special Mission Units

Recon and Force Recon

General Information

Recon Marines - by Samuel M. Katz 

U.S. Marine Corps Special Forces; Recon Marines

U. S. Marine Corps Special Forces : Recon Marines (Warfare and Weapons) - by Edward A. Voeller 

Recon Marine: An account of Beirut and Grenada - by Charles Dalgleish 

Marine Recon 1940-90 (Elite, No 55) - by Charles D. Melson, Lee Johnson (Editor), Paul Hannon (Illustrator) 

Vietnam Era

Inside Force Recon : Recon Marines in Vietnam - by Michael Lee Lanning, Ray William Stubbe (Contributor) - Operating on four-to-eight-man teams, the heroic patrols of Force Recon ventured far into the very backyard of the enemy, using tactics associated more with their adversaries than with the U.S. military. They were the eyes and ears of the units they served, and their operations were marked by close combat, extraordinary bravery, and nearly unbelievable survival despite overwhelming odds.

Force Recon Command: A Special Marine Unit in Vietnam, 1969-1970 (Naval Institute Special Warfare) - by Alex Lee, Alfred M. Gray - Alex Lee commanded the Third Force Reconnaissance Company in Vietnam from 1969 to 19670. Made up of small units of specially trained U. S. Marines, that company conducted long-range patrols deep in Northern I Corps (including the infamous Ashau Valley) to gather intelligence about the North Vietnamese Army. An intelligent effective operator who led by example, Lee was also brash and excruciatingly honest, and in this controversial, no-hold-barred account, he takes the wraps off this select group of courageous and intrepid Marines.

First Force Recon Company: Sunrise at Midnight - by Bill Peters - n 1969, First Lt. Bill Peters and the Force Recon Marines had one of the most difficult, dangerous assignments in Vietnam. From the DMZ to the Central Highlands, their job was to provide strategic and operational intelligence to ensure the security of American units as the withdrawal of the troops progressed. Peter's accounts of silently watching huge movements of heavily armed NVA regulars, prisoner snatches, sudden-death ambushes, and extracts from fiercely fought firefights vividly capture the realities of Recon Marine warfare and offer a gritty tribute to the courage, heroism, and sacrifice of the U.S.

Force Recon Command : 3d Force Recon Company in Vietnam, 1969-70 - by Alex Lee - Whether tracking NVA movements, recovering downed air crews, or making bomb-damage assessments after B-52 strikes, Major Alex
Lee's Few Good Men never forgot who they were. Each of them was in Vietnam to live like a Marine, win like a Marine, and if need be, die like a Marine. This is the only book to describe a Marine Force Recon Company from the point of view of a commander. 

Force Recon Diary, 1970 - by Bruce H. Norton - In the thick of a jungle war where there often wasn't enough food, enough, water, enough air support, enough explosives, or even enough radio batteries, the vulnerable Force Recon Marines knew that the only things that could keep them alive were their courage, their skills, and their loyalty to one another. Here is the story of a Force Recon Company that put its lethal skills to work to make sure its team could survive combat behind enemy lines--where one slip could mean body bags for everyone.

Force Recon Diary, 1969 - by Bruce H. Norton - The riveting, true-to-life account of survival, heroism and death in the elite Marine 3d Force Recon unit, one of one two Marine units to receive the Valorous Unit Citation during the Vietnam War. Doc Norton, leader of 3d Force Recon, recounts his team's experiences behind enemy lines during the tense patrols, sudden ambushes and acts of supreme sacrifice that occurred as they gathered valuable
information about NVA operations right from the source. 

First Recon - Second to None: A Marine Reconnaissance Battalion 1967-1968 - by Paul Young - A platoon leader's powerful account of leading the recon battalion of the Marine First Division. In 1967, Paul Young was unceremoniously "volunteered" to join First Recon, where he led men on long-range patrols into enemy territory--a jungle wilderness that could suddenly change from tranquil to terrifying.

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