Green Beret Sergeant James Acre's story is different than most. He chose to quit college and join the Army. After pushing his way through grueling Special Forces training, he eventually found himself reporting into the 5th Special Forces Group at Nha Trang, South Vietnam.
He was then assigned to one of the most elite behind-the-line strike forces --- the highly secret Special Operations Group, Command and Control South (CCS). This was a small, tightly knit group of men who hoped that they would be fortunate enough to defy death yet one more day.
This is not a diary, but instead a cathartic assemblage of the pieces to the story that has never left Ernie Acre's memory. With honesty that some may find politically incorrect and displeasing, Acre allows you to see inside the Recon Company --- a unit that few ever knew existed --- and walk among some of the finest soldiers ever to wear the Green Beret.
James E. (Ernie) Acre attended Wichita State University as an honors student. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1968, where he trained in Special Operations and Intelligence. He served in Viet Nam with a reconnaissance unit, Command and Control South, MACV Studies and Observations Group, 5th Special Forces (Airborne). He was one of the first of the few soldiers to make a night infiltration combat parachute jump into enemy controlled territory inside Cambodia. Mr. Acre was awarded Vietnamese Jump Wings, Combat Infantryman's Badge, two Bronze Stars, and Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry with Silver Star and with Palm. He worked in the construction industry for over twenty years afterward, and now resides in a small town in western Kansas.
