Legend: A Harrowing Story from the Vietnam War of One Green Beret's Heroic Mission to Rescue a S

This is the incredible and heroic story of Roy Benevidez and ultimately the service he and his fellow soldiers, gave to their country during the Vietnam War. During an engagement on the wrong side of the Cambodian border Roy volunteers, on instinct, to go into a no win situation and do what ever he can. “If someone needs help, you help them”, was something his Uncle taught him and that he always followed, and in this case it results in some f the most courageous and selfless actions one could ever hope/fear to read about on the battlefield.

We learn about his harsh upbringing. Losing his father, then being abandoned by a step father after his mother also passed resulted in his Uncle taking him and his brother in. Working in the fields and contributing where he could he learnt what is it was to be proud of his family name and have something to live up to. It is a really interesting discovery of Roy’s character and at no time did I find myself thinking “Come on get to the action” as I sometimes do with military non fiction like this.

One thing that struck me when looking at the photos was how incredibly young they all are. These kids being given the awesome responsibility of flying helicopters in and out or war zones, killing people just like themselves, it just blows the mind what brave and promising young men these were and what a waste it was to lose them so cheaply.

It is very well written and I give kudos to Blehm for pacing and arranging things, and bring the characters to life in such a manner that they don’t all blend into one band of brothers.

Legend will leave you breathless and thankful for the sacrifice of these incredible human beings.

This book was provided to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review