Shadows in the Jungle : : the Alamo Scouts Behind Japanese Lines in World War II

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Excerpt from "In the footsteps of the band of brothers" (p. [341]-352).
Introduction : The best of the best -- 1. Hollandia: "Looks like we walk home." -- 2. "I'll form my own intelligence unit." -- 3. Recruitment and training -- 4. The first mission -- 5. "God Bless you, brave soldiers." -- 6. "... The entire shoreline was ablaze." -- 7. Final operations in New Guinea -- 8. "... By far the best show I've ever seen." -- 9. The rescue at Cape Oransbari -- 10. "Maybe we can save the world." -- 11. Samar / Ormoc Bay -- 12. "Only an act of God is going to get you out." -- 13. First in, last out -- 14. "If I don't make it, it's up to you." -- 15. "I wouldn't trade the whole damned Jap Army for one Alamo Scout." -- 16. "It would have been near suicide." -- Epilogue: Through the years. -- Appendix A. Alamo Scout team rosters. -- Appendix B. Glossary of terms.
Drawing on personal interviews with and recollections by veterans, the author chronicles the exploits of the Alamo Scouts, members of an elite Army reconnaissance unit during World War II, a group that spent weeks behind enemy lines to gather much needed intelligence for Allied forces in the Pacific.

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Disappointing submitted by GJBarnett2 on January 29, 2016, 11:33pm Poorly written, reads like after-action reports.

More important, in recounting one operation, the author refers to PT boats and a "destroyer escort" without making clear whether the reference was to a Destroyer (DD) in an escorting role or a Destroyer Escort (DE), a smaller, slower vessel cheaper, more quickly built and less heavily-armed than a Destroyer and optimised for anti-submarine operations. Later, the same (un-named) vessel is referred to, several times, as a "frigate," a term not used in the US Navy after the Age Of Sail until 1963 when it replaced the former designator "Destroyer Escort." This might lead one to conclude that the "destroyer escort/frigate" was actually a Destroyer Escort (DE) type. However the author refers to the vessel's "three five-inch gun turrets." Although at least one class of DEs carried 2 five-inch guns in single turrets, no DE carried three five-inch turrets. The ships of the "Gearing" and "Allen M. Sumner" Destroyer classes, however, carried three twin five-inch turrets. So what was it? The truth is it doesn't make a bit of difference to the story but the author's failure to get these simple, well-known technical matters correct raises questions as to what other technical mistakes he has made which might not be so obvious which compromises the reliability of this work as a reference.