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Eric Blehm

Legend: The Incredible Story of Green Beret Sergeant Roy Benavidez's Heroic Mission to Rescue a Special Forces Team Caught Behind Enemy Lines Hardcover – April 28, 2015

by Eric Blehm (Author)

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The true story of the U.S. Army’s 240th Assault Helicopter Company and a Green Beret Staff Sergeant's heroic mission to rescue a Special Forces team trapped behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War, from New York Times bestselling author Eric Blehm.

On May 2, 1968, a twelve-man Special Forces team covertly infiltrated a small clearing in the jungles of neutral Cambodia—where U.S. forces were forbidden to operate. Their objective, just miles over the Vietnam border, was to collect evidence that proved the North Vietnamese Army was using the Cambodian sanctuary as a major conduit for supplying troops and materiel to the south via the Ho Chi Minh Trail. What the team didn’t know was that they had infiltrated a section of jungle that concealed a major enemy base. Soon they found themselves surrounded by hundreds of NVA, under attack, low on ammunition, stacking the bodies of the dead as cover in a desperate attempt to survive the onslaught.

When Special Forces Staff Sergeant Roy Benavidez heard their distress call, he jumped aboard the next helicopter bound for the combat zone. What followed would become legend in the Special Operations community. Flown into the foray of battle by the 240th Assault Helicopter Company, Benavidez jumped from the hovering aircraft, ran nearly 100 yards through withering enemy fire, and--despite being immediately and severely wounded--organized an extraordinary defense and rescue of the Special Forces team.

Written with extensive access to family members, surviving members of the 240th Assault Helicopter Company, on-the-ground eye-witness accounts never before published, as well as recently discovered archival, and declassified military records, Blehm has created a riveting narrative both of Roy Benavidez’s life and career, and of the inspiring, almost unbelievable events that defined the brotherhood of the air and ground warriors in an unpopular war halfway around the world. Legend recounts the courage and commitment of those who fought in Vietnam in service of their country, and the story of one of the many unsung heroes of the war.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Crown
Publication date

April 28, 2015
Dimensions

6.39 x 1.11 x 9.53 inches
ISBN-10

0804139512
ISBN-13

978-0804139519
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Roy Benavidez is a real badass, a modern day Spartan, the heart of what every warrior prays for when everything goes wrong.”
——MARCUS LUTTRELL, retired Navy SEAL and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor

“I fought beside and led U.S. Special Operations soldiers, sailors, and airmen during three wars— World War II, Korea, and Vietnam—including the men [of SOG] depicted in Legend. Never have I read a more powerfully honest, realistic, or moving account of the war in Southeast Asia. Eric Blehm masterfully encapsulates the hearts of the men, their impossible mission, and the quagmire of politics of the era and wraps it up in a single bloody battle that portrays the American fighting man at his best.”
——MAJOR GENERAL JOHN K. (JACK) SINGLAUB, U.S. Army (Ret.)

“Legend may be the most important book ever written about the men of Special Operations. It brings to life in touching and brutal detail one of Special Operations Force’s first true heroes as well as the other heroic men who fought and died with him in the jungles of Cambodia. Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez represented the best of the quiet professionals whose incredible actions were long overlooked and lost to history only to be rediscovered through Blehm’s painstaking research and magnificent writing.”
——LIEUTENANT COLONEL JASON AMERINE, U.S. Army Special Forces

"[Legend] is one of the most honest and engrossing narratives of the war I have ever read…. Blehm faithfully describes the complicated choreography of war, and shows us why the Congressional Medal of Honor was bestowed on Sergeant Benavidez for his actions. A magnificent narrative, painstakingly told by a master storyteller."
——MAJ. GEN. PAUL VALLELY

About the Author

Eric Blehm is the bestselling author of Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team Six Operator Adam Brown and The Only Thing Worth Dying For, which recounts the story of the first Special Forces A-team to infiltrate Taliban-held southern Afghanistan weeks after 9/11. Both titles were New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers. His book The Last Season was the winner of the National Outdoor Book Award and was named by Outside magazine as one of the 10 “greatest adventure biographies ever written.” Blehm lives in southern California with his wife and children.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crown; First Edition (April 28, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0804139512
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0804139519
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.23 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.39 x 1.11 x 9.53 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #111,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #72 in Vietnam War Biographies (Books)
- #141 in Vietnam War History (Books)
- #162 in Intelligence & Espionage History

Customer Reviews:
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Eric Blehm is the award-winning author of the New York Times bestsellers Fearless and The Only Thing Worth Dying For. His first book, The Last Season, was the winner of the National Outdoor Book Award and was named by Outside magazine as one of the “greatest adventure biographies ever written.” He has dedicated his life to telling the stories of those who serve."

In 1999, Blehm became the first journalist to accompany and keep pace with an elite Army Ranger unit on a training mission. His access into the Special Operations community and reportage set an important milestone for American war journalism two years before reporters began to gain widespread embedded status with the U.S. military in the War Against Terror. Blehm’s immersion with the Rangers is what led him to the previously untold story of an elite team of eleven Green Berets who operated in the hinterland of Taliban-held Afghanistan just weeks after 9/11 (The Only Thing Worth Dying For), as well as to Fearless (Waterbrook/Multnomah; Random House), the heartrending and inspiring story of Naval Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Adam Brown, who overcame tremendous odds in his rise to the top tier of the U.S. military: SEAL Team Six. FEARLESS is currently being adapted for film by Relativity Media.

Blehm’s current book, Legend (Crown Books, Penguin RandomHouse), tells the unforgettable story of the U.S. Army’s 240th Assault Helicopter Company and Green Beret Staff Sergeant Roy Benavidez, who risked everything to rescue a Special Forces team trapped behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War. Major General John K. “Jack” Singlaub, U.S. Army (ret.), commented on Legend: “I fought beside and led U.S. Special Operations soldiers, sailors, and airmen during three wars—WWII, Korea, and Vietnam—including the men [of SOG] depicted in LEGEND. Never have I read a more powerfully honest, realistic, or moving account of the war in Southeast Asia. Eric Blehm masterfully encapsulates the hearts of the men, their impossible mission, and the quagmire of politics of the era and wraps it up in a single bloody battle that portrays the American fighting man at his best.”

Blehm lives in Southern California with his wife and children.

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Janet

Great Service!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 2, 2022

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Book was delivered in great condition!

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D

This is history of a story that could not be shared when it occurred

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 21, 2022

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I appreciate that this book reveals facts to set history on a correct path

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John

All I can say is "WOW"

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 20, 2017

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I enjoyed reading 'Legend:...' by Eric Blehm and was especially riveted during battle when Roy Benavidez was involved. Technically, I have to admit that this book is not entirely about Roy and his achievements, and is written in four parts. The first is about Roy's adolescent years and difficulties he encountered while growing up with his uncle and aunt in a small Texas town. There was a strong bond between Roy and his family as well as with his boss when he worked at the Firestone Tire Store. Part 2 tells about Roy's experience in the Army and the training he completed prior to earning his Green Beret and going to Vietnam early in the war for his 1st tour. Part 3 is pretty much dedicated to introducing all the other people that had a role in the actual battle (I was somewhat confused here and had trouble remembering all the other names of pilots and ground personnel). The story continues with the insertion of two SF teams - 9 miles inside of the border of Cambodia. Their mission was to observe the Ho Chi Minh trail and ideally hijack a Russian built truck and some prisoners. However, shortly after their insertion, they are compromised and requested immediate pick-up; usually, the chopper returns to withdraw the team but a major in the overhead C&C denied their request and ordered the team leader to continue with the mission. What they soon discovered is that they were inserted onto the fringes of a Regimental or Division sized headquarters with thousands of NVA soldiers. Under fire, the team splits into two groups and locates two probable locations to the side of the original LZ in which to defend themselves. By the time higher up approve the evacuation, both teams are in dire straits - some team members were already severely wounded or dead. The firing is so intense, choppers are unable to land and sustain severe damage. The O-2 Bird dog FA announced a special code over the radio that signals an emergency with a high probability of units on the ground being overrun. It didn't take long before jets and gunships responded and immediately targeted the never ending supply of NVA regulars. Part 4 then continues with the battle and Roy Benavidez's involvement.

Choppers are crashing and crews dying in the many attempt to reach the beleaguered troops. The action Roy takes is beyond belief and readers will be awed by his calmness and determination to get everybody back to safety. The story continues to describe the rest of the battle and their eventual evacuation from the LZ. Only a few survived. Benavidez was tagged in triage and left with the other dead bodies stacked outside of the hospital because of so much damage to his body. Miraculously, he garnered enough strength and fortitude to spit at the orderly who almost finished zippering him up in a black body bag. When discovering that Roy was alive, they rushed to save his life. He spent over a year convalescing from his injuries, and remained in San Antonio to be close to his family. Afterward, he continued in active service in the Army until his eventual retirement.

Roy deserved the Medal of Honor for his actions that day, however, his involvement in Cambodia was top secret, and instead, the Dept. of the Army awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross - a step below the MOH. SF soldiers were sworn to secrecy and agreed not to expose anything about their missions or locations for thirty years. The penalty for doing so is a dishonorable discharge, large fine and imprisonment.

Ten years later, those who survived the battle wrote reports that detailed Roy's actions during that fateful day in hopes of reversing the decision regarding Roy's MOH, yet the Army refused to upgrade it. Others continued the effort and when an eye witness came forward - one who Roy thought perished and vice-versa, and his testimony tipped the scales. The MOH was awarded for his actions in a battle west of a town in South Vietnam and Cambodia was not inferred.

This is a great read with a lot of detail of the actual events. Roy was quoted in the book, "that day was filled with heroes, all trying very hard to save this team, unfortunately, many of them did not survive the battle." The last third of the book will keep you reading until the end! RIP Roy Benavidez! Thank you Eric Blehm for a great story!

John Podlaski, author
'Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel' and 'When Can I Stop Running?'

.

38 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Great writing.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 10, 2022

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Very detailed account of Nam. Thanks to our brave men. Uncommon valor.

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Jenn Roma

High Praise for Legend

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 8, 2015

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I'm not usually a reader of military action books, but having had the privilege of meeting several of the men depicted in this book, including the Legend himself, Roy Benavidez, I'll admit I was anxious for this book release.
Since I'm not in the military, I really appreciated Eric Blehm's definitions/explanations of many of the oft-used military acronyms throughout the book. I was also impressed with the many photographs and the maps shown.
I had heard parts of the story of this mission many times from the mouths of those involved, but I had never heard many of the details that Eric Blehm was able to uncover & piece together. I now have a much greater understanding of the events overall.
The first part of the book covers Roy's hardscrabble childhood in Texas. It tells about his family and the morals and patriotism which were instilled in him throughout his younger years. I feel this part of the book was important as it tells how the man was formed.
The second section transitions into his military career and then focuses on his actions as a Green Beret during the May 2, 1968 mission for which he was eventually awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor - the USA's highest military honor.
I was completely riveted while reading about this mission. It's gripping, terrifying, thrilling, frustrating, tragic and more. Eric Blehm did an outstanding job in clarifying what occurred and thoroughly compiling all of the historic records/current interviews/previous books into a highly readable, edge-of-your-seat story. This novel should be made into a MOVIE!
The final section of the book outlines the years-long struggle many people went through to ensure Roy was appropriately thanked and honored for his actions and hints at why it took so long for Roy to finally receive the MoH. It also serves as a sort of epilogue telling what happened to many of the individuals in the years following the mission. I'm so glad that was included.
This story needed to be told. It still needs to be told. READ IT, TELL THE STORY to your children (at an age-appropriate level, of course), tell your friends and family. Let's re-ignite patriotism like Roy was always able to do.
One last thing. Thank you to all who have served our country.

8 people found this helpful

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21days

the author of this book really did a lot of heavy research and it seems like he had the freedom to publish information that was ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 28, 2018

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This book basically takes the memoir of Special Forces Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez (called, "The Three Wars of Roy Benavidez") and fills in the gaps; providing a more detailed account of the actual combat missions. If you just read the MSG Benavidez' memoir and stop there you can still get a powerful story. But many details are left out as I believe at the time of writing many of the classified information referenced in it could not be published.

However, the author of this book really did a lot of heavy research and it seems like he had the freedom to publish information that was previously considered classified. It really takes you deep into the technical aspects of how extremely dangerous and complex missions are run in the special operations communities.

The book does get a bit heavy at times with the timelines of the missions. I had to write names down on a separate piece of paper, so that I could keep up with the many players and aspects of the missions; who was who, who did what, etc. The provided maps are really needed for the reader to understand the information the author presents, which can be overwhelming and dense from a technical standpoint.

It is really an excellent book. Quite frankly I am surprised this story has not being picked up for a movie. It is extremely moving from a personal point of view and it provides an incredible amount of light about many aspects of the Vietnam war that many people are probably still unaware of after so many decades.

11 people found this helpful

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Bob Brooks

Good read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 5, 2022

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A very interesting book, well written, highly recommended for vietnam war buffs

Scott Andrews

Amazing true story, told in extreme detail. Brilliant!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 15, 2017

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After setting a new years resolution to read more this is the second title by Eric Blehm I have read in the past month. His work seems to be incredibly well researched and dedicated to telling the story accurately. Was truly captivated by this book and couldn't recommend it enough. The story will inspire all and if ur into tales of modern warfare this is a MUST READ.

3 people found this helpful

Achilles Karathanos

Rewiew

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 5, 2016

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Avery good story It reveals both the valour and aspects of american society that ,we foreigners ,do not know.A.K.

3 people found this helpful

vrb

Good Book!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 25, 2021

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Book has been well written in a style that is easy to read.
VRB

SLGolfer60

True Hero

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 14, 2017

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Great read, hard to believe the an individual could actually do what he did.

A true hero, one who took his oath to heart and put others safety before his own.

He truly deserved his medal.

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