An excellent book about some extraordinary people. Eric Blehm aptly portrays "Many Profiles in Courage" in his description of one of the many small battles that occurred during the Vietnam War. His diligence in researching and documenting this type of conflict that defined this useless and ugly war is noteworthy.
Uncommon courage was commonplace as a group of young Americans and their unfortunately nameless NIDG Allies attempt to conduct reconnaissance and extract evidence of Cambodia's support of the NVA. Heroes abounded during this fast and furious firefight but staff sergeant Roy Benavidez was the key to rescuing and supporting their extraction. So badly wounded; that he was thought dead and retrieved in a body bag, his true role was obscured for many years. Ultimately, his role was suitably documented and he received The Congressional Medal of Honor from President Ronald Reagan. ( )

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?' ( )

Legend is the life story of Roy Benavidez, a Medal of Honor recipient who in 1968 was injured during a firefight in Cambodia. The first half was slow background that is unmemorable. Roy is of an older generation, born 1935. He was not the boomer hippie generation typically associated with Vietnam. He had old fashioned values and a simple life philosophies ("help people in need" and "duty, country, honor"). The battle itself, comprising only a few hours in real life ("Six Hours in Hell."), is spectacular. Blehm had no trouble turning this material into high drama. It has a natural plot, when things can't get worse, they get worse. It almost plays out in real time of reading vs action, if you can read slow enough which is hard given the exciting events. There's almost no information about the Vietnamese involved in the fight other than body counts.

After receiving the medal personally from Ronald Reagan in 1981, Roy became a favorite icon of the 1980s conservative Christian right, for example Ross Perot wrote the forward to his memoir and he was often sought as a speaker. Eric Blehm is better known for his book Fearless which is being turned into a Hollywood movie. It's also about an American war hero. He seems to have found his market. Nothing wrong with that but after reading Blehm's The Last Season which is excellent, I was disappointed this was not more nuanced. ( )

The stuff that Roy Benavidez did that earned him the Medal of Honor sounds fictional; no one could do what he did. Of course, he did it. Blehm does a good job of chronicling Benavidez's life from his beginnings as migrant farm worker through his military service and the battle that made him a war hero. ( )

Keeping up with names and cast of characters is difficult. It would be easier if inserts a little reminder why this person is important and where we met them chapters ago.
Story is engaging and the writing is good. ( )