Fascinating book. I can't believe this has not gotten more attention, especially given how its impact on our country. ( )

[Originally posted at Bookin' It.]

The subtitle of this book is "Truman's Secret North Korean Spy Mission that Averted World War III," and that's exactly what it's about. Back in August 1951, 22-year-old Army lieutenant Boyd, a gifted cryptographer and high-speed international Morse code specialist, was chosen to be part of a 10-person team of Army Rangers, Navy Frogmen, Air Force officers, and CIA agents who posed as prisoners from a downed bomber that were being transported across North Korea by Nationalist Chinese posing as Communists. Along the way, they met various operatives and transmitted messages back to headquarters on Chinese and North Korean troop strength, positions, and weapons.

Boyd is apparently the only survivor of this mostly-successful "black ops" mission in January 1952, that had to remain classified for 48 years. He and all of his teammates used aliases, so he's not sure if anyone else survived, but no one else has come forward since the mission was declassified in 1998. That was heartbreaking.

The story is compelling. My dad (a Korean War vet) read the book and passed it on to me, and my husband has also read it. He has some experience in these matters and feels it is true. It certainly rang true to me. Boyd (who was assisted by a ghostwriter) uses some devices, such as conversations during the long convoy rides across North Korea, to convey historical background. The conversations feel artificial, but the reader understands why this device is used. The action, though, is thrilling and suspenseful.

I am glad Lt. Col. Boyd shared his story and brought some long-overdue recognition to himself and the men he served with.

© Amanda Pape - 2012

[This book was borrowed from and returned to my father.] ( )

This is a story about a secret mission behind enemy lines, what they found there, and the survival tale of the narrator. But it is also much more than that.

The all-time low presidential approval in the Gallup Poll was President Truman's 23 percent in 1952 during the Korean War. It is precisely during this time-frame that Operation Broken Reed took place: at a time when most Americans wanted Truman to take decisive action - preferrably to invade in full force and irrevocably kick communist ass, so to speak. The high levels of discontent evident in the polls came about because Truman presided over a war that was not creating victory on the field, and that had been pushed back and was barely holding its own against the enemy.

It was during that period that Truman ordered Operation Broken Reed, to provide him with hard intel about enemy forces being faced in Korea. The focus of this story is not on the background politics, but on the front-line action in the field. Nevertheless, I think it most eye-opening about this book that Truman made the decision he did - i.e. *not* to escalate the Korean War - in spite of his abyssmal approval ratings at home (lower than GW Bush's at the moment, but only by a few % points). He was under great political pressure to produce "results", and the fact that he chose a stalemate over any other solution makes perfect sense - in fact, perhaps, the only sense - in light of the intelligence shared in this book.

Operation Broken Reed is a hidden gem among writings of the Korean War, and well worth reading by any fan or student of military intel, history, or presidential decision making. I'm glad that LTC Boyd wrote the book after so long keeping silence. Speaking as a veteran of US Army intel services myself, everything in this book rings true to me. ( )