FOUR CONGRESSIONAL MEDALS OF HONOR THIRTEEN NAVAL CROSSES SEVENTY-TWO SILVER STARS . . . In four and a half years in Vietnam the Marines of the Third Reconnaissance Battalion repeatedly penetrated North Vietnamese and Vietcong sanctuaries by foot and by helicopter to find enemy forces learn the enemy s intentions and when possible bring deadly fire down on his head. Heavily armed well-camouflaged teams of six and eight men daily exposed themselves to overwhelming enemy forces so that other Marines would have the information necessary to fight the war. It s all here: grueling tense and deadly recon patrols; insertions directly into NVA basecamps; last-stand defenses in the wreckage of downed helicopters; pursuit by superior North Vietnamese forces; agonizing deaths of men who valiantly put their lives on the line. NEVER WITHOUT HEROES is the first book to recount the story of a Marine reconnaissance battalion in Vietnam from the day of its arrival to its withdrawal. In Vietnam Larry Vetter served as a platoon leader in Third Recon Battalion. He supplements his own recollections with Marine Corps records exhaustive interviews with veterans and correspondence to capture the bravery and self-sacrifice of war.