Swift Sword

The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vietnam, 4 September 1967

By: Doyle Glass

Narrated by: Tim H. Dixon

Monday, September 4, 1967.

Marine Lance Corporal Jack Swan crested the face of a bare, rocky knoll in the Que Son Valley of South Vietnam. Following Swan were the 164 Marines of Mike Company, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division. Their mission was to locate and rescue two understrength and isolated companies of felow Marines who were under attack by the North Vietnamese Army. The sight of a quiet and serene rice paddy and shrub covered valley greeted Swan. Too serene, he thought, as he caught sight of a trembling bush.

"I think I just saw that bush move!" He shouted.

"If it moves again, shoot it!" His squad leader commanded.

Then, hell on Earth broke loose. Rocket-propelled grenades, AK-47 fire, mortars, and machine guns engulfed the exposed Marines. The vaunted Second NVA Division, six thousand, five hundred men strong and expertly camouflaged, had sprung their well-laid trap. Instead of coming to the rescue of their embattled comrades, it was now the men of Mike 3/5 who were about to be annihilated. Burdened with a rifle, the M16, that would often malfunction, how could they hope to beat back a vastly superior foe bent on their destruction?

Outnumbered, out-gunned, and exposed, would any of the men of Mike 3/5 survive?

©2014 Doyle Glass (P)2023 Doyle Glass

Crime Scene

This was not the scene of a battle, but a crime scene. Whoever had a hand in having the Marines field that deathtrap of a weapon should have been thrown in prison. Armalite or whomever profited from the sale of that worthless piece of crap should have been prosecuted. Good men died trying to defend themselves with a Joke. The Marines should have immediately reissued the M-14 to rifle after this.

Powerful Narrative

I knew about Operation Swift but not to the level of detail described in this book. It is a hard listen but worth it. Fr. Vincent Capodanno has been a personal hero of mine throughout my adult life. And there are others in this story whose actions are also incredibly heroic. I would recommend this to anyone willing to read it or listen to it

A Story of a Courageous Few

I did not listen to this book in one “read” It took time as it was painful, it caused nightmares. I felt I was there it is told so well. I was drafted and went to Vietnam but was in the rear though my my MOS was combat support. I thought over and over as I listened, but for the grace of God This is na great book because it was about ordinary men who did extraordinary things u under difficult circumstances. I feel for them for the brothers they lost And as some make clear at the end: for what?

War brings out the basic instincts of man

Intrepid story of Marines in combat. At times the story gets lost in the details of weapons failures and poor decisions made leading up to the battle

The bravery of the Marines

Very good real story of real heroes and the meaning of war. The continued exposure of how bad the Colt M16 really was in battle.