Book Review

Across The Fence: The Secret War in Vietnam (Expanded Edition)
By John Stryker Meyer
SOG Publishing
April 21, 2011
370 pages
Available in Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover, Paperback

By How Miller

John “Tilt” Stryker Meyer is a battle-hardened SOG veteran.

His book Across the Fence is about his experience from 1968 to 1969 in the super-secret and super-dangerous MACV-SOG. Based in South Vietnam, the men of the unit would secretly travel by helicopter to Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam to stem the flow of men and material from the communist north to the anti-communist south.

John (code name Tilt) became the 1-Zero of Spike Team Idaho and led a small group of about 6 skilled and intrepid warriors, American and indigenous, whose ideal mission was to sneak in, accomplish a recon, sabotage, or prisoner-capture mission, and sneak back out, undetected. Of course, the enemy devoted a large number of forces and effort to make sure that did not happen.

During his one-year tour at SOG, the enemy (particularly the NVA) had become so skilled and focused that it became extremely dangerous and difficult for our teams to succeed. In fact, when Tilt first landed at FOB 1 at Phu Bai, he watched current ST Idaho personnel climb right into that same helicopter, fly to a mission, and were never heard from again.

Tilt tells it all, from his own thoughts and feelings to the nitty-gritty of the intense actions that occurred. He only wrote the book, after the twenty years that he was required to not talk about it with virtually anyone, at the urging of his fellow SOG veterans to tell his and their stories. They recognized what a polished writer he was, and of course they respected him and trusted him with their stories.

He also tells how all the pieces worked together, including the difficulties surmounted by all those who supported the teams; from the unflappable Vietnamese CH-34 “Kingbee” pilots to the Covey pilots, the “Spad” drivers, Cobra pilots, and others. He even includes political squabbles and deadly blunders.

These stories include those of his peers. For example, Lynne Black, when his team leader was killed, took over and led the team against a division of NVA troops and survived, being outnumbered by about 10,000 to 6. Thanks to skill, luck, and the magnificent support from Air Force, Marine, and Army pilots helping suppress the enemy, most of the team got shot up but survived.

Tilt also encourages others to tell their own stories, from having them as guests on his podcast—SOGCAST—to encouraging some to become authors and even podcasters themselves, supporting them with sage advice, contacts, etc.

And this is one of several books that Tilt has written about SOG. All are typically widely available for excellent reading and learning adventures. All celebrate the daring accomplishments while solemnly tipping the beret to those many that made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

Join us now in reading an exciting selection from Across the Fence, about ST Virginia and “The Frenchman” LeTourneau’s brush with death.