Night Fighter: An Insider's Story of Special Ops from Korea to SEAL Team 6
Night Fighter: An Insider's Story of Special Ops from Korea to SEAL Team 6 book cover

Night Fighter: An Insider's Story of Special Ops from Korea to SEAL Team 6

Hardcover – November 1, 2016

Price
$25.99
Format
Hardcover
Pages
352
Publisher
Arcade
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1628726800
Dimensions
6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
Weight
1.23 pounds

Description

" Night Fighter is unique. It is a most revealing documentary account and living history of the Special Ops, and I know of no other book that offers so complete and objective a glimpse within the organization. By the end, you will know and feel what it was like to be a night fighter from Korea all the way to SEAL Team 6." —Chimp Robertson, author of POW/MIA: America’s Missing Men "It is my opinion that without the commitment, passion, ingenuity and ruthlessness of Hamilton and (Roy) Boehm there would have been no SEAL teams as we know them." —John Weisman, co-author of Richard Marcinko's Rogue Warrior series; and co-author of Shadow Warrior "Through your efforts we have been made aware of a significant threat to the development and construction of a strategic defense system (SDI, 'Star Wars')." —Lt. General James A. Abrahamson"This idea of Bill Hamilton . . . and others into airborne delivery (Helicopter cast-and-recover) was the genesis of the Navy SEALs--SEALs standing for Sea, Air, Land." —Orr Kelly, author of Brave Men, Dark Waters "You (Hamilton) are the father of the U.S. Navy SEALs." —Sedgwick Tourison Jr., author of Secret Army, Secret War "Hamilton was also the man responsible for forming SEAL Team Six. (He) did the country a great service in forming what is now one of America's finest professional warrior units." —Rudy Enders, retired CIA officer"LCDR Hamilton is . . . the foremost expert in UDT matters currently on active duty in the Atlantic Fleet." —Vice Admiral John McN. Taylor, COMPHIBLANT"His aggressive leadership was instrumental in developing the Navy's 'pro-active' anti-terrorist stance, and he has helped shape our anti-terrorist program for years to come." —Rear Admiral R.F. Marryott"For exceptional meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service in the First Human Volunteer to perform an underwater ejection . . . for the Pilot Underwater Escape Program." —Legion of Merit citation"Captain Hamilton is widely credited for his significant role in creating the first Navy SEAL commando units." — BULLIS Magazine William H. Hamilton Jr. graduated from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1949 and served as a fighter pilot in the Korean War. Fascination with unconventional warfare led his involvement in underwater demolition teams. In 1961, he became the commander of UDT-21, in Little Creek, Virginia, where, with Roy Boehm as his operations officer, he was responsible for developing the Navy SEAL program. Hamilton subsequently conducted missions with SEALs and CIA in Cuba, Vietnam, Latin America, and Africa. After the Iran Hostage Crisis, he worked in counterterrorism, and was one of two men responsible for developing SEAL Team Six. He also advised the Reagan White House on the security of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Hamilton retired from the Navy in 1986. He residedxa0with his wife in Virginia Beach, Virginia, until his death in November 2016. Charles W. Sasser , a veteran writer of military history and other books, was himself a member of the Special Forces (Green Beret) and is the bestselling author, with Craig Roberts,xa0of One Shot One Kill and, with Roy Boehm, of First SEAL . Many of his military titles have been main selections at the Military History Book Club. He resides in Chouteau, Oklahoma.

Features & Highlights

  • For readers of
  • American Sniper
  • , the stirring account of a life of service by the “father of the US Navy SEALs”
  • One month after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, when President John F. Kennedy pressed Congress about America’s “urgent national needs,” he named expanding US special operations forces along with putting a man on the moon. Captain William Hamilton was the officer tasked with creating the finest unconventional warriors ever seen. Merging his own experience commanding Navy Underwater Demolition Teams with expertise from Army Special Forces and the CIA, and working with his subordinate, Roy Boehm, he cast the mold for sea-, air-, and land-dispatched night fighters capable of successfully completing any mission anywhere in the world. Initially, they were used as a counter to the potential devastation of nuclear war, and later for counterterrorism and hostage rescue. His vision led to the formation of the celebrated SEAL Team 6. In this stirring, action-filled book, Hamilton tells his story for the first time.
  • Night Fighter
  • is a trove of true adventure from the history of the late twentieth century, which Hamilton lived, from fighter pilot in the Korean War to operative for the CIA in Vietnam, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, from the Pentagon to Foggy Bottom, and from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Reagan White House’s Star Wars. Like
  • American Sniper
  • , here is the record of a life devoted to patriotic service.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a
  • New York Times
  • bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(248)
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25%
(103)
★★★
15%
(62)
★★
7%
(29)
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Most Helpful Reviews

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The book provides a good self-view of the author

William Hamilton (deceased) and co-author Charles Sasser have fabricated a story not substantiated by facts, and not supported by official Navy records. I'm a retired SEAL officer and knew Bill Hamilton personally. I can say with some authority that "Night Fighter" is replete with untruths and distortions. The book provides a good self-view of the author, but that's really all that it is. For example, in August 1961, LCDR Hamilton moved to the Pentagon with no direct authority over the UDT or SEAL Teams. The book leads the reader to think otherwise. How SEAL Teams were established is factually documented.
40 people found this helpful
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Nigh Fighter is a MUST READ...

What a very good, fact filled memoir of a very important man that helped modernize our strategic defenses including being the "father" for the navy SEAL's. Captain William H. Hamilton has made, and continues to make, a huge footprint in the development of weapons, boats and methods that are used everyday in the war against terrorism. He is a guy that isn't happy sitting behind a desk and leading from afar, he needs to be in on the action and thank God he does. The book takes the readers from Hamilton's early days of childhood when he was a Navy kid moving around with his family and his father who was a very high ranking officer in the Navy.
Hamilton graduates from the Naval Academy and there is no holding him back as his desire to be in the thick of things becomes apparent. He and Charles Sasser, who co-wrote Night Fighter with Hamilton, continue to take us through a lot of history, a lot of on the ground battles and they do so all the while keeping their story exciting, informative and witty. Hamilton's contributions to using guerrilla warfare is seen in World War 2, Korea, Vietnam and the subsequent Middle East wars.
The author's take us on a really cool journey witnessing the forming of the modern day Navy SEAL's from their beginnings when they were known as Frogmen. A cool note that is not in the book but is relevant to the Frogmen is the fact that Dr. Jack Ramsay, the National Basketball Association hall of fame coach and later ESPN announcer was an original Frogman who fought in WW2. Jack was a good friend of my family's and I loved hearing his stories of the amount of training and education he went through to become a Frogman. Just an FYI thow in.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes reading military memoirs or history books. It is filled with historical fact but again, it is presented in a very interesting manner and not like a boring high school textbook. I have been reading a lot of books about our wars in the Middle East when I heard about Night Fighter. I decided to give it a go and boy am I glad that I did. I learned a lot about a motivated brilliant man as well as being thrown into different battles everywhere from Germany to Korea to Vietnam to Afghanistan. Having read so many books about Iraq and Afghanistan I often wondered how our soldiers got so proficient in urban warfare, this read really helped me fill in some of those holes....don't miss this one!
2 people found this helpful