SCORPION SQUAD
VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO
Before there
was Vietnam: Ground Zero there was
the four book Scorpion Squad series.
Written by the same authors behind the Eric Helm pseudonym, the Scorpion Squad books lead directly into
the Vietnam: Ground Zero series—same
characters and continuity. The Scorpion
Squad was originally published by Pinnacle. After four books, there must
have been some kind of upheaval as the series was rebranded Vietnam: Ground Zero, which was published
by Gold Eagle.
Strangely, in
the first Scorpion Squad book, Body Count, there is no mention of any
unit named Scorpion Squad. None. It’s
as if, after the book was written, Pinnacle’s marketing department came up with the series
title because it sounded cool. As mentioned above, when the four book Scorpion Squad series ended, the
characters of Captain Mack Gerber and the Green Berets of camp A-555 carried
straight on into the Vietnam: Ground Zero
series. It is not essential to read the Scorpion
Squad series before starting the Vietnam:
Ground Zero books, but it does help to explain much of what is going on.
Eric Helm was
a pseudonym for co-writers Kevin Randle and Robert Cornett. Together they wrote
the four books in the Scorpion Squad series,
then they continued to co-write the Vietnam:
Ground Zero series, which ran for twenty-seven regular series entries and
five ‘Super’ Vietnam: Ground Zero titles (special double length series books).
Urban legend claims the pseudonym Eric Helm was a tribute to Donald Hamilton’s
Matt Helm series—Eric being Matt Helm’s code name, but there is no confirmation
this is true.
There was a
twenty-eighth and final installment of the Vietnam:
Ground Zero series entitled Zero Cube.
It was written by Nicholas Cain using the pseudonym Robert Baxter. Cain was an
experience writer having written the long running Saigon Commandos series and other Vietnam related men’s adventure novels.
Oddly, this final installment of Vietnam:
Ground Zero was never published as a separate book. Its only appearance was
in Heroes Book 1, a strange hybrid
omnibus. Each of the 3 books in the Heroes
omnibus series contained two or three novels from Gold Eagle’s various men’s
adventure series. All of the included novels had been previously published,
except for Cain/Baxter’s Vietnam Ground
Zero original entry.
Of the two authors
behind the Eric Helm pseudonym, there is little information about
Robert Charles Cornett other than he was a Vietnam veteran. Kevin D. Randle,
however, is much more high profile. A captain in
the U.S. Air Force Reserve and an authority on alien abduction, Randle is a
familiar name on the late-night radio and ufology circles. He co-authored
the best-selling books The UFO Crash at
Roswell (which became a popular Showtime movie), The Abduction Enigma, and The
Truth About the UFO Crash at Roswell.
Randle is also
a prolific fiction writer. With Robert Cornett, he co-wrote two other series, Time Mercenaries and the Fifty Million Years War. Under the
pseudonym Steve MacKenzie, he wrote the fifteen books in the Seals series, and the six books in the Wings over ‘Nam series. He has written
numerous science fiction novels and other standalones, including one entry in
Gold Eagle’s Executioner series (#118
Warrior’s Revenge).
Vietnam: Ground Zero (Scorpion
Squad considered to be under the same banner for the sake of brevity) is somewhat
different than most entries in the men’s adventure series genre. Much more than
another Executioner/Destroyer/Penetrator clone, the Vietnam: Ground Zero entries are actually action-filled history books
masquerading as a men’s adventure series.
Starting the
early days of the Vietnam War in 1964, each adventure continues forward until
1968, moving through the blood, gore, and destruction of many good men caused
by political ineptitude and the counterinsurgency of a ruthless enemy. The
action moves freely through Cambodia and Laos—with one adventure in Hong Kong—batting
NVA, VC, Pathet Lao, renegade Cambodians, Red Chinese, and even Soviet soldiers,
along with misconceived CIA programs, the drug trade, and corruption in the
South Vietnamese government.
Vietnam: Ground Zero is a solid, sometimes inspired series.
As in any long-runnin series some books are stronger than others, but overall the
storytelling is engaging—as is the quality of the writing—making it one of the
best entries in the Vietnam War subgenre of the men’s adventure genre to come
out of the eighties.
SCORPION SQUAD
BODY COUNT
A lonely hill
near the Cambodian border is transformed overnight. Three hundred men are
working to construct special forces camp A-555 nicknamed the Triple-nickel.
Captain Mack Gerber and his A-team of green berets are advising several hundred
Vietnamese popular forces, ARVN special forces and Tai mercenaries. The mission
is to establish a presence in territory that has long been ruled by the Viet Cong.
The Cong know that once the camp is finished it will be nearly impossible to
dislodge the Americans presence in the region. So a regiment of VC are
assembling across the border in Cambodian to strike while the camp is still
vulnerable. Gerber has to not only fight the VC but the incompetence of the
South Vietnamese allies and his own general.
THE NHU KY STING
Mack Gerber
and the men of camp A-555 get a well-deserved leave after successfully
defending the camp against a VC regiment. But no sooner then they land in
Australia when they are called back. A U-2 spy plane on a mission in China was
flying over North Vietnam when it goes down. The pilot is held captive at a NVA
base at Nhu Ky. Now Gerber and his green berets must parachute into North
Vietnam and rescue the pilot. After a successful breakout they then have to
track down the U-2 to retrieve the photos it took before the NVA get it.
Luckily they make friends with the ethnic Nung Tai people who help them.
CHOPPER COMMAND
There is a VC
propaganda squad operating in the area. Slipping across the border from
Cambodia, the VC terrorize the local villages. Guarded by a company of NVA they
are acting with impunity. Mack Gerber wants to put a stop to them. For that he
will need helicopters to insert his men quickly before the Cong can slip across
the border.
RIVER RAID
The VC are hoarding supplies brought down the Mekong River in sampans. Ambushes are proving ineffective in stopping the flow of weapons. Boats are needed to intercept the sampans. Captain Gerber and his green berets steal a boat and modify it for
combat leading to a joint Army-Navy
operation code name: River Raid.
VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO
VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO
An American
Special forces squad penetrates into Cambodia to carry out Project Phoenix—pacification
by assassination.
POW
"I will
ask you questions, you will give me answers." And the Vietcong commander
knew just how to ask questions of the three American soldiers who had become
his prisoners. When units from U.S. Army Special Forces Camp A-555, the Triple
Nickel, were lured into a well-planned VC ambush south of the Parrot's Beak,
the Americans had their bodies and minds broken under the sadistic torture of
an embittered Vietcong general. Marked for death in reprisal for the shooting
of three Vietcong in De Nang, the Americans knew that they had to escape. But
escape seemed impossible Eric Helm is the pen name of two Vietnam veterans, men
who were there and who now tell it like it was.
UNCONFIRMED KILL
A year in the
jungles of Vietnam brings its own reprieve - R and R. The men of U.S. Army
Special Forces Camp A-555 are excited at the prospect of time away from that
hellish conflict. But, although they don't know it, the squad is marked for
death in Hong Kong. And rest and relaxation takes on a new meaning as vicious
attacks against the American team bring the jungle war to the city. An
implacable enemy stalks the Special Forces unit in Hong Kong and lures the men
into his lair with a tantalizing bait - a beautiful American woman left under
their protection.
THE FALL OF CAMP A—555
An American
General and a journalist are trapped when a Special Forces camp falls to the
Viet Cong...
SOLDIER’S MEDAL
For the men
of U.S. Army Special Forces Camp A-555, the enemy comes in many forms. But
perhaps the most dangerous adversary is one that the Americans cannot see - a
soldier who surrenders to combat pressure. Sergeant Sean Cavanaugh and a patrol
of RF strikers are ambushed at Listening Post One. In the ensuing attack the
force is wiped out. Cavanaugh is the sole survivor. Riddles with the guilt of
his very survival, the sergeant's mind snaps, and he becomes a rogue soldier.
Captain Mack Gerber, commander of Camp A-555, is suspicious of Cavanaugh,
realizing that in a hostile situation the sergeant's mental state could
endanger the lives of those with him. So when Cavanaugh organizes a
hunter-killer team to seek revenge for the ambush, Gerber is left with only one
choice - find and kill Cavanaugh!
KIT CARSON SCOUT
A Special
Forces patrol faces annihilation when it violates neutral territory under
orders...
THE HOBO WOODS
After
spending one year back in the World, U.S. Special Forces Captain Mack Gerber
returns to Vietnam smack in the middle of a political boondoggle. Although the
Americans have firm evidence of a major enemy buildup in the Hobo Woods region,
they are advised to exercise extreme restraint against the NVA. This mandate is
the result of a press-whipped U.S. administration buckling under severe antiwar
sentiments. The ripple effect touches officers in the field in Vietnam, and
they are cautioned to keep all missions low-profile. Mack Gerber is stunned at
these new events, especially since the American military has now been allowed
to shed its adviser role and openly take part in combat. Gerber can't believe
his orders: Go look for the enemy, but don't find him!
GUIDELINES
U.S. Army
Special Forces team risks capture and death when it parachutes into North
Vietnam...
THE VILLE
A hill tribe
becomes the unwilling target of Communist forces in Laos...
INCIDENT AT PLEI SOI
A fact
finding mission led by US Army Special Forces Capt. Mack Gerber is dispatched
to the tiny hamlet of Plei Soi to determine the future of Camp A-337. The
Americans find the village completely deserted with most of the inhabitants
killed. - At nightfall comes a blistering rocket and mortar attack that pins
down the team. They repel the initial assault, but it quickly becomes obvious
they are out gunned with no hope of air support...
TET
South Vietnam
falls under siege when Communist forces launch a major offensive...
THE IRON TRIANGLE
A Company of
American soldiers is overrun and slaughtered by the Vietcong. Captain Mack
Gerber is assigned to CID to head the investigation into the massacre.
RED DUST
From dawn to
dusk, nothing moves on the highways from Hanoi to the DMZ. Weeks have passed
since Navy pilots spotted daytime enemy traffic. The Americans are baffled by
this recent NVA tactic. But the capture and interrogation of a Vietcong student
reveals that her village in North Vietnam is a staging area for NVA troops. And
recon photos support this. U.S. Army Special Forces Captain Mack Gerber and a
team of Green Beret commandos undertake a covert action mission to the North to
plant some "tulips" along key routes. These seismic intrusion devices
will pinpoint target data on nighttime enemy movement for the USAF Phantoms.
Despite this U.S. counterthrust, Gerber knows that the night belongs to
Charlie.
HAMLET
The Tet
offensive has drawn U.S. troops and their ARVN strikers away from the hamlets,
leaving the villagers open to attack by Communist forces. When a small
settlement is overrun by the Vietcong, U.S. Army Special Forces Captain Mack
Gerber and a team of Green Berets are dispatched to investigate. Gerber
discovers that the residents were left to defend themselves with obsolete
weapons provided by withdrawing U.S. troops. The Vietcong strategy is clear:
plant some spies to sabotage the American effort and supply information to the
Communist assault force concealed in the nearby jungle. With his highly trained
shock squad, Gerber constructs a defense perimeter, then settles down to wait
for nightfall and the second Vietcong attack, which he knows must come...
MOON CUSSER
Someone is
using the airwaves to lure U.S. soldiers into deadly traps. This mysterious
radioman knows the commo system and speaks like an American. Each time he calls
in air support, the chopper crews are found badly mutilated or dead. The
psy-war team at Military Assistance Command in Saigon believes that the elusive
enemy's grisly deeds are an attempt to undermine the U.S. war effort—when the
disfigured survivors return to the World, they will serve as walking war
posters. The "moon cusser's" gruesome acts are classified top-secret
- especially from the media, and Special Forces Master Sergeant Anthony
Fetterman is ordered to track down the perpetrator and take him alive. But
Fetterman realizes he has only one option: smoke the bastard!
DRAGON’S JAW
A key NVA
supply link to the South presents a challenge to the U.S. military in Vietnam.
CAMBODIAN SANCTUARY
A propaganda
ploy by Hanoi endangers the lives of civilian personnel in South Vietnam...
PAYBACK
A Viet Cong
power play brings repercussions reprisals from the U.S. Special Forces military
in Vietnam....
MACV
A leak at command headquarters in Saigon puts
American lives on the line...
TAN SON NHUT
The U.S.
airbase in Saigon becomes the command center for a daring hunt to track down
NVA terrorists...
PUPPET SOLDIERS
U.S. Army
Special Forces Captain Mack Gerber is assigned a secret assassination mission
across the border in Cambodia...
GUNFIGHTER
When a
modern-day Billy the Kid emerges from the jungles of Vietnam to challenge
American POWs to Old West-style gunfights, Special Forces Captain Mack Gerber
becomes determined to force a showdown with the fastest gun in the East.
WARRIOR
The police
action in Vietnam is drawing more heavily on the pool of manpower Stateside,
pulling in kids fresh from the military's crash course on how to win a war:
kill or be killed. Dreams of glory held by these idealistic young warriors are
quickly shattered as they witness the reality of war: misery and death. With an
instinct born of years of combat experience, U.S. Army Special Forces Captain
Mark Gerber organizes a recon mission into the jungles of Bang Ron.
Though
enemy activity is way down, Gerber suspects a ruse: Charlie is sending
carefully orchestrated signs that he is short on manpower. But Gerber is
certain that the VC is planning a full assault in the valley. With help from
air artillery, the steaming jungle camouflage is cleared, and Gerber goes in on foot to smoke out the enemy. But he’s fighting a double battle with a new
recruit whose blood lust could prove fatal to everyone...not just the enemy.
TARGET
The U.S. plan
to force peace talks with North Vietnam requires a Special Forces mission to
Hanoi...
WARLORD
The U.S.
continues to provide clandestine assistance to the anti-communist Hmong
soldiers conducting direct operations against the Pathet Lao and Vietcong. Now,
in a concentrated effort to disrupt enemy traffic on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the
U.S. launches Operation Hard Rain. For Special Forces Captain Mack Gerber, this
large-scale, multi-detachment mission is a breath of fresh air from recent
CIA-sanctioned snafus. It's a chance to get back into the field to do what he
does best: recruit and train local Hmong to find and finish off the enemy. Code
named Thunderhead, Gerber's A-team will also conduct harassment raids and ambushes
in the enemy's rear to protect the Intel-gathering forces farther down the
Trail. No artillery support. No air support. The soldiers of Thunderhead get to
fight the old-fashioned way...alone and on foot.
SPIKE
A strike to
derail a rolling ammo dump near the Chinese border becomes a one-way ticket to
Hell...
RECON
Alarm bells
are sounding loud and clear from the Three Rivers Secret Zone in southeaster
Laos. Normally an area of moderate activity, it's now one of the hottest zones
in the whole Area of Operations. Six elite Special Forces reconnaissance teams
have been shot to death there in the last month. Unconfirmed rumors of heightened
Soviet interest in Southeast Asia and the body of a Soviet paratrooper point to
the logical conclusion: Ivan is up to his old tricks again. It's going to take
one tough bastard to blow the lid off Moscow's claim that there are no Soviet
advisors working with the NVA. Special Forces Captain Mack Gerber's mission:
infiltrate the area, find out what the Russians are up to...and break it up
before it goes any further.
SUPER VIETNAM: GROUND ZERO
RAID
The powerful
true-to-life novel of a massive covert operation challenging the jungle of
North Vietnam...
SHIFTING FIRES
A stark
account of one of the Vietnam Wars most controversial defensive stands...
STRIKE
The battle
for Nui Ba Den—tunnel warfare deep inside the Black Virgin Mountain...
EMPIRE
Mack Gerber,
a U.S. Army Special Forces captain, leads a strike against NVA troops in Binh
Long Province, with the purpose of driving them into Cambodia...
SNIPER
A well planted CIA spy has managed to come back
with important information that could change the course of the war. The Chinese
are ready to commit 100,000 troops to protect the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This would
free up much needed NVA troops to wage the war in the south. So Captain Gerber
and Sgt. Fetterman are put in charge of a mission to stop this. Senior military
officers of both the NVA and Chinese PLA are going to meet in a village in Laos
to sign the agreement.
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