Rescue in the Valley of the Tigers

"Rescue in the Valley of the Tigers" describes the evolution of a young American from carefree college student to seasoned military adviser in South Vietnam at the height of the war in 1968.

Seasoned by his experiences and inspired by courageous and selfless men and women he met along the way, at age twenty-two, Tom Ross was called upon to lead a daring rescue mission deep into enemy territory.

After three brave mountain villagers escaped the enemy captors, who had enslaved and abused them for years, they made their way to one of Special Forces Detachment A-502's isolated outposts. There, the American advisers at the outpost placed an urgent call to A-502's Operations and Intelligence officer, 1st Lieutenant Tom Ross.

Reaching the outpost, the lead villager, Mang Quang, begged the young lieutenant for help in rescuing his family and the other families held hostage. Responding to the villager's passionate plea for help, Tom planned and led a rescue team deep into enemy territory and the remote mountain jungle of Vietnam.

Flown to the village by the 281st Assault Helicopter Company and guided by Mang Quang, mist was still rising from a steamy jungle when the team launched a blazing attack early the next morning.

Before the mission was complete, Tom and his small remaining team would become cut off and stranded. Rescue of Tom and his team would fall to others who would risk their lives to save his.

On August 13, 1968, Walter Cronkite reported the story of the rescue on the CBS Evening News. 165 men, women and children had been freed as a result of the daring and extremely dangerous rescue mission in - the Valley of the Tigers.

Author: Thomas A. Ross
Publisher: American Heritage Publishing
Published: 12/31/2020
Pages: 346
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.02lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.72d
ISBN: 9780975485934

About the Author
Ross, Thomas A.: - Thomas A. (Tom) Ross, was raised in Pensacola, Florida where he lived with his family and attended college until he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1966. After receiving a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, Tom applied to and was accepted by the U.S. Army Special Forces, the elite unit also known as the Green Berets. Compelled to serve at a time when our country's involvement in Southeast Asia was escalating, Tom volunteered for service in Vietnam. After more than a year of unconventional warfare training, Tom was sent to South Vietnam as a military adviser. He arrived in-country during the infamous 1968 Tet Offensive that involved simultaneous enemy attacks all over South Vietnam. He was immediately assigned a combat position as the Operations and Intelligence Officer of Detachment A-502, the largest Special Forces A Team ever formed. These positions provided Tom with a unique vantage point from which he was able to observe both men and women as they coped with their wartime assignments. Upon returning home to the United States, Tom was shocked when he learned that American civilians were spitting on the uniforms of other returning soldiers while hurling hateful epithets at them. In response, he immediately began writing Privileges of War, a book that told good stories of the selfless and courageous deeds that he witnessed in Vietnam. Rescue in the Valley of the Tigers represents the second edition of Part II of that book. After earning the rank of Major during military service, Tom took on less aggressive, more refined, more sophisticated roles. For several years, he served as the vice-president of his family's custom-design jewelry firm in Pensacola, very different from his military exploits. Then, with two undergraduate degrees and a master's degree, and with years of experience, Tom sought larger arenas in which to work. With his family's blessing, he found those arenas and served as an executive with two world-renowned jewelry companies. And, at one, he enjoyed pastries and tea with Audrey Hepburn during a Breakfast at Tiffany that he hosted in her honor-not something you typically expect of a former Green Beret. Tom's unique life experiences have resulted in invitations as a guest speaker as well as appearances on CNN, CNBC, NBC, and ABC television. He has also been a guest on various talk radio stations across the country. Today, Tom is the President and CEO of his own successful custom-design jewelry firm, The Ross Jewelry Company, in Atlanta, Georgia. Not surprisingly, he remains extremely dedicated to family, friends, community, and country. Tom and his wife, Amy, live in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.