From OSS to Green Berets: The Birth of Special Forces

That the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the direct predecessor of Special Forces is something that veterans of both organizations might find worth reading about, although the evidence presented here is a bit vague. Bank, a retired U.S. Army colonel, presents an essentially unfocused chronicle of his military career, which included OSS experience in Europe and Indochina and a role in the founding of the original Special Forces nucleus in the 1950s. A considerable portion of the narrative deals with preparations for potential missions that never came offnot the most satisfying reading experience when one has been led to expect a rousing payoff. With the exception of an account of a chat with Ho Chi Minh in pre-Vietminh days, the author writes in general terms that are short on specifics. Bank himself remains two-dimensional throughout. Photos. (December