The Hard Ride;
Soft Cover 9"X11", 80 pages, over 320 color, black and white photos.
ISBN: 971-93037-1-9
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"The Hard Ride", written by James Lyles, a former Vietnam gun truck commander, is an authoritative reference on a number of special hybrid vehicles called Vietnam gun trucks and the extraordinary crews who manned them. During their 5 year history from late 1967 thru late 1972, Vietnam gun trucks were without a doubt the most important wheeled vehicles to see duty in Vietnam. They were mainly used for convoy security and installation perimeter defense, but were also used in other roles. It was originally thought that only 150 of these vehicles existed but the book now includes a list of over 350 gun truck names and rare photos of nearly 300 different gun trucks.
The book, which is being printed in two volumes, deals with facts about the gun trucks and their crews. Volume I includes the story of gun trucks and their swashbuckling crews with 80 pages of mostly color photos of regular 2-1/2 ton and 5-ton gun trucks, eyewitness ambush accounts, humorous gun truck related short stories, full sized gun truck replicas and scale models. Volume II will include more recently discovered regular gun trucks, APC gun trucks, Quad 50 gun trucks, ¾ ton gun beeps, gun jeeps, gun trucks with multi-angled armor, V-100s, gun truck scale models, a complete gun truck list, a gun truck crew list and pictures of many ambushed vehicles including BRUTUS, the vehicle Larry Dahl won the Medal Of Honor aboard in 1971 by jumping on a grenade thrown into his gun truck.
There are several photos of a formidable 5-ton gun truck called MAVERICK which eventually may have been the most heavily armed gun truck of them all with four (4) General Electric XM-134 miniguns and a set of twin M60 machine guns.
Book Signing of the Hard Ride by author James Lyles at The Gathering last June 11-15, 2003 US Army Transportation Museum This reunion of Army Transporters from Vietnam will include a series of daily events were open to the public. A reproduction Vietnam-era armored gun truck, the Untouchable , was on display, as well as other Vietnam-vintage trucks and equipment. Besson Hall, Washington Boulevard, Fort Eustis, 757 878-1182. *Copies of "The Hard Ride" are available at the Museum Gift shop.
Book REVIEW on Tracklink
Read More about the Gun Trucks: http://www.guntrucks.com/HardRide.htm Gun Trucks: Genuine Examples of American Ingenuity MILITARY TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION "GUN TRUCK" RESTORATION PROJECT REPORT http://groups.msn.com/VietnamGunTrucks/namtruckinpics.msnw?albumlist=2
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E-mail: pmcmssr@yahoo.com for availability.
AVA, PoBox 21104, Oxnard, CA, 93034, USA.
Book "The Hard Ride; Vietnam Gun Trucks" also available at:
Philippine Army Museum gift shop; Fort Bonifacio, Philippines.
US Army Transportation Museum gift shop, Ft. Eustis, Virginia, USA
Wood model of gun truck