THE HARD RIDE; Vietnam Gun Trucks

This book, 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. 

Volume I, ISBN #971-93037-1-9, is $29.95 each plus shipping. Contact LYLES289HP@aol.com to order.