Leo Joseph Heaney, formerly of Jim Thorpe, has written a memoir about his time in the Tiger Force combat unit during the Vietnam War.

The memoir, “Tiger Force: Inward Season Three … Over,” was published in July.

According to a description of the book on Amazon.com: “For the past 15 years, members of Tiger Force, an elite group of American paratroopers serving in Vietnam, have been branded in the press as a rogue unit of rampaging GIs. Finally, additional research reveals the confusing rules of engagement, recorded statistics, and many previously untold personal accounts regarding this combat force’s unique character and adventures. ... Written by a seasoned Tiger who served in this unit for 17 months, the book provides insight into the daily challenges and personal exploits of the men. Whether facing off with a water buffalo, sleeping in the middle of a stream, crawling into a VC tunnel, discussing Latin with a monk, walking into a minefield, or watching friends fall in battle, Leo makes you feel like you are right there with his team. He introduces you to many distinctive and memorable personalities who have proudly worn the Tiger Force Badge.”

Topics in the book include:

• Battles of Tiger Hill and Tiger Valley

• Discussion of free-fire zones, press coverage and Agent Orange

• Daily routines and combat patrols in the jungle

• Patrols with indigenous allies

• Life at base camp

• Liberation of POW camps

Amazon reviews of “Tiger Force” are unanimous in their praise of Heaney’s memoir, such as this one:

“Leo has told a great War Story without the embellishments you see in other books where the author feels a need to exaggerate to keep the listener or reader interested,” writes Jean L. Soucy. “Extremely accurate tale, well researched and vetted in archives, the actual Battalion radio logs, and years of verifying events with other Platoon members. Written as only one who was there could have written it. Leo has done the Tiger Force a great service.”

Since graduation from Jim Thorpe Area High School in 1965, Heaney has served as an Army sergeant, student, Army officer, anthropologist, researcher, teacher and now, author.

He grew up in Jim Thorpe and is the son of a World War II veteran who served as a radio operator/gunner on B-17s over Germany.

His grandfather, John Herman, and great-grandfather, Anton Herman, were the initial carpenters for building St. Joseph’s Church in Jim Thorpe.

Heaney enlisted and served in Vietnam from April 1966 to July 1968.

Seventeen months of that time, from June 1966 through October 1967, were with Tiger Force, of the 1st Battalion, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment. His highest rank was sergeant E-5 attained at age 19.

His citations included: Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal with Valor Device and Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, Four Overseas Service Bars, Presidential Unit Citation for serving with 1/327th Infantry during Operation Hawthorne and the relief of Toumorong in 1966.

While attending Penn State University, Heaney participated in the ROTC program and placed first of 1,600 cadets at the 1971 ROTC summer camp at Fort Indiantown Gap.

His ROTC honors include: Distinguished Military Student, 1971 and Distinguished Military Graduate, 1972.

After graduation, he re-entered the service as a commissioned officer in the Regular Army: Primary branch, Military Intelligence; Combat Arms branch, Infantry. He later resigned his commission with the rank of captain.

While pursuing a certificate in education from the University of Puget Sound, he helped research and write a narrative of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe which assisted the tribal historians in the tribe’s petition for federal recognition. He also served as tribal representative on several archaeological projects in Western Washington.

Heaney retired after 30 years as a high school social studies teacher. He lives near Seattle with his wife, Ellen.

“Tiger Force: Inward Season Three … Over” is available at Amazon.com. at https://amzn.to/2GQtMpF and for checkout at Dimmick Memorial Library in Jim Thorpe.

Here’s an excerpt from “Tiger Force: Inward Season Three…Over” by Leo Joseph Heaney:

“Even though contact with the NVA was light, there were some contentious moments, not specifically related to interactions with the enemy. One afternoon, a few days into the operation, we entered into a farmstead with a few thatched roof structures. A vast expanse of dry rice paddies, speckled with islands of vegetation and small groups of water buffaloes, lay off to our left. I hadn’t given much notice to the mammoth buffalo about twenty yards away until it started pawing the ground with its hoofs. It earned my undivided attention when it put its head down and charged toward me. The animal drew up about four feet from me, just on the other side of a small sapling about two inches in diameter. When the buffalo moved to its right, I moved to my right. When it went left, I moved left. Several times we may-poled around the sapling, and ultimately we froze transfixed on each other. The looming, blue-grey critter, dripping fluid from its nostrils, apparently hadn’t considered that it could just bowl over the sapling to get at me. And, I wasn’t inclined to dispatch the buffalo; neither was the rest of the squad. Killing what more than likely was some farmer’s draft animal wouldn’t endear us to the local residents. The proverbial Mexican standoff had evolved.

“While I was examining my options for vacating the temporary protection provided by the sapling, a solution to my situation presented itself—one without having to shoot the water buffalo. From one of the nearby hooches, a small lanky Vietnamese child of maybe seven or eight years emerged. In route to us, he picked up a branch, casually approached the beast, swatted the giant, lumbering beast on the nose and buttocks, and drove it back into the paddy. Then the little Vietnamese David discarded his “olive branch” and continued on down the trail along the paddies and out of sight, never uttering a word.

“As the buffalo lumbered off into the paddy, I rejoined the rest of my squad. They had been standing by, ready to intercede with force if things went south. A few chuckles and smiles greeted me. The rough American paratrooper image that I so carefully groomed and guarded since joining the Army had just been slightly emulsified by a small child with a tree branch. I had just experienced one of life’s lessons on establishing win-win situations.”