Pathfinder: First In, Last Out: A Memoir of Vietnam

by Richard R. Burns

Book Overview

December 1967: Richard Burns had just arrived in Vietnam as part of the fourteen-man 101st Pathfinder Detachment. Within just one month, during a holiday called Tet, the Communists would launch the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804116024
• ISBN13: 9780804116022
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 2.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.6" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Great Book!!

"Pathfinder" by Richard Burns is a great book. This is a very honest narrative about a military unit most people know nothing about. Someone has to be the first in to a landing zone and guide the "birds" in. That's what the Pathfinders do. They are the eyes and ears for the helocopters.This is an especially good book because Richard Burns seems like somebody you knew in your neighborhood growing up. This isn't a story about some larger than life make believe hero. This is the real life kind. The book is hard to put down and will leave you wanting to learn more about this small unit of men who wear the black hats. I was sad to read in the introduction about Richard Burns recent death to cancer. It is good to know that his memory will live on with this book.

A Factual Account of Viet Nam History

I was a Pathfinder in the 101st Airborne after Burns and served two consecutive tours. Although I did not know him, I recognized many names from the book including Torch, the dog. I was rivetted by this factual recounting which was eerily real. With few exceptions, this could have been my diary. I am ordering two more copies for my family so they can better understand a very significant part of my experience. Airborne... all the way!

Very well written

This book never drags, and kept my interest throughout. Different from a Special Forces story, Burns seemed to be on the receiving end of enemy fire most of the time while he guided helicopters for landings. He knew some of the other well known authors on LRRP's and special forces in Vietnam. He was lucky to not be hurt while being blown over by mortars or lightning, and also have a dud mortar round land a foot away. Very upbeat and refreshing.

It took me back

I was a Pathfinder in Vietnam in 1966/1967 surviving about 150Pathfinder missions. Pathfinders, from WWII to Afganistan arerarely mentioned and this book is long overdue. I did not knowPathfinder Burns but I knew many like him. May God rest and keepyou Richard, Airborne! All The Way!

A Great Story

I was a friend of Richie Burns so I guess I'm a little biased when it comes to reviewing his book. However, that being said let me add that PATHFINDER is a remarkable first-person war story in that Richie not only told it like it was but made it a very moving, personal account as well. There's no ego here, no 'I was better than yoiu were' war story, just a good look at the Vietnam War. As you read you're there with him, getting an inside look to the Pathfinder operations he took part in the war and better yet, a closer look at someone you would have been proud to call a friend as well. When he died of cancer he left behind grieving family and friends and, this book that reminds us that a good man served his country with pride and integrity in the war and long afterwards as a career Special Forces soldier. What the book doesn't tell you is that he also served as a veteran's counselor and that he had helped so many others try to make some sense of their own war stories. Buy this book and hold on to it. People like Richie don't come around in life that often and the book is a reminder of what we all lost with his passing.