Hope and Honor

“From surviving Hitler’s holocaust to his heroism in Vietnam to Commander of all U.S. Special Forces . . . his story is one of hope and honor.” —W. E. B. Griffin, #1 New York Times–bestselling author

Major General Sid Shachnow was more than a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran—receiving two silver and three bronze stars with V for Valor. He survived a crucible far crueler than the jungles of Vietnam: Nazi occupied Eastern Europe. As a child, he spent three years in the notorious Kovno Concentration Camp.

But his next journey took him to America, where he worked his way through school and eventually enlisted in the U.S. Army. He volunteered for U.S. Special Forces and served proudly for thirty-two years. His driving dream was to save others from the indignities he had endured and the deadly fate he so narrowly escaped.

From Vietnam to the Mideast, to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Sid Shachnow served in Special Operations. He grew as Special Forces grew, rising to major-general—responsible for American Special Forces everywhere—but the lessons of Kovno stayed with him, wherever he turned, wherever he soldiered.

“One of the most stunning military memoirs of all time.” —Stephen Coonts, New York Times–bestselling author

“A gripping story of a warrior’s survival and ultimate victory against all odds.” —General Norman Schwarzkopf

“Absolutely harrowing, as vivid and frightening as any Holocaust account I’ve read. His Special Forces experiences in Vietnam are also astonishing. General Shachnow had a vital role in shaping America’s Special Forces into the tool it is today, at the precise time it is needed.” —Larry Bond, New York Times–bestselling author