All photos on this page appear in Sasser's fine book, Raider, which is based on the military career of CSM Galen Kittleson.  Kittleson holds the distinction of being the only man to participate in four POW liberation attempts in two different wars.

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SFC Galen Kittleson with Special Forces in Vietnam. 1968.

Kittleson photo.

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MSG Galen Kittleson at his Special Forces camp in Vietnam following the attempted rescue of Green Beret LT Nick Rowe. 1968.

Kittleson photo.

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CSM Galen Kittleson receives the Legion of Merit upon his retirement ceremony from Special Forces in 1978.

Kittleson photo.

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CSM Galen Kittleson (upper left) with a Special Forces "A" Team. circa 1975.

Kittleson photo.

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Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird congratulates SGM Galen Kittleson after awarding him with his third Silver Star for heroism following the Son Tay Raid in North Vietnam. 1970. U.S.

Army Photo.

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MSG Galen Kittleson and the other Son Tay Raiders arrive at Fort Bragg upon their return flight from Vietnam.  Late Nov 1970.

U.S. Army photo.

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CSM Galen Kittleson preparing for a parachute jump with Special Forces.  Fort Bragg, NC.

Kittleson photo.

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MSG Galen Kittleson (right) and COL Arthur D. "Bull" Simons (left) in formation at Fort Bragg, NC, following their return from the assault on Son Tay POW camp in North Vietnam. 1970.

Photo courtesy of Galen Kittleson.

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MSG Galen Kittleson with Special Forces in Vietnam. 1968.

Photo courtesy of COL Henry J. Cook III, AUSA (Ret.)

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Back row (L-R) John Dove, Vern Miller, Aubrey Hall, Louis Belson, Denny Chapman. Front row (L-R) John Fisher, Irvin Ray, James Roby, Alton Bauer, James Crockett. Finschaven area, N.G.

(Photo courtesy of Mike Cameron)

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Alamo Scouts Harold Hard and Frank Fox (4th and 5th from left) and Ralph Tuckness (kneeling with hat), pose with the 33rd Infantry Division prior to attending the Alamo Scouts Training Center.  New Guinea, 1944.

(Photo courtesy of Tuckness Family)

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ASTC Graduate, PFC Ralph H. Tuckness, 1944.

(Photo courtesy of Tuckness Family)

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Alamo Scout SGT Guy F. Rondell (2nd from left), pictured with five other Lakota Sioux codetalkers of the 302nd Recon Squardron of the 1st Cavalry Division.  Only 11 Sioux codetalkers were used in World War II; six in the Pacific and five in Europe.  Rondell, a member of the Sisseton-Whapeton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, was a graduate of the 2nd Alamo Scout training class.  From left to right: John Bear King, Rondell, Eddie Eagle Boy, Baptiste Pumpkin Seed, Phillip LeBlanc, and Edmund.

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U.S. troops land at Nagasaki, Japan, 24 September 1945.  Two teams of Alamo Scouts and advance elements of 6th Army Headquarters had visited the city on 19 September in preparation for the landing.  The city was devastated by the dropping of a second atomic bomb on 9 August 1945, ultimately forcing the surrender of Japan.

(National Archives Photo)

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U.S. Army landing at Wakayama, Japan, 25 September 1945.  ADKINS and GRIMES Teams conducted advance reconnaissance of the beach.  The next day, DERR Team accompanied General Walter Krueger on an inspection tour of the city.

(National Archives Photo)

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Wakayama Beach, 25 September 1944.

(National Archives Photo)

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Balete Pass, west central Luzon, 1945.  The pass guarded the approaches to the Cagayan Valley and was the key to the entire northern defensive system of the Japanese on Luzon.  The Alamo Scouts conducted extensive operations in and around the area, and supplied vital information on the enemy to conventional U.S. forces there until the end of the war.

(U.S. Army Photo)

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Red Beach at Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea - Four Alamo Scout teams participated in the 6 June 1944 invasion and conducted vital beach and jungle reconnaissance.

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Wakde - SOMBAR, THOMPSON and REYNOLDS Teams performed missions here in May 1944.  Wakde, 140 miles west of Hollandia on the north coast, was strategically important for building airbases for offensives in western New Guinea.

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