Civic Action is a concept that was developed during the Vietnam War and is now being applied in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was a derivation from the original program of Combined Action Platoons conceived by Marine Generals and fashioned into a working model for the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing by Major Richard F. Risner, USMCR. The reader is given a glimpse into the lives and careers of two Marines whose friendship is cemented by the bonds of combat. Rich Risner and Dick Petterson knew each other at the start of both their careers. By chance they were reunited in Vietnam in 1967 and together they began to mold the Civic Action Team that Hays later joined in early 1968. The Civic Action program involved working with the surrounding villages and their leaders in a pacification effort. The idea was that if the Marines could win the hearts and minds of the people, they would deny sanctuary to the enemy. Using trial and error and the vision of Risner, the reputation and accomplishments of the Team made them very popular with the local populace and high on the target list of the enemy. Hays gives the reader a ringside seat at the ambush attempt on Risner and Petterson. In a heroic response to a totally unexpected attack by Viet Cong Tiger Guerillas, the author explains how their actions merited awarding of medals for Valor as well as the Purple Heart. With only two weeks left to finish on his tour of duty, while leading a mission into a suspected hostile village that was occupied by the enemy at night, Major Risner experiences the ultimate terror of combat. Hays gives the reader a front-row seat as he tells of Risner's harrowing ordeal calling upon his determination, bravery and cunning leading to a surprising ending. This book is the story of how in the midst of an unpopular war, considered unjust by many, there were many good Americans trying to bring freedom and peace to a nation that enjoyed neither.
About the Author: Gene Hays lives with his wife in Oxford, Mississippi along with three of his sons and their families. The second oldest, Eric, has served in the U.S. Army in South Korea, Afghanistan and Iraq. Gene retired from Active Duty in the Marine Corps in January 1986. Gene attended basic and advanced formal Navy schools in aviation electronics and later instructed avionics basic and advanced courses at the Naval Air Station Memphis, TN. In 1973 he then returned overseas joining Task Force Delta at the Marine Corps Air Station "Rose Garden" in Nam Phong, Thailand during the tail end of the bombing campaign in Southeast Asia. Returning to the States in 1974, Gene taught fixed and rotary wing avionics courses at the CH-53 "Sea Stallion" trainer in Tustin, CA. In 1978 he was selected to serve at Headquarters, United States Marine Corps, in Washington, D.C., as an Assistant Aviation Monitor managing over 7,000 Enlisted Marines in over 60 different military occupational specialties. Working out of the historic Navy Annex, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, Gene did the screening for all Marine Enlisted Instructors throughout the Naval Aviation Maintenance Training Group as well as the initial screening for all newly assigned candidates to the prestigious Marine Helicopter Squadron One, the President's helicopter squadron. Returning to Memphis in 1981, Gene was instrumental in establishing the newly formed Enlisted Aviation Maintenance Trainee Management Unit that managed the follow-on training of all Marine Enlisted Aviation Trainees leaving Memphis. At his retirement in 1986, Gene was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. His personal decorations include the Navy Achievement Medal with Combat "V" and the Combat Action Ribbon, as well as several letters of commendation. After his retirement, Gene worked for Martin Marietta Data Systems (now Lockheed-Martin) for five years, and went on to teach electronics at two different two-year colleges. In 1996, Booz-Allen, Hamilton Inc. selected Gene as a Senior Consultant to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since returning in 1997 from Saudi Arabia, Gene has worked in his field of electronics and in the banking industry. Gene is a member of the Marine Corps League Detachment Pontotoc, MS, and Vietnam Veterans of America. You can contact him by email: rghays47@gmail.com.