Ride to the Sound of the Guns

"I have read lots of leadership books, but this one now goes to the top of the list for the Army officers that want to aspire to doing leadership and mentorship correctly. They will also see what sacrifice and service to nation really looks like. As I meet with those about to take command of Army units my #1 recommendation will be to read, study, and understand Ride to the Sound of the Guns." -- Bryan "Doug" Brown, General, 7th Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command

An "adrenaline junky," Ted Mataxis was the perennial volunteer who saw action in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

After just three and a half years in the Army, he was a battalion commander in brutal combat with the 2nd Battalion, 276th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division "Trail Blazers," during the last German offensive during the winter of 1944. In the spring of 1945 he participated in the breakthrough of the Siegfried Line and the subsequent pursuit into Bavaria. Volunteering to go to the Pacific for the invasion of Japan, he was en route when the atomic bombs were dropped. He returned to Europe for occupation duty, seeing the start of the Cold War in Berlin.

In 1950, he attended the Indian Army Staff College then served in Kashmir with the United Nation Peacekeeping Mission. He then volunteered for the Korean War where he commanded a regiment, at the age of 36, during the bitter campaigns of Triangle, T-Bone, and Pork Chop Hills. This was followed by an early tour in Vietnam as Senior Advisor to the ARVN Commanding General of II Corps for the 16 months that heralded the escalation of the fighting by the introduction of the regiments of the North Vietnamese regular army. Upon the arrival of American troops in February 1966, he became the Deputy Commander of the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division. After serving in Iran, he volunteered to go to Vietnam for a second tour, serving as Assistant Division Commander and then as Acting Division Commander.

In 1971, with one day's notice, he was assigned as Chief of the Military Equipment Delivery Team for Cambodia (MEDT-C). He retired from there in 1972. During the Soviet-Afghan War, he became the field representative/coordinator for A Committee for a Free Afghanistan, spending time behind the lines with the Mujahedeen where he was known as "The Old American General who brought them Stinger Missiles." When he became "too old to run with the young dogs," he finished out his years as a professor for American Military University sharing his experiences and mentoring young military personnel.