Operation Aviary: Airborne Special Operations-Korea, 1950-1953

Endorsement by Nels Running, Major General, USAF (Ret)
Executive Director, Department of Defence


Korean War Commemoration Committee

The history of the Korean War remains unknown to far too many who owe gratitude to those whose courage, commitment and sacrifices secured a victory for freedom and democracy over communist aggression. Even deeper in the shadows of the unknown, lay the clandestine operations of 'special' forces, whose actions often serve to enhance the conventional forces' opportunities for success in combat operations. Cloaked in "special secrecy" at the time, the stories of special operations emerge from the shadows much later than conventional combat histories.

In this work, Colonel Doug Dillard illuminates an important arena of operations heretofore largely ignored: airborne special operations. Special operations teams and individuals, sometimes supported by or in conjunction with 'available' conventional resources, made daring airborne penetrations of the enemy 's rear areas and areas of current combat operations to disrupt or defeat the enemy's operations. They gathered and reported critical elements of information regarding enemy dispositions and capabilities to the conventional forces. The men of "Operation AVIARY" were indeed force multipliers whose actions contributed immeasurably to the United Nations Command's victory over communist aggression. A FASCINATING READ!