The Gunny

Description

PAPERBACK EDITION

Medal of Honor Recipient John Canley

There are three missing days in Marine Corps history. What occurred on those 3 days has been lost until now. It involves one of the bloodiest battles in American history. Marines fought house to house and room to room for 30 continuous days battling the NVA’s best troops.

On 31 January 1968, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient John Canley, led 147 mud Marines into Hue City Vietnam. Awaiting them are 10,000 NVA regulars. For 3 days, Alpha Company, First Battalion, First Marines battled these overwhelming odds minus commissioned officers. They were outgunned and outmanned, but they had “The Gunny.”

The Gunny is the definitive book written on the battle for Hue City. It’s the first book written by the Marines who were the initial reaction force into Hue during the 68 TET offensive; the “grunts” who changed the course of history.

The actions of Gunnery Sergeant at Hue City are a testament to American leadership and valor.

About the Author
John Ligato is a South Philly native and retired FBI Special Agent who found himself with the lead contingent of Marines into Hue’ City during the 1968 TET offensive in Vietnam. He captured the 6th NVA flag at the St. Joan of Arc school, which was displayed in the Marine Corps Museum and was awarded three Purple Hearts for his service in Vietnam in addition to other valor awards. The American Heroes Channel featured John in a documentary titled, Against the Odds – The Marines at Hue.

For 10 years, John worked with developmentally disabled children before joining the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he infiltrated the Italian Mafia and spent 8 years in deep cover. He is a pilot who flew special operations missions for the FBI as well as an author of three novels. The 2006 movie 10th and Wolf is a loosely based bio of his life. His last few years in the Bureau included diplomatic training missions to Moscow, Estonia, London, Budapest Dubai, and Siberia and meetings with world leaders including Tony Blair and Putin.

Ligato is also an adjunct professor, teaching counter-terrorism and international security at Campbell University at Camp Lejeune, NC. After his retirement, John hosted a talk show for Salem Communications in Cleveland and appeared in movies, documentaries and television series, as well as some stand-up comedy at Gotham in NYC. He also contracted with the federal government and participated in covert operations.