The fascinating autobiography of Stan Krasnoff, a right-wing warrior who served with the American special forces in Vietnam.
This is the story of a remarkable soldier, nicknamed "Crazy Horse" in memory of the legendary Lakota warrior, and remembered by his men as the "toughest damn soldier in the whole bloody army".
It was in Vietnam that Crazy Horse became "Krazy Hor". Krasnoff was on an Eagle Mission with the US Special Forces when he heard his Cambodian radio operator trying to communicate with OHQ on his behalf. The Cambodian couldn't get his tongue around "Crazy Horse", but he got as far as "crazyhor".
This is the story of a "reffo" kid from Shanghai, who could barely remember his first pair of shoes but would end up commanding the most prestigious battalion of the Australian Regular Army-3RAR, the "Kapyong Battalion" or "Old Faithful".
"He was my company commander in the 8th Battalion in 1972-73, and I tell you, the men would have followed him over a cliff." - Sergeant Allan Whiting of the 8/9 Battalion, 1980.
Krazy Hor served throughout a period of intense change in defence policies - from Forward Defence in Papua New Guinea and Vietnam in the 1960s to "sitting behind the blue moat", a policy which continues to affect our defence status today.
It's a hell of a story.
