Cover Notes

In the third Battalion the British army's Parachute Regiment, the " Green Eyed Boys" were a  clique of junior soldiers who developed their own fantasy culture of aggressive elitism.years of peace, they longed for an opportunity to prove their worth outside the frustrating confines of Northern Ireland and Salisbury Plain.  Tat chance came in April 1982 when Argentina invaded the Falkland islands.

On the night of the 11th and 12th of June the Battalion began its assault on Mount Longdon.  In a sustained feat of courage and tenacity, 3 Para achieved its objectives at the price of losing nearly a quarter of it fighting strength killed or wounded.  But there was a darker side to the heroism of the Paras, which resulted in a full-scale, if inconclusive, war crimes investigation.

Green Eyed Boys, based entirely on eye witness interviews and primary resources, reveals fully for the first time what actually happened during and immediately after that terrific night time battle.

Reviews

ARead the book from cover to cover and then again. What a pile of unmitigated crap. Some "stories" have been a life all of their own, The true bravery ,alas has been forgotten. As has been stated, this book if less of a true and accurate account of a very horrific and sad time in the lives of brave serving troops, morover a mutual appreciation society for a few guys who were simply glory hunters. The real heros were never the same. (EX 16 Fd Amb)

As one of Cpr (SCOUSE)Mclaughlin section I can honestly say the book has A lot of people in it relating to events they were no were near I am quoted but can did not speak to vince bramly until after the book was on sale. Scouse did a fantastic job that night along with the rest of the blokes and should definitely been decorated for us who knew him and fought with him he was a true hero.

Having been in the Paras myself & the 1982 Falklands conflict I have just read this pile of crap it seems someone is having a laugh at the Parachute Regiments expense.Although there were a few people in 3 Para for the want of a better word thought they could walk on water both at Tidworth & Osnabruck when the Falklands War came up the truth bit home to them in a real big way the game was up 3 of the main players in this book are now dead Stuart Andrew Mclaughlin being one of them Steve Hope another both killed on Mt Longdon.Andrew Mclaughlin should have been given a major award for bravery now that would make a good book on its own merit thats if anyone decides to write it. Denzil Connick "here is a true Para"I hope you are OK Denzil "whats it like to be famous" he said it best the only person missing from this pile of shite was John Wayne (hold on a minute) my mistake he was he,s called Dominic Grey don,t waste your money on this rubbish bin it its total garbage

Seems to me that Fuller and Weeks were blowing their own trumpet.The seem to tell how tough they are,instead of talking about the whole battalion.The senior also treat the officers as they know nothing,esp. in the case of Mark Cox. nice read.

Its a very good book .

I loved the book due to taking it on face value. I spent years in a 'hat' regiment and as Denzil C says above, elitism is not to be confused with fierce pride and loyalty to your unit. When shots start going downrange I believe the British Army is the finest at doing what it does best which is getting the job done (more often than not in the face of adversity from the opposition and our own politics) - no macho heroes or glory hunters. There are enough of them remembered on Nov 11th. Ive worked with Paras and RMs and they have all had the ability to get things done (one way or another,ahem,)while having immense pride in their capbadge to which they all deserve praise. If you've not been part of it its very difficult to understand.
The book does, in my mind, make inroads to dispel the 'For Queen And Country' myth that so many believe is ingrained into the British Squaddie. 'For Me and My Mates' or 'The Quicker We Get This Cracked The Quicker We Can Go Home'is far more realistic. The step by step, walk through talk through narration of the battle is undeniably well written and includes 'accounts' from key individuals who took part.
From an insiders perspective, at the end of the day unless you were there you'll never comprehend what actions the men were called to do or the suffering they endured doing them - they enrolled, took the Queens silver and (unfortunately/fortunately) they were called to do their job, a job they wanted to do to the best of their ability. Thats what they got paid to do. After the war many left the Army as they had been through the untimate test and had nothing left to prove to themselves - job done, move on safe in the knowledge they had been part of something very special.
From an outsiders viewpoint, civilians need people like these to supply the books (undoubtably embellished here and there) that bring spice of life that is sometimes lacking for your average Joe. The world needs heroes whether they are reluctant ones or not.
The Paras will always be in the thick of it anywhere that needs them and there will always be more stuff that goes on that you DONT hear about than stuff you DO
However, if u want the truth about the maroon machine, be part of the 40% that survives P Company, get your wings and live it for real.

When I first read this book it made an excellent read, but after reading some other accounts of the battle I'm not sure I believe some the things stated in the book. They have also stated some basic facts about the Falklands War wrong. Christian Jenning is the arthur of another interesting book called " A mouth for rocks" about his time in the FFL. Still a good read, it give a good account of life in side Para battalion, but how much is true I don't know.

For anyone wishing to learn more about 3 Para's first close-quarter battle in No-Man's-Land this book is strongly recommended.  Though dismissed in the book Ready for Anything, Adrian Weale shows us that the Argentine 601st and 602nd Commando Companies perfomred well and with credit.  Adrian Weale admits that on the night of 6-7 June 1982 Captain Ruben Figueroa led an attack by a section of 601 Commando Company against the Paras dug into the rocky height overlooking Murrell Bridge.  It seems British historian Martin Middlebrook who wrote a book about the Argentine Army in the Falklands (Viking, 1989, London) thought Argentine historian Isidoro Jorge Ruiz-Moreno who wrote Comandos en Accion: El Ejercito en Malvinas (Emece, 1986, Buenos Aires) was telling lies in regards to 3 Para's first close-quarter gun-battle at Murrell Bridge.  Well didn't he get a surprise when historian Adrian Weale's Green Eyed Boys was published in Britain.

This book is an excellent read - in part for its two opening chapters, 'Maroon Machine' and 'Airborne Infantry', describing the history of the Parachute Regiment from its origins in 1940 to 3 Para's last two
pre-Falklands deployments in Osnabruck and Tidworth.  It was fascinating to read of the lives of soldiers in 3 Para's ranks in the sixties and seventies British Army.  The last chapter, 'The Aftermath', brings this aspect - of the Battalion's 'non-Falklands' history - up to 1993, and also considers the
controversial question of whether 'war crimes' were committed by 3 Para on Mount Longdon and sums up 3 Para's conduct during that engagement.

The description of some of the soldiers was fascinating.  I found the figure of Corporal McLaughlin particularly moving - he clearly an had an absolute vocation to be a soldier, and specifically a Parachute Regiment soldier as one can see in particular in Vince Bramley's book, 'Two Sides of Hell'.  His command and control, not only of his section, but also those those young soldiers whose own
commanders had been put out of action, was very humbling to this civilian.  He was quite a handful during peacetime, but his sergeant major perhaps gave him the epitaph he might have wanted: 'I thought, in the right situation, in the field as a corporal, he was a brilliant guy.'  One can see from this book (and
also in Vince Bramley's two books, 'Excursion to Hell' and 'Two Sides of Hell' why the men he served with continue to hold him in such high regard.

As a former 'Tom' and JNCO of 3 Para and veteran of the Falklands war, I read this book purely to arm myself with answers to the many questions asked of me by others who have read it.

The mention of a culture of 'aggresive elitism' makes me cringe.  Yes, there was tough training, to make 'us' soldiers aggresive in battle, we needed to be aggresive to survive!  However, I wish to make it clear, from my point of view, people should not confuse regimental pride and loyalty with any form of elitist
culture or 'breakaway club' seperate from the rest of the unit.  Any such spawnings would have been stamped out and the perputraitors given a good smack (probably off support company).

As for the general contents of the book, I supose it was a good read for the 'outsider', the only character missing was John Wayne.  The authors, 'who were never in 3 Para', would probably make very good journalists for the 'Daily Sport' newspaper.

At best, this book gives a fair account of the actions of 3 Para in the Falklands war.  At worst, gives the reader inacurate insights into 'how it was' to serve with a very fine and proud battalion with a great history.

The battalion (and regiment) has been blessed with a great supply of marvelous individuals over several generations.  Many of whom, have died in battle.  This book is by no means, any testomony to them, or we 'old boys' with different colour eyes, who live on after them.

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