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December 30, 2025 • The Way
A Rangers Way Home. Raw, Gritty, Real, and deeply personal. That’s how I would describe this tale of war, combat, and survival of one of my favorite subjects to read about – the Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRPs) and Rangers of Vietnam by Harlan Gates and his son Travis. As a former Long-Range Surveillance (LRS) member and Team Leader (the derivative Army units that emerged from the Vietnam era LRRP/LRPs), former Ranger Instructor, veteran of Operation JUST CAUSE in Panama, DESERT SHIELD/STORM (in a LRS unit), Iraq and Afghanistan, I also know a little about combat. I couldn’t put this book down. I read it in a weekend. It captivated me. It’s not just a book – this is storytelling at its finest. It is a conversation by a man that lived life and death and found a way to make himself whole from the experience. It was like I was sitting on his front porch, at his kitchen table or around the campfire with him, a cup of coffee in hand listening to his stories of combat, the extreme brotherhood of the teams and the sweat one feels caused by the stress & anxiety of the anticipation of “contact” 24/7, but also the thrill and exhilaration of making it out alive. I was also able to relate to the euphoria of making it back alive and the integration back into the “civilian world”. I was only disappointed when it was over – that I devoured this book so quickly, but that it why Harlan and his son Travis created the blog, to continue the storytelling and educate the rest of the readers on the saga and the journey of not just this man but of all combat veterans. Get this book, read it, go to the blog, read the stories – learn the legacy of the LRRPs! www.rangerswayhome.com
