SNAKES, VIPERS, CROCS, SHARKS, AND THE VC With 257 combat missions in Vietnam under his belt, Gary Smith is a living witness to the realities of Naval Special Warfare. He worked with some of the toughest and most highly motivated men in the world, executing missions in the murderous terrain of Rung Sat Special Zone and Dung Island. The key to their success: go where no ordinary soldier would go and no VC would expect them. Though death reigned as king in the jungles of Vietnam, Gary Smith considered it a privilege and an honor to serve under the officers and with the men of Underwater Demolition Team Twelve and SEAL Team 1. Because he and his teammates, trained to the max, gave each other the courage to attain the unattainable . . . .

Gary Smith served with UDT/SEAL teams for more than 15 years, engaging in 257 combat missions. He was awarded the Purple Heart, three Bronze Stars, and other honors.

Alan Maki grew up in Belleville, Michigan, and was inducted in 2001 into Belleville High School's Distinguished Graduate Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Jefferson Award, sponsored by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, for outstanding community service in Montana in 1988. Besides serving as the pastor of three Baptist churches, he broke a Guinness World Record for "balancing on one foot" for more than eight hours to raise funds for disabled children and children with cancer. He has written two Christian novels and three nonfiction books about Navy SEALs. Alan's first movie, Sidewalk Singer, which he wrote, produced, and starred in, was released on DVD in January 2014 by Vision Video. His second movie, which he wrote, produced, and starred in, was titled Mr. What and was distributed on DVD in January 2015 by Bridgestone Multimedia Group. Both movies received five Doves from the Dove Foundation.