A lot of work was put into ARMA 3: S.O.G. Prairie Fire to make the video game as realistic as possible. It is equally one part video game and one part military simulation, giving the player the experience of being on a recon team deep behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War. MACV-SOG and the operations in the game, really existed, and S.O.G. Prairie Fire captures them in excruciating detail.
To accomplish this, the game developer consulted with real-life MACV-SOG veterans who worked with game developers on everything from the type of gear SOG soldiers carried to how they boarded helicopters are the Landing Zone.
The game came out to great acclaim last year, and now you can watch some actual SOG veterans team up with video game players to run through some missions. In one video, you can watch John Stryker Meyer (who also consulted on the game) run through an operation in which players have to move through the jungle and rescue a downed pilot in what was known as a Bright Light mission.
Thankfully, since these missions were declassified many SOG veterans have written memoirs about their experiences. Meyer and other SOG vets have found a new audience in recent years with podcast listeners as well.
Translating their experiences into a video game is a herculean effort and while a game will never fully capture the experience, ARMA 3: S.O.G. Prairie Fire does manage to accomplish two goals at once by being a fun game while also bringing this little known part of U.S. Special Forces history to an entirely new generation.
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Using a video game as a vehicle to teach history, and remember the men who fought in died in Vietnam, is a new and interesting medium for such material as opposed to books or movies. However, it may open the door to this chapter of American history to many young people for the first time.
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Reach Jack Murphy: jack@connectingvets.com or @JackMurphyRGR.