Retired Army Col. Robert L. Howard, a Medal of Honor winner and one of America’s most decorated soldiers, died Wednesday in Waco after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

This well-written account of Howard’s years of service, from 1956 to 1992, also offers a solid overview of U.S. Special Forces missions—most of which the elite soldiers ended up winning.

Robert Howard was wounded 14 times during five combat tours. ... He would become, as Stephen Moore tells us in “Beyond the Call of Duty,” America’s “most decorated Green Beret. ...