Heroes of U.S. Special Operations

Operation Ivory Coast, November 21, 1970, The Raid on Son Tay Prison

By November of 1970, there were 450 known American POWs in Vietnam and more than double that amount who were missing. Reports were surfacing of brutal conditions, torture, and starvation of American POWs.

Operation Ivory Coast was the mission by US Army Green Berets flown in by Air Force Commandos to rescue the POWs at a small prisoner of war camp at Son Tay, 23 miles west of Hanoi. The raid was conducted by Colonel Arthur “Bull” Simons and 56 specially selected Green Berets who trained for the mission. The mission failed despite it being a tactical success. Unknown to the raiders, rains had flooded the prison just prior to the raid, forcing the Vietnamese guards to move them to another location. The prisoners who were moved just a few miles down the road, watched the raid unfold.

However the raid was viewed as a success, they killed over 50 guards and took the compound while suffering two very minor casualties. And the Air Force was able to fly them in and out of one of the most heavily guarded air spaces on earth at that time.

Identification of the Camp: In May of 1970, the Pentagon learned of the camp when an SR-71 at 80,000 feet, streaked over the camp and took aerial photographs that showed at least 55 American POWs. The catch? There were 12,000 North Vietnamese troops stationed just 5.0 miles away from the compound.

Planning began in earnest in early August. Simons was named the commander of the raid force and he selected the raiders from over 500 volunteers from the 6th and 7th Special Forces Groups at Ft. Bragg, NC.

The training facility chosen for the raiders was Duke Field at Eglin AFB, Florida.USAF planners selected key Air Force commanders, who then picked personnel for their crews. Helicopter and A-1 Skyraider crews were put together from instructors at Eglin and personnel returned from combat tours in Southeast Asia. Two crews for C-130E(I) Combat Talons were assembled from squadrons in Germany and North Carolina.

The men were not briefed on their mission and were only told that it was hazardous.

A total of 219 men were selected, 103 Army and 116 Air Force personnel would serve as raiders, flight crew, support personnel, and planning. The Task Force was known as the “Joint Contingency Task Group” (JCTG).

The staff set up a plan for a nighttime raid, the key points of which were: clear weather and a quarter moon at 35 degrees above the horizon for optimum visibility during low-level flight. From these mission planning parameters, two mission “windows” were identified, 18–25 October and 18–25 November.

Training under Simons, who was already a legend in Special Forces proceeded on Range C-2 at Eglin. Simons had taken part in a prisoner rescue during World War II with the 6th Ranger Bn. The Rangers rescued 500 POWs who had survived the Bataan Death March by raiding the Japanese POW camp at Cabanatuan in the Philippines. The Raiders used an exact but crudely made replica of the prison compound for rehearsals and a superbly detailed five-foot-by-five-foot scale table model (codenamed “Barbara”) that was built by the CIA for familiarization.

The Air Force pilots flew over 1050 hours in C-130 Combat Talon, and HH-3 aircraft to practice their formations and using the Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR), to fully acquaint themselves with the mission.

The Special Forces side of the training began on 9 September, advancing to night training on 17 September and joint training with aircrews on 28 September that included six rehearsals a day, three of them under night conditions. By 6 October, 170 practice sessions of all or partial phases of the mission were performed on the mockup by the Special Forces operators, using live fire.

The Ground Force Commander was LTC Bud Syndor and the assault element leader that would purposely crash land in the prison compound would be led by another SF legend CPT Richard “Dick” Meadows.

On the 6th, the first full-scale dress rehearsal, using a UH-1H as the assault helicopter, was conducted at night and included a 5.5-hour, 687 miles (1,106 km) flight of all aircraft, replicating the timing, speeds, altitudes, and turns in the mission plan. The rehearsal indicated that the UH-1 helicopter was unsuitable for this mission. The smaller passenger compartment resulted in leg cramps to the SF raiders that completely disrupted the timing of their assault. Simons and his raiders opted for the HH-3E. Two further full night rehearsals and a total of 31 practice landings by the HH-3E in the courtyard of the mockup followed.

The primary October window was chosen, but a White House briefing, President Nixon was out of the city and couldn’t be briefed properly in time, so Henry Kissinger moved back the raid to the November time window. That month delay unknown to anyone at the time would doom the mission to failure.

Between 10 and 18 November, all of the pieces of the raiding force arrived in Thailand, which was the jumping off point for the raid. The piecemeal deployment was to not attract attention. There the force was whittled down from the 100 men who trained for the mission to the 56 that would be going. It was heartbreak for the 44 men who had to stay behind in Thailand.

The Raiding Force: The Special Forces were organized into three platoons: a 14-man assault group codenamed Blueboy Element led by Meadows, which would crash-land within the prison compound. A 22-man support group, Greenleaf, which would provide immediate support for the assault team, and a 20-man security group, Redwine, to protect the prison area from any NVA reaction forces and provide backup support if needed for either of the other two groups. Simons (using the call sign Axle) accompanied the Greenleaf group, while the ground force commander, LTC Elliott P. “Bud” Sydnor, Jr. (Wildroot), was with the Redwine group.

The 56 raiders were heavily armed, carrying 48 CAR-15 carbines, two M16 rifles, four M79 grenade launchers, two shotguns, and four M60 machine guns. They carried 15 Claymore mines, 11 demolition charges, and 213 hand grenades and were equipped with a mix of wire cutters, bolt cutters, axes, chainsaws, crowbars, ropes, bullhorns, lights, and other equipment to execute the mission.The ground force was also equipped for voice communications with 58 UHF-AM and 34 VHF-FM radios, including a survival radio for each individual soldier.

Five hours before takeoff, Simons addressed the men: “We are going to rescue 70 POWs from a camp called Son Tay. This is something American prisoners have a right to expect from their fellow soldiers. The camp is located 23 miles west of Hanoi.”

It was said that the troops stood and cheered. Simons put his own indelible mark on the operation with his final instructions.

“You are to let nothing, nothing interfere with the operation. We’re here to rescue prisoners not take prisoners. And if we walk into a trap,… don’t dream about walking out of Vietnam unless you’ve got wings on your feet. It is 100 miles to Laos….I want to keep this force together. We will back up to the Song Con River and by Christ let them come across the goddamn open ground. We’ll make them pay for every foot across the sonuvabitch.”

Airlift Into North Vietnam Undetected: The raid force began taking off at 2200 hours from airfields in Thailand and South Vietnam. The formation flew across the Plain of Jars in Laos before turning northeast. There were twelve separate legs of the flight plan. They flew on undetected by North Vietnamese radar, possibly because of diversionary bombing missions going on in the area.

The assault force arrived at Son Tay at 0219 hours. The helicopter that was to crash land purposely in the compound was to encounter trees thought to be 40-feet tall. The were in actuality close to 150 feet tall. However, the pilot chopped thru it like a huge lawn mower and the aircraft thudded into the ground. One man, an Air Force crew chief suffered a broken ankle when a fire extinguisher broke free and smashed into his leg.

Meadows used a bullhorn and announced, “We’re American. Keep your heads down. We’re Americans. We’ll be in your cells in a minute.” Meadows group cut down any of the guards in the compound, including several trying to escape through the east wall. But as his men methodically advanced thru the compound, they found no prisoners in the cells.

The Support Element landed in the wrong compound, which was known as the Secondary School and found it contained 100-200 Chinese soldiers who were there as advisors for new missile defense weapons being emplaced . After a brief but intense firefight. The Special Forces troops using a mixture of automatic fire and grenades eliminated the Chinese.

The Security Element (Redwine) approached the south wall and using the helicopter’s miniguns, wiped out the guard towers and landed inside the compound. There they blew a utility pole and set up a roadblock, 100 meters from the LZ. They then encountered guards who were quickly trying to react to the raid. The Raiders cut down several as a firefight raged.

Simons leaped into a trench as the fighting raged on around him. A second later an enemy soldier, roused from his sleep and wearing only his underwear, jumped in beside Simons not realizing who was in there. Simons emptied his .357 revolver into the soldier’s chest killing him.

Meadows radioed to Syndor, “Negative items.” No POWs were present. The entire raid took just 17 minutes. The assault force was preparing to leave when one of the members decided to leave the Vietnamese a message on who was responsible for the raid. MSG Joe Lupyak took a Green Beret with a 5th SFG flash and nailed it to the flagpole in the compound.

The extraction helicopters began arriving at 0239 hrs, the last aircraft departed at 0245 and the entire raid took just 27 minutes. The formation cleared North Vietnamese airspace by 0315 and arrived back in Thailand by 0438 hrs.

Intelligence Failure: The lack of good intelligence hampered the operation from the start. It was later learned that due to flooding of the river, the prisoners were moved. And the heavy rains in the area obscured the view that the satellites would have of the area. The prisoners were moved to a place they named “Camp Faith about 15 miles closer to Hanoi.

The impact of the raid was a tremendous boost in morale of the prisoners. They knew right away that they had not been forgotten. The North Vietnamese realized that had the operation had been successful, the sight of the prisoners in their current state of health would have been disastrous.

As a result, food and medical care improved for the prisoners and the Vietnamese consolidated the POWs and for the first time many of them were surprised to learn that instead of solitary confinement, they were housed together.

List of the Son Tay Raid Personnel:

US Army Personnel

Support Element

COL Arthur D Simons
CPT Eric J Nelson
CPT Glenn R Rouse
CPT Udo H Walther
SFC Earl Bleacher
SFC Leroy N Carlson
SFC John Jakovenko
SFC Jack G Joplin
SFC Daniel Jurich
SFC David A Lawhon Jr
SFC Salvador M Suarez
SFC Donald Taapken
SFC Richard W Valentine
SSG Walter L Miller
SSG Robert L Nelson
SSG David S Nickerson
SSG Thomas E Powell
SSG John E Rodriquez
SGT Gary D Keel
SGT Keith R Medenski
SGT Franklin D Roe
SGT Marshall A Thomas

Assault Element

CPT Richard J Meadows
CPT Thomas W Jaeger
CPT Dan H McKinney
1LT George W Petrie
MSG Thomas J Kemmer
MSG Billy K Moore
MSG Galen C Kittleson
SFC Anthony Dodge
SFC Lorenzo O Robbins
SFC William L Tapley
SFC Donald R Wingrove
SSG Charles G Erickson
SSG Kenneth E McMullin
SGT Patrick St Clair

Command Element – Security

LTC Elliot P Sydnor
LTC Joseph R Cataldo
CPT James W McClam
CPT Daniel D Turner
MSG Joseph J Lupyak
MSG Herman Spencer
SFC Tyrone J Adderly
SFC Donald D Blackard
SFC Freddie Doss
SFC Jerry W Hill
SFC Marion S Howell
SFC Billy R Martin
SFC Gregory T McGuire
SFC Charles A Masten Jr
SFC Joseph M Murray
SFC Noe Quezada
SFC Ronnie Strahan
SSG Paul S Poole
SSG Lawrence Young
SGT Terry L Buckler

Support Personnel

LTC Bill L Robinson
LTC Gerald Kilburn
CPT Randel L Smith
SGM Minor B Pylant
MSG Jesse A Black
MSG Edgar C Britt
MSG Bernard L Rauscher
SFC Franklin Abramski
SFC James A Bass
SFC Archie Batrez Jr
SFC Robert L Dodd
SFC Charles M Erwin
SFC James A Green
SFC Bobby R Hansley
SFC Roswell D Henderson
SFC Frederick L Hubel
SFC Bruce M Hughes
SFC John R Jourdan
SFC Ernest R Pounder
SFC Aaron L Tolson Jr
SFC Burley W Turner
SFC Grady C Vines
SSG Elmer D Adams
SSG Rodger D Gross
SSG Larry G Stroklund
SSG David L Wilson
SGT Brian J Budy
SGT Michael G Green
SGT Robert R Hobdy
SGT John J Lippert
SGT Arlin L Olson
SP5 William F Dezurik
SP5 Lawrence C Elliot
SP5 Gary R Griffin
SP4 Christopher Casey
SP4 Frank J Closen

UH-1 Crew Members

1LT George W Williams
CW2 Ronald J Exely
CW2 Jackie H Keely
CW2 John J Ward
SP6 Larry C Boots
SP4 Alan H Wood

Photos: US Army

Sign Up Now for the Crate Club (members only) Special Forces Fighting Seminar

November 20, 2017 by Scott Witner

Jim “Smokey” West has a great evening in store for us in New York City on December 8. We just spoke to him this week and you’re going to love it.At one of our favorite places (a bar) Jim will demonstrate and teach (with audience members participating) skills to help you win a street fight—or any other confrontation you’re in at close distances.

The world today is a dangerous, unpredictable place. We know a lot of you guys train, practice concealed carry and generally prepare yourselves for whatever comes next. This is the perfect event to add to your prep. Sometimes the fight comes to you, and if all you have is your bare hands to protect yourself and your family—you’ll want Jim’s knowledge in your head so you can come out on top.

Sign up now. Space is limited. For $49 you’ll get first-rate knowledge and advice from a proven fighter—and share an evening with your fellow Crate Club members.

To sign up, first Join the Crate Club and then click on the following RSVP button to secure your spot.

RSVP HERE

***I had the pleasure of serving with Jim West in the 7th Special Forces Group and he’s the real deal. I would encourage all of our readers to attend if you are serious about honing your skills. – SB***

Possibly The Worst Thanksgiving Day Ever, Courtesy of SERE School

Back in the day, we were in a support cycle having come back from a deployment with the 7th Special Forces Group and myself and another guy got ourselves put in a short course the Weapons Committee was running for some reserve Heavy Weapons guys. It was early November and the weather was turning crappy in Ft. Bragg. Rainy, cold and raw.

But then the word came down that the Company was sending me to SERE School as back then it wasn’t part of the SFQC (Special Forces Qualification Course). Of course, no one wanted to take it because it would entail being out there over Thanksgiving. And back then, I was like the kid Mikey from the Life cereal commercials “Let’s give it to Mikey!, He’ll eat anything.” Yes indeed, “Steve never turns down a school” So off to Camp Mackall I go.

We had a pretty eclectic class. About a dozen guys from 7th SFG, a bunch of pilots from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment “Night Stalkers”, three Air Force PJs, a few crew chiefs from the 160th and two Rangers from the 1st Ranger Battalion. I believe Mike Durant, the pilot from Black Hawk Down was in our class. I saw where he wrote that he attended a SERE Course at Bragg in November of the same year. But I can’t be sure. He may have attended the class prior. Other than the pilots in our patrol, I didn’t talk too much to the other pilots as they and the crew chiefs stuck to themselves during breaks. The 7th group guys did much the same as we all knew one another as well as many of the instructors teaching the blocks of instruction.

One of the best parts of our class was having former SF POW Dan Pitzer speak to us one day. Dan was captured by the Viet Cong in 1963 along with Colonel Nick Rowe who started the SERE Course after he broke his leg during an ambush. He was a tremendous person and totally laid back. He spoke in a quiet steady tone and described his years of “benevolent, humane treatment” by the VC.

During his time with us, as he described his treatment, the room was totally silent. You could hear a pin drop and it seemed that everyone was leaning forward in their chairs to catch the next word. His words were pretty prophetic, which we didn’t realize at the time. “We designed this course in case any of you ever find yourself in the situation we were in,” Pitzer said. “I hope none of you ever does, but surer than anything, someday one or more of you will.” And Durant would sadly fill that role. One of my prized possessions is my SERE diploma and as promised, on graduation day, Dan Pitzer came and autographed my diploma. RIP sir, you were a class act.

The instructors split the class up with each patrol getting a few SF guys, pilots, crew chiefs etc. Ours had one of the Air Force PJs and a total stud named Joe and a Ranger, a huge, red-headed E-4 whose name escapes me. He was a riot. Away from the rigid life in the battalion, he was loving life as instead of standing at parade rest when higher ranking NCOs spoke with him, he was loving the laid-back atmosphere with SF. His answer for everything was, “This is soooo-fucking HOOAH!” We immediately loved the guy and we probably caused the guy to have to go thru RIP again by the time we were done. On every break, he’d cock his patrol cap far back on his head, and stand there with his hands in his pockets, in total SF-mode, “sooo fucking Hooah!”

Doing the Survival training in a group was actually a heckuva lot more fun than doing it on your own. We got checked on by a retired SF NCO who was an expert on edible plants MSG (ret) Phil Salzwedel (probably butchered his spelling), but Mr. Phil was a great guy and teacher. He came up to us and asked how we were doing. As a group, we said, “SOOOO FUCKING HOOAH!” He laughed and told us we weren’t supposed to be having so much fun.

When we did the barrier climb and body rappel, I fucked my left index finger up. As I was getting ready to go down, with the Ranger to follow me, I slipped on the wet concrete and slid off with getting in position. My guide hand (left) had a hold of the rope still and my weight came down right on the edge of the concrete on that finger. Luckily it wasn’t far to the ground. It was bleeding pretty good, Mr. Phil helped me clean it out and bandaged it up. It was quickly forgotten but would later swell up like a bratwurst during our visit to the “benevolent, People’s Republic” …those of you who’ve been to SERE know what that means.

After Survival, they fed us well, too well because we knew what was next. Our Escape and Evasion part of SERE began on Thanksgiving night. It was about 38 degrees and steady cold rain poured down on us. Everyone was quiet, my buddy Tony Forrest from 7th SFG, asked our Ranger buddy, “You ok? you’re quiet tonight.” He answered, if I was home right now, I’d be sitting on the couch fat on turkey watching football, getting a hummer with a beer in my hand.” That broke the ice.

The rain and the cold quickly soaked us to the bone. The movement that first night was slow since our eyes hadn’t grown accustomed to the dark yet and the visibility was about zero. We moved a couple of clicks in the Uwharrie National Forest and stopped for a map check under a pine tree. We made a very tight perimeter where the guy on either side of you was right up against your leg. We were all shivering and it would go around the circle from you, to the guy next to you, until it went all the way around the circle until it got back to you again.

The CW3 that was taking the turn with the map had made a map check under a poncho and we were getting ready to move out. Tony said, “Hey Ranger, this still Hooah enough for you?” Without missing a beat, he whispered, “Hey man, this is soooo hooah, I’m jerking off in the mud down here while we’re waiting!” I had to take my hat off and cover my mouth and the entire patrol went into a quiet fit of laughing.

Our PJ Joe decided to take the point, I was right behind him with our Ranger. We moved about a click and we thought we heard a noise to our right. We stopped for a few seconds and listened. Joe was about 10 feet in front of me, “we good? He asked?” I nodded, we stood and he moved out, I turned to make the hand and arm signal for a second and as soon as I turned back around I was alone.

WTF, I started to scan the horizon and Joe was nowhere to be found. We lost him in a second. I took about two steps and then heard Joe’s voice which sounded very far away. “Don’t take another step!” Looking left and right, I whispered: “Where the hell are you?” Again he answered from far away, “I’m in a fucking well right at your feet.”

We had crossed an old homestead and the people had dug about a 20 foot well. Joe, in the dark, had somehow stepped right into it. Another step and I’d have too and landed right on top of him. We spread out around the well and broke out the flashlights. Joe was well down there and it wasn’t going to be easy getting him out. Worse, he broke his right tibia.

We knotted together our ponchos and lowered them to Joe who wrapped them around his body and tied it as best he could. It took several minutes to get him out. He was in excruciating pain. His tibia had a compound fracture, it was covered in mud and as a PJ and a medic, he was the best guy to treat it. Unfortunately in SERE School during E&E, you don’t have jack shit.

We called on the radio and told them we had a real-world emergency. We gave them our grid coordinates and they told us to move about 400 meters to our east there was a hardball road. We were to get him there and illuminate ourselves since being tactical for the time being was out. We rigged up the best poncho litter we could and carried Joe to the road. About 45 minutes later a crackerbox ambulance arrived with two regular medics who didn’t have a clue. Joe took over his own treatment and we got him inside, where we said a quick goodbye and wished him the best.

Our instructors showed up and wanted us to show them where it happened. They were amazed that we were able to get him out and about the infinitesimal odds of Joe stepping in a tiny well in the middle of nowhere.

We were by now hours behind schedule and had a long way to go to get to our hide site. We hauled ass throughout the night and arrived just before dawn only a few minutes before our window was due. We were just camouflaging the site when our instructors came up inspect the hide. They told us that Joe had a compound fracture and was in surgery back at Bragg. Then two more instructors came up and pulled our Ranger buddy aside. A minute later they put him in the truck and tore out of there. We were pissed. “What the heck is going on?” They tried to give us the stock bs “we can’t answer that” schoolhouse shit. But we weren’t taking no for an answer. That’s when they told us his grandmother passed away during Thanksgiving dinner with his family and they were trying to get in touch with him…which wasn’t easy.

So in the matter of a few hours, we lost two outstanding guys from our team, the second of which we couldn’t even say goodbye to. And no Thanksgiving turkey. It was a suck-ass Thanksgiving all around.

After days of E&E in the cold, pouring rain, we finally made contact with a friendly guerrilla element. The sun came out for the first time in a week. They offered us hot food, which we immediately accepted. They brought in a roasted carcass that tasted like pure unadulterated dogshit. After starving for days during an E&E, you know it was awful when it tasted that bad. Tony remarked, “this tastes like road-kill raccoon” as a joke. “That’s exactly what it is,” one of the guerrillas said. “It didn’t look like it was dead too long so we scooped him up.”

So when people talk about what they’re thankful for on Thanksgiving, I always think of my family and how lucky I am. But I also think of that messed up night in the Uwharrie National Forest and how that was about the most messed up Thanksgiving ever. Would I change a minute of it? Not a chance.

Photos: DOD

Lt. James Fleming, Awarded Medal of Honor November 26, 1968

US Air Force pilot Lt. James Fleming, assigned to the 20th Special Operations Squadron in Vietnam was awarded the Medal of Honor for risking his life and his aircraft above and beyond the call of duty to rescue the lives of seven Green Berets on November 26, 1968.

The seven-man Green Beret unit was conducting a long-range reconnaissance patrol about 20 miles of west of Pleiku in the Central Highlands of Vietnam near the Cambodian border.

Not long after infiltration, the SF team got into a firefight with a large number of enemy soldiers. They were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned and were pushed back against a river with the NVA surrounding them on three sides. Heavy machine gun fire was keeping the Green Berets pinned down and they radioed for an emergency, immediate extraction. The call was picked up by a US Air Force Forward Air Controller (FAC) who relayed the information to Fleming and the other aircraft.

Fleming, piloting a UH-1F helicopter and five other gunships of his unit were finishing a mission and en route back to their base at Ban Me Thuot when they heard the distress call. Despite being low on fuel, they answered the call and flew towards the beleaguered SF troops.

Immediately upon arriving in the area, one of the gunships was brought down by the heavy enemy fire. A second helicopter was forced to peel off to pick up the downed aircrew and return them to the base. A third chopper had its fuel warning light come on and was forced to abandon their rescue attempt as well.

The SF troops were attempting to get to a clearing that was only 25 meters away from where Fleming and the other gunship, who was nearly out of ammunition would attempt to pick them up. They popped smoke in front of their position and Fleming and the other gunship raked the enemy’s position, knocking out two machine gun positions.

Fleming buzzed the small clearing and realized that he couldn’t land there, he decided to try a very dangerous maneuver by flying along the river and resting his skids on the riverbank and having the Green Berets sprint the short distance to the river and his waiting chopper.

It didn’t work. The ground fire was so great, the SF team leader radioed that they couldn’t make it to the chopper. All hope was about to be lost. Fleming was undeterred, however. He then lifted off and although coming under intense ground fire, he flew around to make a final pass. He and the FAC decided on one final course of action.

The FAC instructed the SF team leader to detonate all of their mines and explosives as soon as Fleming tried to land on the riverbank again. Then make a dash for the helicopter. As Fleming settled in, the Green Berets detonated their mines and rushed for the helicopter firing all the way.

The enemy knew exactly what the Green Berets and Fleming were trying to do and rushed in a desperate attempt to kill the team and down the helicopter. As the Green Berets made it to the riverbank they dove into the waiting helicopter and killed three enemy soldiers who had gotten to within a few feet of the helicopter. Fleming lifted off and flew down the river thru intense enemy fire that shattered his windscreen before getting the troops out of harm’s way. His selfless action saved the lives of seven men that day.

Fleming was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Nixon at the White House on May 14, 1970. His official citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Fleming (then 1st Lt.) distinguished himself as the Aircraft Commander of a UH-1F transport Helicopter. Capt. Fleming went to the aid of a 6-man special forces long-range reconnaissance patrol that was in danger of being overrun by a large, heavily armed hostile force.

Despite the knowledge that 1 helicopter had been downed by intense hostile fire, Capt. Fleming descended and balanced his helicopter on a river bank with the tail boom hanging over open water. The patrol could not penetrate to the landing site and he was forced to withdraw. Dangerously low on fuel, Capt. Fleming repeated his original landing maneuver.

Disregarding his own safety, he remained in this exposed position. Hostile fire crashed through his windscreen as the patrol boarded his helicopter. Capt. Fleming made a successful takeoff through a barrage of hostile fire and recovered safely at a forward base.

Capt. Fleming’s profound concern for his fellow men, and at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

Fleming remained in the Air Force, rising to the rank of Colonel before retiring at Lackland AFB in 1996. His other decorations include the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and eight Air Medals.

Photos: DOD

Carolina Panthers Visit Ft. Bragg’s Special Warfare Center

Members of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers got a first-hand look at some of the training that Army Special Operations Forces go thru and got to experience some of it on a Tuesday visit to Ft. Bragg.

The Panthers players got to try a virtual reality parachute jump trainer, fire M-4 weapons during at a battlefield simulator and of course meet with many of the soldiers and their families. For Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, the trip arranged by the USO was a homecoming of sorts.

Richardson grew up and played high school football in Fayetteville before going to college and playing in the NFL. He’s currently the only owner who has played in the league.

“I am humbled by their dedication to our country and deeply appreciate them allowing us to spend time with them,” he said.
But after visiting with troops and their families as part of their visit to the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, the players found themselves in familiar territory, with good reason.
The THOR3 facility at the Special Warfare Center and School — like many others across the Army special operations community – is based on lessons learned from professional sports teams like the Panthers.
The facility – part of the special operations Tactical Human Optimization Rapid Rehabilitation and Reconditioning program – is part of Army special operations’ efforts to treat soldiers more like professional athletes in the hopes of reducing injuries and the physical wear and tear of years of Army service.
Much like any professional sports team, the soldiers of the Special Warfare Center and School – where the Army trains its Special Forces, civil affairs and psychological operations troops – now have dieticians, physical therapists, sports psychologists and strength and conditioning coaches as part of their supporting team, according to Master Sgt. Mike Taylor, the director of human dynamics and performance.

The trip was a learning experience for both sides, the players got to experience a little of what it was like to be a Special Operations soldier and raved about the training and equipment. One player, linebacker David Mayo has two brothers in the Army and his grandfather was an Army pilot in World War II, so the visit was particularly meaningful.

But the soldiers are learning from the players as well. The Special Warfare Center’s Thor3 is taking the lessons learned from the nation’s sports teams to train bigger, better-conditioned soldiers who are less likely to suffer injuries.

To read the entire article from The Fayetteville Observer, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

USASOC Turns 27 Years Old Today, December 1, 1989

Time flies when you are having fun, or in the case of the United States Army Special Operations Command, when you are employed so heavily, the years, never mind the days and months fly by.

On today’s date in 1989, USASOC was activated and although it wasn’t that long ago, the world, as well as the command has changed a great deal. The command was activated just days before the US would invade Panama, or in the case of many troops involved from USASOC, namely the 3rd Bn, 7th Special Forces Group and SOCSOUTH, they’d just pick up and move out from their team rooms.

The command was activated and went right into Just Cause, and shortly thereafter Desert Shield, Desert Storm. And it seemed like the op-tempo never slowed down.

Since 9/11 and the quick invasion of Afghanistan right after that, no major command in the Army has been involved in the Global War on Terror as heavily as USASOC.

History: On Dec. 1, 1989, the Department of the Army established USASOC at Fort Bragg, N.C. , as a major Army command to enhance the readiness of Army special operations forces.

In addition to reporting to the Department of the Army, USASOC also functions as the Army component of the U.S. Special Operations Command, or USSOCOM, located at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. USSOCOM is the unified combatant command responsible for all Department of Defense special operations forces within the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

From the USASOC Command Page:
Structure: With an allocated strength of approximately 23,000 Soldiers, USASOC commands both active-duty and Army Reserve special operations forces. The command also provides oversight of Army National Guard special operations forces’ readiness, organization, training, and employment in coordination with the National Guard Bureau and state adjutants general.

USASOC controls seven major subordinate elements, which in turn train and maintain forces for deployment by USSOCOM to combatant command theaters worldwide.

USASOC has four major subordinate commands that include the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) (Provisional), U. S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School and U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command, all located at Fort Bragg, N.C. Located elsewhere is the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga.

The 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) (Provisional), Fort Bragg, N.C., controls five active Special Forces groups and has training oversight for two groups in the Army National Guard. The Green Berets are uniquely selected, trained and equipped for deployment around the world during peacetime, conflict, and war. Regionally and culturally oriented, Special Forces Soldiers are experts in unconventional warfare, direct action, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense and combating terrorism. The command also includes the 4th and 8th Military Information Support Groups (Airborne), the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne) and the 528th Sustainment Brigade (Airborne).

The U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS) at Fort Bragg, N.C., is one of the Army’s premier education institutions, managing and resourcing professional growth for Soldiers in the Army’s three distinct special-operations branches: Special Forces, Civil Affairs, and Military Information Support.

The 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga. , is the Army’s premier light infantry force. The Rangers are flexible, highly-trained and rapidly deployable Soldiers with specialized skills who can be employed against a variety of targets. The regiment’s three battalions plan and conduct direct action missions in support of U.S. policy objectives.

The U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command organizes, mans, trains, resources and equips ARSOAC units to provide responsive, special operations aviation support to Special Operations Forces and is the USASOC Aviation staff proponent

1st SFC: The US Army 1st Special Forces Command is tasked with organizing, equipping, training, and validating forces to conduct full spectrum special operations in support of USSOCOM, Geographic Combatant Commanders, American ambassadors, and other governmental agencies.

Special Forces Green Berets deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counter-insurgency, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, information operations, counter-proliferation of WMD, and security force assistance.

There are five active component and two National Guard Special Forces Groups. Each SF Group is regionally oriented to support the US interests in their specific area.

1st SFG(A): Joint Base Lewis-McChord Washington

3rd SFG(A): Ft. Bragg, NC

5th SFG(A): Ft. Campbell, KY

7th SFG(A): Eglin, AFB FL

10th SFG(A): Ft. Carson, CO

19th SFG(A): Draper, UT

20th SFG(A): Birmingham, AL

4th Military Information Support Group: The 4th MISG remains the Army’s only active military information support operations unit.

The ranks of the 4th MISG include regional and language-trained experts who understand political, cultural, ethnic and religious subtleties. With functional experts in all aspects of tactical communications, the 4th MISG offers joint force commanders unmatched abilities to influence target audiences as well as support to U.S. diplomacy.

95th Civil Affairs Brigade: 95th Civil Affairs Brigade Soldiers enable military commanders and U.S. Ambassadors to improve relationships
with various stakeholders in a local area to meet the objectives of the U.S. government.

95th Civil Affairs Brigade teams work with U.S. Department of State country teams, government and nongovernmental organizations at all levels and with local populations in peaceful, contingency and hostile environments.

US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School: The JFKSWC trains, educates, develops and manages world-class Civil Affairs, Psychological Operations and Special Forces warriors and leaders in order to provide our nation with highly educated, innovative and adaptive operators.

1st Special Warfare Training Group

Special Warfare Education Group

Special Warfare Medical Group
Special Warfare Warrant Officer Institute

David K. Thuma Noncommissioned Officer Academy

Directorate of Training and Doctrine

Branch Proponents (CA, PSYOP, & SF)

Army Special Operations Capabilities Integration Center

ARSOF Training, Leader Development, and Education

ARSOF Personnel Policies and Programs Center

US Army Special Operations Aviation Command: The USASOAC traces its lineage back to the early 1960s when Special Forces were just beginning to expand and the unit supported the 5th, 7th and 1st SFGs in Vietnam. After the debacle at Desert One in 1980, the Army dedicated a command specifically for Special Operations Aviation. Today, 160th SOAR has almost 3000 soldiers and more than 200 aircraft.

160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment: Ft. Campbell, KY

75th Ranger Regiment: The Ranger Regiment has four geographically displaced battalions ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. Their capabilities include air assault and direct action raids seizing key terrain such as airfields, destroying strategic facilities, and capturing or killing the enemy.

1st Ranger Bn: Hunter Army Airfield, GA

2nd Ranger Bn: Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA

3rd Ranger Bn: Ft. Benning, GA

75th Ranger Special Troops Bn:

USASOC has certainly grown since the early days of the command and it will continue to grow. The demands placed upon the Special Operations troops of the military has continued to stretch the units to their breaking point. The demand for high-quality Special Operations troops is higher now than ever before.

With the US government using Special Operations troops as their “Go-To” first unit of choice, USSOCOM and USASOC will be tasked to do more and more as the events of the world play out.

Photos: USASOC

Pearl Harbor Hero Finally Getting Award 76 Years Later

During the awful morning at Pearl Harbor in 1941, there were many acts of bravery that were noted by the military and the sailors were decorated for helping save many of their fellow sailor’s lives. Others were never acknowledged.

The Navy and the Pentagon is finally going to recognize the courage and bravery of boatswain’s mate second class Joe George and award him a Bronze Star medal for rescuing six badly burned sailors off the battleship Arizona. George, aboard the maintenance ship USS Vestal, was ordered to cast off lines to get his ship moving, on the morning that the Japanese attacked.

Joe George during his Navy career prior to Pearl Harbor.

George disregarded it. He saw men, he knew would drown in the oily water surrounding the Arizona and threw them a line. That saved their lives and they never forgot the unknown sailor who helped them although he was never recognized for it. George died in 1996. One of those sailors rescued, Donald Stratton was instrumental in getting George the recognition he so deserved.

In 1966, Donald Stratton returned to Pearl Harbor for the first time since the attack. He hadn’t talked about it much until then, but after that visit, he revealed more of what happened, of his rescue from the Arizona.
Stratton and five other crewmen were trapped on a burning tower as the battleship buckled beneath the Japanese assault. They were burned badly and thought they would die. Until they saw the sailor on the Vestal.
Randy Stratton would listen to his dad describe the heat, the flames, the pain, the terror of climbing hand-over-hand from the Arizona to the Vestal, the elation of rescue. He wondered about the Vestal sailor and searched until he learned the identity. When he discovered the sailor was never given a medal, he undertook the cause.
George will be recognized during the Pearl Harbor Day commemoration service Thursday morning on shore. The families will gather on the USS Arizona memorial for a private ceremony at 4:30 p.m. with Rear Adm. Matthew Carter, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Stratton has told the story of Joe George as often as he has told his own. He grows emotional when he recounts the rescue and almost angry when he talks about the Navy’s failure to award the young sailor a medal.
“He should have the Navy Cross,” Stratton said in a 2014 interview with The Republic. “He saved six people’s lives. Joe saved six lives and he didn’t get crap. He refused to cut the line no matter what. As far he was concerned he was saving lives.”
Pearl Harbor survivor Donald Stratton, meeting with President Trump in the White House earlier this summer.

Things finally changed in 1978 when conducting an oral history for North Texas State University, George told the emotional story of what happened that day, stating that he was the “unknown sailor” who helped the men of the Arizona.

The story was corroborated by the log book of the Vestal and George’s records which showed that George was commended by the commander for his actions in saving the sailors but never awarded anything from it.

To read the entire article from Arizona Central click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

The USS Ward Fired the First US Shots of WWII at Pearl Harbor

On this day, December 7, we remember the men of the US armed forces but mainly the men of the US Navy who gave their lives during the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

We now know that the Japanese government intended to declare war on the United States and attack Pearl Harbor an hour later. But a snafu inside the Japanese Embassy on the weekend and an issue with the decoding and typing of the message delayed the message until after the attack was over.

The US fleet was caught unaware and unprepared and most of the ship’s fleet were asleep on a Sunday morning. By the time the Japanese warplanes withdrew, eight battleships, the pride of the Pacific fleet lay sunk or damaged, 18 ships in all were sunk or damaged. Over 200 planes were destroyed on the ground. And 2407 sailors, Marines and soldiers were killed on that day with 1247 others wounded.

But what many people don’t realize is that the Japanese didn’t fire the first shot in the war when they commenced bombing. The first shot was fired by the destroyer USS Ward, who fired on and sunk a Japanese midget submarine that was trying to sneak into the harbor. Unfortunately, the reports from the Ward were discounted and disbelieved by Navy brass. Something, they’d pay dearly for. The ship’s crew didn’t get confirmation that they’d sunk the submarine for over 60 years.

The only silver lining in the catastrophe at Pearl was the fact that the three American aircraft carriers, the primary target for the Japanese aircraft were at sea and untouched. That fact saved Pearl from the third wave of air attacks from the Japanese which may have severely damaged the infrastructure and oil facilities at Pearl Harbor. Six months later, those same American aircraft carriers would slam the Japanese on the attack at Midway. This time the Americans were ready and intercepted the Japanese coded messages and sunk four of Japan’s top of the line aircraft carriers. It would turn the war in the Pacific.

But during the early morning hours of that fateful December 7th, Intelligence reports were coming in as Navy and Army brass knew the Japanese were going to attack us, but no knew where.

If you’ve seen the excellent war film Tora, Tora, Tora, it breaks down the events as they unfolded with very good detail. The filmmakers touched on an incident that, had the US brass reacted to, may have radically changed how the battle unfolded.

The USS Ward was a destroyer, a mothballed and resurrected relic from World War I. She was a Wickes class destroyer, displacing 1250 tons. Ward was armed with four 4” 50 caliber and two 3” guns. She was launched and commissioned in 1918 and was decommissioned and placed in reserve in 1921. Recommissioned in January 1941 she was assigned to the 14th Naval District in Oahu. Therefore, she would just steam back and forth, east and west, within sight of the shore.

The Ward was commanded Lieutenant William Outerbridge, who had been in the Navy for only 14 years and had taken command of her less than 24 hours before. He was thrilled to be off of his previous ship and finally get a command of his own for the first time. She was part of an older squadron of destroyers assigned to Inshore Patrol Command along with USS Schley, USS Chew, and the USS Allen. Their mission was to protect the outer edges of the harbor against an enemy ships or submarines trying to sneak into Pearl Harbor.

The Ward’s crew, 84 men, were mainly Navy Reservists from St. Paul, Minnesota. Early in the morning of Dec. 7, the Ward was on patrol outside the channel entrance to Pearl Harbor. At 0400, a minesweeper signaled the Ward that it had sighted a submerged submarine in the area. A search was initiated but failed to detect anything.

At 0458 Pearl Harbor’s anti-torpedo net gate was opened to allow passage of a number of small ships including the Stores Ship USS Antares (AKS 14). Antares was towing a target back to base when at about 0635 a lookout on Ward noticed a wake following the auxiliary between her and her the raft.

Alerted, the crew called Outerbridge from his sleeping cot to the bridge. Outerbridge came to the bridge dressed in a kimono and took a look for himself. He spied the object and confirmed that it was a conning tower of a submarine. And it was a different one than on American subs. It was trying to draft in the wake between the Antares and her towed target.
Outerbridge didn’t hesitate at all, he called the crew to general quarters and ordered the ship to increase speed to 25 knots. He was approaching the oblivious sub and near ramming speed and then gave the order to “commence firing!” Less than 200 yards away the Ward opened up the shooting war for the Americans. A shell from the ship’s No. 1 gun missed, but now only 50 yards away, the nine-man crew of the No. 3 gun four-inch gun next fired a shot that hit the base of the conning tower. The sub shuddered, slowed and slowly disappeared beneath the waves. The Ward rolled four depth charges off the stern set for 100 feet and they exploded. Outerbridge reversed his course and found an oil slick, but sonar picked up nothing. World War II had begun for the United States, however, no one knew it yet.

The #3 gun of the USS Ward which sunk the Japanese midget sub at Pearl Harbor.

The Ward immediately notified Naval Command at Pearl Harbor that it had attacked and fired upon a submarine operating in the restricted area. To emphasize that this was a real emergency, Outerbridge sent another message at 0653 “Attacked, fired upon, depth bombed, and sunk submarine operating in the defensive sea area.”

If the Americans react, they have more than an hour to scramble aircraft and get their ships moving off their moorings. His report was met with skepticism and disbelief. The 14th Naval District’s Chief of Staff, Captain John B. Earle, had the impression “it was just another one of these false reports which had been coming in, off and on.” His boss, Admiral Claude Bloch dismissed it as well, asking if it was just another false report.

The message finally got to Admiral Kimmel, the Commander of Pearl Harbor at 0740. Kimmel too was unconvinced that the threat was real and issued no orders. Just a few minutes later, an orderly burst into the room to tell Kimmel, “There’s a message from the signal tower saying the Japanese are attacking Pearl Harbor, and this is no drill.”

The time was 0755 and the Japanese had commenced their attack. Had Ward’s message been taken seriously at once, would the situation have turned out differently? It is difficult to say, battleships take time to get their steam up and get moving. At a minimum, the sky could have been full of American fighters and the antiaircraft guns would have been active. They at least would have made the Japanese victory much costlier than the 29 planes that they lost.

Outerbridge would leave the Ward in 1942. She would be converted to a fast transport and three years to the day of Pearl Harbor. The Ward was struck by a Betty bomber that was a kamikaze at Ormoc Bay in the Philippines. Struck at the starboard waterline, with fires blazing and no water pressure to fight the fires, the Ward abandoned ship. The destroyer O’Brien was tasked to move in and scuttle and sink the Ward with gunfire. The O’Brien sent the Ward to the bottom on December 7, 1944, three years to the day from Pearl Harbor. In a strange twist of fate, the Commander of the O’Brien was William Outerbridge.

For years, no one believed the crew of the Ward had actually fired upon and sunk a Japanese midget submarine. Finally, in 2002, a team of deep-sea researchers found a perfectly preserved Japanese midget sub, exactly where the Ward reported the contact. And sure enough, the conning tower had a hole where the #3 gun punched a hole in it. She still carried her two torpedoes which had never been fired. The Ward had indeed fired the first shots of World War II for the United States and had sunk an enemy vessel.

The conning tower of the Japanese midget submarine found at Pearl Harbor that was sunk by the USS Ward

After the war, the Ward’s crew members formed the “First Shot Naval Vets,” which held annual reunions on Dec. 7. The group arranged to have the No. 3 gun — which had been removed as part of the ship’s conversion and preserved by the Navy — moved to Minnesota for the state’s centennial in 1958.

Photos Courtesy: US Archives

Russian Military Says Mission Accomplished, ISIS Defeated in Syria

In a sharply contrasting statement from an earlier one from the US that they’d done little in combating ISIS, the Russia’s military said on Thursday it had accomplished its mission of defeating Islamic State in Syria. The spokesman for the Russian Federation said that their bombers had used, “unprecedented force” in the last battles of the campaign to push forces from the Islamic State out of Syria and that there were no remaining settlements there under the group’s control.

“The mission to defeat bandit units of the Islamic State terrorist organization on the territory of Syria, carried out by the armed forces of the Russian Federation, has been accomplished,” Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi, head of the general staff’s operations, said on Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Syrian government forces were now combing and de-mining areas where Islamic State had had their strongholds, he said.
“The final stage of the defeat of the terrorists was accompanied by the unprecedented deployment and intense combat use of Russia’s air force,” he said. The air strikes included 14 sorties of groups of long-range bombers from Russia made in the past month, he said.

The Russian spokesman made no mention of the US-led coalition that partnered with Kurdish fighters who had done much of the fighting. The US and Russians have been critical of each other’s efforts. He only added that Syrian forces loyal to President Assad were busy “preserving cease fires and restoring peaceful life” to the region.

To read the entire article from Reuters click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Operation Red Dawn, Saddam Hussein Captured 13 December 2003

On the evening of December 13, 2003, in the small Iraqi town of ad-Dawr outside of Tikrit, elements of Task Force 121, and the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division captured former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Hussein hid in a spider hole and was found by a Delta Force operator.

The operation was named after the 1984 film “Red Dawn” starring Patrick Swayze. Not so coincidentally, the targets where the task force searched for Hussein were codenamed “Wolverine 1, and Wolverine 2.

Task Force 121 was a United States Department of Defense special operations task force. TF121 was a multi-service force from Joint Special Operations Command, made up of operators from the U.S. Army’s Delta Force, 75th Ranger Regiment, and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six ,the CIA’s Special Activities Division, U.S. Air Force Combat Controllers, Pararescuemen, Tactical Air Control Party operators, and Special Operations Weather Technicians, the Aviation Tactics Evaluation Group (AvTEG), and the Joint Communications Unit. Two Troops from the U.S. Army 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment provided armor support.

Locating Hussein Using HUMINT: Hussein disappeared from public view soon after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The American military labeled him “High-Value Target Number One” (HVT1) and began one of the largest manhunts in history.
Teams of intelligence assets began trying to locate Hussein’s location by interrogating every person of interest they came across. Finally, some details began to emerge.
Between July and December 2003, JSOC’s Task Force 121 carried out twelve unsuccessful raids to find Saddam Hussein, together with 600 other operations against targets, including 300 interrogations.

On December 1, 2003, a former driver divulged the name Muhammed Ibrahim Omar al-Musslit, he was Saddam’s right-hand man, known to TF 121 as “the fat man.” Over the next two weeks, nearly 40 members of his family were interrogated to ascertain his location. On December 12, a raid on a house in Baghdad that was being used as an insurgent headquarters captured Ibrahim. The Army interrogator questioning Ibrahim made a deal with him that if he divulged the location of Hussein, the 40 members of his family would be released. Ibrahim then revealed where Saddam may be found. Not only did he give the information where he’d be found, he offered to personally lead the Delta Force teams to the location. And ironically enough it was a location that had already been searched.

This intelligence and other information gleaned from detained former members of the Ba’ath Party, supported by signals intelligence from the ISA, finally pinpointed the location that they believed Hussein was hiding at. In a remote farm compound south of Tikrit outside of the small town of ad-Dawr.

Operational area of Wolverine 1 and Wolverine 2. (4th Inf. Div.)

Operation Red Dawn was launched after identifying two likely locations of Saddam’s whereabouts codenamed Wolverine 1 and Wolverine 2, near the town of ad-Dawr. C squadron Delta Force, ISA operators under Task Force 121 and the First Brigade Combat Team of the 4th ID, conducted the operation. The location codenames of “Wolverine 1” and “Wolverine 2” were also a reference to the American insurgent group in the Swayze film, the Wolverines. The Forces involved in the operation consisted of approximately 600 soldiers including cavalry, artillery, aviation, engineer and special operations forces.

The elements of the 4th ID troops under the command of Colonel James Hickey secured the target area with a double cordon to block all possible escape routes out of the target area and to prevent any insurgents from trying to enter to come to the target’s aid.
The forces cleared both objectives but found nothing and believed it to be another dry hole. Then, as the operators called the helicopters in for extraction, one operator kicked a piece of flooring to one side, exposing a spider hole; he prepared to throw a frag grenade into it – in case it led to an insurgent tunnel system when suddenly a large shaggy man appeared. The Delta operator struck him with the stock of his M4 Carbine and disarmed him of a Glock 18C. The bearded man raised his hands and said, “I am Saddam Hussein. I am the President of Iraq, and I am willing to negotiate.” The Delta operator dropped the cover on the hole and said, “President Bush sends his regards.”
Hussein’s photo went viral with him on the ground held down by an Iraqi interpreter who was working for the Americans.

Hussein was quickly exfiltrated by an MH-6 Little Bird from the 160th SOAR and was taken into custody at Baghdad International Airport. Along with the Glock, an AK-47 and $750,000 in US $100 banknotes were recovered from the spider hole. There was also an orange and white taxi parked nearby.

Two other individuals were also detained. No shots were fired and there were no casualties during the operation. Saddam Hussein was afforded all of the rights as an enemy combatant in the Geneva Conventions.

International Reaction: He was photographed and filmed having a physical examination by US forces which was a source of some controversy as in some circles, especially the Vatican, the US was lambasted for “treating him like a cow.” The US government countered that it was to show that he was being properly cared for and that the Iraqi people had nothing to fear from him again.

He was kept in a high-security prison by US MPs which was a former palace of his. Although the US soldiers were under orders not to interact with him, over a period of months, he began to chat with them, his grasp of English, far better than what was initially believed. His conversations were strictly small talk to pass the time. He asked one darker skinned soldier what his heritage was, when the soldier replied, “Native American”, Hussein put his fingers of one hand behind his head imitating feathers and with the other, covering his mouth, he imitated an Indian war cry. Both men laughed.

The soldiers, well aware of what he had done as the absolute ruler of Iraq, had a hard time equating that man with the old man, almost grandfather-like who took great delight in smoking a Cuban cigar and carving prayers for his children in candles that one soldier had given him.

Reactions around the world were pretty split as one would assume. The allies of the US and coalition forces were delighted, others less so.

He was put on trial by a special Iraqi tribunal for crimes against humanity, specifically the murder of 148 Shi’ites in the town of Dujail in 1982 as retribution for a failed assassination attempt. He was convicted and sentenced to death.

He was executed by hanging on December 30, 2006, by Iraqi government officials.

Photos: US Army