ABNAK
06-18-14, 23:17
Caveat: I will only use his first name as I didn't ask his permission to use his name and out of great respect for him I won't. I also was advised by my buddy not to ask OPSEC-type questions, which although the info is around 40-50 years old would still matter to this old Sog'er.
His name is Joe. He really is "old", gotta be around 86 or so. Was in a wheelchair with his Special Forces hat on. He is a friend of a friend and I've heard him spoken of numerous times. He lives in El Paso but was in TN visiting my friend. Both of these guys are retired SgtMaj's but Joe has a good 25 years on my buddy.
Joe lied about his age and joined the Navy near the end of WWII. He was on an LST in the Pacific and when the war ended he got sent to Japan for occupation duty. Got to see one of the nuked cities (didn't ask which one) and told me "There was nothing left".
Later Joe joined the Army and was in the Korean War. In the early 60's he joined Special Forces. He was actually at the ceremony when JFK presented the Green Beret to the unit and it was officially recognized as the headgear from that day on.
Being half-Hispanic Joe went to 7th SFG. He was in the Dominican Republic in '65 during our intervention. Then he spent a few years in Central and South America during the "hunt for Che" days (didn't ask for details on this either but my buddy told me some time ago that Joe was "there" when Che met his fate).
Joe then went to Vietnam and became part of SOG. He knew John Plaster and Bob Howard. He was with a part of SOG called Op-36, which from Googling I see was involved in inserting teams of Vietnamese agents into North Vietnam (the specifics of Op-36 is one of those questions I didn't ask). Joe also ran recon into Laos and Cambodia. Told me how they used to eat rice and shrimp so they'd smell like the enemy. Had a new guy slap on some Old Spice one day and he told him he'd shoot him in the forehead if he ever did it again! I asked him if he'd ever moved through an area that was Arc Lighted and he said "Yeah, everything's gone. You'd see a guy with blood running out of his ears and nose staggering around disoriented. I said 'What the f*** are you still doing alive' and shot the bastard". Said they used to carry German Schmeissers, AK's, some Swedish K's, and of course CAR-15's.
Joe was also at their base (I guess it was the Op-36 base) near Danang the night enemy sappers hit the CCN compound not far away. That was the single largest loss of life for SOG in their entire existence. Joe could see the tracers and hear the explosions and asked his CO for permission to go help the CCN guys. His CO was nervous as hell he said and refused to give permission. Joe protested "But they're Americans and they need our help!" The CO still refused and the next day a high-ranking colonel from Saigon flew up to see what had happened the night before. Joe dropped a dime on his CO about his recalcitrance and the colonel took him into another room and you could hear him screaming and reaming his ass!
Before his retirement Joe was the head of the Army's Sergeant Major Academy at Ft. Bliss. Gen. Omar Bradley (5-star of WWII fame) was long since retired but lived on post. He used to come to the Academy to talk to the NCO's. He had no interest in officers. In fact, when the officers would schmooze and try to kiss his ass he'd ask "Don't you have something you should be doing? Then go do it!" He just wanted to talk to enlisted guys. Guess he really was a "soldier's soldier". When Bradley left Ft. Bliss to live in D.C. he gave Joe and autographed photo of himself. I asked Joe if he still had it and he replied "Oh hell yes!"
We talked politics and I told Joe I really liked his one senator----Cruz. He agreed and said he's making a name for himself. Joe had also been stationed in Panama and since I was too we talked about that. However, as the afternoon wore on Joe started dozing every now and then in his chair and it was apparent he was getting worn out. His son was going to take him back to the hotel and before I left I patted him on the shoulder and shook his hand, telling him "I've never personally met a SOG guy. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance." And I meant it!
Sadly, this old warrior is probably not going to be with us for too many more years. I hope to see him again one of these days but if I don't I have the satisfaction of having actually met someone who lived some very important---and violent---American history.
His name is Joe. He really is "old", gotta be around 86 or so. Was in a wheelchair with his Special Forces hat on. He is a friend of a friend and I've heard him spoken of numerous times. He lives in El Paso but was in TN visiting my friend. Both of these guys are retired SgtMaj's but Joe has a good 25 years on my buddy.
Joe lied about his age and joined the Navy near the end of WWII. He was on an LST in the Pacific and when the war ended he got sent to Japan for occupation duty. Got to see one of the nuked cities (didn't ask which one) and told me "There was nothing left".
Later Joe joined the Army and was in the Korean War. In the early 60's he joined Special Forces. He was actually at the ceremony when JFK presented the Green Beret to the unit and it was officially recognized as the headgear from that day on.
Being half-Hispanic Joe went to 7th SFG. He was in the Dominican Republic in '65 during our intervention. Then he spent a few years in Central and South America during the "hunt for Che" days (didn't ask for details on this either but my buddy told me some time ago that Joe was "there" when Che met his fate).
Joe then went to Vietnam and became part of SOG. He knew John Plaster and Bob Howard. He was with a part of SOG called Op-36, which from Googling I see was involved in inserting teams of Vietnamese agents into North Vietnam (the specifics of Op-36 is one of those questions I didn't ask). Joe also ran recon into Laos and Cambodia. Told me how they used to eat rice and shrimp so they'd smell like the enemy. Had a new guy slap on some Old Spice one day and he told him he'd shoot him in the forehead if he ever did it again! I asked him if he'd ever moved through an area that was Arc Lighted and he said "Yeah, everything's gone. You'd see a guy with blood running out of his ears and nose staggering around disoriented. I said 'What the f*** are you still doing alive' and shot the bastard". Said they used to carry German Schmeissers, AK's, some Swedish K's, and of course CAR-15's.
Joe was also at their base (I guess it was the Op-36 base) near Danang the night enemy sappers hit the CCN compound not far away. That was the single largest loss of life for SOG in their entire existence. Joe could see the tracers and hear the explosions and asked his CO for permission to go help the CCN guys. His CO was nervous as hell he said and refused to give permission. Joe protested "But they're Americans and they need our help!" The CO still refused and the next day a high-ranking colonel from Saigon flew up to see what had happened the night before. Joe dropped a dime on his CO about his recalcitrance and the colonel took him into another room and you could hear him screaming and reaming his ass!
Before his retirement Joe was the head of the Army's Sergeant Major Academy at Ft. Bliss. Gen. Omar Bradley (5-star of WWII fame) was long since retired but lived on post. He used to come to the Academy to talk to the NCO's. He had no interest in officers. In fact, when the officers would schmooze and try to kiss his ass he'd ask "Don't you have something you should be doing? Then go do it!" He just wanted to talk to enlisted guys. Guess he really was a "soldier's soldier". When Bradley left Ft. Bliss to live in D.C. he gave Joe and autographed photo of himself. I asked Joe if he still had it and he replied "Oh hell yes!"
We talked politics and I told Joe I really liked his one senator----Cruz. He agreed and said he's making a name for himself. Joe had also been stationed in Panama and since I was too we talked about that. However, as the afternoon wore on Joe started dozing every now and then in his chair and it was apparent he was getting worn out. His son was going to take him back to the hotel and before I left I patted him on the shoulder and shook his hand, telling him "I've never personally met a SOG guy. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance." And I meant it!
Sadly, this old warrior is probably not going to be with us for too many more years. I hope to see him again one of these days but if I don't I have the satisfaction of having actually met someone who lived some very important---and violent---American history.