Tiger Force ( EXECUTIVE EDITOR COMMENTARY ) "Massacre story needs to be told"

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs...ORCE/110190136

Tiger Force | Article published October 20, 2003
EXECUTIVE EDITOR COMMENTARY
Massacre story needs to be told

By RON ROYHAB
BLADE EXECUTIVE EDITOR


Mike Ware of Haskins, Ohio, a veteran of the Army?s 101st Airborne Division who served in Vietnam during America?s most controversial and divisive war, reacted to an ad in The Blade last week that promoted the series of articles that started on today?s front page.

This series reveals for the first time anywhere that members of a platoon of American soldiers from the 101st known as Tiger Force slaughtered an untold number of Vietnamese civilians over a seven-month period in 1967.

After a 4 1/2 -year Army investigation concluded that at least 18 Tiger Force soldiers committed war crimes, the matter was dropped by the Army. The official files were buried in the Army?s archives since 1975, and to this day military officials continue to withhold them from the public.

Mr. Ware called The Blade to ask about our series. "Why do you have to do this?"

That?s a fair question, and one that other readers may be asking.

Why would we write about war crimes committed by American soldiers during an unpopular war 36 years ago? Why would we spend eight months researching records, interviewing more than 100 people, and travel to two provinces in Vietnam, and to California, Arizona, Washington state, Indiana, Washington, and several cities in Ohio and Michigan for this story?

This was a serious topic of discussion among Blade editors and the newspaper?s publisher and editor-in-chief, John Robinson Block. One reason is that the public has a right to know that American soldiers committed atrocities and that our government kept them from the public. We would have been party to a cover-up if we had knowledge of these war crimes and did not publish the story.

Wrongdoing on this grand a scale is always significant. It is important to know what happened and why it happened because that?s how a democracy functions. The people need to know what is being done in their name and who is responsible.

In this case, we still don?t know who made the final decision not to prosecute. The Nixon White House received case updates of the Tiger Force investigation in 1972 and 1973 at the request of presidential counsel John Dean. Reports also went to Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger and Secretary of the Army Howard "Bo" Callaway.

The decision not to prosecute was made more than a year after Gerald Ford became president in August, 1974, but it is not known how far up in the Ford administration the decision went.

Assistants to Mr. Ford and Mr. Schlesinger said neither would comment. Mr. Callaway said he has no recollection of the Tiger Force investigation, but that if it were brought to his attention he would not have "swept it under the rug."

Former Warrant Officer Gustav Apsey, the lead investigator of the Tiger Force case, said he was disappointed that nothing resulted from the cases that had merit and is upset that some of these soldiers not only stayed in the military but were promoted.

There is never a good time to write and read about war. The Blade?s investigation of these atrocities has nothing to do with today?s conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are publishing this series now because we recently discovered evidence of the atrocities, and the truth has never before been told.

Tiger Force was created in the fall of 1965 as a special highly trained reconnaissance unit to find the enemy and report enemy positions to U.S. air and ground forces. Its members wore special tiger-striped uniforms, they could grow beards, and could carry their own side arms. The unit?s slogan was "out guerrilla the guerrillas."

After listening to details of the Tiger Force case, William Eckhardt, lead prosecutor in the My Lai court-martial and now a law professor at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, said, "What I see is a loss of control and obviously ill discipline, far beyond what you would want in Vietnam."

Mr. Eckhardt said The Blade?s investigation is important, but the public also needs to know that most soldiers don?t act this way.

"I think whatever public institutions do, good or bad, is subject to public scrutiny," he said. "This is something that should be open to scrutiny as troubling as it is."

The Army, citing privacy concerns for former soldiers, says it will not release records of the Tiger Force investigation or records that could explain why the case was dropped in 1975.

However, Joe Burlas, a retired major and now a spokesman for the Army, said The Blade series is "an important story. It?s part of the history of the Army. There?s a lot of things different about the Army today than in 1975. My hat?s off to you for keeping up with that story."

In an interview, retired Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore, who commanded the Army?s 1st battalion 7th Calvary at the 1965 battle of Ia Drang, said war crimes by U.S. soldiers were not commonplace in Vietnam.

"That never happened in my outfit. It?s morally wrong in the first place. In the second place, it?s against the Geneva Convention. But basically, it?s morally wrong to abuse or to kill innocent people."

One of the people who witnessed the atrocities 36 years ago, former Tiger Force medic Rion Causey, told The Blade recently it was time that the Tiger Force story was told.

"I tried to tell people about this 30 years ago. It was hard for them to believe. I?m grateful in many ways this is coming out. It needed to come out. It needed to. I lived with this a long time."

Mr. Apsey, who led the Tiger Force investigation, said he is now relieved that the case is being disclosed to the public after 36 years.

"You know, I?m going to bed peaceful as hell. Justice has been done."

This country has a long and proud tradition of behaving honorably on foreign soil. It is because of that tradition, and because of the finest traditions of American journalism, that we are compelled to publish this report about American soldiers failing to live up to the proper standards, and our government?s failure to hold them accountable.

Some of the stories over the four days will not be pleasant reading. But we think you should have the opportunity to read them all.

[exlrrp]

I know this is bullsht right here:
"Tiger Force was created in the fall of 1965 as a special highly trained reconnaissance unit to find the enemy and report enemy positions to U.S. air and ground forces. Its members wore special tiger-striped uniforms, they could grow beards, and could carry their own side arms. The unit?s slogan was "out guerrilla the guerrillas."

To the best of my knowlege no 101st trooper--or ANYBODY I ever knew in the Army--was authotised to grow a beard
As far as I know, TigerForde was created by Hackworth--he claims credit for it--as a the 1st/327 battalion recon unit--plain anough, most infantry batts had their recon units. All they did was recon-- the rest of the batt did the "people moving" and it sure wasnt like they describe and it sure wasnt in the Central Highlands.;
I know for a fact that the 1st/327 was in Duc Pho, Quang Ngai Pronince when I joined tem in early May (like the 5th or 6th of May 1967) I don't know exactly how long theyd been there before I got there but I9 think at least a month or 2
They werent "highly trained reconnaissance unit " they were grunts volunteered from the rest of the batt.
Most recon units wore tigers and were allowed to carry thei own sidearms-- the lrrps sure were and also SF

I don't know what to say about this, I knew people in this unit during and after Vietnamand the word just would have got around about this--it sure got around about other stuff. My guess is that they were doing a little "resume inflation" to pump up their PTSD claim

wish I could comment longer but I'm in a rush

lov
James

[exlrrp]

"Wrongdoing on this grand a scale is always significant. It is important to know what happened and why it happened because that?s how a democracy functions. The people need to know what is being done in their name and who is responsible. "

And the Blade needs to sell newspapers

[frisco-kid]

Read my "TASK FORCE OREGON" post on "Report: Unit Killed Hundreds in Vietnam" thread for the timeline of when we first got to Duc Pho. Like I said, Operation Malheur II was still going on when I left 28JUN67.

[Keith_Hixson]

James,

I have a sneeky suspicion you are correct. This seems to be of a greater magnitude than MyLai and certainly for a longer period of time. I have asked several sources and most claim they heard nothing about it. It would seem to me that for as long as it went on and as gruesome as it was there would have been some evidence long ago. I'm very skeptical to say the least. It is always easy to say the records are buried and we can't get to them.
Could this have happened - anything is possible.
Did happen on the large scale as alleged - probably not.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Anybody can say anything and if they say it long enough it becomes a reality to them. My guess is that something happened but not nearly on the scale as claimed.

Keith

[SuperScout]

Truly appreciated your input into this dispute, as a "boots-on-the-ground" type in that area in that time, you certainly have earned the right to critique this story. Your viewpoint carries much weight as a result of your history. What I find more than a bit curious is how this story has several parallels with the schtick of wannabees: nonavailability of records, stories beyond the pale of even really wild "war-stories," and actions that seem out of the ordinary. I also find it a bit incredulous that that many ex-GI's could keep their silence for so long, about a topic that is so volatile. Golly gee, didn't at least one of them ever read The National Enquirer, and realize that he could have made thousands by selling this story? And who was the personnel genius who was able to recruit so many totally amoral grunts at one time? From my experience, limited though it may be, I encountered few if any totally amoral grunts. If this alleged event was investigated, and if some of the investigators thought that wrongs had been committed, why didn't they follow up on the process? If they couldn't get answers from within the heirarchy, there's always the "Deep Throat" approach that could have been taken. Knowing or suspecting that a crime was committed, and not doing anything about it can also be considered a crime.

[Arrow]

James did some research on the Tiger Force and when it was formed. My sources are: About Face by Colonel David Hackworth chapter 13 andpages 484-486

Hackworth speaks of a time in 1965 after the brigade left Qui Nhon and before the battle of Ia Drang Valley when Tiger Force was formed.

Lieutenant Jim Gardner (shot down and later awarded theMedal Of Honor)was handpicked by Hackworth to leadTiger Force. He is described as a hardworking, TN born Irishman,natural leader, gentle demeanor, from Dyersburg TN.Hackworth describes him as a no bullshit kind ofguy that actually turned himself in at Westpoint for violating the honors code. He went to OCS and was commissioned a few months before his peers at West Point.

Dennis Foley followed Jim Gardner from Hackworths introduction to Foley's book Special Men:

He eventually commanded the Tigers after its skipper, Medal of Honor winner Jim Gardner, was shot down.

www.hackworth.com/cbttrng.html

Foley, Dennis. Special Men ? A LRP?s Recollections. New York: Ballantine Publishing, 1994

In five years, he went from private to captain, from New Jersey to Vietnam. But he always served with the best the U.S. Army had to offer?. Throughout his several tours of Vietnam, Dennis Foley served with America?s finest Warriors ? men like David Hackworth ? and Jim Gardner?. It began in 1965, when Foley landed in the best infantry job in Vietnam and didn?t know it. He was with the cream of the Airborne crop, serving under then Major Hackworth as a platoon leader of the Tiger Force, a provisional and experimental unit designed to meet the brutal realities of jungle warfare. (cover)

Attached is a map that might be of interest to you all found on:

http://101_lha.tripod.com/101st_lha/id6.html

Scroll down to about the center of the first page and find a link to the map.

[Arrow]

I'm not buyingthis taleAstold by the press and to the press for all the reasons already stated...

[Keith_Hixson]

The more people involved the harder it is to hide a secret. There were an awful lot of people involved in something that is just coming to light. It don't add up. I am very suspicious of the press and have been for years due to personal experience with the press.

I think James and Sis are on the right track. Wannabees and exaggerators abound.

Keith

[phuloi]

I`ve gone to the Toledo Blade website and read all the articles,painful as it was.Did anyone else notice that almost ALL the supposed veterans of TigerForce platoon that they interviewed were medics?I mean,How many medics are in a platoon,for Pete`s sake!??? This whole thing stinks