Who Will Go: Into the Son Tay POW Camp

By Terry Buckler, Cliff Westbrook and Roger Donlon

THE SON TAY RAID RANKS AS ONE OF THE MOST DARING MISSIONS IN SPECIAL OPS HISTORY. Hear from the men of the Raid in their own words, moving and personal. The gripping (and often humorous) narrative follows the youngest Raider, Terry Buckler, through Special Forces training and the suspense-filled preparation for th

• Language: English
• Publisher: Who Will Go.LLC
• Release date: Nov 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781649901491

Book preview

who WiLL Go

INTO THE SON TAY POW CAMP

TeRRY BuCkLeR soN TAY RAideR

with Cliff Westbrook

FOREWORD BY COL ROGER DONLON, MEDAL OF HONOR

Charleston, SC

www.PalmettoPublishing.com

WHO WILL GO

Copyright © 2020 by Who Will Go, LLC (Terry Buckler and Cliff Westbrook)

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

system, or transmitted in any form by any means–electronic, mechanical, photocopy,

recording, or other–except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without prior

permission of the author.

First Edition

Hardback ISBN: 978-1-64990-151-4

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-64990-150-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-64990-149-1

Cover photos of Blueboy, Greenleaf, Redwine are Joint Contingency Task Group

photos provided by LtCol Elliott Bud Sydnor, renovated by John Gargus.

Image 1: The model layout of the Son Tay POW

camp, viewed from the southwest corner. The

landing zone (LZ) is in the foreground

At the launch of the Son Tay Raid, Colonel Bull Simons said, "You are to let nothing—I repeat—nothing interfere with this operation. Our mission is to rescue prisoners, not to take prisoners. That is the core message of this book. This account of the operation is well sourced and documented. The authors illustrate how the brave men on the Son Tay Raid risked all. Scripture tells us, There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friend. Well done, Son Tay Raiders! And with one voice they said, Let’s go get ‘em!"

Colonel James P. Fleming, US Air Force (retired)

Congressional Medal of Honor

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam—Studies and Observations Group

A great addition to the works on Special Operations conducted in Vietnam. Terry Buckler has provided a new and unique perspective on the November 1970 Son Tay Raid to rescue American POWs held in North Vietnam, told as only someone who was actually there could.

Rich Kolb

Editor of Brutal Battles of Vietnam

Former Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of VFW Magazine, 1989-2016

It is impossible to imagine what courage it took for young Terry Buckler to face the danger he describes in this well-written but far-too-humble memoir. It is unsung heroes like Buckler who keep America safe.

Jim Ferrell

Chairman and CEO, Ferrellgas

FOREWORD

THE SON TAY RAIDERS: fifty-six Special Forces Green Berets who volunteered for one of the most daring missions in military history! On November 21st, 1970—nearly fifty years ago—these brave soldiers struck deep inside North Vietnam with the goal of freeing fellow Americans, prisoners of war (POWs) who were tortured, beaten, and starved by their captors.

Many accounts of the Raid have been published, but the veterans who were actually there on the ground are not as well-known as they should be.

Who Will Go is the exciting first-hand account of the youngest Raider, Terry Buckler. From the secret planning, to the call for volunteers by Colonel Arthur Bull Simons (a legend in Special Forces), the author leads us on his first combat mission. Of the 500 men who volunteered, 109 were selected and only 56 actually participated in the Raid!

You will learn about the vigorous training demanded of Special Forces and the grueling preparations for the Raid in their secret locations. This candid saga can only be provided by someone who was actually there. Paired directly with the Commander of the Redwine Security Group throughout the Raid, Buckler was in the thick of the battle. It entailed furious firefights, eliminating many North Vietnamese enemy soldiers.

Studied by professionals and seldom surpassed in the annals of military history, the Son Tay Raid is a historic event that teaches us the all-important lesson of the value of teamwork. With underlying themes of family, faith, and the perennial fight for freedom, Who Will Go is far more than one man’s autobiography—it is a testament to the fortitude of all the operators who risked their lives to send America’s message to our POWs that we would do whatever it took to bring them home!

Those 27 minutes on the ground in North Vietnam would change the lives of POWs, giving them hope, strength, and the will to live. Those POWs and the Raid participants share their memories with you. The event also was a life-altering experience for Terry Buckler, the all-American farm boy from the heartland who hailed from a family with military heritage, the youthful sergeant who saw it his duty to give his utmost. He now had the character-building foundation of Special Forces. All this has contributed to his career success.

Who Will Go is an inspiring story. It leaves this reader with the question for America’s future generations: when your time comes…who will go? As a friend and proud fellow Vietnam Veteran it is my privilege to write this Foreword.

Colonel Roger H. C. Donlon, US Army (retired)

Congressional Medal of Honor

Special Forces

WE’D LIKE TO EXPRESS OUR APPRECIATION…

…to our wives and our families for their support during this project. Marsha Buckler and Stephanie Westbrook. Hana & Nick, and Aaron & Gayle. Nick, Ben, Abby, and Matt.

…to all the POWs. They have given so much for this country.

…to those that contributed their recollections of the events around November 21st, 1970.

…to all those that participated in the success of the Raid from the Green Berets, to the aircrews, to the maintainers, to the planners, to the support teams, and to their families.

…to John Gargus (Colonel, USAF, retired) and to Earl Burress (Major, USAF, retired, Ph.D.) for their inexhaustible research over the years and their monumental contributions to historical integrity, relied upon by countless historians, including their technical review of this book. If any errors are found in this book, they are solely the responsibility of the authors—we should have listened more closely!

…to the military men and women that stand guard over the greatest nation in the world.

DEDICATION

to the memory of young Army Capt Dan Turner, Son Tay Raider,

Terry Buckler’s mentor

also

to the memory of young Air Force Capt Ray Bean, POW 1972-1973,

Cliff Westbrook’s cousin

also

to the men and women serving today in America’s armed forces

also

to their families.

Sacrificial Living.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

1Just outside Hanoi, North Vietnam

2The Secret Planning of the Son Tay Raid

3The Word on the Hill: Bull was Looking for Men

4Starting from the Beginning

5The Army

6My Dad in World War II

7Back in the Summer of ‘69

8Special Forces Training

9History Repeats: The Parallels Between the Doolittle Raid and the Son Tay Raid

10The First Month of Training

11The Second Month of Training

12Pack your Bags and Pray

13The CIA Compound in an Undisclosed Country

14The Day of the Launch

15The Helicopter Flight from Udorn RTAFB to Son Tay

16Alternate Plan Green

17Insertion: Landing at the Son Tay POW Camp

18Extraction: Bright lights over Hanoi

19Returning

20Veterans, you have a mission: Listen to Veterans

21Separating from the Army

22Honor in this current generation

Appendix 1: A 30,000 ft View of the Mission

Appendix 2: Success or Failure: A challenge to historians to refuse to use the word failure in analyses of the Son Tay Raid

Appendix 3: Reunions

Appendix 4: Memorable Moments told by the Men who were There

Appendix 5: A Compilation of the Life Lessons from this Book

Appendix 6: A Top Secret list of the Son Tay Raiders and certain Support Personnel

Bibliography

Image Sources

Index

PREFACE

THE SON TAY RAID, in the early morning hours of November 21st, 1970, ranks as one of the most daring missions in military history. I was one of the 56 Green Berets that participated in that assault on the Son Tay POW camp located 23 miles west of Hanoi, the capital of North Vietnam.

In military academies around the world, the Son Tay Raid is studied for its excellence in planning and execution.

I am writing this book for three reasons. First, I’m writing this for my children and for their children’s children. Secondly, I believe that this is the first time the Son Tay Raid has been told from the viewpoint of an enlisted Raider. It will provide the thoughts and perspective of the youngest Son Tay Raider’s first time in combat. The third reason is to record, for history, Memorable Moments as told by many other Raiders. You’ll find their stories in Appendix 4. Many of the Raiders have graciously contributed to this book, and we are thankful to have, in that Appendix 4, a record of them speaking in their own words.

From the founding of our nation, men and women have given their all for the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution. The American military will always respond to the call—knowing the risks—to keep our country and its people free. When the men stepped forward for this particular mission—which Colonel Arthur Bull Simons described as moderately hazardous—they never questioned the risk. It was our duty and our honor to serve. The men on this mission freely volunteered to subordinate their lives to free fellow warriors who, against all standards of human decency, were being tortured and starved.

My mentor, Captain Dan Turner, whom I served with on the Raid, lived by Isaiah 6:8. These words, spoken 2,700 years ago, reveal the heart of the men who would later be known as the Son Tay Raiders.

I heard the voice of the Lord saying,

Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?

And I said,

Here am I. Send me.

CHAPTER 1

0220 hours, November 21st, 1970,

Just outside Hanoi, North Vietnam

ALTERNATE PLAN GREEN!

I repeat: ALTERNATE PLAN GREEN! DO YOU COPY?

It was a moment that I (and 55 other US Army Special Forces warriors—Green Berets) would never forget. We were locked and loaded aboard two USAF HH-53s and one HH-3 for a mission deep into enemy territory to rescue American POWs tortured and tormented by the North Vietnamese government.

For the past three hours, riding just above the jungle rising and falling with each hill and valley, I’d had the opportunity to review my 20 years on this earth. One of my childhood buddies was getting married tonight back in Clark, Missouri, beginning a new chapter of his life. But here I was, halfway around the world, armed to the teeth in a helicopter 100 feet above the LZ with an honest prospect that this might be the final chapter of mine.

Alternate Plan Green meant one thing to all of us Green Berets on our chopper: We knew we had 22 fewer men—a third of our force. There would be a lot less fire power as we hit the ground. This plan was for the contingency that Greenleaf Support Group, comprised of those 22 men, would not make it to Son Tay. Whether it had mechanical problems or had been shot down, we had no way of knowing. What we did know was the mission, including all Alternate Plans. With or without those important 22 men of Greenleaf, we were going to execute the mission and would now have to perform their role as well as ours.

At that moment, the huge mounted machine gun in the door to our right fired off a few hundred rounds. For those of you not familiar with a minigun, it fires 4,000 rounds of 5.62mm ammo per minute. It has an electrically driven rotary breech to feed the ammo belt at lightning speed. Now, my heart was already pounding, but the sound of that minigun firing two feet from me really spiked my adrenaline.

Image 2: The Minigun

This was the moment I had trained for since I joined the Green Berets. I couldn’t let Captain Dan down or the other raiders.

We had been flying in the draft of an Air Force Special Operations C-130, call sign Cherry 1. Never before had a C-130 and helicopters flown a formation like this. The C-130 was flying a mere five knots above her stall speed in order to allow the helicopters to keep up, drafting like geese in a V-formation. The men flying Cherry 1 were doing an unbelievable job of getting us to our destination. We had flown those three hours with no radio contact and no lights. We had the best Air Force pilots possible!

As we snaked along the hills and valleys just above the treetops of the most highly defended air space of North Vietnam, Cherry 1 was leading us through the valley of the shadow of death. The Son Tay POW camp was located in the bend of the Song Con River. Colonel Bull Simons told us that if there was a security breach there was no E&E (Escape & Evasion) plan other than to back up to the river and fight it out: We would just stand our ground and make them pay for every inch of land to get to us. We staked our lives on our helicopters.

As I looked out the window of our chopper, it looked as if you could reach out and touch the trees. The quarter moon was just what the mission planners ordered. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The moon was bright enough for our pilots to see the terrain, but not so bright that it would give us away as we were hurtling toward our objective.

All the men in our Redwine Security Group, except for myself, had experienced combat multiple times. Of the 56 raiders in all three groups (Redwine Security Group, Blueboy Assault Group, and Greenleaf Support Group), three others were also cherries with no combat experience. They were Sgt Keith Medenski, Sgt Marshall Thomas and Sgt Pat St.Clair. As I looked around our Redwine helicopter, the other raiders all looked relaxed. Several of them had their eyes closed, either sleeping or praying. Others were talking with one another, even laughing. We had rehearsed our mission over 170 times. Each of us knew our job and what we had to do.

Before we left, Colonel Simons—the Bull—had told us we had a 50/50 chance of not making it back. It’s hard to get those words out of your mind when you’re 20 years old, but each one of us knew the risk and could have backed out. It’s too late now—we are about to step onto the soil of North Vietnam.

As planned, Cherry 1 left us two minutes ago and started her climb. Cherry 1’s role now was to drop four Mk-24 parachute flares over the camp. And that she did. These flares have turned the black of night into the light of day for us raiders.

Apple 2 is the call sign of our helicopter. Captain Dan Turner is the Commander of the Redwine Security Group comprised of 15 men divided into four elements. (Also aboard are five more men that comprise the Ground Force Command Group, including Lieutenant Colonel Bud Sydnor, the Ground Force Commander. They are attached to the Redwine Security Group.) Capt Dan turns to me and gives me a wink and says, Kid are you ready for this, it’s the real thing. I’m his RTO (Radio Telephone Operator), so I am required to be at his side at all times. I believe he saw the fear in my face and was trying to keep me calm. My heart is pounding like it’s going to come out of my chest. This mission is what we trained for exclusively over the past three months. We are about to be tested in combat as our chopper is starting our landing.

I adjust my headset and the PRC-25 radio on my back, feel for my ammo pouches, check for my frag grenades and concussion grenades. I check that I had my safety off and that my CAR-15 Colt Commando machine gun is set to AUTO. I make sure I have the 30-round magazine well seated and I chamber a round. This is it. My first time in combat. This is no game. I’m not scared as much as I am excited.

I stand up and do a couple squats to get the blood flowing in my legs after sitting most of the three hours. I re-adjust my head set so I only have one ear covered and the other ear uncovered so I can hear Capt Dan. I re-check that my CAR-15 is set for rock & roll and my 30-round clip is in. I pull EJECT just to confirm I have a round in the barrel. The last thing I want is to have my weapon go click with my first shot when I step on the enemy’s territory. I feel my web gear to re-confirm that I have my grenades and that all my ammo is secured in my ammo pouches. My PRC-25 radio is squared away on my back. I have over 70 pounds of gear, but with the adrenaline pumping through my body I move as if I don’t have any extra weight.

As was rehearsed, all raiders are making the same checks to their equipment and each warrior is preparing to do what we came here for and that is to bring our POWs home. Mental checks. Say our prayers. Now it’s time to do our job!

Then, just as we are settling to the rice paddies at Son Tay and we are about to burst out the tail of the chopper onto the battlefield, I hear in my headset the voice of SFC (Sgt 1st Class) Howell, LtCol Sydnor‘s RTO: ALTERNATE PLAN GREEN! I repeat: ALTERNATE PLAN GREEN! DO YOU COPY?

This is the first of the bad news I would hear tonight.

CHAPTER 2

May 1970, Washington, DC

The Secret Planning of the

Son Tay Raid

THE PLANNING OF THE raid was begun in May of 1970 when reconnaissance photos taken from an SR-71 Blackbird revealed that a POW camp existed near a town named Son Tay on the outskirts of Hanoi. The intelligence was presented to Brigadier General Donald Blackburn, the Pentagon’s Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special Activities. He formed a team of fifteen from his staff to conduct a feasibility study. Their findings convinced him a rescue was possible and he presented it to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Thomas Moorer. The Son Tay Raid would become the first military operation in American history under the direct control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The North Vietnamese government, in heinous violation of the Geneva Convention, was systematically torturing POWs in order to get classified information and to use them as pawns for propaganda. They would not allow the Red Cross to check on the health of the POWs, or even tell us the names of the POWs they held and where, or even simply tell us how many POWs they held.

Our Department of Defense estimated there were at least 335 POWs, as of May 1970, having been held for an average of five years. The POWs were being held in terrible conditions, starved, tortured, and deprived of medical care. These men were living in hell. They (and their families) needed to know that our country cared.

The mission was to free American POWs. Son Tay was the only camp where American POWs were known to be, other than those in downtown Hanoi from which the propaganda films were being released. Any raid on a POW facility in the heart of Hanoi had zero chance of success. When the Son Tay camp was identified, US intelligence estimated that it could have as many as 60 or 70 POWs. How many were American? There was no way of knowing. In Appendix 4 at the end of this book, some of these very POWs have graciously shared stories in their own words for this book.

CHAPTER 3

August 1970, Fort Bragg, NC

The Word on the Hill:

Bull was Looking for Men

IN EARLY AUGUST OF 1970, my company, Company D, 7th Special Forces Group, was training at Nantahala National Forest in the Smokey Mountains. In the Special Forces life, you’re either training, headed to a training location, or deployed, and at this time, I was helping teach mountain climbing. I was sent on an errand to Fort Bragg to pick up some supplies for our company, and there at Fort Bragg, I heard from one of my buddies that there was a notice posted at Smoke Bomb Hill by Colonel Simons (famously known as the Bull) looking for volunteers for a mission.

Now, Bull Simons was not just any full bird colonel. He was a legend in Special Forces. Bull was the man movies are made of. He made Rambo look like a punk kid! He was an alumnus of the University of Missouri ROTC program. He was not a West Point graduate—which, to most of us Green Berets, was a big plus.

His story begins in World War II, when he participated in several hazardous landings in the Pacific. His first mission was to destroy a Japanese radio tower on an island in the Philippines. He was awarded his first Silver Star for his actions there.

Another of his missions was with the 6th Ranger Battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mucci. The Bull was among the Rangers, Alamo Scouts, and Filipino guerrillas who rescued over 500 POWs held by the Japanese in the famous Cabanatuan POW Camp Raid. Most of these POWs were survivors of the Bataan Death March. Bull was awarded a second Silver Star in that operation.

Bull was so highly respected by all of Special Forces