MEDIA RELEASE: Soldiers to don Green Berets Oct. 1

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FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, Sept. 30, 2009) – One hundred twenty Soldiers will don the Green Beret for the first time Oct. 1, as they reach the end of more than a year of intensive training in the Special Forces Qualification Course, taught at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

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[Ops NCO]

...and another group of commandos comes of age.

Good on them.

[Rocket1972]

OFS!!!

[Falschirmjaeger]

America's Best

[AirborneCA]

WOOT to the Noobs!

[zuluzerosix]

From the POW Network:


CAMACHO, ISSAC "IKE"Name: Issac "Ike" CamachoRank/Branch: E7/US Army Special ForcesUnit: Detachment A-21, Company B, 5th Special Forces GroupDate of Birth:Home City of Record: El Paso TXDate of Loss: 24 November 1963Country of Loss: South VietnamLoss Coordinates: 105444N 1061914E (XT441071)Status (in 1973): Escaped

POWCategory:Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: GroundRefno: 0024Other Personnel in Incident: Claude D. McClure; George E. Smith (bothreleased 1965); Kenneth Roraback (missing); At Tan Phu: James N. Rowe(escaped 1968); Humberto R. Versace (missing); Daniel L. Pitzer (released1967).Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families,published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 2009.REMARKS: 650713 -

ESCAPEDSYNOPSIS: The U.S. Army Special Forces, Vietnam (Provisional) was formed atSaigon in 1962 to advise and assist the South Vietnamese government in theorganization, training, equipping and employment of the Civilian IrregularDefense Group (CIDG) forces. Total personnel strength in 1963 was 674, allbut 98 of whom were TDY from 1st Special Forces Group on Okinawa and 5th and7th Special Forces Groups at Ft. Bragg. USSF Provisonal was given completecharge of the CIDG program, formerly handled by the CIA, on July 1, 1963.The USSF Provisional/CIDG network consisted of fortified, strategicallylocated camps, each one with an airstrip. The area development programs soonevolved into combat operations, and by the end of October 1963, the networkalso had responsibility for border surveillance. Two of the Provisional/CIDGcamps were at Hiep Hoa (Detachment A-21) and Tan Phu (Detachment A-23),Republic of Vietnam. Their isolated locations, in the midst of known heavyenemy presence, made the camps vulnerable to attack.On October 29, 1963, Capt. "Rocky" Versace, 1Lt. "Nick" Rowe, and Sgt.Daniel Pitzer were accompanying a CIDG company on an operation along acanal. The team left the camp at Tan Phu for the village of Le Coeur toroust a small enemy unit that was establishing a command post there. Whenthey reached the village, they found the enemy gone, and pursued them,falling into an ambush at about 1000 hours.

The fighting continued until1800 hours, when reinforcements were sent in to relieve the company. Duringthe fight, Versace, Pitzer and Rowe were all captured. The three captiveswere photographed together in a staged setting in the U Minh forest in theirearly days of captivity.The camp at Hiep Hoa was located in the Plain of Reeds between Saigon andthe Cambodian border. In late October 1963, several Viet Cong surrendered atthe camp, claiming they wished to defect. Nearly a month later, on November24, Hiep Hoa was overrun by an estimated 400-500 Viet Cong just aftermidnight. Viet Cong sympathizers in the camp had killed the guards andmanned a machine gun position at the beginning of the attack.

The Viet Congclimbed the camp walls and shouted in Vietnamese, "Don't shoot! All we wantis the Americans and the weapons!" Lt. John Colbe, the executive officer,evaded capture. Capt. Doug Horne, the Detachment commander, had left earlierwith a 36 man Special Forces/CIDG force. The Viet Cong captured four of theAmericans there. It was the first Special Forces camp to be overrun in theVietnam War.Those captured at Hiep Hoa were SFC Issac "Ike" Camacho, SFC Kenneth M.Roraback (the radio operator), Sgt. George E. "Smitty" Smith and SP5 ClaudeD. McClure. Their early days of captivity were spent in the Plain of Reeds,southwest of Hiep Hoa, and they were later held in the U Minh forest."Ike" Camacho continually looked for a way to escape. In July 1965, he wassuccessful. His and Smith's chains had been removed for use on two newAmerican prisoners, and in the cover of a violent night storm, Camachoescaped and made his way to the village of Minh Thanh. He was the firstAmerican serviceman to escape from the Viet Cong in the Second IndochinaWar.

McClure and Smith were released from Cambodia in November 1965.Rocky Versace had been torn between the Army and the priesthood. When he wonan appointment to West Point, he decided God wanted him to be a soldier. Hewas to enter Maryknoll (an order of Missionaries), as a candidate for thepriesthood, when he left Vietnam. It was evident from the beginning thatVersace, who spoke fluent French and Vietnamese, was going to be a problemfor the Viet Cong. Although Versace was known to love the Vietnamese people,he could not accept the Viet Cong philosophy of revolution, and spent longhours assailing their viewpoints. His captors eventually isolated him toattempt to break him. Rowe and Pitzer saw Rocky at interludes during their first months ofcaptivity, and saw that he had not broken. Indeed, although he became verythin, he still attempted to escape.

By January 1965, Versace's steel-greyhair had turned completely white. He was an inspiration to them both. Rowewrote: ..The Alien force, applied with hate, could not break him, failed to bend him; Though solitary imprisonment gave him no friends, he drew upon his inner self to create a force so strong that those who sought to destroy his will, met an army his to command..On Sunday, September 26, 1965, "Liberation Radio" announced the execution ofRocky Versace and Kenneth Roraback in retaliation for the deaths of 3terrorists in Da Nang. A later news article stated that the executions werefaked, but the Army did not reopen an investigaton. In the late 1970'sinformation regarding this "execution" became classified, and is no longerpart of public record.Sgt. Pitzer was released from Cambodia November 11, 1967.1Lt. Nick Rowe was scheduled to be executed in late December 1968. Hiscaptors had had enough of him - his refusal to accept the communist ideologyand his continued escape attempts.

While away from the camp in the U Minhforest, Rowe took advantage of a sudden flight of American helicopters,struck down his guards, and ran into a clearing where the helicoptersnoticed him and rescued him, still clad in black prisoner pajamas. He hadbeen promoted to Major during his five years of captivity.Rowe remained in the Army, and shared his survival techniques in SpecialForces classes. In 1987, Lt.Col. Rowe was assigned to the Philippines, wherehe assisted in training anti-communists. On April 21, 1989, a machine gunsniper attacked Rowe in his car, killing him instantly.Of the seven U.S. Army Special Forces personnel captured at Hiep Hoa and TanPhu, the fates of only Versace and Roraback remain unknown. The executionwas never fully documented; it is not known with certainty that these twomen died. Although the Vietnamese claim credit for their deaths, they didnot return their remains. From the accounts of those who knew them, if thesemen were not executed, they are still fighting for their country.====================================

Issac Camacho retired from the United States Army as a Captain. He still
lives in Texas.

In early 1999, Capt. Camacho was presented the Distinguished Service Cross.The request was made by Senator Bob Smith (NH), and the presentation made byGov. George Bush. During the ceremony, Senator Bob Smith recounted that"Sergeant First Class Camacho resisted capture during the enemy raid on hisSpecial Forces Camp in Vietnam, cared for his wounded soldiers and attemptedto rescue others. Following his capture by the Viet Cong and cruelconfinement, he then implemented a daring and successful escape nineteenmonths later. In 1997, he was awarded the Silver Star.

[testedone]

Always good news!