Tiger Force
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article concerns a U.S. reconnaissance unit during the Vietnam War. For information about the World War II British Commonwealth air force, see Tiger Force (air).
| Tiger Force | |
|---|---|
 Tiger Force in Dak Tan Kan Valley, June 1966 |
|
| Active | November, 1965 - November, 1967 |
| Country | USA |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Type | SOF |
| Role | close target reconnaissance, counter revolutionary warfare, direct action operations, raids |
| Size | 45 |
| Part of | U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | Fort Campbell (1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade) |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Decorations | Presidential Unit Citation |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Gerald Morse |
Tiger Force was a task force of the United States Army, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade (Separate), 101st Airborne Division, which fought in the Vietnam War, between November 1965 and November 1967. The platoon-sized unit, approximately 45 paratroopers was formed by the battalion Commander in November, and Colonel David Hackworth, in 1965 to "out guerrilla the guerrillas," and to perform other Ranger-type functions. Tiger Force became one of the war's most highly decorated units, paying for its reputation with heavy casualties. On February 7, 1966, Tiger Force made the only documented bayonet attack by a United States Army unit in Vietnam. Also in 1966, its parent battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation by President Lyndon B. Johnson largely due to Tiger Force's heroism at Dak To. Members of the unit have been awarded the Silver Star medal in greater proportion than any other unit except the the Green Beret. They are the only platoon sized element (approximately 30 men, below the "Company" in organizational standing), who's members have been awarded two Medals Of Honor (Lt. James Gardner, and SSG John Gertsch). Many high ranking officers arose from the ranks of Tiger Force, including two commanders of the 101st Airborne Division, and a Supreme Commander, Allied Forces, Atlantic (SACLANT). Their history is notable among other contemporary military units of the time.
Contents |
[edit] Investigations of war crimes
In December 2002, Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss, reporters at the Toledo Blade newspaper, were given access to unreleased records of U.S. Army commander Henry Tufts. One file in these records referred to a previously unpublished war crimes investigation known as the Coy Allegation. To investigate this further, Sallah and Weiss obtained access to a large collection of documents produced by the investigation held at the National Archives in College Park, MD.[1]
The reporters found that, between 1971 and 1975, the Army's Criminal Investigation Command had investigated the Tiger Force unit for alleged war crimes committed between May and November of 1967.[2] The documents included sworn statements from many Tiger Force veterans, which detailed war crimes allegedly committed by Tiger Force members during the Song Ve Valley and Operation Wheeler military campaigns. The statements, from both individuals who allegedly participated in the war crimes and those that did not, described war crimes such as the following:
- the routine torture and execution of prisoners[3]
- the routine practice of intentionally killing unarmed Vietnamese villagers including men, women, children, and elderly people[4]
- the routine practice of cutting off and collecting the ears of victims[5]
- the practice of wearing necklaces composed of human ears[6]
- the practice of cutting off and collecting the scalps of victims[7]
- an incident where a young mother was drugged, raped, and then executed[8]
- an incident where a soldier killed a baby and cut off his or her head after the baby's mother was killed[9]
The investigators concluded that many of the war crimes indeed took place.[10] Despite this, the Army decided not to pursue any prosecutions.[11]
After studying the documents, the reporters located and interviewed many veterans who served in Tiger Force during the period in question. The reporters also interviewed residents of Song Ve Valley who identified themselves as witnesses. Sallah and Weiss reported that the war crimes were corroborated by both veterans[12] and Song Ve Valley residents[13].
In October 2003, the reporters published their findings in a series of articles in the Toledo Blade. Subsequently, the New York Times performed their own investigation, contacting a few Tiger Force veterans and corroborating the Toledo Blade's findings.[14]
Since the Toledo Blade story, the United States Army has re-opened the investigation, but has not been forthcoming with any additional information. The most recent status update was received by the Toledo Blade reporters on May 11, 2004, when Lt. Col. Pamela Hart stated she had been too busy responding to prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers in Iraq to check on the status of the Tiger Force case.[15]
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Cleveland) said he is waiting for findings from the latest Army Tiger Force probe, [16] under which:
- Col. William Condron, chief of criminal law for the judge advocate general's office, would determine who ordered that the case be dropped and for what reason.
- Maj. Gen. Donald Ryder, the Army's top law-enforcement officer, would decide whether to recommend prosecuting anyone in the case.
Reporters Michael D. Sallah, Mitch Weiss and Joe Mahr received multiple awards for their series:
- In 2003, the reporters won the IRE Medal for medium newspapers.
- In 2003, the reporters won the Sigma Delta Chi award for investigative reporting, for publications with a circulation of 100,000 or greater.
- In 2004, the reporters won the Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Newspapers.
- In 2004, the reporters won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting.
In 2006, Sallah and Weiss co-authored a book chronicling their findings: Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War (Little, Brown and Company).
[edit] Charges disputed
On the Wikipedia Talk page for Tiger Force, a number of individuals who said they served in Tiger Force before or after (but not during) the period the alleged war crimes occurred, have disputed the account given by the Toledo Blade reporters:
- Hank, who identified himself as a Tiger Force medic in 1968, wrote that the reporters produced a sensationalist account, and published details that they could not have known. Hank also wrote that the reporters selectively interviewed individuals with severe PTSD, and that much of their testimony is unreliable.
- Ron Christian, who identified himself as a Tiger Force veteran who served in 1968, said that he believed that some atrocities took place, but that the reporters exaggerated the nature and extent of the atrocities. He further wrote that his personal experience with a number of Tiger Force soldiers is inconsistent with the accounts given by the reporters. Christian also argued that the Vietnamese villagers supported the North Vietnamese Army and that many were members of the Viet Cong.
[edit] Partial list of Members 1966-67
- Lt Col. Gerald Morse (radiocall = Ghost Rider, retired in 1979) Battalion commander, and not an actual member of the team.
- Sgt. William Doyle
- Sgt. Forrest Miller
- Sgt. Leo Heaney
- Sgt. Harold Trout
- Sgt. Gerald Bruner (whistleblower)
- Lt. Jim Gardner (awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously) Killed in action, before any of the controversial events.
- Lt. James Hawkins
- Lt. Donald Wood (whistleblower)
- Spc. William Carpenter
- Spc. Kenneth Green
- Pvt. Ken Kerney
- Pvt. Sam Ybarra
- Pvt. Joseph Evans
- Pvt. John Colligan
- Pvt. James Cogan
- Pvt. Douglas Teeters
- Harold Fischer (medic)
- Larry Cottingham (medic)
- Rion Causey (medic)
- Barry Bowman (medic)
- James Robert Barnett
- Charles B. Fulton
[edit] Notes
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 309-311.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 264-306.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 337, 344-345, 349, 353, 370-372.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 335, 339-346, 350-352, 354-355, 359, 361-362, 367-369, 374-375, 376.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 335-336, 371.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 371.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 346, 374.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 361-362, 377-378.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 360, 363-364, 372-373.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 383.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, Tiger Force, 306.
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, "DAY 1."
- ^ Sallah and Weiss, "DAY 3."
- ^ Kifner, "Report."
- ^ Mahr, "Tiger Force answers."
- ^ Mahr, "Tiger Force answers."
[edit] Works Cited
- Kifner, John. "Report on Brutal Vietnam Campaign Stirs Memories." New York Times, 28 December 2003.
- Mahr, Joe. "Tiger Force answers still elusive." Toledo Blade, 12 May 2004.
- Sallah, Michael and Mitch Weiss. "Investigators will question ex-GIs about killing spree." Toledo Blade, 15 February 2004.
- Sallah, Michael and Mitch Weiss. "DAY 1: Rogue GIs unleashed wave of terror in Central Highlands." Toledo Blade, 22 October 2003.
- Sallah, Michael and Mitch Weiss. "DAY 3: Pain lingers 36 years after deadly rampage." Toledo Blade, 22 October 2003.
- Sallah, Michael and Mitch Weiss. Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2006.
