Today is the 43rd anniversary of Operation Ivory Coast, the Son Tay Raid, in which 56 US Army Green Berets, led by US Army Colonel Arthur D. “Bull” Simons, undertook a raid of the Son Tay Prisoner-Of-War camp in an attempt to rescue 61 American POWs thought to be held at the camp.
Below is a video hosted by the Airborne & Special Operations museum featuring CSM(r) Joseph Lupyak sharing his involvement in the Son Tay Raid.
It goes without saying that these guys in many ways are the giants whose shoulders modern Army SOF stand on.
Brandon
I agree 100% – thanks goes to all the Son Tay raiders for your efforts; they are not forgotten
Watching a documentary on these guys is one of the reasons I became so interested in Special Operations. Really, most of my interest in special operations comes from Vietnam stories of SEALs and SF in their adventures. I do not think there is any single SOF outfit in the world that has accomplished the variety of missions as American SOF units have on such a consistent basis. The level of difficulty in so many SOF missions is hard to imagine. That includes the Brits and their outstanding units.
Amazing Americans.
Have a good one.