Thursday Sept 3rd, 1970
…exactly 50 years ago this week
Our orders were that no one was allowed entrance to the TOC (Tactical Ops Center) building without checking their ID. Our job was to confirm that they were who they said they were. No matter who they were or how many times they had been in the building we had to check their ID every time they entered the building. After confirming their identity, we would call into the building on the field phone and would verify whether they were authorized to enter the building at this time. Someone from inside would come out and escort them into the building.
Now, the Bull wasn’t the only legendary officer attached to the Son Tay Raid. Captain Dick Meadows would lead Blueboy Assault Group, which would land directly inside the POW camp walls. Enlisted in 1946, a paratrooper in the Korean War, in the early 1960s, Meadows served a stint with British Special Air Service. In Vietnam, Meadows captured video footage proving North Vietnam Army was infiltrating South Vietnam and impressed General Westmoreland so much that, in 1967, he received a battlefield commission directly to Captain. He was the commanding officer of Ranger School when Bull Simons recruited him for the Son Tay Raid.
Lieutenant Colonel Bud Sydnor was selected by Bull Simons to serve as the Ground Forces Commander (whereas Bull Simons’ role would be the on-scene eyes and ears of the Joint Contingency Task Group, in constant contact with General Manor.) Sydnor had the reputation of a gentleman and a consummate professional.
One day, Brigadier General Blackburn from the Pentagon, Brigadier General Manor (Commander of USAF Special Operations Forces), Bull Simons and Captain Dick Meadows (both Simons and Meadows have statues at the Army’s Special Forces Museum today—see images at the end of Appendix 4) showed up as a group and requested access to the Operations Center. I checked their IDs and called in for someone to come out and escort them in. Out walks Lieutenant Colonel Bud Sydnor. Can you image how I felt? Here I am a 20-year-old buck sergeant standing in the midst of some of the most notable Special Operations Forces officers ever. I remember they treated me as one of them and made small talk with me until LtCol Sydnor escorted them in. This is one of the great things about Special Forces. The officers and enlisted men treat each other with respect. I believe it is because we have to depend on each other when you operate in small teams like Special Forces.
Read Sgt Terry Buckler’s full story in Who Will Go.
Click Here: The book.