Would love to see a Band of Brothers/Pacific mini series done on SOG with the same integrity. These stories and more importantly men need to be immortalized.
@@benclift5381 There is no way a platoon of regular army soldiers was ever going to be assigned to run MACV-SOG missions. Not even the platoon sgt will have the specialized experience needed to run those types of missions and survive,never mind one tied down with a platoon manned by mostly 18-20 year old soldiers with less than 2 years total experience in the army training for convential infantry missions. Now,some of the guys from some of the conventional recon platoons could probably do it with a minimum amount of additional training and a maximum amount of attitude adjustment,providing they didn't step on their dicks on early missions,and had a chance to adjust their thinking and actions. Stop and consider the FACT that a SF Buck Sgt E-5 has more specialized training and experience than the typical conventional army SFC/Platoon sgt,and this will start to make sense for you. Running recon,especially missions like SOG recon is a totally different experience than conventional recon missions because you are out there on your own and there is no ready backup a few minutes away. For the most part,you and the 5 guys with you (typical SOG recon team) really are out there on your own. BTW,this is taking NOTHING away from the abilities of the typical army recon team. It's really an issue of "apples and oranges". They are both round fruit,but that's all they have in common.
ENLIGHTENED WARRIOR you got that right. Heard from more than one of the fellas that these kids were as young as 14yrs and that’s the point man. Like the Frenchman said who knows how many kills he had.
I assume you are referring to the indigenous montenards ( sp ?). I watched a good show showing the battle of Khe Sahn ( again sp?). Those people are small but they are tough as nails and have a natural dislike for the VC and NVA. Just before being overran by an overwhelming number of NVA choppers came swoopinging in to carry out the American troops but the montenards were to be left according to upper brass. The CO said they weren t leaving the little fighters that so many times fought side by side and radioed if all couldn t be evac d all would stay even though that would be a death sentence to all. They sent enough choppers to take all out of harms way which was only right instead of leaving them, low on ammunition to the enemy and certain annihilation. I m sure there were times these indigenous allies weren t taken out and the NVA and Viet Cong both had no use for them. They sure were examples of the old saying " the enemy of my enemy is my friend " .
Oh! its "Tilt", LIKE. Haven't even gota watch it, but I'm gonna. So Glad Jocko introduced me to these SOG guys. Awesome stories, awesome warriors and awesome bravery, those Helicopter pilots....where do ya start, yep "awesome". peace
Hello Wilson, I am glad to see you. The last time was in the mid 70’s when we were in the reserves. I am glad you are recognizing the SPAD pilots, especially the ones from Pleiku. On one mission my A-Company platoon hatchet force was hit by a company of NVA on the Ho Chi Minh trail and one- third of the troops including the platoon leader were severely wounded. I was the medic. We had gone down to a raging river and we had to get the wounded out. I was on the radio with covey and I popped smoke. I told covey to get the ordnance in as close as possible. The Covey told the SPAP pilot to laid down CBU within 15 meters under a triple canopy. He was deadly accurate and we got no secondary injuries. The NVA retreated and we were able to get a slick in close enough to get the wounded. Now we had to get to an extraction LZ. We went up river 200 meters to a stream bed cut going back across the trail. At the river the cut was 30 feet high. As we progressed up stream we could hear the NVA troops beating the bushes on both sides. As we crossed the trail there were hundreds of boot prints going in both directions. We walked another five hours and were extracted at dusk. We would not have survived without that SPAD pilot. Best regards, Garland Lee
Hello Garland, Thank you for the wonderful note. I tried to send your note to Wilson, it appears his email has changed. I will try to send your note via text and let him know that you reached out to him. Here is a full interview with Wilson about a Bright Light Mission he ran ruclips.net/video/NyZKcv7c4X8/видео.html
John Stryker Meyer is a fantastic speaker, and a great historian for the SOG stories. His books are thrilling and now he has a podcast, SogCast which was developed with the help of Joko Willink. He’s a humble legend and a genuine hero.
I think it s great these guys came home and " can " laugh about it. Thanks to all Nam vet s for your service. Welcome home. I m sorry it s so late telling ya ll that. I was 10 years old at the end of that war and only in the last 15 or so years ( post 911) learned most of what I know now about this war. I am sorry ya ll did not recieve the respect and appreciation desearved and will do all I can to help that never happening again. God bless you all.
RESPECT...Thank you all for your Service #MAC V SOG & A1 pilots We are in Awe of your Courage ,Valor & Bravery in the Secret War you fought in Vietnam God Bless you all , You are The Definition of True American Heros !!🇺🇲 Love to hear all these stories always has much respect for the Mem & Woman who fauhht and served in The Vietnam war Thanks to all of you and Prayers to the K.I.A & M.I.A.You will Never Be Forgotten! 🇺🇲🙏
William Waugh (born December 1, 1929) is a former United States Army Special Forces soldier and Central Intelligence Agency paramilitary operations officer who served more than 50 years between the U.S. Army's Green Berets and the CIA's Special Activities Division (renamed Special Activities Center in 2016 Waugh enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1948, completing basic training at Fort Ord, California, in August of that year. He was accepted into the United States Army Airborne School and became airborne qualified in December 1948. In April 1951, Waugh was assigned to the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (RCT) in Korea. Shortly after the end of the Korean War, Waugh met two Special Forces members on a train in Germany, they informed him of openings for Platoon sergeants, shortly after he requested a transfer. He began training for the Special Forces. He earned the Green Beret in 1954, joining the 10th Special Forces Group (SFG) in Bad Tölz, West Germany. As U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War increased, the United States began deploying Special Forces "A-teams" (Operational Detachment Alpha, or ODA, teams) to Southeast Asia in support of counterinsurgency operations against the Viet Cong, North Vietnamese and other Communist forces. Waugh arrived in South Vietnam with his ODA in 1961, and began working alongside Civilian Irregular Defense Groups (CIDGs) there, as well as in Laos. In 1965, while participating in a commando raid with his CIDG unit on a North Vietnamese Army encampment near Bong Son, Binh Dinh province, Waugh's unit found itself engaged with much larger enemy force than anticipated. Expecting only a few hundred NVA, it was discovered that a force of Chinese regulars had joined the NVA Elite; combining for almost 4,000 soldiers. While he and his men attempted to retreat from the battle, Waugh received numerous severe wounds to his head and legs. Unconscious, he was taken for dead by NVA soldiers and left alone. Despite his injuries, with the assistance of his teammates Waugh was safely evacuated from the combat zone. He spent much of 1965 and 1966 recuperating at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., eventually returning to duty with 5th Special Forces Group in 1966. He received a Silver Star and a Purple Heart (His 6th) for the battle of Bong Son. At this time Waugh joined the Military Assistance Command-Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG). While working for SOG, Waugh helped train Vietnamese and Cambodian forces in unconventional warfare tactics primarily directed against the North Vietnamese Army operating along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Prior to retirement from U.S. Army Special Forces service, Waugh was senior NCO (non-commissioned officer) of MACV-SOG's Command & Control North (CCN) based at Marble Mountain on the South China Sea shore a few miles south of Da Nang, Vietnam. Waugh held this Command Sergeant Major role during the covert unit's transition and name change to Task Force One Advisory Element (TF1AE). SGM Waugh conducted the first combat High Altitude, Low Opening (HALO) jump, a parachuting maneuver designed for rapid, undetected insertion into hostile territory. In October 1970, his team made a practice Combat Infiltration into the NVA owned War Zone D, in South Vietnam, for reassembly training, etc. Waugh also led the last combat Special reconnaissance parachute insertion by American Army Special Forces HALO parachutists into denied territory which was occupied by communist North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops on June 22, 1971. Waugh retired from active military duty at the rank of Sergeant Major (E-9) on February 1, 1972. Prior to retirement, Waugh worked for the CIA's elite Special Activities Division, starting in 1961. After Waugh retired from the military, he worked for the United States Postal Service until he accepted an offer in 1977 from ex-CIA officer Edwin P. Wilson to work in Libya on a contract to train that country's special forces. This was not an Agency-endorsed assignment and Waugh might have found himself in trouble with U.S. authorities if it weren't for the fact that he was also approached by the CIA to work for the Agency while in Libya. The CIA tasked him with surveilling Libyan military installations and capabilities - this was of great interest to U.S. intelligence as Libya was receiving substantial military assistance from the Soviet Union at the time. This additional assignment quite possibly protected Waugh from prosecution after Wilson was later indicted and convicted in 1979 for illegally selling weapons to Libya. In the 1980s he was assigned to the Kwajalein Missile Range in the Marshall Islands to track Soviet small boat teams (Naval Spetsnaz: Dolfin) operating in the area and prevent them from stealing U.S. missile technology. Some of his more critical assignments took place in Khartoum, Sudan during the early 1990s, where he performed surveillance and intelligence gathering on terrorist leaders Carlos the Jackal and Osama bin Laden with Cofer Black. At the age of 71, Waugh participated in Operation Enduring Freedom as a member of the CIA team led by Gary Schroen that went into Afghanistan to work with the Northern Alliance to topple the Taliban regime and Al Qaeda at the Battle of Tora Bora. Waugh was in-country from October to December 2001. Waugh spent many years being both a "Blue Badger" (employee) and a "Green Badger" (contractor). He continues to work as a "Green Badger". It is unknown how many missions Waugh was involved in during his career. In 1985, Waugh was again requested by the CIA for clandestine work. Before he took the offer, he decided to further his education, earning bachelor's degrees in Business and Police Science from Wayland Baptist University in 1987. He also earned a master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a specialization in criminal justice administration (MSCJA) in 1988 from Texas State University (formerly Southwest Texas State), in San Marcos, TX. Awards and decorations (partial list) Combat Infantryman Badge (two awards) Master Parachutist badge (United States) Master Parachutist Badge US Military Master Freefall Parachutist Badge with gold Combat Jump Device Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge with gold combat jump star (5 or more combat jumps). Silver Star x 8 Legion of Merit Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze Star with three oak leaf clusters
Silver oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster Purple Heart with seven oak leaf clusters Air Medal Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster Army Commendation Medal with valor device and three oak leaf clusters Bronze oak leaf cluster Presidential Unit Citation (United States) with olc (one award in 2001, Studies and Observations Group) Good Conduct Medal (7 awards) Army of Occupation Medal Bronze star National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star Bronze Bronze star Korean Service Medal with three campaign stars Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Arrowhead Silver star Bronze star Vietnam Service Medal with Arrowhead device and six service stars Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Gallantry Cross Unit Citation Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation Civil Action Unit Citation Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation United Nations Service Medal (Korea) Vietnam Campaign Medal Republic of Korea War Service Medal 7 Service stripes.
Billy Waugh was as "Real deal" as real deal got. I can't even begin to imagine what it would take to scare him. AFAIK,he was still alive and living in Fla a few years ago.I have no doubt in my mind that if someone were to approach him today,if he is still alive,and tell him to suit up for a mission,he would be checking his gear as he asked where he was going and what he was going to be doing.
Question for any 5th Special Forces Group/ Mike Force/ MACV SOG guys. Does anyone remember my Father, SFC "Bill" Capps? His full name was Harold William Capps II. He was with 5th Special Forces Group. He told me stories of his days in Vietnam. He led groups of Indigenous Troops. He served 3 combat tours in Vietnam. He was in country 1965, 66 and 68 if my memory serves me right. Bill Capps was a big, thick guy! He had two brothers in Vietnam(all retired). Captain Dan Capps and Lt. Colonel Dickson Capps(both are still living). He lived at Ft. Bragg, N.C. when he was between tours and after. I'm just trying to find any information that I can about him. My Dad, Bill Capps died August 3rd 2018 from cancer caused by Agent Orange. My father was the only one of the 3 brothers in 5th Special Forces. Thank you all for your service in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Thank you for any information you can give. If you do have info, I will give you my contact information. Thank you all!
Heroically Americans love for one another never ceases to amaze me! God bless all of our Vietnam,Laos,Cambodian.Vertrans for their tenacity in all they did daily.
SOG was an inspiration to the few that knew about them. Now many more know of their incredible bravery. A Vietnam Veteran 1967-1969 I Corp. across the road from FOB 1.
SOG snake eaters in Nam were hard as nails. My combat experience in Iraq is child's play compared to what these men faced. Against all odds, they still operated behind enemy lines and completed the mission. Just a different breed.
Found myself at a dinner party in 2007 with Peter Pace who wasn't in uniform. At the time I had no clue who he was until someone mentioned something about Iraq and how it was going. He said something along the lines of "This isn't anything compared to Vietnam. We had 98% casualties, I seen whole platoons lost". I was just a stupid PFC grunt looking for free alcohol, setting in a room of legends. Forever to live in the shadows of these great men.
@Roger That at least you did your part bro. That's a whole lot more than the vast majority will do. I was an airborne infantryman. Did 2 tours in Iraq, a 12 month and a 15 month deployment. Was wounded in action a couple times. But these SOG dudes were on another level. My platoon was fortunate enough to get attached to an SF ODA from 5th group and we were always choppin it up about their lineage in Vietnam. 5th Group comprised the Special Forces contingent of MACV-SOG. We did a lot of night time direct action raids because we had such an advantage operating at night. The SOG operators had to stop movement and set up a perimeter at night, in triple canopy jungle, away from all conventional support. We got into a lot of crazy shit but we almost always had air assets and indirect fire available. Not to mention UAVs and sensor data. We got stop lossed on my 2nd deployment 9 months in. They just told us we got extended to 15 months. Just like that lol. But since we were still conducting operations with the 5th Group ODA, I didn't really mind. As crazy as that sounds. I was 21 years old and we had built quite the effective little fighting unit with a 12 man SF ODA and a 20 man airborne infantry platoon. Sometimes we brought along indigenous as well. Iraqi Army. Just depended on the mission. We did direct action urban and rural raids by truck and fast rope, counter IED ambushes on routes that had a high frequency of IEDs. These missions were highly effective. We also did day time presence patrols in the markets and city centers, meetings with tribal leaders and town mayors and councilmen. Counter mortar ops, area denial patrols, recon team emplacements, disabling IEDs, air assaults to raid rural compounds, off-set air inserts for reconnaissance patrols, HVT(high value target) raids, night time reconnaissance or movement to contact patrols, conducting SSE(sensitive site exploitation) on targets for intelligence. Multiple other missions as well. We were trying to kill or capture AQI and Mahdi militia by nearly any means. Our mission, although extremely dangerous in its own right, was nothing like these SOG warriors faced. I mean virtually every mission was a suicide mission for them. It's mind blowing to me that they still got mission objectives completed while being hunted by specially trained sapper teams, dog teams, and entire divisions of NVA regulars. I will never miss an opportunity to hear a SOG operator tell his story. These deserve to be remembered!
I knew your father. VERY nice,quiet,professional soldier. Was never on the same team as him,but did share training missions at Bragg with him. Then again,this really was a "small world",and everybody pretty much knew everybody else by reputation,if not personally.
I ran across this video by accident and as I'm listening to it I discover these are the real men in the book I'm listening to on Audible Uncommon Valor by Stephen L. Moore. These guys were BAD ASSES.
I am so glad that you are enjoying Stephen L Moore's book, yes these are the men for sure. Here is a video the I think you might find interesting. Stephen L Moor is nephew of George Wilson Hunt, a former Green Beret. Stephen i was instrumental in helping George solve a mission that haunted him for over 40 years. Don Engebretsen, also noted in Stephens book also was instrumental in solving the looming question in Georges mind, did I bring enough back? ruclips.net/video/NyZKcv7c4X8/видео.html I hope you enjoy this video. I wish the audio could have been captured cleaner, however we were at a military reunion, my filming sessions ran long, and the boys were setting up for that nights event. Over all the story is so amazing. Thank you for your interest and comment
MAC V SOG the mission's you men went on to let the NVA know that you can hit them when you wanted and you did. All I can say one hell of a job to get into. MAC V SOG THE BEST OF THE BEST. GOD BLESS ALL THAT ARE MISSING AND FOR THE ONES THAT NEVER MADE IT BACK OVER THE FENCE MAY THEY R.I.P. You have my respect drive on
I love these men. Vietnam is the most fascinating war to me. South East Asia and the jungle, the people, tigers, cobras, etc. I have been to Thailand 5 times. I love that part of the world. Much respect and appreciation to all of those men involved in that war and all others.
You listen to the Jocko episode with Captain An or Kahn "cowboy" Doan. Both with "Tilt" along side to fill in the words. Phenomenal history. They're American now, definitely earned it. Can't say that for safe space seekers.
I have been back to Vietnam twice since the war. Beautiful country and wonderful people. The Vietnamese hold no hard feelings and neither do i. We were soldiers doing a job and so were the Vietnamese. To have peace from the war one must let all the anger go and it was amazing how many friends i made when i went back to Vietnam.
Rich Benjamin yes I’ve heard his interviews on podcasts like the jocko podcast the bright missions were always the most interesting and creepy cause he was saying sometimes they never even found the other teams and they were Mia. Just vanished
Does anyone remember Harry Marr ? He was on a different team from mine and served a different year from me. I met Harry while living in Houston, Texas, and we became good friends. Harry passed in about 2008 from complications of diabetes caused by agent orange.
You might ask this question of John Stryker (Tilt) Meyer - he is the owner of SOG Chronicles. He was Idaho One Zero in 1970 or 1971 - sogchronicles.com/
Did anyone remember Rick Dodson ? He was assigned to a listening post on Monkey Mountain and his post was over run several times. He died of cncer from agent orange in 2009. I grew up with Rick and was best friends with him and his younger brother.
Monkey Mountain was a radio relay site manned mostly by guys from CCN at DaNang,but there were also some ASA guys there doing their own gig. IIRC,it was overan by a massive attack from NVA regulars in 1969. This was a hollow "victory" for the NVA,though. They got hammered hard by tac air,as well as the guys on top of the hill. It was the kind of "victory" nobody wants to have. And after finally getting to the top of the hill,they had to start hauling ass back to Laos because there was no way in hell they were going to be able to hold it. If anybody ever tells you the NVA were lousy soldiers that lacked balls,you are talking to someone who never faced them. Their leadership were more geared to political "victories" than military victories,but the line soldiers were as brave and determined as any soldiers in anybody's army.
Great video of a group that fought bravely in a war that we lost. Goes to show that warriors exist in any context even with defeated countries. I wonder if you could do a feature on the North Vietnamese special forces operations, not just the VC, but military sponsored ops that was different than the civilian VC ops. Thanks.
Hi sir, I’d like to know some information regarding one of my family members that was in SOG. His name is Rodney Headman, he had a book wrote about him and his team, “Dawson’s war a novel of friendship under fire”. I was wondering you knew Rodney, I’ve been researching everywhere and found this video. He was in operation prairie fire and pretty much was with SOG from the beginning, eventually joining/starting Delta Force. I’d like to know if you knew him or have any information on the subject. Thanks for sharing your extraordinary story and thank you for your service! Every single one of you deserve so much respect
He also recently started an instagram page. I don't know his username but I do know you can fire up Tilt's most recent appearance on Jocko's Podcast and will find it in the video description. Stand by for username... Instagram @jstrykermeyer
Hey just curious i worked with a guy years ago his name was bill thymes !! He said he did same thing u guys did he was from sacremento !! It was mid 90 s when i worked with him !! We partyed together alot and he told me some wild shit had some wicked scars !! Woundern if ya ever heard of him would love to know if he still alive
Hello Greg: You are right Eugene Ashley was a straight-up soldier and hero. Paul Longgrear talks about Eugen in the Battle of Lang Vei ruclips.net/video/UjaLWskzdng/видео.html When we recorded this presentation and found out about Eugene, we reached out to his museum. Unfortunately, we have not heard back from them, they like many other facilities are probably scaled back due to COVID. Most of our interviews have taken place at the Tennessee Museum of Aviation. As Units and groups have reunions there, we try to interview as many SOG and SOS personnel as possible.
@@ToyotaGuy1971 Hello @ToyotaGuy1971- SOS stands for Special Operations Squadron en.wikipedia.org/wiki/602nd_Special_Operations_Squadron Thank you for the question, hope you are enjoying the videos
I worked with a guy who became a very good friend of mine throughout the 90's John R Boatwright, he was Green Beret in Laos during the 60's, he was part of all of that. He was eventually shot by the VC thru the top of his leg by a WW2 grease gun, his medivac flight out in a Huey helicopter was also shot down, only my friend and one gunner survived the crash, as they tried to close the distance on the crash site to basically assassinate the two survivors, two Bell Cobra gunships showed up and they were the only reason that my friend was alive to tell this story. Ive always wondered if any of those Cobra Pilots were still alive and might recall this incident
Hello Brandon, this was filmed at the Tennessee Museum of Aviation in Sevierville TN. You should join their newsletter or follow them on Facebook. They are real good about announcing events.
Hello pet per, This is all that we have recorded, however. Paul went with a production company back to Lang Vei Vietnam. I will try to post the link, it is on Amazon Prime. It is called "The Man Left Behind" I believe you have to purchase it. I have watched it, It is very good . I hope this helps - www.amazon.com/Man-Left-Behind-Terence-Knox/dp/B019YLLVLW
Yes, we are very active, thanks for checking in. I know Tilt would flip if someone had one of his knives. He tells a story of how he lost his on an extraction. My email is rich@rbamarketing send me an email and we can go further getting Dick and Tilt together
Would love to see a Band of Brothers/Pacific mini series done on SOG with the same integrity. These stories and more importantly men need to be immortalized.
Check out tour of duty season 3
Wow, no idea the third season was based on SOG. I’ll have to revisit it. Thanks 👍
@@benclift5381 There is no way a platoon of regular army soldiers was ever going to be assigned to run MACV-SOG missions. Not even the platoon sgt will have the specialized experience needed to run those types of missions and survive,never mind one tied down with a platoon manned by mostly 18-20 year old soldiers with less than 2 years total experience in the army training for convential infantry missions. Now,some of the guys from some of the conventional recon platoons could probably do it with a minimum amount of additional training and a maximum amount of attitude adjustment,providing they didn't step on their dicks on early missions,and had a chance to adjust their thinking and actions.
Stop and consider the FACT that a SF Buck Sgt E-5 has more specialized training and experience than the typical conventional army SFC/Platoon sgt,and this will start to make sense for you. Running recon,especially missions like SOG recon is a totally different experience than conventional recon missions because you are out there on your own and there is no ready backup a few minutes away. For the most part,you and the 5 guys with you (typical SOG recon team) really are out there on your own.
BTW,this is taking NOTHING away from the abilities of the typical army recon team. It's really an issue of "apples and oranges". They are both round fruit,but that's all they have in common.
The lil people that fought with them were some badasses too
ENLIGHTENED WARRIOR you got that right. Heard from more than one of the fellas that these kids were as young as 14yrs and that’s the point man. Like the Frenchman said who knows how many kills he had.
I assume you are referring to the indigenous montenards ( sp ?).
I watched a good show showing the battle of Khe Sahn ( again sp?). Those people are small but they are tough as nails and have a natural dislike for the VC and NVA. Just before being overran by an overwhelming number of NVA choppers came swoopinging in to carry out the American troops but the montenards were to be left according to upper brass. The CO said they weren t leaving the little fighters that so many times fought side by side and radioed if all couldn t be evac d all would stay even though that would be a death sentence to all.
They sent enough choppers to take all out of harms way which was only right instead of leaving them, low on ammunition to the enemy and certain annihilation.
I m sure there were times these indigenous allies weren t taken out and the NVA and Viet Cong both had no use for them.
They sure were examples of the old saying " the enemy of my enemy is my friend " .
Oh! its "Tilt", LIKE. Haven't even gota watch it, but I'm gonna. So Glad Jocko introduced me to these SOG guys. Awesome stories, awesome warriors and awesome bravery, those Helicopter pilots....where do ya start, yep "awesome". peace
Same here. Thanks jocko podcast
@@flyinglizards80 sew so ws dwas dead a-z? Ssqsssqsqssq sees ssss sae sssssqssq sex zdx like
SOG is the most elite
I could listen to these stories for hours and hours. To this day, these guys were/are a breed all their own.
Thank you so much
These MAC-V-SOG are a breed apart.
@Rich Benjamin Absolutely and thank you very much.
Hello Wilson, I am glad to see you. The last time was in the mid 70’s when we were in the reserves. I am glad you are recognizing the SPAD pilots, especially the ones from Pleiku. On one mission my A-Company platoon hatchet force was hit by a company of NVA on the Ho Chi Minh trail and one- third of the troops including the platoon leader were severely wounded. I was the medic. We had gone down to a raging river and we had to get the wounded out. I was on the radio with covey and I popped smoke. I told covey to get the ordnance in as close as possible. The Covey told the SPAP pilot to laid down CBU within 15 meters under a triple canopy. He was deadly accurate and we got no secondary injuries. The NVA retreated and we were able to get a slick in close enough to get the wounded. Now we had to get to an extraction LZ. We went up river 200 meters to a stream bed cut going back across the trail. At the river the cut was 30 feet high. As we progressed up stream we could hear the NVA troops beating the bushes on both sides. As we crossed the trail there were hundreds of boot prints going in both directions. We walked another five hours and were extracted at dusk. We would not have survived without that SPAD pilot. Best regards, Garland Lee
Hello Garland, Thank you for the wonderful note. I tried to send your note to Wilson, it appears his email has changed. I will try to send your note via text and let him know that you reached out to him. Here is a full interview with Wilson about a Bright Light Mission he ran ruclips.net/video/NyZKcv7c4X8/видео.html
John Stryker Meyer is a fantastic speaker, and a great historian for the SOG stories. His books are thrilling and now he has a podcast, SogCast which was developed with the help of Joko Willink. He’s a humble legend and a genuine hero.
Tilt's a great guy and we are big fans of Jocko.
Tilt is the man
So glad I found this. All-Stars from MACV SOG. Baddest MOFOS on mother earth
I’ve listened to every MAC V SOG book I could find. Thank you for your sacrifice. I’ve never heard of more daring soldiers. Ever.
Love listening to Tilt talk.
Tilt has the best laugh
I think it s great these guys came home and " can " laugh about it.
Thanks to all Nam vet s for your service.
Welcome home.
I m sorry it s so late telling ya ll that. I was 10 years old at the end of that war and only in the last 15 or so years ( post 911) learned most of what I know now about this war.
I am sorry ya ll did not recieve the respect and appreciation desearved and will do all I can to help that never happening again. God bless you all.
What an honor to listen to and see the bravest of the brave with hearts of valor.
RESPECT...Thank you all for your Service #MAC V SOG & A1 pilots We are in Awe of your Courage ,Valor & Bravery in the Secret War you fought in Vietnam God Bless you all , You are The Definition of True American Heros !!🇺🇲 Love to hear all these stories always has much respect for the Mem & Woman who fauhht and served in The Vietnam war Thanks to all of you and Prayers to the K.I.A & M.I.A.You will Never Be Forgotten! 🇺🇲🙏
Thank you so very much for bringing these stories to light. The bravery of these men is just stunning.
How could anyone thumbs down this , damn
Prolly NVA
Commies, or liberal youth, or butt hurt hippies. Could be a whole slew of types
Idiots who just want to be different.
William Waugh
(born December 1, 1929) is a former United States Army Special Forces soldier and Central Intelligence Agency paramilitary operations officer who served more than 50 years between the U.S. Army's Green Berets and the CIA's Special Activities Division (renamed Special Activities Center in 2016
Waugh enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1948, completing basic training at Fort Ord, California, in August of that year. He was accepted into the United States Army Airborne School and became airborne qualified in December 1948. In April 1951, Waugh was assigned to the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (RCT) in Korea.
Shortly after the end of the Korean War, Waugh met two Special Forces members on a train in Germany, they informed him of openings for Platoon sergeants, shortly after he requested a transfer. He began training for the Special Forces. He earned the Green Beret in 1954, joining the 10th Special Forces Group (SFG) in Bad Tölz, West Germany.
As U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War increased, the United States began deploying Special Forces "A-teams" (Operational Detachment Alpha, or ODA, teams) to Southeast Asia in support of counterinsurgency operations against the Viet Cong, North Vietnamese and other Communist forces. Waugh arrived in South Vietnam with his ODA in 1961, and began working alongside Civilian Irregular Defense Groups (CIDGs) there, as well as in Laos.
In 1965, while participating in a commando raid with his CIDG unit on a North Vietnamese Army encampment near Bong Son, Binh Dinh province, Waugh's unit found itself engaged with much larger enemy force than anticipated. Expecting only a few hundred NVA, it was discovered that a force of Chinese regulars had joined the NVA Elite; combining for almost 4,000 soldiers. While he and his men attempted to retreat from the battle, Waugh received numerous severe wounds to his head and legs. Unconscious, he was taken for dead by NVA soldiers and left alone. Despite his injuries, with the assistance of his teammates Waugh was safely evacuated from the combat zone. He spent much of 1965 and 1966 recuperating at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., eventually returning to duty with 5th Special Forces Group in 1966. He received a Silver Star and a Purple Heart (His 6th) for the battle of Bong Son.
At this time Waugh joined the Military Assistance Command-Vietnam Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG). While working for SOG, Waugh helped train Vietnamese and Cambodian forces in unconventional warfare tactics primarily directed against the North Vietnamese Army operating along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Prior to retirement from U.S. Army Special Forces service, Waugh was senior NCO (non-commissioned officer) of MACV-SOG's Command & Control North (CCN) based at Marble Mountain on the South China Sea shore a few miles south of Da Nang, Vietnam. Waugh held this Command Sergeant Major role during the covert unit's transition and name change to Task Force One Advisory Element (TF1AE). SGM Waugh conducted the first combat High Altitude, Low Opening (HALO) jump, a parachuting maneuver designed for rapid, undetected insertion into hostile territory. In October 1970, his team made a practice Combat Infiltration into the NVA owned War Zone D, in South Vietnam, for reassembly training, etc. Waugh also led the last combat Special reconnaissance parachute insertion by American Army Special Forces HALO parachutists into denied territory which was occupied by communist North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops on June 22, 1971.
Waugh retired from active military duty at the rank of Sergeant Major (E-9) on February 1, 1972.
Prior to retirement, Waugh worked for the CIA's elite Special Activities Division, starting in 1961. After Waugh retired from the military, he worked for the United States Postal Service until he accepted an offer in 1977 from ex-CIA officer Edwin P. Wilson to work in Libya on a contract to train that country's special forces. This was not an Agency-endorsed assignment and Waugh might have found himself in trouble with U.S. authorities if it weren't for the fact that he was also approached by the CIA to work for the Agency while in Libya. The CIA tasked him with surveilling Libyan military installations and capabilities - this was of great interest to U.S. intelligence as Libya was receiving substantial military assistance from the Soviet Union at the time. This additional assignment quite possibly protected Waugh from prosecution after Wilson was later indicted and convicted in 1979 for illegally selling weapons to Libya.
In the 1980s he was assigned to the Kwajalein Missile Range in the Marshall Islands to track Soviet small boat teams (Naval Spetsnaz: Dolfin) operating in the area and prevent them from stealing U.S. missile technology. Some of his more critical assignments took place in Khartoum, Sudan during the early 1990s, where he performed surveillance and intelligence gathering on terrorist leaders Carlos the Jackal and Osama bin Laden with Cofer Black.
At the age of 71, Waugh participated in Operation Enduring Freedom as a member of the CIA team led by Gary Schroen that went into Afghanistan to work with the Northern Alliance to topple the Taliban regime and Al Qaeda at the Battle of Tora Bora. Waugh was in-country from October to December 2001. Waugh spent many years being both a "Blue Badger" (employee) and a "Green Badger" (contractor). He continues to work as a "Green Badger". It is unknown how many missions Waugh was involved in during his career.
In 1985, Waugh was again requested by the CIA for clandestine work. Before he took the offer, he decided to further his education, earning bachelor's degrees in Business and Police Science from Wayland Baptist University in 1987. He also earned a master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a specialization in criminal justice administration (MSCJA) in 1988 from Texas State University (formerly Southwest Texas State), in San Marcos, TX.
Awards and decorations (partial list)
Combat Infantryman Badge (two awards)
Master Parachutist badge (United States)
Master Parachutist Badge
US Military Master Freefall Parachutist Badge with gold Combat Jump Device
Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge with gold combat jump star (5 or more combat jumps).
Silver Star x 8
Legion of Merit
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star with three oak leaf clusters
Silver oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Purple Heart with seven oak leaf clusters
Air Medal
Bronze oak leaf cluster Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Army Commendation Medal with valor device and three oak leaf clusters
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Presidential Unit Citation (United States) with olc (one award in 2001, Studies and Observations Group)
Good Conduct Medal (7 awards)
Army of Occupation Medal
Bronze star
National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star
Bronze Bronze star
Korean Service Medal with three campaign stars
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Arrowhead Silver star Bronze star
Vietnam Service Medal with Arrowhead device and six service stars
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
Civil Action Unit Citation
Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation
United Nations Service Medal (Korea)
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Republic of Korea War Service Medal
7 Service stripes.
Gratitude and honor to you from a 4-F.
Good lord, now I gotta repay the video. Hey, I read slow, but wasn't an asvab waiver. Thanks for the info of this warrior.
@David Erickson Welcome
Billy Waugh was as "Real deal" as real deal got. I can't even begin to imagine what it would take to scare him. AFAIK,he was still alive and living in Fla a few years ago.I have no doubt in my mind that if someone were to approach him today,if he is still alive,and tell him to suit up for a mission,he would be checking his gear as he asked where he was going and what he was going to be doing.
Question for any 5th Special Forces Group/ Mike Force/ MACV SOG guys. Does anyone remember my Father, SFC "Bill" Capps? His full name was Harold William Capps II. He was with 5th Special Forces Group. He told me stories of his days in Vietnam. He led groups of Indigenous Troops. He served 3 combat tours in Vietnam. He was in country 1965, 66 and 68 if my memory serves me right. Bill Capps was a big, thick guy! He had two brothers in Vietnam(all retired). Captain Dan Capps and Lt. Colonel Dickson Capps(both are still living). He lived at Ft. Bragg, N.C. when he was between tours and after. I'm just trying to find any information that I can about him. My Dad, Bill Capps died August 3rd 2018 from cancer caused by Agent Orange. My father was the only one of the 3 brothers in 5th Special Forces. Thank you all for your service in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Thank you for any information you can give. If you do have info, I will give you my contact information. Thank you all!
15:00 ... The Green Berets Who Taught The SEALs To Be Good SEALs
And how they learned!
Heroically Americans love for one another never ceases to amaze me! God bless all of our Vietnam,Laos,Cambodian.Vertrans for their tenacity in all they did daily.
SOG was an inspiration to the few that knew about them. Now many more know of their incredible bravery. A Vietnam Veteran 1967-1969 I Corp. across the road from FOB 1.
SOG snake eaters in Nam were hard as nails. My combat experience in Iraq is child's play compared to what these men faced. Against all odds, they still operated behind enemy lines and completed the mission. Just a different breed.
Found myself at a dinner party in 2007 with Peter Pace who wasn't in uniform. At the time I had no clue who he was until someone mentioned something about Iraq and how it was going. He said something along the lines of "This isn't anything compared to Vietnam. We had 98% casualties, I seen whole platoons lost". I was just a stupid PFC grunt looking for free alcohol, setting in a room of legends. Forever to live in the shadows of these great men.
@Roger That at least you did your part bro. That's a whole lot more than the vast majority will do. I was an airborne infantryman. Did 2 tours in Iraq, a 12 month and a 15 month deployment. Was wounded in action a couple times. But these SOG dudes were on another level. My platoon was fortunate enough to get attached to an SF ODA from 5th group and we were always choppin it up about their lineage in Vietnam. 5th Group comprised the Special Forces contingent of MACV-SOG. We did a lot of night time direct action raids because we had such an advantage operating at night. The SOG operators had to stop movement and set up a perimeter at night, in triple canopy jungle, away from all conventional support. We got into a lot of crazy shit but we almost always had air assets and indirect fire available. Not to mention UAVs and sensor data. We got stop lossed on my 2nd deployment 9 months in. They just told us we got extended to 15 months. Just like that lol. But since we were still conducting operations with the 5th Group ODA, I didn't really mind. As crazy as that sounds. I was 21 years old and we had built quite the effective little fighting unit with a 12 man SF ODA and a 20 man airborne infantry platoon. Sometimes we brought along indigenous as well. Iraqi Army. Just depended on the mission. We did direct action urban and rural raids by truck and fast rope, counter IED ambushes on routes that had a high frequency of IEDs. These missions were highly effective. We also did day time presence patrols in the markets and city centers, meetings with tribal leaders and town mayors and councilmen. Counter mortar ops, area denial patrols, recon team emplacements, disabling IEDs, air assaults to raid rural compounds, off-set air inserts for reconnaissance patrols, HVT(high value target) raids, night time reconnaissance or movement to contact patrols, conducting SSE(sensitive site exploitation) on targets for intelligence. Multiple other missions as well. We were trying to kill or capture AQI and Mahdi militia by nearly any means. Our mission, although extremely dangerous in its own right, was nothing like these SOG warriors faced. I mean virtually every mission was a suicide mission for them. It's mind blowing to me that they still got mission objectives completed while being hunted by specially trained sapper teams, dog teams, and entire divisions of NVA regulars. I will never miss an opportunity to hear a SOG operator tell his story. These deserve to be remembered!
Picture near the end was my father in the boonie hat, Richard R Gross
I was in school with a Richard Gross in 1984, MCC Gunsmithing.... I enjoyed listening to his stories.
@@markholmes5543 I am his youngest son, I did alot of the machinist work for him, thank you Sir!
I knew your father. VERY nice,quiet,professional soldier. Was never on the same team as him,but did share training missions at Bragg with him. Then again,this really was a "small world",and everybody pretty much knew everybody else by reputation,if not personally.
@@lazaruslong6382 Thank you sir for the reply, made my day.
I ran across this video by accident and as I'm listening to it I discover these are the real men in the book I'm listening to on Audible Uncommon Valor by Stephen L. Moore. These guys were BAD ASSES.
I am so glad that you are enjoying Stephen L Moore's book, yes these are the men for sure. Here is a video the I think you might find interesting. Stephen L Moor is nephew of George Wilson Hunt, a former Green Beret. Stephen i was instrumental in helping George solve a mission that haunted him for over 40 years. Don Engebretsen, also noted in Stephens book also was instrumental in solving the looming question in Georges mind, did I bring enough back? ruclips.net/video/NyZKcv7c4X8/видео.html I hope you enjoy this video. I wish the audio could have been captured cleaner, however we were at a military reunion, my filming sessions ran long, and the boys were setting up for that nights event. Over all the story is so amazing. Thank you for your interest and comment
RIP Frenchman
When did the Frenchman pass?
@@peterprovenzano9039 pretty recently, of cancer from the agent orange they used in the field
@@TheEpicTricycle thanks for the update. I’m sorry to hear that
No, that's upsetting I watched the jocco pod with him on today. A real gangster rip Frenchay
facebook.com/818075548306978/posts/with-a-heavy-heart-i-report-that-doug-the-frenchman-letourneau-special-forces-so/2403673806413803/
MAC V SOG the mission's you men went on to let the NVA know that you can hit them when you wanted and you did. All I can say one hell of a job to get into. MAC V SOG THE BEST OF THE BEST. GOD BLESS ALL THAT ARE MISSING AND FOR THE ONES THAT NEVER MADE IT BACK OVER THE FENCE MAY THEY R.I.P. You have my respect drive on
Thank you gentlemen. G-d bless you all.
These guys are Incredible......
Thank you for sharing your reunion.
I love these men. Vietnam is the most fascinating war to me. South East Asia and the jungle, the people, tigers, cobras, etc. I have been to Thailand 5 times. I love that part of the world. Much respect and appreciation to all of those men involved in that war and all others.
Tilt is THE MAN!
Thanks for Posting this!
Glad Tilt talked about those South Vietnamese Kingbee pilots and crews as they also had balls of steel. If you read Across the Fence you'll know
You listen to the Jocko episode with Captain An or Kahn "cowboy" Doan. Both with "Tilt" along side to fill in the words. Phenomenal history. They're American now, definitely earned it. Can't say that for safe space seekers.
If Tilt is speaking...it's gonna be interesting.
I have been back to Vietnam twice since the war. Beautiful country and wonderful people. The Vietnamese hold no hard feelings and neither do i. We were soldiers doing a job and so were the Vietnamese. To have peace from the war one must let all the anger go and it was amazing how many friends i made when i went back to Vietnam.
Welcome Home Ron. We are grateful.
Just wanted to say John Meyer I'm from your home town you lived on N Paul St. I'm down on Greenwood Ave and South Cook St.
Them boys were menacing with the tiger cam
Rich Benjamin yes I’ve heard his interviews on podcasts like the jocko podcast the bright missions were always the most interesting and creepy cause he was saying sometimes they never even found the other teams and they were Mia. Just vanished
Rich Benjamin I’ve heard that story that’s gonna be dope
Does anyone remember Harry Marr ? He was on a different team from mine and served a different year from me. I met Harry while living in Houston, Texas, and we became good friends. Harry passed in about 2008 from complications of diabetes caused by agent orange.
You might ask this question of John Stryker (Tilt) Meyer - he is the owner of SOG Chronicles. He was Idaho One Zero in 1970 or 1971 - sogchronicles.com/
@@militarytales Thanks , i appreciate the info.
Realize allot of the peanut gallery were there BUT Jesus just the guy talk! LOL
Did anyone remember Rick Dodson ? He was assigned to a listening post on Monkey Mountain and his post was over run several times. He died of cncer from agent orange in 2009. I grew up with Rick and was best friends with him and his younger brother.
Monkey Mountain was a radio relay site manned mostly by guys from CCN at DaNang,but there were also some ASA guys there doing their own gig. IIRC,it was overan by a massive attack from NVA regulars in 1969. This was a hollow "victory" for the NVA,though. They got hammered hard by tac air,as well as the guys on top of the hill. It was the kind of "victory" nobody wants to have. And after finally getting to the top of the hill,they had to start hauling ass back to Laos because there was no way in hell they were going to be able to hold it.
If anybody ever tells you the NVA were lousy soldiers that lacked balls,you are talking to someone who never faced them. Their leadership were more geared to political "victories" than military victories,but the line soldiers were as brave and determined as any soldiers in anybody's army.
Great video of a group that fought bravely in a war that we lost. Goes to show that warriors exist in any context even with defeated countries. I wonder if you could do a feature on the North Vietnamese special forces operations, not just the VC, but military sponsored ops that was different than the civilian VC ops. Thanks.
Hi sir, I’d like to know some information regarding one of my family members that was in SOG. His name is Rodney Headman, he had a book wrote about him and his team, “Dawson’s war a novel of friendship under fire”. I was wondering you knew Rodney, I’ve been researching everywhere and found this video. He was in operation prairie fire and pretty much was with SOG from the beginning, eventually joining/starting Delta Force. I’d like to know if you knew him or have any information on the subject. Thanks for sharing your extraordinary story and thank you for your service! Every single one of you deserve so much respect
He also recently started an instagram page. I don't know his username but I do know you can fire up Tilt's most recent appearance on Jocko's Podcast and will find it in the video description. Stand by for username...
Instagram @jstrykermeyer
Hey just curious i worked with a guy years ago his name was bill thymes !! He said he did same thing u guys did he was from sacremento !! It was mid 90 s when i worked with him !! We partyed together alot and he told me some wild shit had some wicked scars !! Woundern if ya ever heard of him would love to know if he still alive
Thanks. Subscribed
Legend has it, vietnam was no good because our government took away the waterslide and the log ride.
Why don’t you ever hear about the African-American brothers that served in SOG? Ever heard of Eugene Ashley?
No. But I’m sure folks would like to hear more about this person. I know i would.
Hello Greg: You are right Eugene Ashley was a straight-up soldier and hero. Paul Longgrear talks about Eugen in the Battle of Lang Vei ruclips.net/video/UjaLWskzdng/видео.html When we recorded this presentation and found out about Eugene, we reached out to his museum. Unfortunately, we have not heard back from them, they like many other facilities are probably scaled back due to COVID. Most of our interviews have taken place at the Tennessee Museum of Aviation. As Units and groups have reunions there, we try to interview as many SOG and SOS personnel as possible.
@@militarytales What is SOS, please?
@@ToyotaGuy1971 Hello @ToyotaGuy1971- SOS stands for Special Operations Squadron en.wikipedia.org/wiki/602nd_Special_Operations_Squadron
Thank you for the question, hope you are enjoying the videos
@@militarytales Thank you, sir. I'm enjoying the videos immensely. Thank you for the link. May God bless you and keep you.
I worked with a guy who became a very good friend of mine throughout the 90's John R Boatwright, he was Green Beret in Laos during the 60's, he was part of all of that. He was eventually shot by the VC thru the top of his leg by a WW2 grease gun, his medivac flight out in a Huey helicopter was also shot down, only my friend and one gunner survived the crash, as they tried to close the distance on the crash site to basically assassinate the two survivors, two Bell Cobra gunships showed up and they were the only reason that my friend was alive to tell this story. Ive always wondered if any of those Cobra Pilots were still alive and might recall this incident
Great. where's part 2 :)
What is the air museum where this was filmed?
Hello Brandon, this was filmed at the Tennessee Museum of Aviation in Sevierville TN. You should join their newsletter or follow them on Facebook. They are real good about announcing events.
If I ever get a chance to go back to Tennessee, this place is on the list. Thank you for replying to my question.
is there another part with lang vei?
Hello pet per, This is all that we have recorded, however. Paul went with a production company back to Lang Vei Vietnam. I will try to post the link, it is on Amazon Prime. It is called "The Man Left Behind" I believe you have to purchase it. I have watched it, It is very good . I hope this helps - www.amazon.com/Man-Left-Behind-Terence-Knox/dp/B019YLLVLW
You can watch the film with a Prime membership. I recommend watching it as it's quite incredible
JESUS CHRIST TILT, THEYRE TRYING TO KILL US!
15:30 ...
Is your channel still active,,,,,,,my buddy's father is DICK MEADOWS and he may have a couple knifes of his
Yes, we are very active, thanks for checking in. I know Tilt would flip if someone had one of his knives. He tells a story of how he lost his on an extraction. My email is rich@rbamarketing send me an email and we can go further getting Dick and Tilt together
Too make a long story short.. lol.
Love and respect every vet that served our.country.