Living History

Live! From the 60th Annual Special Operations reunion in Las Vegas October 15-17, 2024.

Greetings from the 60th SOAR reunion in Las Vegas. I’m here with Terry and Ginny Crump and my wife Lynne for the 60th Special Operations Association annual reunion. The group includes all Special Operations veterans from all conflicts, but probably 75% or more are with SOG, the special operations group that conducted the secret war in Laos and Cambodia. As a Pink Panther Cobra pilot who spent a year supporting these clandestine missions “across the fence” Terry and other aviators involved are welcomed as members. Lynne and I are here as Terry’s guests.

Anyone with a drop of blood in their veins and with a heart for history would no doubt be as thrilled and moved as I have been at this event. It far exceeded my expectations. 

For the past year I have pretty much lived and breathed SOG and the pilots like Terry and Woody who supported them. I have read probably about 20 books, plus spent hours online reading about these guys and their often unbelievable battles, gathering facts, stories, and the telling details. In that time, numerous names have become very familiar, as well as many of their stories. Names like John “Plasticman” Plaster who first revealed SOG to the world in 1995 and who has written three books that I and many others consider the definitive accounts of SOG. Guys like John Stryker “Tilt” Meyer, who has written a number of books and has a podcast. Like Plaster, Tilt was also a well known One Zero or leader of the SOG teams into forbidden territory. Then there’s Henry “Dick” Thompson, now with a PhD, who led some of the craziest missions out of CCN, the northern part of SOG. His two books called Code Name Dynamite are some of the best accounts of SOG missions.

If you’ve read “A Tardy Salute” for long, you’ve heard of Barry Pencek, the Marine Cobra pilot who wrote the book on Tailwind, the SOG mission to help out the CIA that was so horrifically lied about in a CNN-Time Magazine report in 1998. Barry’s takedown of the CNN report is excellent. Terry’s book It Was My Turn has two chapters on Operation Tailwind that he flew on and it includes stories about the amazing Green Beret medic Mike Rose who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroics on this mission. You will also read about an incredible Marine CH-53 pilot who got the last of the 136 man SOG team out of Laos under heavy fire only to have his engines shot out and have to crash land his stricken helicopter. The story of him using what lift he could from the spinning rotors to clear a ridgeline, then find an open spot right near a steam to crash land the big chopper, is one of the most amazing feats of airmanship I have ever read about. Don Persky was the diminutive 22 year old pilot’s name.

There are more. Guys like Mike Wilson who flew a Huey crew helicopter called a “slick” that picked up teams from the ground often under severe enemy fire. This was how most helicopter pilots and their crews  in Vietnam died. 5500 of them, almost 10% of all those killed in the war. Mike was also on that Tailwind mission and ended up picking up Terry’s commanding officer, Major Henry, who with Bob Litwinski, were the only Panther’s shot down on the Tailwind mission. That was one of a great many such rescues under enemy fire by Mike. Then there’s Brian Sweet, Terry’s Executive Officer, who survived with Major Henry the fragging attack when two disgruntled black soldiers threw a hand grenade into Major Henry’s hooch. What happened after that showed Terry’s coolness under pressure like little else.

And you have most certainly read about Woody Woodard, Panther 27, Terry’s good friend and fellow Panther, who with another friend of Terry’s, Lash Larue Wisener, was well known as one of the greatest hell-raisers in Panther history. Woody has been beyond helpful in writing Terry’s book and a few of his exploits and adventures are included. 

Sure, I have these guys on pedestals. And I have them in the category I call “history,” that is a record of long past things that are important to know. It is these stories and the men who lived them that compel me to write to each of you via Tardy Salute and to commit a year of my life (so far) to telling Terry’s story as well as those he fought with.

Here’s the kicker: I have spent an incredible time the last two days with each of those guys I mentioned. Just got back from lunch with Woody, his Air Force drone-flying son Michael, Terry, Ginny, Lynne and Mike Wilson. Mike scoots around on a scooter, smokes cigarettes like they are going out of style (aren’t they?) and is such a friendly, nice man. Sitting with him, and his great friend Woody, and listening to them tell stories about their days together in Vietnam, and much more, their often crazy and wild times after Vietnam, is such a treat.

The pilot who crash landed that CH-53, saving the lives of not only his crew on board but also those final survivors of the SOG team in Operation Tailwind, including medic Mike Rose? I had the great privilege of stopping him in the meeting room, and introducing him to Woody and Terry, both of whom in their Cobras after the crash and the men who survived it got out (one died), swooped in to blow up the Sea Stallion helicopter as was the requirement then to keep it out of enemy hands. I thanked him profusely, told him how amazed I was at his story. Still a short, slight man with a great and friendly smile, he seemed genuinely surprised and appreciative of my adulation. 

(Photo: CH-53 pilot Don Persky with Woody and Terry)

Barry Pencek? He gave the main presentation on Operation Tailwind at the conference and like his book, it was excellent. I gave him one of my three printouts of It Was My Turn and he eagerly agreed to read it and write a review we can use for promotion. A very gracious, friendly and helpful man.

Brian Sweet, yes, talked to him but he left early so wasn’t able to sit down and really get some scoop on Terry that I am looking for. “Dynamite” Thompson? Yes, a quiet, small man with a kind of deer in the headlights look, not the kind that you would expect to have run some of the craziest prisoner snatch and numerous other missions in SOG. Even Major General Eldon Bargewell who served on his team considered him crazy. He too so willingly agreed to review Terry’s book and write a review.

John Stryker “Tilt” Meyer, author of several of the most highly regarded books on SOG, has emerged as one of the most well-known leaders of those involved in bringing SOG exploits to the world. He also agreed to read and review, and invited Terry to come to Nashville to be on his podcast. 

I cannot possibly express what it meant to me to meet and talk with John Plaster. He is, I believe, the most well-known of the SOG historians, and he himself ran some of the most daring missions out of CCC Kontum, the SOG group that Terry supported. (His story of Operation Ashtray II, where they meticulously planned and then executed the capture of a North Vietnamese truck driver on the Ho Chi Minh Trail is alone worth the price of the book and then some!) If you listened to the audio tape of the dual Prairie Fire mission or read the Tardy Salute on that, it was Plaster who was the Covey Rider, calling the shots as two SOG groups were in deep trouble under heavy enemy attack. Terry, Panther 38, is heard on that tape. Hearing that tape from 1971 and having Terry and Woody, Panther 27 also on the tape, talk to Plaster, was incredible. But, to have John Plaster enthusiastically agree to write the foreword for Terry’s book is more than I could hope for (I hope he likes it!). It will be, I believe, a great boost to the marketing to have John Plaster’s name on the cover.

This picture was worth the whole trip to Las Vegas (one of my wife’s and my least favorite places on earth and on her birthday no less!). This is the panel answering questions about Operation Tailwind and the totally disgusting CNN pack of lies about it. The banner saying “The Last Battle of the Vietnam War” refers to the battle, still on-going, of trying to tell the truth about the conflict and our men there against media who care about nothing except their ratings.

The man speaking with his hand up is none other than John Plaster, who after the false report went out, went to the Pentagon, got a Pesidential Unit Citation for SOG and helped get Mike Rose’s medal upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

Behind him on the panel, on the far left is Brian Sweet, Terry’s Executive Officer, who also flew in Tailwind. Next to him is Mike Rose, the incredibly brave medic on the SOG team on Tailwind, who fought to keep the 136 man team alive–everyone was injured and quite a few of the Montagnard teammates were killed. Next to him is Barry Pencek, Marine Cobra pilot who wrote the book on Tailwind, including exposing CNN’s and Peter Arnett’s false reporting. Next is Joe Driscoll, one of the Marine Cobra pilots to play a key role in the numerous efforts to rescue the team under very heavy fire. Next to him is Don Persky, the CH-53 pilot who saved the lives of his crew and the surviving team members including Mike Rose and Captain McCarley through his outstanding flying after both engines were shot out. Next is Gary Green (updated to correct name, sorry Gary), the Air Force Covey Forward Air Controller pilot who did incredible work flying over the extraction effort. Next to him is Woody Woodard, Panther Cobra pilot who flew with Terry and who together after the crash of Perky’s helicopter destroyed it with rockets. (Where is Terry? Sitting shyly with me and our wives in the audience). The man behind the podium is John S. Meyer, “Tilt.” One of the main men who spoke was Jim Moriarity, a Marine helicopter pilot who was also the attorney representing a number of the men involved in Tailwind who sued CNN, Peter Arnett and the reporters who maliciously wrote the lies about these men, accusing them of war crimes. He showed videos of depositions with Arnett and others helping to expose their lies.

Mike Rose is a short, white-haired gentleman, who comes across a kindly, serious and warm hearted. The most powerful moment of the presentation, and of the meeting itself, was when Mike stood up after the terrible CNN report was shown to the crowd of maybe about 100. The lies and false accusations were beyond frustrating. Many of those on the panel had found out that CNN was airing a program on a mission they were on and invited friends and family to watch it, not knowing that they would be accused of killing American deserters, and dropping sarin gas on innocent women and children–all vicious lies. The men were shocked when their families were exposed. Mike stood up and said his 18 year daughter turned to him after the report on TV and said, “Dad, what did you do wrong?” To go through a five day running battle, losing many of your team, many killed, everyone wounded, some multiple times including Rose, then to be accused of such things by our own media was hurtful beyond understanding. To have those closest to you question your behavior because of the lies of those chasing ratings was just tragic. Rose’s comment drew tears. And then he said: “CNN is an enemy of America.” In light of that report, few could disagree.

One final thing. Woody introduced me to Sam from Savage Video Games. This is a video game company who has made a video game on the SOG mission, called SOG Prairie Fire. Watch the trailer here:

It has 300,000 users so far. Sam also does podcasts with SOG veterans, and has interviewed Woody. They are working with vets to make the game as interesting and realistic as possible. He was very interested in meeting Terry. I talked with Sam and found out they are doing a new game or an addition to this one that involves Cobras supporting the SOG teams. I gave him a copy of the manuscript explaining that probably no other source could give him a better idea of what it is like to be in the cockpit of a Cobra during a “hot” extraction. He was very enthusiastic about it and wants to do the voice recording for an audio version of Terry’s book.

With the eagerness of these people to help get Terry’s story out, I am more encouraged than ever about getting this project out there and in the hands of interested readers.