Saturday, October 16, 2010

Green Beret - US Special Forces


Special Forces Major Herbert Brucker was behind the beginning of the green beret designation in the year 1953. Brucker began the designation which would later be realized by 1st Lt Roger Pezelle who adopted it for his highly operative A-Team called the Operational Detachment FA-32. Rapidly, the green beret would be seen on the members of the special forces units whenever these soldiers went out into the field. However, the US Army was not keen on making the green beret an authorized entity at that time.
Fort Bragg and President Kennedy changed all of that when in 1961; The President of the United States encouraged General Yarborough to inform all of the special forces to wear their green berets to the event. At the event, President Kennedy delivered a speech whereby he made the green beret a "mark of distinction in the trying times ahead."
Every November 22nd, the date of the assassination of Kennedy, several of the green berets travel to his graveside and pay tribute to the man, the President that enabled this group of very special forces to earn the green beret distinction. The men honor President Kennedy by placing a wreath and a green beret on his tomb. If Kennedy were alive today, they would still honor him for making such a profound difference in the way the special forces are perceived by people all around the world.
Special Forces were originally formed in 1952, initially under the U.S. Army Psychological Warfare Division headed by then Brigadier General Robert A. McClure (for details of the early justification for Special Forces, see Clandestine HUMINT and Covert Action).





Special Operations Command was formed by the U.S. Army Psychological Warfare Center which was activated in May 1952. The initial 10th Special Forces Group was formed in June 1952, and was commanded by Colonel Aaron Bank. Bank served with various Office of Strategic Services (OSS) units, including Jedburgh teams advising and leading French Resistance units before the Battle of Normandy, or the D-Day invasion of 6 June 1944. Bank is known as the father of the Special Forces.
The history of Green Berets in Vietnam is too extensive to even start about writing here, but the www is loaded with information on their heroic (and less heroic) deeds there. 
Vietnam made Green Beret with Dragon Lining

No comments:

Post a Comment