This Day in Army History-Son Tay-November 21st, 1970 скачать в хорошем качестве

This Day in Army History-Son Tay-November 21st, 1970

On November 21, 1970, a joint team of 92 U.S. Air Force Special Operations troops and 56 Army Special Forces personnel conducted one of the most daring and dramatic missions of the Vietnam War when they raided a North Vietnamese prison facility just 23 miles outside of Hanoi. Their objective was a breakout at Son Tay prison camp, where American intelligence believed as many as 70 American prisoners of war were being kept. The raid was the brainchild of Air Force Brigadier General Leroy Manor, among others. The commander of the assault force, hand-picked by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was Special Forces Colonel Arthur D. “Bull” Simons. While the raid did not achieve its objective (the prisoners had by chance been relocated days earlier), the mission ultimately resulted in improved conditions and morale for American POWs and became a model for similar covert operations in future years and decades. The man who led the Son Tay raid from the front, Colonel Bull Simons, was already a legendary figure in 1970. Simons was born in New York City in 1918. After joining ROTC and graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in 1941. During World War II, he initially deployed to New Guinea as an artillery officer, but in early 1943 he volunteered to serve as a company commander in the newly formed 6th Ranger Battalion. This was the beginning of a decorated career in special ops. Simons helped de-mine the Leyte Channel before the U.S. liberation of the Philippines in 1944. He then participated in the infamous raid on the Cabanatuan Japanese prisoner-of-war facility, which liberated more than 500 American POWs—many of whom were survivors of the Bataan Death March. Simon’s actions during this mission earned him a Silver Star. By the time he was picked to lead the ground assault of the Son Tay Raid, he had attained the rank of Colonel and was 52 years old.