MACV Headquarters, Saigon, Vietnam
We have been speaking to another veteran this time one attached SOG with the Special Security Office (SSO) based in Saigon. The SSO and the related Special Security Group (SSG) provided CODEWORD back-channel communications and courier services above those organic in the theatre. A second interview can be seen here.
Modern Forces: Larry, can you give us some background on your service and work with SOG?
Larry Crowder: My name is Larry Crowder, and I am a retired US Army veteran of 26 years of service who had four combat tours.
In 1970 I was a Communications specialist assigned to the US Army Special Security Group, Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, DA, HQ MACV (ACSI SSO). Upon being assigned to Vietnam in 1970 in August the unit attached me to the Studies and Observations Group. (SOG) in (November 1970, where I worked until April 1972.
At our detachment there one of my additional duties was to take message we received with enemy unit locations that impacted the defence of the capital Saigon and post them on a map we then briefed the Commander, CMAT (Commander Military Advisory Team Vietnam).
We were combined with a group of DA Intel Analysts made up of Army, Air Force and Marines. They supplied Intel to General Abrams, plotting and keeping track of the movements and conditions of every known enemy unit in Vietnam.
We were tasked with providing the Commander, CMAT with first hand knowledge of all enemy units within a certain radius of Saigon, and providing any intelligence information of any infiltration effort or information that was at hand that anything was amiss locally.
We also did our best to keep the local economy thriving by spending money lavishly on beer and the charming young women found in the hundreds of bars found throughout the lively active and animated city.
Modern Forces: What other responsibilities did you have during your time in Vietnam?
Larry Crowder: We had an addition duty in regards to this also. If any of these messages contain a location of an unidentified transmission within the city limits of Saigon, it was known as a "Coca Cola Report." I had to get on a secure line and call out SSO Officer and brief him on the location and time. I, or whoever, would then arm myself and drive across the city to the compound where he resided in our jeep and rendezvous with him as quickly as possible. Since we worked two to a shift, I would ask the DA Analysts (Marines, Army Air Force if they wanted to go to war with me…very few ever did.)
The SSO then had to call out a unit of ARVN Special Forces assigned to go to the address and root out the offender always with a Saigon city police escort that always seemed to get lost on or stuck in the invisible traffic that just was terrible at three in the morning during curfew.
We usually ran into a dry hole, occasionally caught some joker on his little zybyphone or whatever sending and once stumbled into a virtual hot bed when we stumbled into an NVA safehouse and shoot it out with them.
The matter never got any press because we didn't exist. The local MPs got credit for something, I can't remember what kind of cover story they fixed it up with.
Modern Forces: Any other stories from your time assigned to SOG? Ones you can share of course…
Larry Crowder: In John L. Plaster's book "SOG The Secret Wars of America's Commando's In Vietnam" Plaster writes about Master Sergeant Sebastian "Tony" DeLuca, a person who was in the loop as for as knowledge of the whereabouts of where American POWs where tentatively being held and plan for raids to rescue them under Project Bright Light. He became very frustrated with the programs failure to recover American POWs and the obvious indications that it was infiltrated by an NVA mole that was never exposed. He went AWOL and went to Bangkok, from where he and a mysterious woman, attempted to travel into enemy territory and subject a rescue of his friend on his own. He was killed supposedly by the Pathet Lao, and his body ransomed back to US forces.
Plaster wrote of DeLuca, acknowledging that he went AWOL, but still reluctant to call him anything less than a hero.
I, on the other hand, saw him in a rather different light on one rather entertaining night.
On that particular night in question, he was serving as the Sergeant of the guard for the compound.
At about 20;00 hours, he buzzed our front door, and army Captain Kerr, answered the door.
It was DeLuca. He asked the captain if he could get a cup of coffee. The captain said sure he'd be glad to get him one, he'd be right back.
The tough gravel voiced Special Forces sergeant held onto his cup, and asked why couldn't he come inside and get it himself?
Kerr told him he wasn't cleared to enter this facility. DeLuca seemed to find that to be that wrong answer and answered with a resounding, "That's just total bull shit Captain Sweety"
I came around the corner as his insulting answer to Kerr came out in his gravel like voice with an Air Force M/SGT Hoeft, and a marine Captain McDermott, who was ranking man on the shift.
He took up Kerr's conversation since DeLuca had become highly agitated. Deluca escalated the situation by pushing forward, to try to get through the door. Kerr stood in his way and told him to stand down. He cursed Kerr and said he was cleared to enter any damned place up to the White House.
Captain McDermott stepped forward, and said in a calm voice "No you aren't. You can't come in here."
To which DeLuca replied, "And who is going to stop me?"
McDermott was always a cool figure under any circumstances maintained his calm demeanour and told DeLuca in a calm low voice, "I will, with the assistance if necessary, of these two here, and Specialist Crowder, you go get your M-16, lock and load it, and if he is successful in getting past us, and I want both you cant this man to under stand this order... you fill his ass full of holes. Am I clear on that?"
I didn't make a sound, just spun and went to get it, but I turned and made one step and the guy working with me Bill Fairbanks, from Oak Ridge, TN, tossed it to me, much in the same manner old John Russell used to throw that Winchester to Peter Brown on the beginning of “Lawman”.
Bill's eyes got big and wide when stuff went down and he was wild eyed as an old night owl when I turned and saw him.
"Here it is Larry" he says and he has a Swedish K gun ready to go for himself.
We stood by the door and watched the argument escalate now as DeLuca threw a punch at Kerr and M/Sgt Hoeft charged like an angry bull and hit him with his head in the stomach. DeLuca grabbed onto Hoeft as they fell to the floor and held onto him. They rolled across the door opening towards us. Captain McDermott and Captain Kerr grabbed DeLuca as he broke free and got up. They all took turns throwing wild punches at each other.
Fairbanks and I exchanged glances, as we couldn't believe this wild melee. DeLuca landed a couple of good ones too. Hoeft got him from the backside and jumped on his back. Kerr grabbed one leg and McDermott the other, then McDermott yelled for one of us to open the door. Fairbanks was closer so he did.
He made a mistake and went outside as they dragged the screaming cursing DeLuca thru the door. In all the process of getting him out the door DeLuca lost his hat, coffee cup, and one boot. The three men got him on the outside, and then gave him the one-a two-a and the three-a and heaved him across the concrete parking lot as far as they could he landed with a thud and a groan.
They then rushed back inside and closed the door.
Suddenly there was a load pounding on the door!
Kerr said, "My God! He can't have recovered that soon! " he looked through the peep hole and saw a terrified Fairbanks looking back at him. "Fairbanks! You dolt!" yelled Kerr. What the f.. are you doing outside?"
"LET ME IN!'' came the reply.
Fairbanks then turned to see if the ten-foot monster DeLuca was going to get him and in doing so leaned against the door in fright. Kerr opened the heavy door at just that time, and Fairbanks fell inside on top of Kerr.
And here came Deluca again.
You dumb sons a' beeches aren't rid o'me yet! he growled in his wrestler like voice. I levelled my weapon at him and said. "I never point a weapon at a man I am not prepared to kill. This has gone on long enough. Leave!"
He stepped on a dime, stood there a moment thinking, then pointed at his hat and boot. I nodded and he slowly bent over and picked them up, took a deep breath and with his head held high, he turned and walked lout of our shop.
But he left without any coffee.
It was the last time I saw him alive. The next time I heard of him was when he was listed as AWOL.
What a character!
Modern Forces: What did you do after yours tours in Vietnam?
Larry Crowder: I enjoyed my time with SOG and years later at Fort Stewart, GA I had been a Signal Platoon SGT for some time when the Battalion CSM asked me to become the Reenlistment NCO, a job I came to enjoy very much.
One of the company first sergeants was a big guy about to reenlist. I check his record and by jiminy, he was a SOG team leader way back when. He had all kind of medals including two Purple Hearts.
Well he comes in and this was when the army had just instituted the weight control program.
He comes in and I have to weight him for his reenlistment packet and he's about eight pound overweight. One of his legs had been bothering him some. He looked very concerning when he stepped off at what I was going to say.
When I said nine pound lower that what the scales said his mouth dropped open. He looked at me and I walked over to the wall where I some plaque up and stood by the one that had the very identifiable Green Beret sitting on a skull on it.
I said to him, "Is something wrong First Sergeant? We do some extra running when your leg feels better and talk about our old commander Colonel Sadler and who else we both knew okay? "'
And he with a smile forming shook his head affirmative.
He did too. And that fudging for him gained me more respect that any hardboiled going by the rules and ruining his chances for re upping would ever have. He was within his required weight pretty soon, but he just never could place any SSO guys with the unit.
He kept calling me a REMP and laughing at me.
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