The Gritz "Rescues" and Scott Barnes, too
Joe Schlatter
Misinformation and mythology continue to live regarding the "rescue"
operations allegedly run by former Army LTC James "Bo" Gritz. Here are
the facts.
Operation Velevet Hammer.
A Vietnamese man, living in Thailand, Loh Therraphant, approached US
officials with a story that "agents" working for him had located US POWs
in a prison camp in Laos. About the same time, a US imagery analyst
claimed that he had observed, in satellite photography, the markings
"B52" laid out using brush or logs on the ground in a known prison camp
in Laos. Therraphant is a known scam artist who preys on refugees,
offering to help them emigrate to the US or wherever else they want to
go in exchange for, you guessed it, money. He has introduced several
phony POW stories to US intel. The imagery was reviewed and several
other anaylsts stated that the "B52" was natural shadowing. A team of
"indigenous personnel" was dispatched. They entered Laos, reconned the
prison observed no Americans, only Lao.
Meanwhile, knowledge of this imagery had been spread throughuot the US
Congress and the US special operations community. Gritz learned of it
through some friends of his still on active duty. Gritz also had some
sort of relationship with Therraphant. Gritz approached the commander
of a detachment of a US intell unit, told him about the "agents" and
contacts he had in Thailand (Therraphant). This inividual did two
things:
-- He proposed, through channels, that a clandestine opration be
mounted, using Gritz as the action agent. That proposal was killed
immediately.
-- He provided Gritz with some camera equipment and with a letter of
intro to a US defense contractor who provided specialized commo gear.
Gritz then set about recruiting old SF friends for his operation. He
set up camp at a cheerleading camp in Florida, from which originated all
sorts of tales about psychics, reportrers, and you name it. Gritz
needed money. When George Brooks, then chairman of the board of the
League of Families, visited the camp at Gritz's request, he wrote a
check for $20,000. Brooks would eventually invest $40,000 in the
operation.
Gritz was able to assemble a team who started training. Instead of
building a mockup of the prison camp, which was now being called Fort
Apache, Bo relied on the services of a psychic to conjure up visions of
the camp which were to be used for training. Other training consisted
of meditation session, led by Bo; exercise sessions; and sermons from Bo
who told the team that he had been ordained by God to lead this
mission. (I am not making up any of this.)
Gritz told his team that they would set up operations in, get this, the
Nana Hotel in Bangkok and establish a forward operating base at Nakhom
Phanom. Part of their equipment was to be an inflatable airplane. Once
the POWs were rescued, he would notify the folks at the Nana by a series
of radio relays. They would call League of Families executive director
Ann Griffiths in Washington who would tell President Reagan who would
order the Seventh Fleet to send in helicopters to pick them up. (Stop
ROTFLYAO, this is serious.)
Gritz had invited some reporters to the camp to witness the secret
goings-on. He confided in them that the whole operation was being
funded by a $300,000 grant from Federal Express. FedEx learned of the
operation when one of the reporters called to confirm this story.
Several of Bo's team dropped out at this point. End of Velvet Hammer.
Operation Grand Eagle; code named BOHICA (Bend Over, Here It Comes
Again)
Gritz told Congressman Dornana that BOHICA was sanctioned by the CIA.
Dornan asked CIA deputy director why the money was so slow in coming.
CIA's reaction was the same as FedEx's in Velvet Hammer.
End of Grand Eagle.
Operation Lazarus
Try again, Bo. This time, Bo aligned himself with Phoumi Nosavan,
former premier of Laos, himself no choir boy. Nosavan, however, had
money, much of it stolen from the Lao government when he was premier.
Gritz forged a letter with the signature of LTG Aaron, US Army, former
deputy director of DIA, who had died just before the forgery. Gritz
used this forged letter and his own bravado to convince at leat two
major film stars to provide a pile of money. Using his old contacts in
the intel community, he got more equipment from a defense contractor.
Off to Thailand.
Bo was scammed out of several thousand by his Lao friends and by fellow
POW-hunter Jack Bailey. $25,000 intended for payroll disappeared. Team
members began to have problems; one guy's family was evicted for
non-payment of rent back in the States. The troops were getting
restless.
With Lazarus falling apart, Gritz decided to set out. Approximately
twenty guys, with three or four weapons between them, set out for Laos
from Thailand. Here is where it gets murky. what is known is:
--- Gritz never left Thailand.
--- Some of the Lao refugees whom Gritz had recruited were bagged by
Commie troops when their boat landed on the Lao side of the Mekong.
--- Shots were exchanged between Commie troops on the bank and some of
Gritz's boys in one or two boats in the middle of the river.
--- One member of Gritz's team, Dominic Zappone,was captured, not by
Lao Commies, but by, get this, Phoumi Nosavan's gang who demanded
$20,000 (I belive that was the amount) for his release).
Gritz returned to the States, Zappone remained as a guest of Phoumi.
Gritz tried to raise money for Zappone's release; no funds were
forthcoming. So, he hit on a grand scheme. The defense contractor, who
by now had been told what was going on, wanted their stuff back. Bo
placed an ad in a california newspaper offering it for sale. The
contractor gave Bo several large bills to get it back. Bo now had money
so he set up:
Operation Lazarus Omega
Bo, two MIA daughters (who had been along on a few of the other
adventures), and long-time tagalong Vinnie Arnone, headed for Thailand.
On this mission, Bo decided to honor his friend Loh Therraphant by
awarding him the Legion of Merit. He did so by presenting Loh with one
of his own medals and a forged copy of his own LOM citation, complete
with signatures from Nixon and Abrams, neither of whom had been in
office for years. (Hey, you, the Marine in the back row, this is serious
and you have already been warned about ROTFLYAO.)
Zappone, meanwhile, was released. Not because Bo paid the ransom. I
have heard -- but cannot confirm -- that Zappone was released because he
got hold of a grenade and threatened to blow up himself and his captors
if they did not let him go.
Bo, meanwhile, was determined to see it through. Gritz claimed that
they headed out for a secret location in Laos. Thai police, who were
watching Bo, report that he spent his time lolling about in several
houses owned by Therraphant. Gritz wrote a letter describing his long
trek through the jungle where he claimed to have discovered a POW camp
complete with US POWs. Thai police arested Gritz. He showed up at his
trial in civvies, the Thai would not let him wear a uniform. He was,
however, flanked by Loh Therraphant holding Bo's khaki uniform complete
with medals from head to foot.
It was here that Bo was observed and photographed by Soldier of Fortune
reporter Jim Coyne. Coyne reported that Gritz appeared amazingly pale
and unscratched (anyone remember the "wait-a-minute" vines in the bush?)
for a man who had just returned from a long, arduous trek through the
jungle.
The Thai tossed Gritz out of the country.
Gritz came back and was to present his bombshell testimony before a
House Committee. There, it was revealed that the bags of MAI bones that
he brought back were animal bones and Indochinese bones. Bo admitted
that he had no evidence. He even admitted that his photos had not
turned out because he had used the wrong camera settings.
End of Lazarus Omega.
It is from these comedies that Gritz claims that he entered Laos, found
a POW camp, and rescued two Americans. He then claims that his team was
ambushed on their return trip and abandoned the two Americans.
SCOTT BARNES
Barnes enlisted in the Army in 1971(?) for 48 months. He served 16
months. He enlisted to be a Military Police investigator. When he
could not pass the advanced individual training, he was sent to Fort
Lewis where he became a stockade guard. There was some narcotics
trafficking going on in which dope was being smuggled into the
stockade. Barnes blew the whistle on this and was commended for his
actions.
He was then released from active duty because that was about the only
thing he did right.
Barnes tells a different story. He claims that he was taken to a secret
corner of Fort Lewis by a colonel who told him that he would go into a
life of secet, unercover operations.
In his book, BOHICA, Barnes describes tha most amazing advnetures. he
worked for -- according to him -- DEA, DIA, CIA, NSA, FBI, various state
agencies; he infiltrated Hell's Angels; etc., etc. Barnes was, in fact,
never employed by any of these agencies. He was a California police
officer for a short while but was fired.
Barnes' special forte is calling or visiting offices, picking up
business cards, then flashing those cards to prove that he is someone
special. He ran that trick on Congressman Dornan for quite a while
until Dornan's office started getting calls about Barnes, the
investigator for Dornan.
Barnes' principal claim is that he was involved in a POW rescue
operation in Thailand and Laos. He claims that he was recruited by a
CIA operative. Barnes claims that he went to Bangkok, met the CIA guy,
Jerry Daniels, and went from there on an operation that peneterated into
Laos, to a POW camp, from which they rescued two US POWs. When they
radioed back to Daniels that they had the two guys, Barnes says he was
ordered to "liquidate the merchandise." Instead, he says that he left
the two US POWs behind. Any of this sound familiar?
Jerry Daniels really was a CIA employee in Bangkok. He had a party at
his apartment one weekend and he went to sleep, apparently with the gas
stove or gas heater -- I do not recall which -- still on. Daniels was
asphyziated from the gas. His death was investigated by Thai police,
CIA, and State Department. It was an accident. The fact is that
several similar deaths occur in Bangkok annually.
However, Jerry Daniels' death has become the stuff of legend. The
standard claim is that Daniels was rubbed out by the CIA to cover up the
failed Barnes rescue operation. Then there is the tale that he is not
dead, that an empty coffin was buried and he was sent into deep cover.
It's all horse hockey -- Barne's claims as to his background, the rub
out of Jerry Daniels, Gritz heoric claims, etc.
Does the name Scott Barnes sound familiar? He was a favorite of Ross
Perot. Perot was, in my experience, ready to believe any wild POW-MIA
story that came his way and Barnes was full of them. Remember back in
1992 when Ross Perot dropped out of the Presidentail race, claiming that
he had learned that Republican operatives were going to sabotage his
daughter's wedding? The source of that report was, you guessed it,
Scott Barnes.
GOOD READING IF YOU CAN FIND 'EM
"Soldier of Fortune" had two issues back in the 1980s:
"Bo Gritz, Hero or Huckster?"
"Scott Barnes: My Favorite Flake," by Alan Dawson
EPILOGUE
I was stationed in Japan, July 1990 - July 1993. I made at least three
trips each year back to the States. On one flight in 1991, I was seated
near four Americans -- three men and a woman. Each was wearing an MIA
bracelet and I could tell from overhearing their loud conversations that
they were returning from Thailand. After several drinks, the woman and
one of the men went to sleep. I struck up a conversation with the other
two who were just drunk enough to have diarrhea of the mouth. They told
me:
-- They had served in the "Green Berets" during the war (They were not
able to tell me the SF unit they had served in and real SF troops do not
refer to themselves as Green Berets.)
-- They had been placed in a special program whereby they got out of the
Army but really stayed on active duty in deep cover.
-- They had been recruited by Jerry Daniels, a CIA agent in Bangkok, to
rescue US POWs.
-- They were returning from Bangkok where they had just met with
Daniels. (This was in 1991, nearly 20 yeara after Daniels' death.)
-- They were going back to the US, recruit a team, return to Thailand,
enter Laos, and bring them back alive.
I wished them luck, did not give them one of my business cards, and did
not donate to their cause.
It never ends.
Chuck Linn
Joe
This one had me LOL.
It does sound like a movie I saw several years ago called "Uncommon Valor"
Staring Robert Stack. Makes me wonder which came first the movie or Gritz
escapades.
Joe Schlatter wrote in message <356AAED6...@3wave.com>...
>Misinformation and mythology continue to live regarding the "rescue"
>operations allegedly run by former Army LTC James "Bo" Gritz. Here are
>the facts.
>
>Operation Velevet Hammer.
>
<<Snipped for brevity>>
BOHI...@q.com
Here's one for ya...You government clowns "Positively" ID'd my brother's remains from his dental records. We asked for DNA tests which were refused! Well, get this, asshole, The government lackey that provided the info to my family was also dumb enough to give me the x-rays you slimeballs used for the ID. They show both upper and lower sets of teeth -full sets. Guess what, Pete lost several teeth prior to enlisting and he wore a plate!! So much for "Positive ID's"!! Now, how ya gunna debunk that dickhead???
Bob Cressman
POW brother &
retired Career Law Enforcement Officer!