Página 314 de “Inside Delta Force” de Eric L. Haney
“In the spring of 1981, Delta started work on a mission that spanned more than two years - yet never took place.
That lost mission haunts me to this day. In fact, it bothers me more and more as times goes by. I´ve given a great deal of thought as to weather or not to write about this. Once I decided to do so, I wrestled with how to write about it. I´ve come to the conclusion that there is only one way: hard and fast.
In 1981 we (elements of the United States Government) knew that approximately 125 American prisoners of war were still alive and in the hands of the government of North Vietnam. The men were being held in secret camps located in Laos, so when North Vietnam would periodically say, “There are no American prisoners alive in Vietnam”, they were technically telling the truth.
Immediately an intelligence effort was mounted to pinpoint the exact location of the prisoners. At the same time, Delta Force initiated planning to conduct a rescue operation. We worked very rapidly and gotten as far as completing a full scale dress rehearsal of the proposed raid when the mission started to unravel. It was eventually scuttled.
“Scuttled” is probably the wrong word to use. The rescue effort was methodically pulled apart, piece by piece, until the only thing left was the unpleasant rumor of live POW.
I do not clami to know the full story behind this tale. I know only the small portion of Delta was involved in, along with other bits and pieces of information I´ve gleaned in the years since. First to last, the mission was so highly compartimentalized that I´m shure only a handful of people know the whole story.
But what I know first hand and have learned from individuals I trust, I believe some of those who were in the know, made a desperate , and ultimately successful, attempt to make shure no live Americans would emerge from captivity in Vietnam.
And yes. That is a painful thing to even contemplate.
By the summer of 1981 we were ready to launch. We had just conducted a final rehearsal successfully duplicating mission intrincacies such as nighttime in-flight helicopter refuelling (by thanker C-130) while flying nap-of-the earth through mountain passes for long distances.
Since this was about a year since Iran, B Squadron in particular didn´t relish that aspect of the mission. But in stark contrast to the Iran raid, this time we would use Air Force helicopters flown by Air Force crews – most of whom had flown search-and-rescue missions in Vietnam. These men could be trusted not to quit.
To make our rehearsal as realistic as possible, we actually “rescue” a class of Air Force pilots undergoing POW training. We wanted men who would really act like prisoners – and anyone who had ever undergone SERE (survival evasion resistance escape) training will tell you that within twelve hours of being in camp, you believe you are a prisoner of war.”
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Esta deve ser a primeira vez que este texto é colocado na Internet!
(Afinal não eram 130 mas 125. A minha memória!)