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It seems like a headline from a current newspaper but this was 1969. And one of those was the commander of the Fifth Special Forces Group (Airborne) who would later become the template for Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now.
While running technically illegal cross-border recon missions into Cambodia, a double agent was uncovered by members of Special Forces. They tried to turn him over to the CIA, but were told to take care of the problem themselves.
What happened became known as The Green Beret Affair. There are many who believe it was the impetus for Daniel Ellsberg to release the Pentagon Papers to show the hypocrisy and reality of the Vietnam War.
Here is a summary:
Originally published at https://bobmayer.com.
