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WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 19, 2012) -- Soldiers
representing every unit within Army Special Forces Command
(Airborne) gathered at the John F. Kennedy graveside, Oct.
18, to pay tribute to the president who recognized more than
50 years ago the importance of a dedicated
counter-insurgency and unconventional warfare force and
authorized the wearing of the green beret.
Photo by J.D. Leipold, ARNEWS |
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As a crowd
of present and former Special Forces Soldiers, guests and
onlookers watched on a brisk autumn afternoon, Jean Kennedy
Smith and Michael A. Sheehan, assistance secretary of
Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict
accompanied Special Forces Commander Brig. Gen. Christopher
K. Haas up the granite steps where they placed a wreath in
the shape of a green beret at the foot of JFK's grave.
On Nov. 25, 1963, as the commander in chief was laid to
rest at Arlington National Cemetery, a Special Forces sergeant major
placed his |
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green beret on the grave of the fallen president. Silently, steadily
42 other Special Forces Soldiers laid their berets alongside. |
While "special
forces" have been a part of the Army since 1942 when they
were referred to as "the Force," it wasn't until Oct. 12,
1961 that the elite command was authorized to wear the
iconic headgear by Kennedy, who wrote to Special Forces
Commander Brig. Gen. William P. Yarborough:
"The
challenge of this old, but new form of operations is a real
one, and I know that you and the members of your command
will carry on for us and the free world in a manner which is
both worthy and inspiring," Kennedy wrote more than five
decades ago.
He went on to refer to the green beret
as a "new elite military icon, a symbol of excellence, a
badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for
freedom," adding that he was "sure that the green beret will
be a mark of distinction in the trying times ahead."
Present SF Commander Haas said not only was the ceremony
to commemorate Kennedy for his decision on allowing Special
Forces to wear the distinctive green beret, he felt it was
important that Special Forces as a community always should
remember its lineage and past.
"I truly believe this
commemorates that decision of Soldiers to pursue a warrior
path in life," Haas said. "It is not only that we remember
President Kennedy, we also honor those currently serving as
well as our fathers who did so much to establish the Special
Forces Regiment and make it what it is today."
"JFK
was our champion," said Joseph Dennison, a retired Special
Forces command sergeant major who served two tours in
Vietnam, and stints in Grenada, Panama and Desert Storm in
1991. "He was the one who gave us the green beret which was
really special and something that will always be because it
was by presidential decree."
After a career wearing
the green beret from 1965 to 1996, Dennison retired in
Fayetteville, N.C., just outside the home of Special Forces
Command at Fort Bragg, N.C. Occasionally, he mixes with and
holds in high esteem the "youngsters" serving in today's SF
units.
"The only difference between the operators of
yesterday and today is the era we're in and the way kids
grow up today," he said. "It's different than the way some
of us old Soldiers grew up, but these kids are great and do
the jobs as well as anyone ever did."
By J.D. Leipold, ARNEWS
Army News Service
Copyright 2012
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