That Tiger Force information coming out of Viet Nam, when you are supposed to be supporting your troops who are currently doing some pretty nasty stuff in Iraq, hit a little snag.
Hundreds of records of the group known as Tiger Force are missing from the National Archives in suburban Washington, and the Army crime records center at Fort Belvoir, Va.
Officials can't explain why the reports aren't available.
"At this time, we don't know what happened [to the records]," said Chris Grey, a spokesman for the Army's Criminal Investigation Command.
A Blade series in October, "Buried Secrets, Brutal Truths," which was also published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, revealed the 45-man platoon killed and mutilated scores of unarmed villagers refusing to leave their homes.
Some were executed as they pleaded for their lives -- in some cases their ears and scalps severed for souvenirs -- and others were blown up in underground bunkers.
The missing records include the first formal complaint filed against the platoon in 1969 and sworn witness statements by more than 100 soldiers in 1970 and 1971, according to National Archives indexes.
The newspaper's findings showed the Army secretly investigated Tiger Force three decades ago, substantiating 20 atrocities involving 18 soldiers. But the case was quietly closed in 1975 without charges filed. article
Maybe a good time to revisit that open letter to GIs from a former soldier who served in Viet Nam and has a son in service now, Stan Goff.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
Saturday, December 27, 2003
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