5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) holds 54th Reunion at Fort Campbell

Friday, October 16, 2015

Written by Sgt. Jacob Mahaffey
5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Public Affairs Office

Fort Campbell, KY – Past and present Green Berets, unit members and family members of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), the Legion, rallied together on Fort Campbell for their 54th Reunion September 16th-19th.

Retired Cmd. Sgt. Maj. Mike Cunningham, President of the Chapter 38 of the Special Forces Association, said the annual reunions are very important to the 5th SFG (A). “The kind of training Special Forces does, the missions we have done, since the beginning of Special Forces, creates a unique bond,” he said.

Soldiers, Family and Veterans of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), listen to Dr. Stu Weber, an author and former Captain in the 5th SFG(A), during the 54th Reunion prayer breakfast at the Oasis Dining Facility on Sept. 16, 2015, at Fort Campbell, Ky.

“It’s a bond that no matter how separated you become, it is always there, as evident by this reunion. It is important for us to involve our families in something that for many years we didn’t tell them a lot about,” he said.

“There is nothing like talking to another Legionnaire from the 5th Special Forces Group,” said Cunningham.

For this specific reunion Mike Cunningham was asked to help reunite members from a Vietnam era Operational Detachment Alpha team, ODA A325. The last time the team was together was in Vietnam while still in combat.

“I told them we do a reunion every year and asked if they would be our honored guests. They agreed. It is their first time being together since Vietnam,” he said.

Veterans of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), were able to get a first hand look at equipment that Soldiers of the 5th SFG(A) currently use during the 54th Reunion on Sept. 18, 2015.

“Before this reunion, the last time I saw my team mates was 46 years ago in Vietnam,” said retired colonel and former ODA A325 commander William Bradley from Columbia, Tenn.

Bradley and his Soldiers were invited to speak to current members of 5th SFG(A) and provide historical lessons learned from their time in Vietnam as Green Berets.

“You are the only unit in the military that can figure out what works on your own and do it,” said Lew Chapman, Vietnam veteran and former team member of ODA A325. “I never had trench foot, though a lot of the other guys did. It was standard for us when we did our patrols to not wear socks, so we never got trench foot,” he said. “We figured out what worked for us to keep us from getting [trench foot], and we did it.”

The men spoke about the importance of having allies, and being a man of your word and always delivering on your promises.

“We brought a set of values, American values that the Vietnamese had never seen before” said Chapman. “We followed through with our agreements, and it made them stronger allies because they trusted us,” he said.

The Vietnam veterans expressed the importance of the Special Forces medics being the most influential ambassadors to win the hearts of the locals.

“When you go into an area, and you save their children’s lives, you give them medicine they never knew existed and you show genuine care for their well-being, that is the start of a partnership and strong trust,” said former ODA A325 team member Howard ‘How’ Miller.

“This has been an absolute delight, first mixing with some of the people I haven’t seen in so long. We shared the very last things we had to offer with one another; we were a team. Then [we] went our separate ways, but that team spirit is still here and we’ve had a great time,” said Bradley.

The 5th Special Forces Group was officially activated on September 21st, 1961 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, with initial deployments of Special Forces ODAs

(or A-Teams) to Vietnam approximately one year later, with the deployment of the entire group by February 1965. As a result of their heroic combat actions, 5th SFG (A) Green Berets like living retirees Maj. Drew Dennis Dix and Cmdr. Sgt. Maj. Bennie G. Adkins earned 20 Medals of Honor, 9 posthumously.

The reunion is more than just seeing old friends, exchanging war stories and discussing how Special Forces has changed. The event is packed full of fun events for everyone to enjoy.

“The annual 5th Special Forces Group reunion allows for past and present Soldiers, families, friends and veterans of the Legion to reunite, bond and enjoy several days of festivities,” said Col. Kevin Leahy, commander, 5th SFG (A).

“This year’s reunion was made more significant since we had the honor to host several returning Vietnam-era Special Forces Teams for their very first reunion. Now more than ever it is important for our active duty Soldiers to remember our veterans that came before us and helped pave the way,” said Leahy.

This year’s reunion kicked off with a prayer breakfast and an airborne operation where everyone was invited to watch Soldiers parachute from MH-47 Chinook helicopters, partnering with Canadian jumpmasters. The second day’s events included a golf tournament, family range day, tours of 5th Group’s facilities including current equipment demonstrations, and an outdoor movie to wrap up the day.

The final day of the reunion kicked off with a 5th SFG (A) family color run, an obstacle course, and included other physical fitness oriented events that drew the Legionnaires and their family together prior to the festivities, music, food and laughter at the annual picnic.