Colonel (Ret.) Bob Killebrew served in the US Army and Special Forces for 30 years, including several tours in Vietnam, and as an exploitation ("Hatchet Force") company commander at MACV SOG's secret CCS compound.
In this interview, recorded remotely, Bob takes us through his army career leading up to his daring missions deep behind enemy lines in Cambodia and Laos. Bob's team sergeant was SOG legend Jerry "Mad Dog" Shriver, dubbed "Mad Dog" by Hanoi Hannah on their radio broadcasts. Bob describes in great detail what working with Jerry and other SF Legends Bill O'Rourke and Dick Meadows was like.
Bob's unique and humble interview is an interesting and inspiring dive into a committed soldier's personal war history that also reveals much about Special Forces soldiers we only hear about as legends. Thanks to Bob, you can hear it from a man who was there on the ground.
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00:00:00 Intro
00:01:11 Life before the Army
00:02:45 Talking his way into Special Forces
00:03:20 MACV SOG Officer Cohort/Casualties
00:05:05 CC South (CCS)
00:06:20 Hearing about Jerry "Mad Dog" Shriver
00:07:57 Rallying the Montagnards
00:10:07 Meeting Jerry "Mad Dog" Shriver
00:18:00 Weapon Preferences
00:22:15 Ideal vs Actual Chain of Command
00:26:10 Earning Montangard loyalty
00:31:40 Bill O'Rourke & Jerry "Mad Dog" Shriver
00:36:35 Hatchet Force Operational Methodology
00:38:00 Casualties
00:39:20 Strategic Transferring Equipment to Alternate Locations
00:40:05 becoming First Lt.
00:45:10 Shrivers sense of humor
00:48:25 Planning an operation when you don’t expect to return
00:51:05 Finding out about Shrivers death and details of the mission
00:54:45 Dealing with Shrivers death
01:01:05 Mission with SF legend Dick Meadows
01:02:15 Unusual insertion into Laos
01:05:20 Enlisted marine heroism
01:09:24 Coffee or Cocoa
01:11:05 Post-Vietnam in the infantry and career summary
01:13:35 Last airstrike of the war
01:18:04 Post-war reunions