Richard J. Meadows
Richard J. Meadows | |
---|---|
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Nickname(s) | "Dick" |
Born | Johnson Creek, Alleghany County, Virginia, U.S. | June 16, 1931
Died | July 29, 1995 Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, U.S. | (aged 64)
Buried | Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, U.S. |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1947–1977 |
Rank | Major |
Unit | 75th Ranger Regiment United States Army Special Forces Special Air Service MACV-SOG |
Battles/wars | Korean War Vietnam War Operation Ivory Coast Operation Eagle Claw |
Awards | Distinguished Service Cross Silver Stars (2) Bronze Star with V Device Air Medal Legion of Merit Combat Infantryman Badge Master Parachutist badge Ranger Tab Scuba Badge |
Richard James Meadows (June 16, 1931 – July 29, 1995) was a U.S. Army Special Forces officer who saw combat in Korea and Vietnam. He was a key figure in the Iran Hostage Rescue mission in 1980. He was a pivotal player in the creation of the modern U.S. Army Special Forces.
Career[]
Meadows enlisted in the Army in 1946 at age 15. He first saw combat as a paratrooper in Korea and was, by age 20, the youngest Master Sergeant in the Army at that time. In 1953, he entered the U.S. Army Special Forces and remained active in them or the Rangers until his retirement in 1977. His participation in the Iran Hostage Rescue mission came after his official retirement.
In 1960, Meadows was one of the first U.S. Army officers to participate in an exchange program with the British Special Air Service special forces unit. Meadows completed SAS training, was an acting troop leader for 12 months, and participated in a field combat operation with his unit[citation needed]. Meadows' SAS experience may have helped form the basis for future US Army Special Forces selection, training, and organizational structures.
Vietnam War[]
While assigned to the 8th Special Forces Group in Panama, MSgt. Meadows volunteered for a tour in Vietnam. Meadows served his first tour in the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam - Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG), where he participated in numerous deep reconnaissance missions in Laos and North Vietnam. During one such operation he captured high-quality film of North Vietnamese foot soldiers traversing South Vietnamese territory, directly contradicting the claims of the North Vietnamese government. On another occasion, he rendered several enemy artillery pieces useless by removing their sights, one of which was given to General William Westmoreland. Meadows' exploits so impressed Westmoreland that Meadows was given a battlefield commission on April 14, 1967.[1]
In 1970, Captain Meadows was pulled from his position as commanding officer of Ranger School in Fort Benning and made a team leader for the initial assault team in the Son Tay prison camp raid (see Operation Ivory Coast).[2] This 14-man team (plus pilots), code-named Blueboy, intentionally crash-landed an HH-3 helicopter right in the middle of the prison camp to achieve maximum surprise. One team member was injured in the landing (broken ankle). The remaining team members executed their mission without further casualties. Much to Meadows' disappointment, however, the enemy had moved all its captives weeks earlier.
In the mid-1970s, Meadows was a key figure in the founding of the Delta Force special operations and hostage rescue force.[citation needed]
Meadows retired from the Army as a major after 31 years of service in 1977.
Later life and death[]
In 1980, Meadows returned to service as a special consultant and, posing as an Irish businessman in the European automotive industry, provided covert reconnaissance of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran prior to and during Operation Eagle Claw, better known as the Iran Hostage Rescue mission.[3] Meadows was tasked with reconnoitering the embassy grounds, locating the hostages, and renting trucks to abet the hostage rescuers.[4] That mission ended in a major accident at a ground refueling point in the Iran desert and was aborted. Although documents found at the crash site compromised both the mission and Meadows' cover in Iran, Meadows was able to escape Iran aboard a commercial flight with his cover intact.
In 1982, Meadows appeared on the cover of Newsweek magazine in an issue that had a feature article on Meadows.
In 1995, Meadows was diagnosed with and subsequently died of leukemia. It is contended by many in the Special Forces community that, had the contents of Meadows' military record been disclosed, he would have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Nonetheless, the majority of Meadows' covert roles in Vietnam working with the CIA's Special Activities Division remain undisclosed.
Awards and decorations[]
Major Meadows military decorations and awards include the following:[5]
In addition to the above, Meadows received numerous foreign awards and was eligible after his retirement for the Korean War Service Medal from South Korea and the Special Forces Tab.
Just before his death, in July, 1995, Meadows was told he was to be presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Clinton.[6]
Legacy[]
On June 6, 1997, a statue and adjacent parade field near U.S. Army Special Operations Command building in Fort Bragg, North Carolina were dedicated in Meadows' memory.[7]
See also[]
- Operation Eagle Claw, the Iran hostage crisis raid
- Operation Ivory Coast, the Son Tay prison camp raid
- Charles Beckwith
- Delta Force
- United States Army Special Forces
- U.S. Army Rangers
- CIA's Special Activities Division
References[]
- ^ Alan Hoe (17 August 2011). The Quiet Professional: Major Richard J. Meadows of the U.S. Army Special Forces. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 119–. ISBN 978-0-8131-4033-9.
- ^ John Gargus (2010). The Son Tay Raid: American POWs in Vietnam Were Not Forgotten. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 12–. ISBN 978-1-60344-252-7.
- ^ Manzetti. The Way of the Knife: The CIA, a Secret Army, and a War at the Ends of the Earth. Penguin Books. p. 69. ISBN 1594204802.
- ^ John Prados (5 May 2015). The US Special Forces: What Everyone Needs to Know®. Oxford University Press. pp. 70–. ISBN 978-0-19-935430-6.
- ^ "Meadows, Richard (Dick), MAJ". army.togetherweserved.com. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ Special Operations - A Special Kind of Hero
- ^ "Meadows Memorial Parade Field Marker". The Historical Marker database. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
- Specialforces.org biography
- Ranger Hall of fame biography
- Inside Delta Force, Eric L. Haney, [1], ISBN 0440237335
- United States Army officers
- Members of the United States Army Special Forces
- United States Army personnel of the Korean War
- United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
- American spies
- Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
- Recipients of the Silver Star
- Recipients of the Legion of Merit
- Recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam)
- 1931 births
- 1995 deaths
- Recipients of the Air Medal
- People from Alleghany County, Virginia
- Presidential Citizens Medal recipients