Tiger Force Series

$ 1 . 5 0 e 3 2 1 P A G E S T O L E D O , O H I O , S U N D A Y , O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 0 3 F I N A L Lunch effort A BLADE INVESTIGATION A four-day special report examines BURIED SECRETS one platoon’s atrocities in Vietnam works to end and how the U.S. military concealed BRUTAL TRUTHS them from the American public global hunger White H ous e s upp orts idea, but funding is in jeop ardy By KAREN MacPHERSON year, an estimated 7.7 million BLADE WASHINGTON BUREAU children in 38 countr ies par tici- WA S H I N G T O N — D e c a d e s p a t e d i n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l ago, two senators with strongly school-lunch program. The pro- opposing political views joined g r a m h e l p e d b o o s t s t u d e n t to help shape several landmark enrollment, par ticularly of girls, a n t i - h u n g e r e f f o r t s, i n c l u d i n g in schools in Pakistan, Lebanon, food stamps, a nutr itional plan Ba n g l a d e s h , a n d o t h e r c o u n - f o r p r e g n a n t w o m e n a n d tr ies, according to Depar tment i n f a n t s , a n d t h e n a t i o n a l school-lunch program. To d a y, D e m o c r a t G e o r g e No one has yet found McG over n and Republican Bob ‘ a better magnet for Dole are using their status as elder statesmen to promote a pulling kids into s chool n e w a n t i - h u n g e r i d e a — a n inter national school-lunch pro- than the promis e of a gram to feed hungr y children meal every day. around the world. Ca l l e d t h e “Mc G ove r n - D o l e Ex-Sen. George McGover’ n Inter national Food for Educa- tion and Child Nutr ition Initia- of Agr iculture officials. Tiger Force soldiers fan out while patrolling the Song Ve Valley in a 1967 photo taken by a former platoon member. tive,’’ the program uses school They estimate that about 120 The unit committed an untold number of atrocities in the valley as part of a seven-month campaign of terror. l u n c h e s t o p e r s u a d e l o w - million school-age children, a income parents in developing major ity of them girls, aren’t countr ies to send their children, enrolled in school, par tly be- especially daughters, to school. cause of hunger or malnutr i- T h e p r o g r a m a l s o f u n d s tion. nutr itional programs for preg- “No o n e h a s y e t f o u n d a nant and nursing mothers, sim- better magnet for pulling kids Elite unit savaged i l a r t o t h e f e d e r a l Wo m e n , into school than the promise of Infants and Children program. In 2001, the initiative’s first See LUNCH, Page 11 I N S I D E B U S H T R I P civilians in Vietnam © THE BLADE, 2003 Weather ■ Why is The Blade publish- — the longest-known war-crime The Tiger Force case is dif- t was an elite fighting unit in ing this story now? Behind investigation of the Vietnam ferent. The atrocities took place A mixture of clouds and sun- Asians Vietnam — small, mobile, conflict. over seven months, leaving an the News. Page B1. shine; high 59. Tonight will be Itrained to kill. The case reached the high- untold number dead — possibly mostly clear, with a low of 41. Known as Tiger Force, the est levels of the Pentagon and the several hundred civilians, former Weather, Page D12 urged platoon was created by a U.S. Women and children were Nixon White House. soldiers and villagers now say. Army engaged in a new kind of intentionally blown up in under- Investigators concluded that One medic said he counted war — one defined by ambush- ground bunkers. Elderly farmers 18 soldiers committed war crimes 120 unarmed villagers killed in Marvelous Marlins es, booby traps, and a nearly were shot as they toiled in the ranging from murder and assault one month. The Flor ida Marlins land the to fight invisible enemy. fields. Prisoners were tortured to dereliction of duty. But no For decades, the case has first win in the World Ser ies Promising victory to an anxious and executed — their ears and one was charged. remained buried in the archives against the New York Yankees. American public, military leaders scalps severed for souvenirs. Since the war ended, the of the government — not even Spor ts, Page C1 in 1967 sent a task force — includ- One soldier kicked out the teeth American public has been fed a known to America’s most rec- terror ing Tiger Force — to fight the of executed civilians for their dose of movies fictionalizing ognized historians of the war. Autumn images enemy in one of the most highly gold fillings. the excesses of U.S. units in Viet- Until now. contested areas of South Viet- Two soldiers tried to stop the nam, such as Apocalypse Now Starting today and continu- The vivid reds, oranges, and yel- Ignoring threat nam: the Central Highlands. killings, but their pleas were and Platoon. But in reality, most ing over the next three days, lows of fall foliage contrast with But the platoon’s mission did ignored by commanders. The war-crime cases focused on a sin- The Blade will tell the platoon’s fading greens and shades of called dangerous not go as planned, with some Army launched an investiga- gle event, like the My Lai mas- troubling story. blue water in photographs of 1 soldiers breaking the rules of war. tion in 1971 that lasted 4 ⁄2 years sacre. Day One: Pages 6-10 nature’s br illiant palette. WASHINGTON POST Toledo Magazine, Page B6 MANIL A — President Bush DAY ONE OF A FOUR-DAY SERIES toughened his appeal for help Handling plastic i n s e c u r i n g a n d re b u i l d i n g TODAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY Credit-card charges easily can Iraq yesterday, telling Philip- The farmers of the Song Ve The cover-up began before Thirty-six years later, the Many former Tiger Force spiral out of control, par ticu- pine legislators that countr ies Valley thought they would the killing ended. And by the reminders of Tiger Force’s soldiers say they’re haunted larly dur ing a holiday season. reluctant to aid his war on be safe. They were too old time the Army finished its rampage through Quang by their memories of the Exper ts have some suggestions t e r r o r i s m a r e e n d a n g e r i n g to serve in the military and investigation — which was Ngai province are every- killings and mutilations of on how buyers can keep a better t h e i r n e i g h b o r s a n d not aligned with the North sent to the Pentagon and where, and the stories of prisoners and unarmed vil- handle on their use of plastic. hinder ing democracy. Vietnamese. But the farmers the White House — no one their atrocities are still told lagers in 1967. Ten have Business, Page D1 “Nations that tr y to ignore were wrong. Tiger Force sol- was ever charged. A justice by Vietnamese villagers. To been diagnosed with post- terror and hope it will only diers killed farmers, vil- system that promised to this day, the shooting deaths traumatic stress disorder. s t r i k e o t h e r s a r e d e l u d i n g lagers, and prisoners in the prosecute war criminals evoke anger in those who Some have turned to alcohol New roles BLACK themselves, under mining our valley and across the ended up protecting them. survived the attacks — with and drugs to ease their pain. In their new movies, Meg Ryan c o m m o n d e f e n s e , a n d Central Highlands in the some calling for the former and Val K ilmer are competing i n v i t i n g a f u t u r e o f c a t a - with their own reputations. So longest series of war crimes American soldiers to be strophic violence,” said Mr. of the Vietnam War. prosecuted. how do both of the actors Bush, the first U.S. President handle typecasting? to address a Ar ts, Page F1 YELLOW t Bush team j o i n t s e s s i o n STORIES BY MICHAEL D.

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