1962, Cuba, 1st MIBARS, And Other Musings

John G. (Tony) Lackey

Battalion Commander, 1978 - 1980

In the Spring of 1962 after graduating from the Aerial Surveillance course at Fort Holabird, I was assigned to take a demonstration contingent to Ft Lee, Va. for LOGEX, a reserve logistics exercise. Shortly after arriving a reduced Detachment from the 1st MI joined us. In those 5 days I met and learned to respect the soldiers and the mission of the Battalion. The NCOIC (there were no officers as I reflect) was a tall charismatic Black Master Sgt that I believe was named either Mack or White, also there was an Sgt First Class Patterson who was the life of the party but very professional, and if I am not mistaken Oscar Bennett was there as well. I learned more about Imagery Interpretation (II), photo reproduction, interpretation facilities and soldiering to know that these troops understood and took great pride in their job. I did not realize that I would serve with this group again.

Shortly, after the LOGEX I arrived at Ft. Bragg and was assigned to the 218th MID aerial surveillance platoon which had the mission of supporting XVIII

Airborne Corps, the Corps Artillery, and the 82d and 101st Divisions with II support. We had very little capability other than HQ II support, virtually no mobility or repro, just people and II kits. In the early fall of 1962 there was stress on the military in a number of areas. Domestic violence missions were plentiful in the form of Garden Plot Exercises which were for Civil Disturbances, Central Africa contingencies, China and India were going at it, and yes there was the Cuban thing. In mid-October there was an Exercise at FT Hood, Texas in which the 1st MI was participating and the 218th provided some II fillers to the 3d Corps HQ. At the same time there was a Garden Plot CPX going on involving both Divisions and the XVIIIth Corps HQ. The Marines were running an FTX in Vieques and we were supporting them as well. That is the way it was on 19 Oct 1962.

I was the only officer (a 2 LT) left in the aerial surveillance platoon, everyone else was deployed, in the field and the most senior (two majors) were moved to the SSO Det at the Corps HQ. I was checking vehicles at the motor pool on

Friday 19 Oct when I was told to report back to the unit ASAP. This irritated me somewhat as I was planning to go to Dillon, SC for a wedding on Saturday after watching the Tennessee/Alabama football game in the early afternoon. I could feel that my plans were not going to work out. Sure enough they did not.

When I returned to the unit there was tremendous activity going on, like drawing weapons, destroying documents and getting wills in order. I was taken to the Corps HQ and briefed on what was going on. I was also told that I would be the Corps Liaison Officer to the Air Force somewhere south of Florida and that when I woke up Sunday morning I would hear the invasion bombardment and would get the initial Bomb Damage Assessment images of the Corps Drop Zones and other targets, be flown back to the Corps departure Airfield and provide them to the Command Group. The gravity of this dawned on me, even as a 2 LT. In addition I was to carry the Invasion OPLAN to the Air Force and give it only to a name forgotten Air Force Colonel. I was to depart on the Commanding General's U21 at 1800 on Sat 20 October. I was assigned two II specialists from the 1st MI which I only recall physical characteristics-one was short and stout and Hispanic, and the other was thin, very quite from the northeast (Yankee accent). Both were extremely competent but they were not with me very long.

We left Simmons Army Airfield at 1800 as planned and you can imagine our thoughts as we flew south. I have been told that we were the only plane flying that night but I can find no verification of that. This was a VIP plane and it looked it, there was a Time magazine and a Playboy in the side rack along with writing materials. I do not think anybody did anything but sleep and dream. About 2030 the pilot came back and told us there had been a change in plans and that we were landing at McDill AFB. We landed shortly thereafter and you would have thought the Commanding General was landing-MPs were everywhere and they took the OPLAN, gave me a receipt and left-the pilot dropped us off with no instructions and there we were (no Air Force Col showed either). Everywhere you looked there was aircraft with pilots in the cockpits and bombs and rockets on the wings. The only thing I knew to do was to go to the club and call back to Ft. Bragg and ask what happened and what I was supposed to do now. After many phone calls from a phone booth we finally got some direction in the form of get some rest somewhere and call back tomorrow. You can only guess how we felt. The next day was Sunday and things were starting to break, I do not remember the exact sequence but I was told to watch Kennedy speak on TV (from the Club) and then call back to Ft Bragg. I followed those instructions and was told the 1st MI was coming cross country from Texas and we were to join them.

The 1st MI arrived I believe on Tuesday under the leadership of Capt. John Betts who seemed to me like John Wayne, albeit a short version. I was reunited with NCOs and soldiers that I had met the previous spring at Ft. Lee. There was also a Lt Whitaker that I soon became good friends with as we worked closely with each other on the logistics of getting the 1st MI billeted, etc. We eventually all ended up in a high-rise hotel in downtown Tampa because there was no space for us at the Base. We also married up with the Air Force's 363d Recce wing contingent and began working the missile site targets together. If I remember correctly the biggest mission we had was to develop target folders on all the missile sites that would allow airborne Task Force assaults on each one of them. During one briefing I was doing on a target site, Gen Paul D Adams who had just returned from the China/India fracas and was the CINC of STRIKECOM took me to task over some detail and John Betts lit into him over it, and he backed down. Capt. Betts was my hero forever. Later he told me to stand up for myself when I was right. I never forgot that and there were to be many more similar events in my life like that. In my mind the 1st MI was the star of the show for the Army and I believe they got the Air Force unit citation from the 363d Wing for their efforts. Much of the rest is minutia that I find difficult to recount. The Battalion Delivery platoon sent a Beaver to pick me up and return me to Ft. Bragg in early December.

I am not sure when the Battalion returned but I think early January 63. I did meet and brief LTC Fore, the 1st MI Commander upon return. There are many more anecdotes to tell and I am sure John Betts can tell a much more sophisticated story as he saw things from a more senior perspective.

I know this: the 1st MIBARS was a professional unit with few peers.

I served four tours of duty in RVN, saw a lot of the Battalions. I once wrote the citation for an Air Medal with V device for a John Ripper (Det B II, 1968) at the direction of Col Gene Kelly (1st MI Bn CO) circa 1968. I was in Pleiku when the Battalion left Country in 71/72. Their reputation was as good then as in 62. Obviously I was thrilled and honored to be in the line of Commanders from 78-80. Hope you can make sense of my reflections and I hope it rekindles some memories.

Respectfully, John G. (Tony) Lackey, Col (Ret), USA

by Oscar Bennett, Det A II, 1959 - 1963, 1966 - 1967

Note, this information was from a phone call when Oscar called to tell me what he remembered about that time. I was writing as fast as I could and these are the notes I took down. -Don Skinner

We stayed at the Floridan Hotel in Tampa, Florida because there was no room for us on the base. We worked in the J2 section at McDill AFB and worked around the clock. We kept track of missiles on Cuba and on ships in the area.

We plotted possible air strikes on missile sites. We also plotted beaches for possible Marine landings and drop zones for the Special Forces.

Everything was a go for the next morning, then at 22:00 hours we got the call and President Kennedy canceled the attack on Cuba.

Oscar named Yatsu Yoshihiko and Marvin Beck as two who were there with him.

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