SSGT. Tom Pandolfi
US Army - Green Beret
5th Special Forces Group
Weapons Special Sargent
Cambodia - Jan ’60 Dec ‘64
US Army - Green Beret
5th Special Forces Group
Weapons Special Sargent
Cambodia - Jan ’60 Dec ‘64
Tom was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1940. He attended St Francis Prep in Williamsburg section of Brooklyn until his 16th birthday when his parents decided to move to Brentwood, on Long Island. They viewed Brooklyn as getting to be a little rough. After graduation from Brentwood High School Tom attended the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport Connecticut. After graduating with a Physical Education Degree Tom was a student teacher in Wilton, CT but he quickly found that wasn’t for him. Tom’s draft number was low, so he joined the National Guard. The National Guard experience was a good one for Tom and after basic training he enlisted in the Army.
His first stop was basic training at Fort Dix. At this time President Kennedy was in the process of building the US Special Forces. Tom’s physical education background caught the eye of the Green Beret and he was invited qualify. Tom was part of the first 5,000 men under JFK to be trained as Special Operators. JFK had a special attraction to the Green Beret and he was responsible for them having their distinctive green beret head covering. By the time of his death, the Special Forces troops had doubled in size. Tom went to Fort Bragg for Green Beret training which consisted of jungle warfare, jump school and Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape school (SERE). While the training was intense it lasted only 4 weeks, compared to today’s training which lasts months. The shortened timeframe was because JFK wanted these troops on the ground in preparation for the buildup in Vietnam. Tom as assigned to a 12-man team and as they boarded the plane, they earned that they were going to Cambodia. Their mission was to live with the indigenous tribes known as the Montagnard’s. The Green Beret were to work with Montagnard’s to improve their standard of living and turn them into friendly fighting forces. They were considered to be “the low-class people in their particular country”.
Tom’s team landed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and two days later were helicoptered into the jungle to find their first tribal village. There was a schedule of how long they would stay with each tribe and which tribe they would move to next. There was at least one member of the team that could speak the local tribal language. Tom’s team taught such things as irrigation methods and they learned the local tribal customs. They had to discard all US made clothing and replace it with locally made clothing so the Khmer Rouge would not know US forces were in the area. “We wore what they wore.” The mission required that they avoid any and all contact with people outside of the tribe they were living with. “We were only advisors and we were supposed to have no weapons. But we had the most sophisticated weapons the US had to offer.”
For 26 months Tom and his team lived in the jungle going from tribe to tribe hoping to build an indigenous fighting force friendly to the US. This proved to be difficult for the tribes because the Khmr Rouge would pass through the villages after the US forces pulled out and they would take the food and animals. Tom’s team successfully avoided any enemy contact during their time in the jungle. They relied on the tribal people “to let us know when anyone was coming and then to help hide us.” Tom and his team spent 26 uninterrupted months living in the Cambodian jungle. The shared experience and adversity lead to the men forming tight bonds. The assignment was not without some humor. “The tribal people liked to have fun and after they got to know us, they like to play tricks on us. On one occasion there was a celebration where the Montagnard’s got dressed up in customary costumes. They passed around a frog and you had to kiss and lick the frog. Unknow to the Americans the frogs were coated with a psychedelic drug and Tom didn’t wake up for two days.
When Toms tour was up, he headed back to the states. I asked if he had ever considered re-upping. “Hell no!” Tom returned to FT. Bragg and completed his enlistment by training new recruits. Tom came home and had a series of jobs before landing a job with UPS for 17 years and then with Fedex for 16 years as an Inbound/Outbound flight manager.
For the last 26 years Tom has been involved with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) which is a Department of Defense program established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between the National Guard and Military Reserves and their civilian employers. They help resolve conflicts arising from an employee’s military commitment. The Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects the rights of employees who are fulfilling their military obligations.
Tom also has the largest collection of Flying Tigers memorabilia. The Flying Tigers, also known as the American Volunteer Group (AVG) were pilots recruited to fight the Japanese in Burma and China between December 18th, 1941 and July 4th,1942. After this period the Flying Tigers were absorbed into the U.S. Army Air Force.
Tom has four children, and one son followed his father into the Special Forces. He joined the Army and became one of the elite Rangers. 720 started the Ranger program and 67 finished. He served two tours in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. “He’s my hero.”
I asked Tom if he would do it all again? “Oh yeah. You learned to watch out for your buddy, and you learned who you could trust and who your friends were. Tom, thanks for the sacrifices you made during your 23 months in the jungle and your continuing support of our military personnel.
His first stop was basic training at Fort Dix. At this time President Kennedy was in the process of building the US Special Forces. Tom’s physical education background caught the eye of the Green Beret and he was invited qualify. Tom was part of the first 5,000 men under JFK to be trained as Special Operators. JFK had a special attraction to the Green Beret and he was responsible for them having their distinctive green beret head covering. By the time of his death, the Special Forces troops had doubled in size. Tom went to Fort Bragg for Green Beret training which consisted of jungle warfare, jump school and Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape school (SERE). While the training was intense it lasted only 4 weeks, compared to today’s training which lasts months. The shortened timeframe was because JFK wanted these troops on the ground in preparation for the buildup in Vietnam. Tom as assigned to a 12-man team and as they boarded the plane, they earned that they were going to Cambodia. Their mission was to live with the indigenous tribes known as the Montagnard’s. The Green Beret were to work with Montagnard’s to improve their standard of living and turn them into friendly fighting forces. They were considered to be “the low-class people in their particular country”.
Tom’s team landed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and two days later were helicoptered into the jungle to find their first tribal village. There was a schedule of how long they would stay with each tribe and which tribe they would move to next. There was at least one member of the team that could speak the local tribal language. Tom’s team taught such things as irrigation methods and they learned the local tribal customs. They had to discard all US made clothing and replace it with locally made clothing so the Khmer Rouge would not know US forces were in the area. “We wore what they wore.” The mission required that they avoid any and all contact with people outside of the tribe they were living with. “We were only advisors and we were supposed to have no weapons. But we had the most sophisticated weapons the US had to offer.”
For 26 months Tom and his team lived in the jungle going from tribe to tribe hoping to build an indigenous fighting force friendly to the US. This proved to be difficult for the tribes because the Khmr Rouge would pass through the villages after the US forces pulled out and they would take the food and animals. Tom’s team successfully avoided any enemy contact during their time in the jungle. They relied on the tribal people “to let us know when anyone was coming and then to help hide us.” Tom and his team spent 26 uninterrupted months living in the Cambodian jungle. The shared experience and adversity lead to the men forming tight bonds. The assignment was not without some humor. “The tribal people liked to have fun and after they got to know us, they like to play tricks on us. On one occasion there was a celebration where the Montagnard’s got dressed up in customary costumes. They passed around a frog and you had to kiss and lick the frog. Unknow to the Americans the frogs were coated with a psychedelic drug and Tom didn’t wake up for two days.
When Toms tour was up, he headed back to the states. I asked if he had ever considered re-upping. “Hell no!” Tom returned to FT. Bragg and completed his enlistment by training new recruits. Tom came home and had a series of jobs before landing a job with UPS for 17 years and then with Fedex for 16 years as an Inbound/Outbound flight manager.
For the last 26 years Tom has been involved with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) which is a Department of Defense program established in 1972 to promote cooperation and understanding between the National Guard and Military Reserves and their civilian employers. They help resolve conflicts arising from an employee’s military commitment. The Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects the rights of employees who are fulfilling their military obligations.
Tom also has the largest collection of Flying Tigers memorabilia. The Flying Tigers, also known as the American Volunteer Group (AVG) were pilots recruited to fight the Japanese in Burma and China between December 18th, 1941 and July 4th,1942. After this period the Flying Tigers were absorbed into the U.S. Army Air Force.
Tom has four children, and one son followed his father into the Special Forces. He joined the Army and became one of the elite Rangers. 720 started the Ranger program and 67 finished. He served two tours in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. “He’s my hero.”
I asked Tom if he would do it all again? “Oh yeah. You learned to watch out for your buddy, and you learned who you could trust and who your friends were. Tom, thanks for the sacrifices you made during your 23 months in the jungle and your continuing support of our military personnel.