The Americal Division1 was reactivated in 1967 in Vietnam from newly-arrived units and from elements already within Vietnam. Since it was common knowledge that these personnel were to initially go there on a ninety-day temporary duty then be absorbed into the Americal Division being activated, commanders were sending personnel who were non-critical to their unit’s mission. From my Signal Directorate in Tan Son Nhut, some twelve personnel were assigned to support Task Force Oregon. What eventually developed was the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal).
A Lieutenant Colonel from our Signal Directorate was transferred to Task Force Oregon. LTC Lawson was not thrilled to be leaving the safety of Tan Son Nhut and loudly expressed his resentment at being reassigned to Task Force Oregon. He had been called back into active duty against his will. Colonel O’Neal, our Deputy Signal Officer, called LTC Lawson to his office. In the absence of the admin officer, I escorted LTC Lawson to Colonel O’Neal’s office. Colonel O’Neal sternly said “Colonel Lawson, I understand you are reluctant to take this assignment, but we need you there. You will proceed to your new assignment. You will clear out your desk, return all classified documents to the classified cage and report to your G-3 assignment as ordered.” LTC Lawson saluted and walked out. As we walked to his desk, I informed him I would be inventorying and signing for all classified documents in his account and providing receipts for them. At his desk I inventoried all his classified documents and found one missing Top Secret document which he asserted was in his replacement’s possession; however, his replacement was not available that day. I decided to verify the document’s location that next morning in a joint inventory with both LTC Lawson and the new major replacing him. Come morning, I found the new major who informed me he had no knowledge of the Top Secret document and was probably with LTC Lawson who had already left for his new assignment that same morning.
On a slow day two or three weeks prior to Colonel Lawson's departure, our Signal Directorate had a softball game with officers against enlisted men. LTC Lawson was captain of the officers' team. We had a senior sergeant as captain of our team. Our enlisted men won the game due to an error by a lieutenant who dropped a flyball letting two of our men score runs. LTC Lawson ran out to the outfield and began a tirade yelling and screaming at the lieutenant for being such a dumbass and idiot for dropping the ball and letting us score runs. The lieutenant was so incensed that he just threw his glove to the ground and walked away with LTC Lawson still yelling at him as he walked away from the field. At this point LTC Lawson shouted, "Well, fuck it! Now we're short one man, so that's game!" LTC Lawson was an irrational officer and deeply disliked by both enlisted men and officers, and I was determined to put LTC Lawson in his place if I ever got the opportunity to do so. It would be a payback for the way he treated his younger officers and the disrespect he often showed to enlisted men. Fate handed me an opportunity and I took it.
I spent two days trying to reach LTC Lawson on the phone. Since Task Force Oregon was still in a fluid state of organization and communications was not yet fully established, it was difficult to locate LTC Lawson. I kept reporting to my admin officer on my progress. He was just as concerned as I was to get the classified document back under control. On the third day, I was finally able to reach LTC Lawson who admitted he had the document in his possession and needed it so he was not going to send it back to me. I reported to my admin officer and found myself on a C-130 flying out from Tan Son Nhut to An Khe that next morning. LTC Lawson had mentioned he needed the document for a meeting at An Khe that next day. I arrived at An Khe and took a military taxi to 1st Cavalry Division headquarters. In less than an hour, I had located the conference room in which LTC Lawson was in attendance. At the first opportunity when the doors opened for a scheduled break, I entered the room and located LTC Lawson who was surprised to see me. I handed him a letter from my Deputy Signal Officer requiring LTC Lawson to hand over the Top Secret document to me immediately. “Well, give me a few minutes to see if I can have a copy made,” he stated.
“Colonel, it’s a Top Secret document, and copies are not authorized,” I replied. “I need the document so I can inventory the pages, colonel. Once I inventory it, you can have the receipt clearing you of responsibility.”
This colonel was adamant. He still wanted to make an unauthorized copy. “Colonel, my flight is leaving within the hour. You don’t want me to miss my flight. Colonel O’Neal is expecting me back in Tan Son Nhut this evening,” I said.
LTC Lawson threw the document on the table. I picked it up, inventoried and verified the page count, and handed him the receipt for turn-in. Without a word I left the conference room, took a military cab to Headquarters and Headquarters Company and asked for overnight quarters. My return flight was actually not scheduled until that next afternoon. So I spent the rest of that day and the next morning trying to locate my friend Rodriguez from Seguin. I learned that most of Rod’s 1st Cavalry Division unit had moved to some other location. At that point I gave up on my quest and spent the rest of the day taking pictures. I found the Enlisted Club where I spent the rest of the night drinking and eating with my Top Secret document stashed under my belt for safekeeping.
My return to Tan Son Nhut was pretty uneventful. Getting back to my classified cage, I logged the Top Secret document back in and found a note to report to the Deputy Signal Officer. “I expect you had no problem with Colonel Lawson,” Colonel O’Neal stated.
“No sir,” I replied. “I handed him your letter, he handed me the document, I inventoried it and gave him the turn-in receipt. Absolutely no problems.” I was dismissed at that point.
In the ten or eleven months I controlled the classified cage and managed hundreds of Confidential, Secret and Top Secret documents, I had never lost or misplaced a single document until LTC Lawson came along. I was awarded my first of three Army Commendation Medals for my efforts with the US Army Vietnam Signal Directorate.
1 Americal Division, 23rd Infantry Division, known for the My Lai massacre. Lieutenant William Calley was convicted by court-martial for the premeditated killings of 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians.
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