Charles alvin beckwith died
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COL Charles Alvin Beckwith
Bio
Colonel Charles “Chargin’ Charlie” Beckwith volunteered for Special Forces duty in 1958 and by 1959, he had already been an advisor to the Royal Laotian Army as part of the “Hotfoot” mission to Laos.
The assignment that had the most impact on COL Beckwith’s military career and future was as an exchange officer with the British 22nd Special Air Services Regiment in 1962-1963.
The lessons he learned there about organization, selection and assessment of personnel, and tough, realistic training would become the model he would later use to activate Delta Force, the U. S. Army’s counter-terrorist unit on 19 November 1977.
Other Special Forces assignments such as Commander, DELTA Project, Detachment B-52 in South Vietnam and Commandant of the Special Forces Schools provided COL Beckwith the additional background and experience to be selected as Delta Force’s first Commander, and the man who would land the ground force to execute Operation EAGLE CLAW, the mission to rescue American hostages in Tehran, Iran
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Charles Alvin Beckwith
Colonel, U.S. Army
Charles Alvin Beckwith was born on 22 January 1929 in Atlanta, GA. He was a standout football player at Brown High School. He later enrolled in the University of Georgia where he was an All-State Football player and three-year starting guard for the University of Georgia Bulldogs. He was a member of the Delta Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He joined the University's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1952. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1952, but turned it down to stay in the Army.
After the Korean War, in 1953-54, Second Lieutenant Beckwith served as a Platoon Leader for Charlie Company, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division in the Republic of Korea.
In 1955, Beckwith joined the 82nd Airborne Division as Commander of a Support Company in the 504th Infantry Regiment. Two years later, after completing Ranger School, Beckwith transferred to the Army Special Forces and, in 1960, was deployed to South Vietnam and Laos as a Military Advisor.
Beckwith s
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Charles Alvin Beckwith
U.S. Army Special Forces officer (1929–1994)
Charlie Alvin Beckwith (22 January 1929 – 13 June 1994) was a career United States Army Special Forces officer best remembered for creating Delta Force, the premier counterterrorism and asymmetric warfare unit of the United States Army, based on his experience serving with the British Special Air Service. He served in the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation and the Vietnam War, and attained the rank of colonel before his retirement.
Early life and education
Beckwith was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on 22 January 1929, to Baptist parents Elza Dozier Beckwith (1894–1940) and Clara Eugenia Beckwith (née Rey; 1895–1973). He was an all-state football player for his high school team. He later enrolled in the University of Georgia, where he was a member of the Delta chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and ROTC.
Beckwith lettered in football for the Bulldogs, and was approached by the Green Bay Packers for the 1950–51 NFL draft, but turned it down in favor of a military career. He was commissioned
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