My father, Col. (ret.) John P. Geraci, was a member of the 5th SF Group at Ft. Bragg, NC, during the period 1962-1964. During this time (Sept. 62-Mar. 68), he had a TDY assignment to Vietnam. I am writing to you for your help in finding out any information about this assignment and/or any soldiers who may have served with him, either during this TDY tour in Vietnam or at the SF Headquarters at Ft. Bragg.
Here's the reason that I am trying to find out this information: Subsequent to my dad's assignment at Ft. Bragg, he eventually was assigned, as a LTC, to the 101st at Ft. Campbell in 1966. In 1967, he reactivated the 3/506th Currahee unit (of "Band of Brothers" fame), selected all officers and senior NCO's, prepared the unit for deployment to Vietnam (independently of the 101st Div.), deployed with this unit in Oct. 67, and served as its commanding officer until early 1968 (through much of the TET offensive). The soldiers who served with my dad, both officer and enlisted personnel, have, in recent years, chosen to honor his service with this unit in several ways: naming their chapter of the 101st Airborne Division Association as the "John P. Geraci Chapter," achieving his having received the award of Distinguished Member of the 506th Regiment, and, currently, writing a biography of him which is appearing in The Screaming Eagle magazine.
At present, the author of this biography is researching my dad's service from about 1960 through his assignment to the 101st in 1966. The author has written to me to try to find out more about his service with the Special Forces, particularly his 62-63 TDY assignment to Vietnam. Hence my above request to you.
Some of my experiences as Col. Geraci's daughter during his SF assignment were to learn all of the verses of the Green Beret song as well as helping to host Robin Moore, the author of the book, The Green Berets, at our home at Ft. Bragg.
I am hopeful that you or someone in your organization can be helpful to me and to my father's former soldiers in determining more information about his service with the 5th Special Forces Group.
Thanking you in advance for any assistance that you can provide,
Christine Geraci Free
Marietta, GA