President Trump, Please Recognize Forgotten Rangers

Photo Credit | RuthAS

Sixty-three years ago, 93 U.S. Rangers – handpicked for a dangerous mission in Vietnam – boarded a plane at Travis AF Base in California, destined for Clark AF Base in the Philippines. The last leg was Guam to Clark, key to the war. Inexplicably, their plane went down, and all souls were lost. For six decades, family have wanted these U.S. Rangers, their loved ones’ names on the Vietnam Memorial. Please…

They call it Tiger Flight 739. The day was clear in California, clear too between Guam and Clark. The mission was military, men active duty U.S. Rangers on orders – still classified – and location well within the Vietnam combat zone – an area regularly used by B-52s, plus air refueling, transport ops.

So special were these men, perhaps on the order of Doolittle’s Raiders, they told wives and girlfriends this could be a “suicide mission.” Many lingered long in their goodbyes. They knew whatever those orders were, the risks were inordinately high, but they volunteered.

Three of these U.S. Rangers were from Maine, where I grew up. Their names are known and commemorated – with the other 90 from across America – on a small memorial in Columbia Falls, Maine.

That memorial was erected in 2021, for the men and their families, by the non-profit “Wreaths Across America” and founder Morrill Worcester. The memorial is dedicated to these incredible, unrecognized heroes, Vietnam veterans who “selflessly sacrificed their lives” for America.

The most incredible part, however, is that these men have yet to have their names etched on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C, where they belong. Two reasons are given, which Biden and Democrats controlling Congress in 2021 used to kill a bill that would have made it so.

The first is that the mission was so highly classified, of such nature, that those not cleared to know what the Rangers were on orders to do never knew, so mission objectives could not be validated. True or not, that is an indefensible reason not to honor these American heroes, Vietnam casualties.

Second is that no president has formally declared the location they went down, just east of Clark, almost 300 miles west of Guam, part of the Vietnam “combat zone.” That is another red herring, since combat aircraft and bombers often were in this airspace, as were combat naval craft.

Bottom line: It is time. President Trump, as someone who has long known about this injustice suffered by these 93 U.S. Army Ranger heroes, their untimely deaths off Vietnam en route to combat, on active duty orders and daring all for this nation. My appeal: Please consider recognizing these 93 U.S. Army Rangers – officially putting their names on the Vietnam Memorial, where they belong. Thank you – from all those who have worn the uniform, who love America, and honor these men. 

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC. Robert Charles has also just released an uplifting new book, “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024).