Bob Donoghue

Bob Donoghue

DOB 12 December 1945
Born: Oakland, CA
Graduated from Windsor High School, Windsor, CT, Class of 1964.
Joined the Army on 18 November 1964.

First tour Viet Nam: Nov ’65-’66 assigned to 41st Sig Bn at Pleiku.  January 1966 loaned out to ODA-227 Bong Son for Operation Masher.  July 1966 loaned out to ODA-251 Plei Djereng for 10 days.  Then sent to ODA-253 Duc Co. Duc Co had experienced high losses and I was asked if I would assist them. I was paired up with SF SGT Bob Johnson. We took a patrol out to the Chu Pong outpost on  the border. A few days later, a ¾ ton truck with indig hit a land mine and there was a lot of WIA’s. SGT Bob Johnson and I went out there and he guided me with instructions on how to treat the wounded.

Our few weeks that we spent together convinced me that I wanted to be Special Forces. His Team wrote some letters for me and the B-Team in Pleiku arranged an interview at the SFOB in Nha Trang.  At the SFOB I passed a written test and the interview. Orders were requested for me to attend Jump School at Fort Benning with follow-on orders to attend SF Training Group at Ft Bragg.

After Training Group, I was assigned to Co A, 3rd Special Forces Group. SMG Francis Ruddy (who  put his Beret on JFK’s casket) was in charge. 3rd Group was doing classified missions in the Congo. If you were Black or spoke French, you were forward deployed. Being a poor little White boy, I had two choices. 1. Permanent KP 3 days a week or 2. Permanent CQ 4 days a week. I chose #1. After two weeks I went to the payphone outside the Mess hall and called Mrs. Billye Alexander. I told her my dilemma.  She said the only opening was in SOG. I asked her what SOG was. She said it was classified but to ask around. I told her I would take it and the next day the SMG called me in and said you have orders for SOG. The people I asked what SOG was said you are going to die there.

Second tour Viet Nam: Jan ’68 – Nov ‘68

I was assigned to 5th Special Forces Group, SOG, CCN, FOB-3 at Khe Sanh. I was assigned to Spike Team Tiger. When the TDY teams left, Tiger and another team took over HF El Dorado.​  November ’68 I ETS’d out of active duty and joined the 11th  SF at Ft Devens. In 1984 the 11th was closed, and we transferred to the 20th Group. I retired in 1999 as a Master Sergeant running the Company’s Operations.

Civilian employment:

1974-2002 – Springfield Police Officer, Springfield MA

Dec 2003 – Mar 2005 – DOD – Najaf, Iraq – Security

Dec 2005 – Mar 2007 – DOD – Bagdad, Iraq – Intel Advisor