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Graduation Day
I have been to Two Special Forces Graduation cermonies,The last one was in June 14, 2006,I and my Wife were attending the Special Forces Association National Convention hosted by Chapter 1-18 in Fayetteville North Carolina.On that particular day we were on a tour of Camp McKall and about 1500 hrs. Maj.Gen.James W Parker announced that he had to leave the tour group to attend the Special Forces graduation back at Ft.Bragg and if anyone was interested they were welcome to attend.My wife and I borded the bus back to Smoke Bomb hill and it parked in back of the JFK Museum and we walked around to the area in front of the Colonel Arthur "Bull" Simons statue where the graduation was held.In attendance were Maj.Gen Parker and Col.(Ret) Roger H C Donlon (MOH) along with other cadre from the SW center & school The Graduates macched out in BDU's and soft utility caps and went to formatiom to their assigned groups.There were a few speaches and the wine toast and finally the graduates were told to don their berets,there was a large group of family and friends and other Special Forces soldiers there and after the applause the ceremony ended.The other Special Forces Graduation that I attended was my own,we came back from the field training exercise at Uwharrie National Forest arriving Smoke Bomb Hill Special Forces Training Group Area about Noon on 22 November 1963 (almost everybody knows where they were at that time and date)At the formation we were told that we had earned The Green Beret and that President John F kennedy had been assinated .That ended the graduation ceremony for our class.
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