Colonel Maggie Raye
 

This thread is for stories about a great friend of SF. :munchin

I had the pleasure, of meeting COL Maggie in person, at an SFA Reunion in Fayettville, NC. She was a great Lady and a special friend of the Special Forces!

The first time I saw maggie, I was helping to carry a wounded GI into the SocTrang dispensary circa 1965, or 66, I don't remember the circumstances re the wounded GI. It may have been the rescue attempt for Nick Rowe, and we had wounded everywhere. Most had been medevacced to other medical facilities.

Anyway, the dispensary was a real f-ing mess, blood, cut off uniforms everywhere, weapons thrown into corners, guys moaning and groaning, guys dying! I was directed into the operating room with the wounded GI, there was blood EVERYWHERE, so I am trying my best to get out of there and back into a gunship where I know what I am doing. I then noticed an individual in one corner with a bucket, and rags, trying her level best to clean up some of the gore. I knew she looked familiar, but didn't put it all together for a minute...It was maggie, and she had been doing everything in her power to help the situation, at that moment it was to mop some of the blood off the floor and walls. she was so covered in other peoples blood that she was almost unrecognizable!

That evening I saw her at the Soctrang SF club, drinking with the boys. Her "beloved boys"!

I loved that LADY!

Never had the pleasure of meeting her, but your story, CPTAUSRET caused my eyes to cloud up for a second.

Firebeef:

Understood!

I had been in contact with a good friend of hers for a long time, and had been invited to visit her (Maggie) in Ca, but didn't go. Wish I had, now!

The detachment commanders got called in to the B-Team in Kontum for our monthly command & staff meeting. I hated these things for a couple of reasons, one of which was my place was with the lads and not the B-Team. At this particular time I had an operation way out at the extremes of my AO that needed a resupply. The chopper was not available to make the run because Maggie was being ferried around to each of the A-teams that I was supposed to use to resupply my troops. When she flared into the helipad at Kontum I told her that I needed the chopper because it had been diverted for her visits. When she found out why she stormed into the B-Team and ripped the B-Team commander up and down for diverting a chopper for her visits. I boarded the chopper and didn't think much about it. Several months later when I was leaving my A-Team to PCS home in flares a chopper. On board only one person, a sack of mail and a pallet full of stuff for the team. The one person on board was Maggie. I asked if she was getting off and she said no. Then she smiled and said that she thought she owed me a ride seeing as how she had ripped off my chopper a couple of months back. Well you could have floored me. I was amazed that she had remembered that incident. We both got off the chopper at Pleiku and before she left she signed the padding on the back of the chopper with a black magic marker.

She visited us at CCS in late 1968. She spent several hours in our club drinking and telling jokes.....most of them a little off color.... at the close of her show she invited all of us to visit her at her home...... She was a great lady and a true friend of SF.

COL Moroney:

Great story, that was the Maggie I knew!

Terry

When the MSM prints a story, quoting a leftist 'celebrity' spouting off about the GWOT, it is a shame that a separate story like CAPTAURSET's or COL. Moroney's , is not given equal space right next to it.
It would be a lesson in what 'real class' is all about and the Lady had it, in spades.

Interesting story behind this photo. I took it - no shit.

http://www.colonelmaggie.com/images/MaggiesTruck.jpg

Maggie visited us at the CCS compound at Ban Me Thout in the spring of '71. We were all gathered at the NCO club (doing what warriors do at the NCO club) when it dawned on me that she hadn't seen our gun truck (our armored deuce and a half) - the one the Philippino tech reps built to protect our bi-weekly convoys that went to Nha Trang to pick up food/supplies. The truck had two M-60s at the front corners and PSP on the sides with sandbags between the PSP and the bed of the truck. At one point we tried installing a mini-gun that we'd acquired from the 20th SOS (their N-model Hueys had mini guns in each door) since the crews were billeted on the CCS compound. It drained both batteries in no time, so we never really got a chance to put it to good use (recon by fire in the mountain passes between BMT and Nha Trang).

I ran (stumbled) over to the motor pool and fired up 'her' truck, then drove it over and parked it right at the front entrance to the club. I went inside, got her and the rest of the crew, and took them outside. I had my camera with me, since this was my first meeting with Maggie and I didn't want to lose the opportunity to take some photos with her. When she walked out and saw the truck she immediately did the impromptu pose that I just happen to catch on film. It was dumb luck.

I had an autographed copy of that photo that Maggie signed for me years later. Barb Hall borrowed it from me when Maggie died, since she was doing a memorial to her on behalf of the Command. I had no idea that, while the photo was in Barb's possession, that she'd "loaned" it to the guy who wrote the book on Maggie. He used the photo as the lead-in to one of the chapters in the book. He claims the photo was his - it wasn't, I took it.

Since I figured the photo might have some historical use to it long after I was gone, I donated it to the SFA. I've never seen it since.

See more - http://www.colonelmaggie.com/vets.htm

Remind me to tell you how I got ambushed into asking her about how much she liked making a movie with Hanoi Jane.. whoa!.. that's one for the books.

DOL,
//cc

Great stories CPTAUSRET, & COL M. Awesome pic & links SOGvet. While I was at Bragg I was able to visit the replacated room at the museum. I was moved with a great sense of respect for her, unfortunately that was as close as I got to meeting her. Thanks for sharing your stories of her memory.

NSDQ

FWIW, this is one of my favorite threads anywhere.

Reading it is like walking down the corridors of history.

My thanks to its contributors.

Somehow I missed this thread. :(

In 1972 Maggie visited Okinawa and our team daddy was asked for as her escort due to previous contact. He went to a formal ball with her in his Blues, she in a formal gown. We went to the Brown Derby at Kadena Circle for a few. About 2000 in walks Woody and Maggie in all their splendor. After the obligatory hand shakes at the formal, Maggie asked "Where are my boys?" and Woodie started the rounds. He had hit Tommy's and a few others and finished at the Brown Derby.

Not sure what the Command thought of that, but we thought it was great! :D

I met Maggie in Reynolds Army Hospital at Fort Sill, OK. Six of us were there doing our rotations when Maggie showed up and found out there were some SF Medics around. She came looking for each of us personally and found me working the dental clinic. We wore hospital whites with our jump wings, wing background, and the SF DUI on the pocket. Ten minutes and a big hug later, she was gone and I was left alone with a bunch of legs staring like a deer caught in the headlights. :cool: I'll never forget her.

Richard's $.02 :munchin

2008 Wreaths across America
 

In December 2008, several organizations participated in the Wreaths across America program. This started as 6 wreaths per military cemetery for the 5 branches of service and POW/MIA. In 2008 this expanded to being able to make donations for additional wreaths across the 50 states. I had the honor of attending the ceremony at the Ft Bragg Cemetery and then to assist in the placing of about 150 wreaths in the cemetery. Martha Raye's grave was the first one I placed a wreath on, and then every subsequent SF Soldier I could find.