Opinion/Ng: Decorated Green Beret reports for duty as Journal's new veterans columnist

David Ng, The Providence Journal
·3 min read
Bronze Star recipient Frank Lennon at his Providence home.
Bronze Star recipient Frank Lennon at his Providence home.

Frank Lennon, a recipient of the Bronze Star for Valor, is reporting for duty at The Providence Journal.

Lennon, a decorated Green Beret who served in Vietnam and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, will join The Journal's ranks as its columnist for veterans affairs. Lennon, who lives in Providence, replaces Mary K. Talbot, who stepped down from the post late last year.

Lennon's weekly column will appear on Mondays, starting tomorrow, Jan. 24.

Lennon, who served two tours in Vietnam, is no stranger to readers of The Journal. His freelance work has appeared on our pages several times, including his 2019 story about the heroic mission of World War II bomber pilot Ted Crouchley, inducted that year into the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame.

Lennon in 1967, right after he transferred to Special Forces.
Lennon in 1967, right after he transferred to Special Forces.

"I'm honored, but there's also a bit of déjà vu," Lennon said of his new role at The Journal. He was granted "freelance observer" status for the paper nearly 60 years ago when he was a young lieutenant based in Europe. His sister, Sheila, also worked here as an editor before her retirement.

"I’ll start by saying that I have big shoes to fill. George Reilly [also a Journal veterans affairs writer] carried this torch ably for many years, and Mary K. Talbot built on his foundation by adding many heartfelt stories about veterans and their families that resonated with the audience," he added.

Lennon receives the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross from Col. Lam Phong, deputy commander of Vietnamese Special Forces, in March 1968.
Lennon receives the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross from Col. Lam Phong, deputy commander of Vietnamese Special Forces, in March 1968.

Lennon, 79, who retired from the military with the rank of major, also led an unsuccessful decades-long bid to bring an aircraft carrier to Narragansett Bay, where it would have served as a museum, memorial and education center, much like the USS Intrepid in New York City.

While in Vietnam, among other things, Lennon was the escort officer for a touring Miss America. But he also served in a clandestine unit known as "B-57" in Saigon until his cover was blown. He then returned to action in the Central Highlands as an intel officer for the Green Berets, and he also saw combat during the Tet Offensive. It was during Tet that Lennon was awarded the Bronze Star.

Everyone from the B Team HQ in Pleiku participated in the retaking of the center of the city, starting Jan. 31, 1968. The patch on Lennon's right shoulder is from the 173rd; the SF patch would be on his left shoulder. Note also the M-79 grenade launcher on his shoulder. Says Lennon, "I loved that weapon — very few officers carried one."
Everyone from the B Team HQ in Pleiku participated in the retaking of the center of the city, starting Jan. 31, 1968. The patch on Lennon's right shoulder is from the 173rd; the SF patch would be on his left shoulder. Note also the M-79 grenade launcher on his shoulder. Says Lennon, "I loved that weapon — very few officers carried one."

For part of his military career, Lennon was also assigned to a international guard detail of American, British, French and Soviet soldiers at the infamous Spandau Prison in Berlin, which housed some of the most notorious Nazi leaders, including Rudolph Hess, one of Hitler's top henchmen.

"Here I was, a 22-year-old, wet-behind-the-ears lieutenant. ... I was guarding men who were major figures in world history. I could have reached out and touched them.

And I did actually speak with them, as brief as the conversations might have been," Lennon wrote for a website for West Point.

Although he was ordered not to converse with the prisoners, Lennon said he took the chance and chatted with Albert Speer, the Nazi minister who was convicted of using slave labor to build Hitler's war machine. In Spandau, he was known officially as "Prisoner No. 5."

Lennon said he asked Speer to recall the final days during the fall of Berlin as the city was surrounded by Russian troops and asked Speer if he really believed Hitler was dead.

"One thing I do recall is that Speer was quite the gentleman; he even invited me to come and visit him and his wife in Heidelberg after he was released. Understandably, I never followed up on that invitation. Later in life, I regret not having done so," Lennon wrote of Speer, who was sentenced to 20 years at the Nuremberg Trials.

Part of Lennon's marching orders, as he sees it, is to "reach out to younger vets, and those who are having a difficult time. Different generations, different priorities."

Besides the Bronze Star, Lennon has been awarded the Purple Heart, the Air Medal and two Army commendations for heroism.

How to reach Frank Lennon, the Providence Journal's new veterans columnist

If you have any story ideas about Rhode Island veterans, please contact Frank Lennon at veteranscolumn@providencejournal.com.

David Ng is executive editor of The Providence Journal. Email him at dng@providencejournal.com.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Vietnam Green Beret joins Journal as veteran affairs columnist