Terry L. Buckler was the youngest on the teams that that made up the almost 60 raiders selected for the mission. His book, \u201cWho Will Go: Into the Son Tay POW Camp<\/a>,\u201d published earlier this month, details the raid and the events leading up to it. Buckler was a radio operator who went through Green Beret special operations training. He knew how to use a multitude of weaponry, handle explosives and jump out of airplanes, like the others in his cadre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Months of training at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida at a mock-up compound build by the Central Intelligence Agency made the complex plan relatively easy to execute, Buckler told Military Times in a Friday phone call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though the raiders weren\u2019t able to rescue any American prisoners of war, the Viet Cong began treating its prisoners more humanely, likely because it didn\u2019t want to suffer another covert raid, Buckler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Raid<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n The C-130 was their mothership. It cruised slowly in front of six rescue helicopters in formation and carrying teams \u201cRed Wine,\u201d \u201cGreen Leaf\u201d and \u201cBlue Boy\u201d just above the North Vietnamese canopy. It was a dangerous flight for the plane, but the airmen piloting it were skilled. Dip a bit too low and the plane would clip the tops of the trees. Reduce speed by 5 knots and the bird would stall. The air group had to stay together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The plan was clear, and each team had its mission set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blue Boy was to land inside the compound and eliminate any guards, then locate and release the prisoners. Green Leaf was the assault team. They were primarily charged with clearing guard buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Red Wine was to pull security, locate and secure the communications building to prevent any potential reinforcements from Hanoi being called in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the dead of night, with no lights to guide them, no communications between aircraft, \u201cApple-1,\u201d Green Leaf\u2019s helicopter broke from formation early and mistakenly landed at a building which looked similar to that of Son Tay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, we were short 22 guys with some good firepower,\u201d Buckler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This put the task of initial assault on Red Wine, Buckler\u2019s team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the group neared the target, their C-130 increased altitude and dropped flares, illuminating the compound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the newly-designated assault element, the Red Wine helicopter\u2019s minigun opened fire on the guard building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen we got out, the structure was on fire,\u201d Buckler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once off the helicopter, his training kicked in. The helicopters flew off to safety about a mile away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was just like we were training back at Eglin, the only difference was that bullets were coming back at us,\u201d Buckler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The team executed its mission, just as planned, until Buckler got a call over the radio. \u201cNegative items\u201d was code for no POWs at the compound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was a shock for us after three months of training,\u201d Buckler said. \u201cWe hit a dry hole.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n About the time the call was transmitted, Apple-1 arrived and crashed inside the compound. Members of Green Leaf set explosives charges to destroy it, Buckler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the mission scrapped, the birds were called back in for extraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe lights of Hanoi looked like a major city in the States,\u201d Buckler said. \u201cIt was amazing to me how big that city was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just then, a surface to air missile zoomed past his helicopter, narrowly missing the aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overhead, an A-1E circled the group with orders to destroy anything that crossed a nearby bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving never seen one, it was pretty intense there for a few minutes,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was actually scarier in the chopper than it was on the ground. As an Army guy, you can kind of roll around and hide but up there them flyboys are just sitting ducks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Documentary in the works<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the weekend, the film crew will work with the Silent Warrior Association<\/a> to film re-enactments of the training that led up to the Raid and a portion of the mission execution, Army veteran and documentary producer Dan Smith told Military Times in an email. The organization is holding a raider reunion, which will also feature day and night ranges with the weapons used during the raid, Smith said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith and others are also working to turn the raiders\u2019 stories into a podcast series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn both projects we have been working directly with raiders, POWs, and other service members who supported the mission,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe began with the Son Tay Raider Association at the invitation of one of the raiders, Command Sgt. Maj. Pat St. Claire who I served with in Iraq and the Horn of Africa in 2003.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The film still needs funding for completion, Smith said, and its producers have set up Paypal<\/a> and Go Fund Me<\/a> accounts for that effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Collector](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/who-will-go.jpg.jpg\")