First Green Beret Finally Gets His Due

When the U.S. Army wanted to capture Adolf Hitler late in World War II, Aaron Bank organized a mission to accomplish the task. It was aborted only at the last minute when intelligence reports indicated that the German leader had committed suicide in Berlin.

Before the Allied invasion of Europe, Bank fought with the French resistance in Southern France. Later, he ran missions into Indochina.

And in 1951, when the Army formed an elite unconventional warfare unit, Bank was there to organize it and become its first commander.

That was the beginning of the Green Berets, the legendary Special Forces celebrated in song and saga ever since the Vietnam War brought them into public consciousness in the 1960s.

On Wednesday, the Army showed its appreciation by awarding Bank--now 97, living in Mission Viejo and known as the “father of the Green Berets”--its Distinguished Service Medal, more than 42 years after his retirement from the military.

“When I started the Special Forces,” he said in the ceremony at the American Legion Hall in Newport Beach, “I didn’t think I’d be subjected to any sort of publicity or honor. I proved to be wrong. This is a wonderful event, and it means a great deal to me.”

It also meant a great deal to the scores of military dignitaries, well-wishers and retired Green Berets who gathered, many in uniform, for the festivities.

“I salute you and thank you for your vision and the future you have given all of us,” said Col. Richard W. Mills, commander of the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Bank’s old unit.

Lt. Gen. William Tangney, commander of the Army’s Special Operations Command, which among other things oversees the 8,000 current members of its special forces, seemed to stand in awe.

“What a great, great soldier,” he said. “How many people have a resume like that?”

The Army decided to award Bank the medal, said Staff Sgt. Amanda Glenn, a spokeswoman for its Special Operations Command, “to show him how special he is.” She could not say why the recognition had been so long in coming.

But she said, “We wanted to show him how grateful we are for what he did. It’s a day of great pride and emotion. He was the first Green Beret, the man who started it all.”

Bank, who wrote a book outlining the Special Forces’ history and co-wrote a novel titled “Knight’s Cross,” spent much of the afternoon greeting old friends.

“I think he’s excited about this,” said his eldest daughter, Linda Ballantine of Dana Point. “He is happiest among his cronies.”

Because of Banks’ age and delicate health, his family declined requests for interviews with him. But his wife, Catherine Bank, said that being honored publicly had bolstered the spirits of the man who, outside of military circles, has not been fully appreciated.

“To us it means a lot,” she said, “because we are aware of the immensity of this. He started out with eight men. We are all very proud and excited.”