PRE-CONDITIONING

by David Nuttle

There is a belief that some people are assigned a specific role in life by our Creator. You can judge this belief for yourself, in my case, if I outline my pre-conditioning for a hazardous role following my youth. To wit:

I was reared on a 1,200-acre organic farm, known as Char-Mell Farm, with crops and livestock. Until I was 10 years old, we farmed with horses and mules plus a large farm crew. My mother, Mella, prepared lunch for us all and directed our one-acre garden plantings to harvest produce she canned for the years food supply, World War II started during my youth and my father, Charles, wanted to serve in the military but could not do so because he had lost one eye in a farm accident. Thus, he asked a relative, Gen. George Marshall, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, what he could do to support the war effort. Gen. Marshall indicated a need for 3,000 trained pack mules to assist our troops in Europe. He wanted mules shipped in groups of 300 and would recruit honor German POWs, farm boys, to assist in training mules to pack. To support this work, Gen. Marshall directed construction of a new POW camp near our farm. A total of 60 German honor POWs were housed and fed there to be able to work each day training mules on our farm. My dad contracted with farmers and ranchers all over the U. S. to rear and deliver mules from draft mares and Mammoth jacks. Thus, I was reared with 60 German farm boys on an honor POW status needing no armed guards.

Our farm was in the Walnut River Valley, and we had a major flood every three years on average. Each time we had to rush to move vehicles, farm machinery, and livestock to high ground. We would then need to wade in flood water to tie-down all that might float away while avoiding Water Moccasins often swimming in the flood water. Char-Mell Farm, in Butler County, Kansas, was in part of what is known as Tornado Alley, and a 1 or 2 tornados would occur nearby almost every year. A was working on a hill in our pasture when a tornado passed me by and destroyed nearly 200 homes and killed 17 people in the nearby town of El Dorado. I was indirectly struck by lightning and managed to survive at the time of this event. Our winter were harsh and made feeding cattle in the winter difficult. I had a few hogs and steers I cared for as part of 4-H and FFA projects. To create savings for college, during winters I trapped muskrats on the Walnut River. and used our two dogs to help hunt racoons residing in the timberlands along the river. (One night I had a cold survival problem by falling through thin ice crossing the river.) I prepared and sold the pelts from animals harvested. Our feed lot operation would have feed available that would attract ducks and geese all winter. I hunted a duck or goose when my mom wanted one for a meal. My sister, Sharon and I would assist with the gardening and prepare an assortment of 4-H projects for the annual county fair.

I always had my own horse from age two, and would help my dad, Charles, move cattle and mules. At times, I would also help my grandfather, C. R., work cattle on his ranch several miles from our farm. Our German POWs were not allowed to leave our farm. When trained mules were ready for shipping by rail, my dad had a white horse, Bud, the mules would always follow, and I rode my horse, Fonce, at the rear to prevent loss of straggling mules. By this means we would move 300 mules at a time to the loading yard at the rail line about 5-miles from our farm. Each spring, my dad would buy 120 head of wild cattle local residents would trap on islands off the Louisiana coast. They were shipped to us by rail and unloaded at a rail yard 4-miles from a large pasture on our farm. It would take at least 10 cowboys in front of this herd and a few cowboys on each side and rear to move these cattle, at a full run, to our pasture where they would graze for the summer. At age eight, I was given my own team of mules, Polly & Slim, to operate a dump-rake to assist with hay making. I also helped my dad train a team of big red mules, Moonbeam & Crowder, for the movie Scudda Hoo, Scudda Hay. This was Marilyn Monroe's second movie.

I graduated from Kansas State University with a BS degree in Ag and was scheduled for USAF basic training after participation in the USAF ROTC program. There was a 3-month delay before this training, and I used that time for a motorcycle tour of Europe. I wanted to see where my ancestors had come from in England, France, and Germany. Upon my return, I completed USAF basic and soon thereafter was asked to assist Intl. Voluntary Services (IVS) to create a model for the Peace Corps in South Vietnam. IVS had recruited 20 youth volunteers, recent college graduates, to complete this model wanted by POTUS JFK,. We helped to resettle over 200,000 Catholic Viets the communist government of North Vietnam had deported from that country. They were "dumped" on the beaches of South Vietnam. President of South Vietnam, Diem, would not allow these refugees into the towns of cities of his nation. These refugees were forced into remote jungle areas where they had to build new homes, farms, and cottage industries. To start, we all had to sleep in the jungle trees because of cobras and other snakes and wildlife to include leopards, tigers, wild boar, elephants. buffalo, and Bantang (wild cattle). In addition, all of us IVS volunteers assisted South Vietnam's agricultural experiment stations and related agricultural extension programs. Details of this venture are presented in a book entitled "The Fortunate Few" by T. J. Sagnier.

IVS volunteers, for said Peace Corps model, were not given safety or survival training so seven were killed by communist Viet Cong forces by the end of my 2-year tour. Knowing a

lack of knowledge could get me killed, I asked a jungle warfare expert and friend, Chi, to give me survival and jungle warfare training. Chi had directed the jungle warfare effort, for 5-years, to defeat Japanese occupation forces in Vietnam during WW II. Chi knew every trick in the "jungle warfare" book. To pay Chi for my training, I would kill and provide 4 or 5 deer every week to help feed a group of the Viet refugees that Chi was assisting. After my said training was completed, I was transferred to Darlac Province, SVN to assist Montagnard tribal populations with agricultural and community development as well as entrepreneurship instruction to start new enterprises that would help improve their well-being.

I lived & worked in tribal villages. I was most welcome because President Diem feared Montagnards and had his military, ARVN, confiscate all their spears and crossbows w/ arrows. Thus, they liked the fact that I was there with the 375 H & H. Mag. rifle I had acquired. I provided some protection from man-eating tigers and could kill a few of the plentiful jungle deer to help provide meat for tribal families. During this time, I acquired a BMW motorcycle and modified the muffler to eliminate noise from the motor. This helped me to travel roads and move quickly through a Viet Cong ambush before they could open fire. The French had constructed good one-lane highways in most parts of Vietnam. But there was a problem because jungle growth extended over the edges of highways so wildlife would suddenly appear in your path. This hazard caused me to hit a large wild boar with my motorcycle while traveling about 65 mph. As a result, I was catapulted though the air like being fired from a cannon. The road was straight at this location, so I did not crash into the jungle but came down slowly and rolled at least 25 times, like the ball-shape I formed by inspiration. When I got up, I felt like I was a bowl of jelly but got on my slightly damaged motorcycle to ride away after giving the wild boar, deceased from my hit, to some local Montagnard who appeared out of the jungle. My other threat to my life was when a group of SVN (Govt. of S, Vietnam) officials were assigned to inspect my projects in Montagnard villages. By inspiration and warning from a Montagnard friend, I knew a Viet Cong ambush was planned to attack this inspection team. I warned the SVN officials concerned and made an excuse why I could not go with them. They decided to take extra armed guards and go as planned to stay on schedule. A Viet Cong ambush hit this group and there was only one survivor out of 44 persons, SVN officials & guards, on this official inspection team.

IVS had monthly team meetings at its headquarters in Saigon. At the time of one of these meetings, a MAAG (U. S. Army Officer) I knew introduced me to Bonnie, the teenage daughter of Col. Gil Layton who directed U. S. Special Operations in Vietnam. Col. Layton and I became friends, and we had long conversations about Viet Cong and PAVN (North Viet military forces) attacking Montagnard villages in the Highlands. I would be invited to dinners at the Layton household with Col Layton, his wife, Dora, and their three children, Bonnie, Pat, and Todd. Added invitations were to U. S. Embassy gathering where I met Ambassador Fredrick Nolting, CIA Station Chief, Bill Colby, and MAAG U. S. Army Officers. Since I worked at the local level and spoke Vietnamese as well as Rhade (a Montagnard tongue), Ambassador Nolting would ask me to help evaluate some of President Diem's boondoggle projects he was seeking U. S. funds to support. One of these Diem projects was called his "New Life Village, Diem had used military force to create a mixed population to start a new village together as a blended population; i. e. Cao Dai, Hoa How, Catholic, & Buddhist Viets plus Montagnards from two tribes. Diem's briefing officer showed us around the new village and told how great life was for the blended population. Nolting demanded private interviews with resident who told us of all the conflicts and the desire of most to escape as soon as they found a way to get past Diem's guards. Needless to say, Ambassador Nolting did not approve funds for this foolish social experiment.

As a result of my friendship with Col. Layton, Colby, and Ambassador Nolting I became an advisor to the U. S.- SVN County Team. At one of these meetings, I was asked to comment on a U. S. Army request to force 620, 000 Montagnard into confinement (concentration) camps in order to create a "free fire-zone" to bomb communist forces moving into as well as through the Highlands. My evaluation of this plan included the following: 1) Most Montagnard would find ways to escape such confinement; 2) When they escaped, they would be highly motivated to support communist forces; 3) Communist forces had already made large & very extensive underground facilities to escape U. S. bombing and artillery fire; and 4) Viet Cong and PAVN (N. Viet) were skilled at disbursed movement under cover of darkness to make them difficult to be hit. Prior to this meeting, Col. Layton and I had discussions about the real probability that Montagnard tribes would fight to protect homes, families, and villages to fully defeat communist forces. What they needed was organization, training, and weapons. In the process of refusing the U. S. Army's request, Ambassador Nolting asked me if I was willing to demonstrate the Highland's area security solution he had been informed that Col Layton and I had talked about, and Bill Colby had agreed was a good solution. I said I would consider helping with a test of training and arming the Montanard.

Bill Colby said the CIA would support the above test. He and I soon met with Ngo Dinh Ngu, President Diem's brother, to get Diem's approval to test arming the Montagnard as a desperate attempt to save the Highlands from communist control. Diem and most all of the Viets hated the Montagnard, but they had no alternative but to seek their cooperation in an attempt to save South Vietnam from communist takeover. Upon Diem's agreement for the test project, an ARVN Major, Capt. Phu, was assigned to assist in this effort along with an ARVN Special Ops Team composed of 12 Montagnard to start training as soon as at least one Montagnard village would agree to participate in the test. Col. Layton diverted a U. S. Army Special Forces Medic, Paul C., to work with me in negations with tribal Chiefs to find a Montagnard village to agree to a village defense test. I would talk defense to the Chiefs and Paul would talk with village soccer's about health programs we selected as a quid pro quo for village cooperation. After lengthy discussions in several Montagnard villages, the village of Boun Enao, near BMT village, agreed to such a test. The village Chief, Y-Ju was a friend of mine, and the Darlac Province Chief, Major Bang, also a friend, quickly agreed to this test Bill Colby named the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG).Program.

For the initial part of Boun Enao's defense test, a bamboo security defense was constructed and a sign posted that no Viet Cong were allowed in the village. A trail watch effort was started to warm of any communist forces approaching the village. The initial weapons approved were traditional spears and crossbows. Having thus met the requirements of training & military arms, such arms were provided and training started by the ARVN Special Ops Team and a newly arrived U. S. Army Special Ops A-Team under the command of Capt. Larry A. MAAG refused to give this team an assignment since regular Army Officers hated JFK's created Special Forces. CIA assigned two officers to assist, Jack B. and Hugh M. who worked on project support and intel (intelligence) operations. Special Forces called this effort The VDP (Village Defense Program) that quickly included 60 Montagnard villages. Communist forces soon viewed this effort as a threat and the VDP complex of villages experienced an average of three major attacks weekly from Viet Cong and PAVN forces. To assist with defenses five Special Forces A-Teams were soon assigned along with 24 USAF Air Commandos with assorted aircraft. The CIDG/ VDP project is fully detailed in a book entitled "Vietnam's High Ground," by J. P. Harris.

The very successful VDP project was dismantled after little more than a year, After POTUS JFK's assassination, VP LBJ became POTUS and directed defense of the SVN population (Viets & Montagnard) be abandoned in favor a quick conventional "bang-and-boom" military victory using as many U. S. troops as needed. U. S. Special Forces A-Teams were ordered to construct and defend outposts (forts) on the Lao-SVN border. This made it possible for communist to gain control of the population and use the border outposts for target practice by PAVN (N Viet forces) moving south into SVN. Such U. S. policy proved to be self-defeating.

Most of my time in South Vietnam I was a target of assassination and I survived seven assassination attempts. Wilfred Burchett, an Australian communist author, was paid by Viet communists to write a false history of the Vietnam War. I the process of such fabrication, Burchett reported I was traveling Vietnam dressed as a French priest and was engaged in the assassination of communist cadre all over Vietnam. The Viet communists elected to use this fabrication for propaganda purposes. Thus, they created and widely distributed Wanted Dead of Alive posters, with an award, having my name and photo. I was saved by the fact that three different groups were trying to collect the reward at the same time, and they were exposing as well as harming each other's efforts.

After my time in Vietnam, I engaged in extended & somewhat hazardous national security and economic development surveys for several developing nations in African Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Such service made personal relationships difficult, and I had already lost my first wife when she was assassinated by communist forces in Vietnam. My survey activity was interrupted when I went to Laos for two years to help defend Vang Pao's so-called "Secret Army" that was reducing the southern flow of communist forces & supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The PAVN 312th and 316th Regiments with tanks, artillery, and 28,000 troops plus 12,000 support personnel with special units had come into Laos to totally destroy Vang Pao's forces. A book entitled "Battle for Skyline Ridge" details part of these very intense battles. In addition, POTUS Nixon had asked me to organize and undertake a massive deception operation to help force Viet communist leaders to a Peace Conference to end the Vietnam War. Following this I did two more of the said surveys and then became a CIA Special Ops instructor for 2-years. My CIA career was ended at this point by my need to deal with the U. S. Army Engineer's eminent domain taking of our family farm as I detailed in another blog on NPI's site.

Following my legal battles with the Corps, I created and patented several innovations as well as writing several technical manuals to all assist with improving the well-being of the many poor and disadvantaged populations, worldwide. An example patent is U. S. Patent No. 5,121,708. A typical technical handbook, of mine, is the "Remote Areas Development Manual" available in 13 languages & posted on ERIC (Educational Resources Info Center).

See ERIC ED 242881. These efforts were followed by creation of my charity, Needful Provision, Inc. (NPI) with service projects as posted on this NPI website.

The question is; did I receive pe-conditioning as a youth to prepare me to overcome all of the hazardous events outlined above? There is too much here to be a good blog, but I believe donors to a charity need to be informed of the background of the founder of that charity. I have done so here!!