Letter to the Editor:

Remembering
Maj. Clyde Sincere

From Vahan Sipantzi
Chaplain (COC) USA SF (ret.)

Clyde J. Sincere began his military career with the 508th Airborne Regimental Combat Team at Sand Hill, Fort Benning. The 508th was one of the two Quick Reaction Forces during the Korean War (Police Action). The other unit was the 198th RCT at Camp Drum.

Sometime in early (I believe January) 1952 a request came down from the Pentagon for volunteers for a unit that required “frequent parachute jumps” (T-7 parachutes) and glider flights (C-122—engineless, which became the C-123. Someone figured, “Why not just put engines on it?”).

We were interviewed by our C.O. and Battalion Commanders even though none of them really knew what Special Forces was except that it might involve guerrilla warfare. There were four of us that volunteered and were accepted: Clyde Sincere, Don Traynor, Dave Clark, and myself, Vahan Sipantzi. I drove up to Fort Bragg with Don Traynor, who was one of the rare (in those days) enlisted troops who owned a car. We arrived on 7 June 1952, when there were only 7 others already there. Clyde arrived a day or two later. We were amazed that we were part of the 10th Special Forces Group (ABN), but there was no 1-9th SFG’s, and we were assigned to the 16th Detachment (which was a Company), but there were no 1-15th Detachments.

We were both promoted to Staff Sgt., but because we lacked PFCs or Corporals, we pulled KP as Staff Sgts, and Private of the Guard as Staff Sgts.

We were part of the PsyOps Group, so we pulled all the dirty jobs with them, although they were mostly PVTs, PFCs, and Corporals.

Clyde and I were part of the Weapons Committee as we prepared to train the first class, which began once we reached 120 personnel: 65 officers and 55 NCOs. That was the initial cadre and included former OSS types like CPT Jack Hemingway (Ernest Hemingway’s son) and MSGT Checko Bassalian, who rode an Aerial 4-Square motorcycle to work each morning, could shoot with either hand, and was a skilled knife fighter.

Above, at left, Vahan Sipantzi and Clyde Sincere, at right, participating in “The Originals” Panel at the Special Forces Association 2022 Convention in Colorado Springs.
This is a shot captured from the video shot that day of the discussion. In addition to Vahan and Clyde the panel included two other Original members of Special Forces who joined in 1952-53: SFC (Ret) Henry Bertrand, and former SSG Richard Simonian, They recount how they were recruited, how they trained, and how they formed our very first SF elements that eventually became Special Forces Operational Detachment – Alphas (ODAs).

Click here to watch the video or visit our YouTube channel @specialforces78, where you will find the video listed as #8 in the SFACon 2022 De Oppresso Liber playlist.

The first class graduated around Christmas, if I remember it right. We were actually firing more ammunition than the 82nd Abn. Div. as we put our training to use and “relocated Government Property that was not being utilized in the Ammo Dump into areas of greater utilization.” We finished the “demo phase” by setting off 500 pounds of explosives (the post limit was 5 pounds) at once, which created a little excitement on post, but not unexpected from a bunch of “undisciplined snake-eaters.”

Clyde liked to gamble but did not do well. He also was an avid stamp collector. I sold him my stamp collection (quite good) for 50 bucks. When the 10th got ready to deploy to Bad Tölz in November 1953, Clyde “took a burst of six” (re-enlisted for 6 years) and received a $600 signing bonus. He used $300 to pay off some of his debts (he paid me $25 for half of the $50 he owed me for my stamp collection. I got the other $25, without interest, in early 1968 when I found out he was commanding FOB 1 at Phu Bai. By then, he was a Major and his gambling skills had improved, as he said he was making about $1000 a month) and the rest he lost gambling, but was now committed to the Army.

Clyde, as a really young soldier, enjoyed the off-post party scene in the Fayetteville area but always arrived back in the Detachment area for the 0530 PT formation on time—or close to it.

In 1962, while training the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis in guerrilla warfare, I learned that Clyde had been commissioned and was now a 2nd Lieutenant, and I was also a 2nd Lieutenant (Staff Specialist Seminarian) XO on a 17th Special Forces Group A-Team. While in Vietnam with the 101st Abn. DIVARTY, I learned from the DIVARTY XO (also former SF) that Clyde, now a Major, was just down the road in Phu Bai commanding CCN. We finally got together again after so many years. He paid me the $25 he still owed me. I was so delighted I forgot to ask for interest on 16 years of debt. That renewed our friendship, which lasted until his final PCS in the presence of Jesus Christ, who was on the advance party to prepare a place for him.

I’ll miss him, but I’ll see him later.