Ranger Black Beret

By Ranger Robert Black

History does not care about "authorization." History is concerned with what happened. The beloved bugle call, "Taps," was not authorized when in July 1862 General Dan Butterfield conceived the tune and Bugler Oliver Norton first played those notes. The Union soldiers liked it better than the authorized call and soon the Confederates did the same. History does not care about "Authorization." The red, white and black scroll insignia designed and worn by the World War II Rangers was not an authorized insignia during World War II and did not become so until after the Rangers parachuted into Grenada in 1983. Thus it was with the Ranger Black Beret. It was not authorized when it began. It was something the troops wanted.

Berets were a European headgear, primarily used by French and English troops. European armies had and have varying colors for differing branches of service, and in Europe black was the color worn by Armor troops. That is in Europe. There is no historical requirement that American soldiers must do what Europeans do. Our ancestors came here to be different.

In the spring of 1951 while lower numbered companies were fighting in Korea, in Germany, or training replacements at Benning, the third training cycle consisting of the 10th, 11th and 12th Airborne Ranger Companies was training at then "Camp" Carson Colorado. To be a paratrooper was just part of the training to be an Airborne Ranger, and the men wanted a headgear that was distinctive from the "overseas cap" with its red, white and blue parachute hat patch and sky blue piping designating infantry. The Rangers wanted something "Ranger". At least, fifty percent of Ranger training was conducted at night. Thus Captain Charles Spragins Commander of 10th, and Captain Rudolph M Jones, commanding the 11th Ranger Company, gave their approval to the purchase of black berets, the black signifying the color of the primary operational time of the Rangers. These berets were worn when the company photographs of both 10th and 11th companies were taken. Passes were issued, permitting men to wear the black beret and stating that it was part of the Ranger uniform. Though other companies appear not to have worn berets in formation, men from all the later companies have testified that they as individuals wore the Ranger black beret when they could do so. It was not authorized by the army, but it was beloved by the troops.

There is no headgear that so clearly says "Airborne Ranger" as the 1951 Ranger Black Beret. The flash consists of a gold and black Ranger tab sewn above a black oval background with gold edging surmounted by a parachute badge. The blending of Airborne and Ranger are thus clearly displayed.

Companies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 were fighting in Korea and few of them had knowledge of the black beret concept. At Fort Benning, Colonel John Van Houton, Commanding Office of the Ranger Training Command, supported the black beret movement. He assigned Lt.Col. Wilbur "Coal-bin Willie" Wilson as Project Officer. Wilson outfitted Sgt John Roy of the 7th Rangers, not only in Black Beret, but in black boots (in a brown shoe army). Carrying a paper of authority from his commanders, Sgt Roy traveled about Fort Benning conducting the test Colonel Van Houten wanted. Again the troops were delighted, but those in authority outside the Rangers were not.

With the disbandment of the Rangers in 1951, the concept did not reach Department of the Army level.

When war erupted in Vietnam, many of the Rangers who fought in that long and bloody war reached back into history and began to wear the Ranger Black Beret. It was still unauthorized but clearly a Ranger tradition was established. The men wore it with pride. Some left notice that they wanted to be buried with their beret.

By Army Regulations 670-5 dated 30 January 1975, the black beret became an authorized headgear for the Rangers, and it would remain that way for twenty-five years. Thus, a half century of tradition unauthorized and authorized by Department of the Army had been built around the Ranger Black Beret. It was a tradition that was particularly meaningful to many Korean War Rangers . It was the only item of clothing that serving Rangers wore which had its roots in the Korean War.

On October 17, 2000 Army Chief of Staff General Eric Shinseki in a speech before the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) made the announcement that starting in June of 2001 the Black beret would become the army standard. The Chief of Staff has the authority to take such action but he has a responsibility to act wisely and in the best interest of the soldiers.

Nationally syndicated columnist Georgie Ann Geyer noted that Shinseki saw the army as fragmented and thought to use the beret to reunite the force. Geyer wrote that his decision only increased the fragmenting process. In her Thursday, March 15, 2001 column, Geyer quoted Lawrence Kolb, Director of the Council of Foreign Relations, who noted Napoleon’s words on decorations and medals, "People die for these little pieces of cloth."

The Chief of Staff of the Army is not beyond criticism. As Americans, we have the right to question the actions of leaders. General Shinseki had many options, including leaving the Rangers with their tradition and using another color, such as time-honored Army khaki, for the remainder of the troops. He would not do this. The serving Rangers were forbade to talk about the change, and requests from Ranger associations of World War II, Korea and Vietnam to meet with the general were ignored. A lady from Army public relations told this writer the color black was chosen because of "fashion." An army report said that giving the black beret to all soldiers was about "our excellence as soldiers, our unity as a force, and our values as an institution." How a hat can do all that was not explained. You cannot pull an army out of a hat.

An Army briefing paper showed that in order to meet the delivery dates which General Shinseki wanted, that purchase would have to be made overseas. To most people today, an overseas purchase is likely to be from China. But this possibility appears not to have been considered by General Shinseki. To the embarrassment and anger of many, Black berets for United States soldiers were purchased from Communist China where seven Chinese firms were involved in production. Millions of dollars were wasted as Congress forbade their use and the communist-made berets were warehoused.

General Shinsiki’s action may have been pleasing to him, but it tore a Ranger family apart in ways that will likely never be totally healed. Veterans want to support the Army, but expect the army to respect the traditions that the veteran established. Some Ranger veterans thought that authorization is more important than history. Some felt that supporting General Shinseki was supporting the serving Rangers who must do as they are ordered. Others believed that Shinseki’s decision was not only a slap in the face to the Rangers who had served this country faithfully but that there were much higher priorities that needed the attention of the Army Chief of Staff. It was pointed out that we had soldiers on food stamps, and there were known shortages of ammunition and spare parts. The Friday, August 17, 2001 Stars and Stripes reported the estimated cost of the berets at $50 million. As this is being written, we are at war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Reports are coming from Iraq that there are not sufficient ceramic plates available for the protective vest soldiers wear in combat. The Newark Star Ledger reported on November 29, 2003 that, "If the entire Army National Guard went to war tomorrow, one soldier in five would go into combat without a rifle." Yet the National Guard is increasingly being employed in Iraq. These are shortages that involve life or death. Protective vests and rifles are critical to a soldier, yet millions were spent to put an army in black berets.

As Americans, we fought for the rights we hold dear. One of these rights is to petition for our grievances. As a retired soldier, General Eisenhower gave his views to Congress, though they were contrary to the wishes of the administration. Generals MacArthur and Singlaub spoke out before and after retirement in views that were different than the administration in power. Despite this fact, some retired officers, who felt it was best for the Rangers and their duty to support General Shinseki, took umbrage when myself and others petitioned members of Congress to stop this destruction of a proud tradition and waste of money. These men considered it wrong for us to go to Congress to seek to change an order of the Army Chief of Staff. As it fell out, General Shinseki ended his military career under frequent media reports that he had while a serving officer opposed the decisions of his senior, Secretary of Defense Rumsfield, and Shinseki attempted to have the Congress change those decisions.

An Army Chief of Staff has great power for good or ill. General Eric Shinseki ignored our requests to choose another course of unity or even another color beret. He would not even meet with men who had given one hundred per cent, and then some, to earn that headgear. He ignored the pleas of men who fought from North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Normandy to Germany and in the Pacific. He ignored men who left a proud record of service in the mountains of Korean and the jungles of Vietnam. He would not grant a hearing to the Wartime Ranger Associations, and he used his power in a manner that left a trail of anger and resentment behind him.

The Korean War Ranger Association supports the serving Rangers in meaningful ways. Soldiers must do what they are ordered to do. We veterans were not and are not under the orders of Eric Shinseki or any member of the Army. We stand by our tradition of the Ranger Black Beret and we wear it as it was worn in 1951. It does not prevent us from raising funds and supporting serving Rangers. We need not wear the same Beret or the same underwear to be close and supportive of the serving Rangers.-------- The Veteran Soldier of World War I did have to wear the uniform of the soldier of World War II in order to be of support.----- He had his own tradition.

Eric Shinseki could have sought to understand the depth of feeling about the Ranger Black Beret but he choose to ram his will down peoples throats. Shinseki got his way, but words that will follow him to his grave were reported in a Washington Times editorial of March 10, 2001 entitled Black Beret Debacle. The editorial began with the words, "The idea was a bum one to begin with and has evolved into the grotesque..." The closing passage included, "unfortunately, the general probably has waded too deeply into this unnecessary swamp to be pulled out easily; in the nature of things his admirable career as a soldier will probably be summed up when he goes to the Last Muster as the general who took the black beret from the Rangers."

Updated: May 7, 2007