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MAJ Mark E Cooper
to remember
Charette, Wilfred JA (Wil/Squeak), SFC.
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Wilfred J.A. Charette born 14 November 1936, passed away 9 May 2010 at his home in Tampa, FL. Wil Charette, a native of Rhode Island served 11 years of military service followed by service with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1964 until his retirement on 29 November 1996. His first CIA assignment was as a paramilitary Staff Officer at CIA Headquarters and its domestic training facilities. He then served in Laos and Thailand as a Paramilitary Case Officer, Chief of Operations, and Chief of a Laotian irregular paramilitary unit for 8 years. Mr. Charette was then assigned to Ethiopia and Ghana from 1974-1979. In late 1979 Mr. Charette was posted to Swaziland, as Chief of Station (COS) until 1982 when he was assigned to Kampala, Uganda, as COS. Following a two-year tour in Uganda, Mr. Charette attended the US Naval War College in Newport, RI, where he received a Master’s Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. In 1985, he was appointed Chief, CIA Counter Terrorist Center, Foreign Liaison Training and Terrorist Incident Response Team (IRT). From 1992-1994, Mr. Charette served as the Agency’s Deputy Chief, Office of Field Deployment. His last U.S. Government assignment was that of DCI Representative at U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Tampa, Florida. Mr. Charette, in post retirement, continued to serve the intelligence community as a senior advisor to SOCCENT at MacDill AFB. Mr. Charette served on the board of directors and co-founded the Special Operation Memorial Foundation, MacDill AFB.
Mr. Charette had extensive military experience, having served domestically and overseas with the 508th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (ARCT), the 101st Airborne Division, the 1st Calvary Division, and Special Forces. Mr. Charette is a Charter Member of the US Army Parachute Team (Golden Knights). He was the first Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of the Special Forces Training Group High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) Committee, which included Fulton Recovery Systems (SKYHOOK) Operations. In 1961, he was selected to train the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment’s military free fall cadre at Hereford, England. Mr. Charette was a member of the Joint Army/USAF HALO Test Team in the early 1960’s that established much of the HALO training and operations doctrine still in use today. He also participated in the record breaking 43,500 foot jump to establish a world record “FAI Class G-II-C, group of nine with delayed fall”. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his participation in the HALO Test Program and his subsequent use of HALO insertion techniques. He is the author of the United States Parachute Association (USPA) Publication, “Jumping in the Troposphere”, and is the recipient of the USPA Golden Wings representing 1,000 free fall parachute jumps. Mr. Charette’s last military assignment was with the 5th Special Forces Group.
During his stellar and distinguished career, Mr. Charette received the following awards and commendations:
(CIA) Donovan Award for Excellence
Career Intelligence Medal for Exceptional Achievement
Two Director Of Central Intelligence awards for exceptional service under conditions of hazard and hardship
Promoted into the Senior Intelligence Service (SIS-1989)
(DOD) Distinguished Flying Cross
Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service
Wil Charette will be remembered for his commitment to service, to his country and to his family. He will always be remembered as a patriot and the epitome of what it means to be a true American hero. In the words of his brothers and sisters in the clandestine service “he was a legendary warrior…A legend in own time. The things he survived, his mentoring, his leadership, and his unwavering patriotism is and will forever be a flame that goes on burning, we will never forget him. He was our commander… our General.”
Vietnam War/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (1968)
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Description This campaign was from 30 January to 1 April 1968. On 29 January 1968 the Allies began the Tet-lunar new year expecting the usual 36-hour peaceful holiday truce. Because of the threat of a large-scale attack and communist buildup around Khe Sanh, the cease fire order was issued in all areas over which the Allies were responsible with the exception of the I CTZ, south of the Demilitarized Zone.
Determined enemy assaults began in the northern and Central provinces before daylight on 30 January and in Saigon and the Mekong Delta regions that night. Some 84,000 VC and North Vietnamese attacked or fired upon 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 5 of 6 autonomous cities, 64 of 242 district capitals and 50 hamlets. In addition, the enemy raided a number of military installations including almost every airfield. The actual fighting lasted three days; however Saigon and Hue were under more intense and sustained attack.
The attack in Saigon began with a sapper assault against the U.S. Embassy. Other assaults were directed against the Presidential Palace, the compound of the Vietnamese Joint General Staff, and nearby Ton San Nhut air base.
At Hue, eight enemy battalions infiltrated the city and fought the three U.S. Marine Corps, three U.S. Army and eleven South Vietnamese battalions defending it. The fight to expel the enemy lasted a month. American and South Vietnamese units lost over 500 killed, while VC and North Vietnamese battle deaths may have been somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000.
Heavy fighting also occurred in two remote regions: around the Special Forces camp at Dak To in the central highlands and around the U.S. Marines Corps base at Khe Sanh. In both areas, the allies defeated attempts to dislodge them. Finally, with the arrival of more U.S. Army troops under the new XXIV Corps headquarters to reinforce the marines in the northern province, Khe Sanh was abandoned.
Tet proved a major military defeat for the communists. It had failed to spawn either an uprising or appreciable support among the South Vietnamese. On the other hand, the U.S. public became discouraged and support for the war was seriously eroded. U.S. strength in South Vietnam totaled more than 500,000 by early 1968. In addition, there were 61,000 other allied troops and 600,000 South Vietnamese.
The Tet Offensive also dealt a visibly severe setback to the pacification program, as a result of the intense fighting needed to root out VC elements that clung to fortified positions inside the towns. For example, in the densely populated delta there had been approximately 14,000 refugees in January; after Tet some 170,000 were homeless. The requirement to assist these persons seriously inhibited national recovery efforts.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories . His first CIA assignment was as a paramilitary Staff Officer at CIA Headquarters and its domestic training facilities. He then served in Laos and Thailand as a Paramilitary Case Officer, Chief of Operations, and Chief of a Laotian irregular paramilitary unit for 8 years.
