VALOR IN THE PACIFIC!

In early 1942, Marine Colonel James “Bulldog” Barringer was ordered by the joint Pacific War commanders, Admiral Nimitz and General MacArthur, to form a unit ready and willing to take the war to the Japanese. After carefully selecting 12 men from the Marine Corps and Navy, Barringer’s new unit was given the designation “1st Special Naval Force” and began training for commando-style missions in the swamps and beaches of the Florida Keys. The training was intense with the men getting little rest while eating and sleeping in conditions that would make most men cringe. Barringer’s 1st Special Naval Force was not for the weak — neither physically nor mentally. After six months of intensive training, the 1st Special Naval Force was shipped out to Hawaii to continue their training. Upon seeing these men, Admiral Nimitz commented that Barringer’s men looked more like “ragged bums” than soldiers, but their fighting ability would surely “scare the hell” out of the Japanese! The “take-no-prisoners, no-holds barred” attitude reminded Admiral Nimitz of Army Major Maxwell’s commando
group operating in Europe and North Africa. Nimitz turned to Barringer and said, “Well, I guess Ike has his Deadly Dozen misfits and we have ours.” Barringer replied, “My men are the real deal when it comes to jungle fighting. They are at home in the sweltering rainforest, on the sun-baked coral beach or stinking mangrove swamp. Like the tiger, shark or crocodile, they are the top predator in these environments. They are cold as steel and strike without warning. These men are war fighters, Admiral, and they will strike fear into the heart of the enemy. Maxwell may have a good collection of characters — but I’d take my ‘Deadly Dozen’ over his any day of the week when it comes to making war.”

THE 1ST SPECIAL NAVAL FORCE (1942-1945)

The 1st Special Naval Force was formed under the orders of General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz in March, 1942. Colonel James Barringer of the United States Marine Corps was appointed as commanding officer. A veteran of numerous “small wars” in the Caribbean and Central America, Colonel Barringer is an expert in unconventional jungle warfare and commando/raider tactics. The 1st Special Naval Force is a highly classified special operations unit trained and equipped specifically for unconventional/commando style warfare in a jungle environment. Under Barringer’s command, the 1st Special Naval Force began classified operations against the forces of Japan in the Pacific in 1942. The unit fought with distinction throughout the Pacific War, although no direct mention of the unit ever appeared in official news reports or correspondence. Much of the unit’s activities during the war are still classified and the men themselves disappeared into obscurity after the unit was officially disbanded sometime in late 1945. Colonel Barringer retired from the Marine Corps in 1947 in order to join the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Working for the DIA, Barringer was involved in covert operations during the Korean War and other crises during the 1950s. Barringer was actively involved in the Vietnam War, operating with American Special Forces, CIA and indigenous personnel involved in covert warfare in Laos against the North Vietnamese. His correspondence became somewhat irrational and deeply critical of the handling of the covert war against the Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese in Laos. Barringer began to see enemies everywhere outside of his command, becoming increasingly hostile to any outside interference with “his war.” He wanted complete control of the war in Laos in order “to wipe the North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao off the face of the earth.”

It was during this time that Barringer, who had developed something of a cult of personality with a handful of American Special Forces personnel and ethnic Chinese Nung mercenaries, disappeared into the jungle with his American Special Forces and Nung mercenary followers, who numbered well over one hundred fighting men. He was classified as “missing in action, presumed dead” in 1965 when a captured North Vietnamese soldier told of a battle between a large group of “Nung fighters led by white Nungs” and the North Vietnamese along the Laotian-North Vietnamese border. According to the captured soldier, many of the “white Nungs” were killed or wounded before they retreated back into the jungle. The blood-stained dogtags of a man named “Berringar” were later found at the site of the battle and given to North Vietnamese intelligence officers.