Joseph T. Palastra: One Of The Greatest Generals You’ve Likely Never Heard Of

Early this past March, a stately looking, silver-haired, eighty-three-year-old man quietly passed away in the small, Mayberryish town of Highlandville, Missouri. He was known, by his neighbors and the fellow parishioners at his church, simply as “Joe.”

“Joe’s” passing was routinely and unceremoniously noted in a small, eight line obituary which told us very little about “Joe”
the man. He was survived by his beautiful and intelligent wife, of over a half century, Anne. Unmentioned, were the four of his five children and a number of grandchildren who he had also left behind.

The obituary also mentioned that, per “Joe’s” wishes, there were to be no funeral services. This last bit of information seemed most telling for a man who spent his life putting others before himself – God, County, family and the million plus different soldiers he commanded over the course of his stellar career as one of the Army’s top officers. Yes, not everyone seemed to know that, “Joe” the humble farmer in their midst, was once a four star General who commanded all US Army personnel in the Continental United States.

Born, during the depths of The Great Depression, on November 10, 1931 was
Joseph T. Palastra, Jr. Little is publicly known about his childhood. The record for “Joe” begins in 1954 when he graduated, with distinction, from the United States Military Academy at West Point. With handsome features a thatch of thick dark hair, “Joe” was respected for his high intelligence, work ethic and integrity. As a young Army Lieutenant , already considered a rising star, “Joe” was selected, with a group of other promising young officers, to be loaned out to the CIA for service in Vietnam in 1955 – some ten years before the deployment of combat forces there.

Still in his early 20s, “Joe” spent his time in Vietnam learning about the people, their culture and politics. This would serve him well in the following decade when he deployed for three tours in Vietnam-including two as a unit commander.

In the late 1960s, during two of his three tours, “Joe” commanded Company B, 4th Aviation Battalion as well as the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry respectively. By this time, the war had grown unpopular. Most of the soldiers were draftees. Many didn’t want to be in country. Drug use among the soldiers in Vietnam was rampant. Morale was low and, in some units, soldiers rebelled against their officers. In some cases, unpopular officers and Sergeants were murdered by their own troops in a practice known as “fragging.”

Many incoming unit commanders, under the circumstances, were reluctant to fully assert their authority and maintain high standards and discipline. Not “Joe.” Palastra believed that if one were “placed in charge he must take charge.” “Joe” was not afraid to “take charge” and restore discipline where needed. The first unit he took command of in Vietnam was an important combat aviation unit that he would later, and understatedly describe as “not functioning well.” As the incoming commander he had zero tolerance for disobedience and was unwilling to look the other way like many other commanders were doing. He insisted that his men adhere to the highest standards while he and his soldiers aggressively pursued the enemy on the battlefield. When he left his command, his aviation unit went from being one of the worst in its sector to being one of the best.

In 1969, when “Joe,” then a Lieutenant-Colonel, took command of the 1st Battalion of the 12th Infantry, that unit was functioning much better than most. Yet, through leading by example and setting the highest standards for himself and his men, he transformed 1st Battalion from a good unit into a great one that could be relied upon to accomplish the most challenging of missions. What “Joe” knew was something that many other officers in Vietnam didn’t appear to grasp: Soldiers actually prefer to be part of a well disciplined and accomplished unit led by officers who set high standards and who actually care for them.

After his time in Vietnam, “Joe” had accumulated an impressive array of accomplishments and awards including eight Air Medals, Three Bronze Stars for Valor and the coveted Silver Star Medal. Even more important, he established himself as a superb combat leader.

That period from the middle 1970s to the early to middle 1980s, known in the Army as “the post Vietnam era” were some of the Army’s darkest days. The military was unpopular with most Americans. In the wake of Vietnam, the Army’s budget was drastically cut and commanders lacked the necessary amounts of fuel and ammunition to conduct adequate training. Standards were low as was soldier morale. Racial tensions and violence were rampant throughout the Army. The military was unable to attract significant numbers of quality recruits. It was not uncommon for young civilian men, who were charged with felonies, to be offered the opportunity to serve in the Army in lieu of a conviction and a prison sentence. While not as prevalent as in Vietnam, there still existed, among a large portion of the lower enlisted ranks, a culture of disobedience and disrespect toward their leaders. In this post Vietnam era, many fine officers chose to leave the Army. Fortunately for the Army and our nation, “Joe” chose to stay.

Continuing to excel in his new role as an officer in the peace time Army of the 1970s, Joe was promoted to Colonel and selected for Brigade command in the famed 101st Airborne Division. As during his previous stint as a unit commander, “Joe” was lauded for the measurable improvements to his brigade’s morale, performance and readiness. Few were surprised when “Joe” Palastra was promoted to General and later given command of the US Army’s 5th Infantry Division.

Yet it was in the early 1980s when “Joe,” now sporting three stars on his collar, took command of the 60,000 plus soldiers in the US Army’s I Corps at Fort Lewis, Washington. The election of Ronald Reagan as the 40th US President brought many changes to the Army which received, once again, adequate training funds as well as the complete modernization of its inventory of equipment, weapons and vehicles.

Still, the soldiers continued to be influenced by the post Vietnam culture. Standards were still relatively slack and discipline was somewhat lacking. “Joe” come onto Fort Lewis like a whirlwind and immediately raised the bar. It quickly became clear to all under his command that “Joe” wasn’t fooling around. He expected the highest of standards and would not suffer those hapless souls who were content with mediocrity. His soldiers would speak of him as “being everywhere.” A Company standing around on the side of the road, on base, in an aimless cluster, might very well see their Corp commander pulling over in his vehicle to take charge of the situation and impart an important and forceful lesson to the unfortunate Captain who commanded the unsightly company. A Military Police Commander drew “Joe’s” ire when he decided to punish an overweight and sub-standard Military Policeman by placing him on duty, at night, on the front gate. “What?” He snapped incredulously at the cowering MP commander. “Any soldier you assign to the main gate is the first impression most will have of this post and you assigned this man?!!!

It seemed as though nothing happened in I corps which escaped notice of General “Joe.” Once a soldier driving a 2 1/2 ton truck in convoy down I-5 took off his helmet
(A major safety violation) and began to eat a Big Mac (another violation) – the next day, the soldier’s commander was made to answer for it. General Palastra didn’t believe in micro-managing his subordinates. He did, however, believe in micro-monitoring everything in his command.

General “Joe” loved all of his soldiers but his Military Police had a special place in his heart. They were his eyes and ears and the agents who helped him transform I Corp into a highly disciplined organization through enforcing the high standards he set. It was said that he even monitored the Fort Lewis MP’s police scanner. When his MPs complained that they were being brow beaten by officers that they pulled over for traffic infractions, “Joe” gave his military policemen some special guidance. From that day forward, things changed and the interaction with disgruntled officers who were ticketed went something like this:

Angry Officer: “This is #%**+# – you can’t do this to me!”

MP: “Sir, if you wish to file a complaint I have been ordered to give you the name and phone number of my boss.”

Angry Officer: “Yes, #%!?%%# I have a thing or two I’d like to say to him. Give it to me.”

MP: “Sir, My boss is General Polastra and he insists on hearing about complaints right away. His phone number is———-.”

It always worked to diffuse the situation and Needless to say, General “Joe” never received and complaints.

Leaders in the Army and the Department of Defense recognized how “Joe” was able to make drastic improvements to the morale, professionalism and proficiency of the soldiers under his command. It seemed a natural progression in his career when he was promoted to four star General and tasked with turning around the entire US Army within the continental United States when he was made commander of the US Forces Command in 1986.

“Joe” knew we were overdue for a war – maybe in Europe or maybe in the Middle East. He had witnessed, first hand, how poorly trained and unprepared soldiers do in combat. He was determined to make sure that the hundreds of thousands of soldiers under his command were ready for anything that could be thrown there way. Using the same formula that had served him and his soldiers so well in the past, he took to transforming the bulk of the US Army. Always an advocate of higher recruiting standards, he saw a much higher caliber of new soldier enlisting for service. Singularly possessed to effectuate change, some would accuse “Joe” of being a “hard ass.” Yet, as a General Joe was was almost universally admired by his men. From his earliest days as a Lieutenant to the twilight of his career, as a four star General, “Joe’s” soldiers knew his drive was not selfishly motivated by his own career advancement but, rather by his love for and desire to see his soldiers become the best they were capable of being.

To most, having such responsibility for so many soldiers might seem like a daunting task. Yet, “Joe” enjoyed the privilege of being able to bring out the best in so many young people. In an interview, he summed up his experiences thus:

“I went to Atlanta to Fort McPherson. I was in charge of 18 divisions, 275,000 active duty soldiers and another 350,000 U.S. Army Reserve Units. I was also responsible for training and mobilizing 430,000 National Guard members,.”

On his retirement, General “Joe” Palastra left a US Army that was unrecognizable from the Army he served in both during and in the years immediately following the Vietnam War. No small part of the credit goes to him. Through it all, he could always count on the support of his lovely wife Anne, his equal in spirt and intellect, who was always there to improve the Army community of wherever they were stationed and mentor and comfort young Army wives all they while raising five extraordinary children who went on to become accomplished in their own right.

Shortly after his retirement, “Joe’s” beliefs in a future war were confirmed when in 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait which lead to the first Gulf War. It might have helped the career of the Commander of US Forces in that war, General Norman Schwarzkopf, that his previous assignment had been to take over command, of the recently whipped into shape I Corps, from General “Joe.” Undoubtedly “Joe’s” amazing work with I Corp would later also reflect positively on Schwarzkopf.

Then, as Forces Commander, “Joe’s” second great gift to Schwarzkopf were the hundreds of thousands of well trained and highly motivated soldiers he had prepared for their eventual service under Schwarzkopf in the Gulf War.

If anyone ever doubted that “Joe” Palastra was a humble man, all such doubt was removed after his retirement from the Army when he and Anne settled in a small community in rural Missouri to take up a quiet and near anonymous life as simple farmers and active church goers. With “Joe” his work was done and there was no jockeying for political appointments, media commentary gigs, or cushy defense contractor positions.

As a civilian he never made much out of his Army career to others in his community and was content to be simply addressed as “Joe.” “Joe’s” career and Army retirement spanned a period in our history before the Internet and thus, there is little today to document his life and career online. Yet, to those who served with and under him, his legacy lives on in their hearts and memories.

On March 3, 2015 General “Joe” Palastra went before his maker. Undoubtedly his maker said unto him:

‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matthew 25:21

See you on the high ground sir!

Felix Rodriguez: The Man Who Took Down Che Guevara

November 26, 2014 By Dan "Danny Boy" White in Uncategorized Tags: AMERICAN CIA, CASTRO, CHE, CHE GEUVARA MURDER, CHE GUEVARA, CHE GUEVARA BEGGED FOR LIFE, CHE GUEVARA BOLIVIA, Che Guevara capture, CHE GUEVARA COMMUNIST, CHE GUEVARA COWARD, CHE GUEVARA CUBAN REVOLUTION, CHE GUEVARA DEATH, CHE GUEVARA EXECUTED, CHE GUEVARA FIRING SQUADS, CHE GUEVARA KILLER, CHE GUEVARA PSYCHOPATH, CHE GUEVARA REVOLUTIONARY, CHE GUEVARA T-SHIRT, CHE GUEVARA WORTH MORE TO YOU ALIVE THAN DEAD, CHE GUIVARA CIA, CHE QUEVARA CUBA, CIA, CIA LATIN AMERICA, CUBA, Felix Rodriguez, FIDEL CASTRO, SHE GUEVARA COMMANDER 5 Comments

Felix Rodriguez, pictured above on the left next to Che Guevara, is a Cuban exile turned U.S. Citizen, and a personal friend of President George H.W. Bush. Rodriguez is also a highly decorated former U.S. Soldier and CIA Operative. He is perhaps best known for his role as the CIA operative responsible for the capture of Che Guevara. Rodriguez successfully fled Cuba during the blood bath following Communist dictator Fidel Castro’s violent overthrow of President Fulgencio Batista. However, most of Rodriguez’s family, including his father and two brothers, were murdered by Castro’s Communist henchmen in Cuba. It’s likely that Che Guevara played a role in most, if not all of the Rodriguez family executions. In the end, like many others, they were murdered merely for being wealthy.

Seeking revenge for the murder of his family and many friends, Mr. Rodriguez soon joined and became a leader in the CIA backed “Operation 40” and “Brigade 2506.” These groups were part of the United States plan to overthrow the Castro regime by training and equipping a Brigade of Cuban exiles to invade their homeland – later becoming known as the “Bay of Pigs invasion” during the Kennedy administration. Felix Rodriguez played a key role in the ill-fated invasion as he volunteered for the highly dangerous assignment clandestinely infiltrating Cuba a couple of weeks prior to the actual invasion in order to gather critical intelligence which was used in the planning and preparation for the invasion. Unfortunately, his bravery was for not as President Kennedy would later backtrack on using U.S. combat aircraft for the crucial air support which was needed for the invasion to succeed.

In addition to those killed, some 1200 Cuban exiles were taken prisoner and virtually all were tortured – some executed. Again, the driving force behind the executions and torment was Comrade Che. Felix Rodriguez could never have imagined then, that some six years later, he would be in a unique position to settle scores with the Red Butcher, Che Guevara.

The Chickens Come Home to Roost

Che was never an accomplished battlefield tactician during the Cuban revolution. After that revolution, when given the task of industrializing Cuba, he failed miserably. His subsequent revolutionary adventurism in Africa was equally ill fated. The only thing Guevara was really accomplished at was murdering others. During the revolution, Castro promoted him not for his brilliance as a military strategist or for his leadership abilities but rather, because Che had no qualms with murdering those who Castro asked him to kill. Whenever a local peasant refused to cooperate with Castro’s men or objected to the guerillas taking his crops or, for that matter, was suspected of talking to government forces, Comrade Che was always more than happy to do the dirty work that most of the others in Castro’s rag tag army would not do. Even after Che was promoted to a leadership position in the guerilla movement, he left the tactical planning of operations to some of his otherwise more competent subordinates.

As mass executions in Cuba began to slow to to a trickle, Che began to contemplate his future. His failures in other administrative duties of state caused Castro to lose confidence in his ability to play a significant role in the new Communist government. With little future in Cuba, Che decided it was time he lead a new revolution in South America. He picked Bolivia, one of the poorest countries in South America, because it bordered five other countries which, so he thought, would afford an insurgent force like his own the opportunity to train and set up camps just outside of Bolivian territory. He foolishly assumed that because Bolivia was lacking in natural resources, the United States would be less inclined to assist the Bolivian government. His assumptions were wrong.

By 1967, Felix Rodriguez was rising star in the CIA’s Special Activities Division. He was considered the agency’s top field operative for Central and South America. It was, in a sense, poetic justice of sorts when Rodriguez was chosen to be the CIA’s point man in the search for Guevara. When intelligence reports indicated that the Red Butcher was operating in Bolivia, Rodriguez was sent down to coordinate the effort to find and take him out. As a cover, Rodriguez wore a Bolivian Army uniform and assumed the rank of a Major in that Army. Rodriguez, along with Bolivia’s 2nd Ranger Battalion, which had been trained by U.S. Special Forces, moved into action near the Yuro ravine on October 7, 1967 after a deserter from Che’s guerilla force went to the authorities and informed them of Che’s whereabouts.

In a glaring violation of Operational Security, Che failed to relocate his force of some fifty rebels from their encampment after knowing that one of his men had deserted. Accordingly, Che and his men, whom Che had positioned in a depression with high ground on all sides of them, were attacked the next day by the Bolivian Rangers and Alex Rodriguez. In addition to placing his men in the worse possible tactical position, with no means of escape, Che failed to position sentries on the perimeter of his encampment. As a result, Che’s group was taken completely by surprise while finding themselves without any prospect of retreat, thanks to Guevara’s shocking incompetence. It was a turkey shoot for the Bolivian soldiers who rained hot lead down upon Che and his hapless followers.

While Guevara lacked the competence to adequately train or lead his doomed rebels, he had successfully engrained onto their impressionable

psyches that they must never surrender. Che repeatedly urged his followers to “fight to the last breath” and to “save the last bullet” for themselves. When the Bolivian Rangers attacked them on October 8, 1967, that is exactly what his men did.

Despite being poorly equipped and led, Guevara’s men fought on in an impossible situation. As Guevara’s rebels courageously followed his directive to “fight to the last drop of blood” and while being mercilessly gunned down, Che made a run for it! Guevara simply bolted away from his men in the heat of battle. While his men bravely fought on, Guevara managed to climb out of the depression and dart out into the open. As two Bolivian Rangers leveled their weapons at him, Guevara dropped his own fully functional rifle, with a near full magazine, and begged, “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! I am Che Guevara and I am worth more to you alive than dead!” As his small guerilla force was being decimated below, in the very trap he had led them into, Guevara’s only concern was for himself as he continued to plead with the Bolivian Rangers not to kill him.

Separating Che Fact from Che Fiction

Che’s life as a Marxist Revolutionary has been romanticized by the American Left for decades. The Left, while conveniently overlooking his well documented history as a bloodthirsty mass murderer, has chosen to present him as a courageous type of Robin Hood who gallantly took up the fight for the poor against those who he perceived as the exploiters of the poor. This revisionism has been quite successful. Hollywood movies extol Che’s noble struggle against these so called oppressors of the weak. It is now chic to wear clothing which displays his image. Also, certain pseudo historians have tried to portray Che as a selfless, ultra-brave, larger than life military genius. The problem is that none of it is true.

Che, it is said by some of his admirers, only surrendered after being “wounded in both legs and having his rifle rendered inoperative by an enemy bullet.” The truth is that at the time of Che’s cowardly and hypocritical surrender, he had only a minor flesh wound from a bullet that passed cleanly through a small portion of his lower left calf muscle. This superficial wound, more akin to a nick, likely occurred while he was running away and only caused him to limp slightly as he surrendered to the Bolivians. He was later seen walking that day by others and again, the next day, in village of La Higuera. He also apparently had no problem walking outside of the schoolhouse, that he was being kept in, the following day where he posed with Rodriguez, for the photo above. The minor wound on his calf was dressed and treated with a bandage. The “seriously wounded in both legs” story is a fiction promulgated by his Leftist, crypto-Marxist admirers within American academia and media circles.

Perhaps even less credible is the odd fiction of Guevara’s rifle having been “rendered inoperative by an enemy bullet.” Statements from the Bolivian Rangers indicated that not only was Guevara’s rifle fully operational but he had a near full magazine of ammunition. If these facts were not enough, upon surrendering to his Bolivian captors, they found a fully loaded Walther PPK pistol on his person – also with a full magazine of ammunition. As Guevara cooperated fully with his captors, by offering his hands up to be tied by the soldiers, his erstwhile comrades were fighting on and dying – following his admonishment to “fight to the last breath.”

Yet, what shocked the Bolivian soldiers and Felix Rodriguez more than Che’s sissified desertion of his men and surrender was the strange whimpering and ingratiating manner he took on with his captors after surrendering himself.

“What’s your name,” a cooing Guevara asked of one of the young Bolivian Rangers after his capture. “What a lovely name for a Bolivian soldier,” Che said with a smile.

After meeting Captain Prado, a company commander in the Bolivian Rangers, a chatty and overly ingratiating Guevara beamed, “you are a very special person Captain. I have been talking to some of your men and they think very highly of you.”

Che, the medical school dropout, inquired of his captors, upon seeing a wounded Bolivian soldier, “Shall I attend to (medically treat) him?” The Red Butcher, suddenly humbled and keenly aware that he was not the man portrayed in the fawning news clippings written by his liberal admirers, began chatting away through a nervous smile to anyone who came near him. “What will you fine and brave men do with me? I don’t think you want to kill me as I am much more valuable to you alive,” Che whimpered to Rodriguez.

“Now please tell me what you intend to do with me? I can be quite helpful to you!” Guevara continued to whine, beg and persuade the Bolivians and Felix Rodriguez to spare his life. While doing this he never once expressed any interest in or concerns regarding the fate of his guerilla comrades- those foolish and naïve souls who agreed to follow him and who ultimately died for him.

Che Goes Out with a Whimper

Che spent the evening tied up inside a school house in the village of La Higuera as his fate was being decided by the civilian and military leadership of Bolivia. On October 9, 1967, the coded order came in on the radio. Che was to be executed. Surprisingly, Felix Rodriguez, who lost most of his family at the hands of Guevara, magnanimously argued that the bumbling revolutionary’s life should be spared. Rodriguez wanted him taken to Panama where he could be questioned by the CIA. Yet, the Bolivians would have nothing of it. The Red Butcher was to receive his comeuppance and the world would be free of this bloodthirsty terrorist.

When the call for a volunteer to execute Guevara was made throughout the ranks of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, virtually ever Bolivian soldier stepped up to perform the task. In the end, the honor was given to a Sergeant who saw three of his soldiers killed in action during the battle.

There have been many different fictitious accounts floated as to what happened when that Sergeant entered the school house to execute Guevara. Most of these have Guevara defiantly and courageously taunting his executioner. Some of these accounts have included fabricated quotes and descriptions which are alleged to have come from the Sergeant. These purport to be what he heard and saw immediately before Guevara’s swift and humane execution.
In reality, Guevara’s executioner had spoken very little as to what transpired in that school house. He believed that even the death of a monster like Che deserved at least a modicum of dignity. What has been made clear for decades is that in the moments before his execution, Guevara was a broken, teary eyed, whimpering man who silently lowered his head the moment before the trigger was pulled. In an instant, Guevara was no more. His was a quick and painless death. It was the merciful type of ending that was denied most of the many thousands of his victims. Knowing that Rodriguez’s family had murdered by Che, the Bolivian Army officers at the scene, presented Felix with Guevara’s Rolex wristwatch. He still proudly wears it on his wrist to this day.

Rodriguez Continues in his Service to America

Felix Rodriguez went on to a distinguished career in the CIA. Two years after the death of Che he would volunteer for combat duty in Vietnam. There he flew over 300 combat missions and was shot down five times. His awards and decorations are numerous and include the very rarely awarded CIA Intelligence Star for Valor and nine Crosses for Gallantry by the South Vietnamese Government among many others. Rodriguez continued to serve in the CIA through most of the 1980s. Today, he lives in Miami and is a respected leader in the Cuban American Community.