War Stories with Preston and Sayre
Society & Culture
195: Marine, World Class Boxer, Special Forces Medic & Secret Service Officer - Henry Hooper
Preston and Sayre are today joined with Henry Hooper. Henry is one of those guys who has lived a thousand different lives. Henry served in the Marines, Army Special Forces, and retired from federal service as a Secret Service agent having served under four presidents. We talk about Henry’s experiences growing up as a young African American in the south, and how he enlisted into the Marines at 17 years old in the 1950s.
A lifelong boxer, Henry made the USMC boxing team where he fought Cassius Clay (Mohammad Ali) for the spot on USA’s 1960 Olympic boxing team. We then discuss Henry’s next pivot after his time in the Marines into becoming a Special Forces medic in the very early years of its inception. We discuss Henry’s experience working with and among Vietnamese local nationals in the early 1960s, before Vietnam was considered a “war,” and the impact he had as a medic on the communities there—in addition to conducting guerilla warfare operations as he was specially-trained to do as a Green Beret. Henry has lived a life of adventure and it was a pleasure to get to speak with him.
VFW Article: http://digitaledition.qwinc.com/publication/?m=3914&i=732112&p=32&ver=html5
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