“Yes, sir,” Thomas said. “And Captain Dreke? Is he on the protected-species list too?”
Lunsford took a moment to reply.
“Let them go, Mr. Thomas,” he said. “All of them. And that applies to Kelly and the two trackers.”
“Yes, sir.”
[ EIGHTEEN ]
5 Degrees 27 Minutes 19 Seconds South Latitude
29 Degrees 17 Minutes 24 Seconds East Longitude
(The Bush, Near Lake Tanganyika, Kivu Province, Congo)
0240 21 November 1965
Warrant Officer (Junior Grade) William E. Thomas aligned the crosshairs of the light-intensifying sight mounted on his U.S. Springfield Rifle, Caliber .30-06 Model 1903A4, on the forehead of Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, M.D., who was standing in ankle-deep water on the shore of Lake Tanganyika, holding the line of a forty-foot pale blue launch.
“Bang, you’re dead, Ernesto,” he said softly, then moved his sight to the yellow forty-foot launch run aground next to the blue one. He wandered around the people in the boat until he came to the face he was looking for. It was on a man standing in the stern of the launch, next to the coxswain. He aligned the sight on this man’s forehead.
“Bang,” Thomas said. “And you, too, Captain Victor Dreke, sir.”
Ten minutes later, when even the amazing capabilities of the light-intensifying sight failed to give him anything more than a vague picture of two boats heading out into Lake Tanganyika, Thomas lashed the rifle to the tree and turned to the backpack radio lashed to the tree. He turned it on and put a set of earphones on his head.
“Helper Six, Hunter One,” he said, softly, into the microphone.
“Go, Bill,” Lunsford’s voice replied immediately.
“The people we are interested in departed the Congo aboard two launches at zero two four five hours,” Thomas reported. “They’re hungry and dirty, and I actually felt a little sorry for them.”
“What are you going to do now?”
Here lies Warrant Officer Junior Grade William E. Thomas, who was shot to death in the Congolese jungle by an illiterate Congolese soldier who mistook him for a Cuban.
“I thought I’d wait here until daylight, to see what happens.”
“You and Kelly?”
“Right.”
“Okay. Give us a call if anything turns up. And when you’ll be at the landing strip. I’ll send Portet back in the Beaver for you and Kelly.”
“Thank you. Will do. Hunter One, clear.”
XXVI
[ ONE ]
From The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 15, 1966:
MISS CECILIA TAYLOR BRIDE
Miss Cecilia Taylor was united in holy matrimony to Major George W. Lunsford by the Reverend Dr. Charles Chedister at the First Methodist Church of Bala Cynwyd during an afternoon service today.
Miss Taylor, a graduate of Temple University, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. Charles Taylor of Bala Cynwyd. Major Lunsford, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, is the son of Dr. and Mrs. H. Wilson Lunsford of Swarthmore.
The bride was given in marriage by her father. Miss Taylor’s matron of honor was Mrs. Marjorie Bellmon Portet. Lieutenant Geoffrey Craig served as Major Lunsford’s best man.
Following a reception at the Union League of Philadelphia, the couple departed on a wedding trip to Miami, Florida. They will reside in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Major Lunsford has been assigned as an assistant military attaché of the U.S. Embassy, and Mrs. Lunsford will assume duties as Deputy Chief of the Cultural Affairs Section of the embassy.
From the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger, January 17, 1966:
OUR BOYS IN THE SERVICE
Army Specialist Seven William D. Peters, son of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Peters of 365 Weequahic Avenue, Newark, has been promoted to Warrant Officer (Junior Grade).
A 1961 graduate of Weequahic High School, Warrant Officer Peters entered the Army in June 1961. He is a qualified parachutist and a communications specialist.
He has recently been assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he will work in the communications section.
From The Washington Post, January 20, 1966:
ARMY WILL TRAIN ARGENTINES
By Charles E. Whaley
The Pentagon confirmed today that the Argentine government has asked for, and the U.S. Army will provide, a small group of U.S. soldiers, most likely to be selected from Special Forces units (Green Berets), to train Argentine troops in U.S. parachuting, mountain rescue, cold weather survival, radio communication and other special military techniques.
The group, which will “almost certainly not exceed twenty officers and men,” will depart for Argentina probably within thirty days.
[ TWO ]
SECRET
Central Intelligence Agency Langley, Virginia
FROM: Assistant Director For Administration
FROM: 2 February 1966 0405 GMT
SUBJECT: Guevara, Ernesto (Memorandum #87.)
TO: Mr. Sanford T. Felter
Counselor To The President
Room 637, The Executive Office Building
Washington, D.C.
By Courier
In compliance with Presidential Memorandum to The Director, Subject: “Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara,” dated