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preparing to attack at any moment. These efforts, punctuated by the fly-over of the capital by a couple of CIA-controlled fighter-bombers with
Nicaraguan Air Force markings and dropping a couple of bombs, convinced Arbenz that his own pilots had defected to the anti-government insurgency and that his capital was about to fall. Arbenz hurriedly fled the country, thus accomplishing President Eisenhower's order with virtually no bloodshed.
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coast and went into the coffee business. He was thus well positioned to provide covert assistance to CIA when it began the search for remote sites to train Cuban exiles. Robertson offered such a site which became the principal training camp for what was to become
Brigade 2506, which subsequently
349:
to make loud but non-lethal demonstrations of force. The combination of alarmist false radio broadcasts and loud explosions detonated by
Robertson in the countryside succeeded splendidly in convincing Arbenz and his troops that a large well-armed insurgent "army" was poised outside the capital
369:. Robertson accepted responsibility for the operation and although he was dismissed from the Agency by the chief of the CIA's Western Hemisphere Division, Colonel J.C. King—reportedly on Eisenhower's orders—Robertson was never considered to be an outcast by his CIA colleagues.
401:. Robertson and Lynch both went ashore to supervise the brigade from the beach. Both Robertson and Lynch were under fire for several hours until they were ordered by Washington off the beach—an order which they reluctantly obeyed.
416:, and especially around Stanleyville. During Operation Dragon Rouge (Operation Red Dragon) his team managed to rescue 24 of 25 stranded missionaries at the Kilometer 8 mission just north of Stanleyville.
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in 1961. At this time, Robertson was re-employed by the Agency on a contract (vice staff) basis to help lead the 2506 Brigade during the 1961 invasion of Cuba. During the battle he commanded the ship
341:, Phillips and Hunt scripted and broadcast a steady and increasingly bellicose stream of false news reports from a so-called "insurgent radio station" that was supposedly located in the mountains of
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operation, a team of guerrillas led by
Robertson mis-identified a British cargo ship for a Soviet freighter at anchor in a Nicaraguan harbor that was thought to be en route to
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365:. Robertson's guerrillas mined the vessel, sinking it in the harbor and killing some British seamen, resulting in an international uproar and a diplomatic demarche from
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325:. This covert action operation was accomplished in a straightforward manner through psychological warfare measures designed and managed by CIA propaganda and
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226:(renamed Special Activities Center in 2016). Robertson was one of the two CIA officers who commanded the faction of the army that went to war in the
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594:"William Alexander "Rip" ROBERTSON b. 3 Aug 1920 Manard, Muskogee Co., Oklahoma d. 1 Dec 1970 Dallas, Dallas Co., Texas: Our Family History"
580:"William Alexander "Rip" ROBERTSON b. 3 Aug 1920 Manard, Muskogee Co., Oklahoma d. 1 Dec 1970 Dallas, Dallas Co., Texas: Our Family History"
490:"William Alexander "Rip" ROBERTSON b. 3 Aug 1920 Manard, Muskogee Co., Oklahoma d. 1 Dec 1970 Dallas, Dallas Co., Texas: Our Family History"
345:. Meanwhile, Robertson and his colleagues brought a relatively small unit of armed and trained guerrillas into the countryside outside of
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Hudson, Andrew "Congo
Unravelled: Military Operations from Independence to the Mercenary Revolt 1960–68" Helion & Co Ltd
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504:"William Robertson, Vanderbilt Commodores, Football, Where Are They Now? | LostLettermen.com"
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Robertson left Laos in
November 1970 on an emergency evacuation due to the effects of Malaria.
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on June 14, 1977. He was married to Sara James West (1925–2019) and they had a son together.
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During
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Cold War in the Congo: The
Confrontation of Cuban military forces, 1960–1967
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The Rouge Scarf: Inside the CIA's secret role in 'Operation Dragon Rouge'
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Harris; 1896–1981). After graduating from high school, he attended
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Case
Officer in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970, in what became the
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with destabilizing the democratically elected government of
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United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War
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262:Robertson was born on August 3, 1920, in Manard,
529:Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency
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333:. From a secret radio transmitter located on
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568:. Independently Published. 21 February 2023.
16:American marine and CIA officer (1920–1970)
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206:(August 3, 1920 – December 1, 1970) was a
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610:William Alexander “Rip” ROBERTSON
274:before and after the war. During
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210:officer—a combat veteran of the
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527:pp.194–195 Smith, By W. Thomas
258:Early life and military service
23:William Alexander Robertson Jr.
1516:Torture and killing of Lumumba
412:, including CIA agents in the
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439:, Robertson was interred at
237:He died in December 1970 of
441:Arlington National Cemetery
361:with arms and ordnance for
329:experts David Phillips and
312:Special Activities Division
308:Central Intelligence Agency
302:Central Intelligence Agency
247:Arlington National Cemetery
224:Special Activities Division
220:Central Intelligence Agency
162:Special Activities Division
134:Central Intelligence Agency
80:Arlington National Cemetery
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294:, retiring at the rank of
280:United States Marine Corps
208:United States Marine Corps
123:United States Marine Corps
84:Arlington County, Virginia
1523:Death of Dag Hammarskjöld
531:Infobase Publishing, 2003
264:Muskogee County, Oklahoma
1548:Decolonisation of Africa
1201:Hubert Fauntleroy Julian
874:Ghana, Nigeria and Egypt
104:United States of America
1299:Force Publique mutinies
1268:William "Rip" Robertson
1024:Cuban Exile Naval Force
678:Egide Bocheley-Davidson
435:. Originally buried at
1414:Port Francqui incident
540:p.85 Villafaña, Frank
465:"Robertson, William A"
372:Robertson remained in
320:President of Guatemala
290:and served during the
230:. The other agent was
1491:Stanleyville mutinies
1120:Jean-Marie Crèvecoeur
1017:211th Makasi Squadron
800:Katangese Gendarmerie
272:Vanderbilt University
245:, and is interred at
188:Vanderbilt University
1472:Violettes Imperiales
1095:Joseph-Désiré Mobutu
1049:Conor Cruise O'Brien
947:5 Mechanised Brigade
734:Joseph-Désiré Mobutu
316:Dwight D. Eisenhower
228:Bay of Pigs Invasion
1661:Deaths from malaria
1148:Frédéric Vandewalle
397:commanded the ship
278:he enlisted in the
1501:Other major events
1334:Congo-Stanleyville
807:South Kasai forces
414:Orientale Province
282:and served in the
196:William Alexander
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663:Political leaders
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241:he contracted in
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61:December 10, 1970
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1445:Dragon Rouge
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1261:Larry Devlin
1208:Jack Malloch
1187:Hans Germani
1134:Marc Goosens
1102:Norbert Moke
1088:Louis Bobozo
792:Rebel forces
720:Théo Lefèvre
655:Congo Crisis
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172:World War II
168:Battles/wars
63:(1970-12-10)
1621:1970 deaths
1616:1920 births
1463:White Giant
1454:Dragon Noir
1318:South Kasai
1275:Che Guevara
1229:Jerry Puren
1222:John Peters
1070:Pat Quinlan
1056:K.A.S. Raja
1010:15 Commando
1003:14 Commando
996:13 Commando
989:12 Commando
982:11 Commando
657:(1960–1965)
471:. U.S. Army
469:ANCExplorer
427:He died in
387:Bay of Pigs
335:Swan Island
331:Howard Hunt
29:Nickname(s)
1610:Categories
1373:Jadotville
1194:Mike Hoare
1166:Bob Denard
1034:Commanders
975:9 Commando
968:6 Commando
961:5 Commando
954:4 Commando
514:2011-03-22
475:2022-06-01
447:References
337:, off the
292:Korean War
216:Korean War
183:Alma mater
176:Korean War
92:Allegiance
43:1920-08-03
1576:Biography
1399:Grandslam
1351:Rum Punch
1158:Mercenary
1080:Congolese
902:Belgian /
772:Congolese
391:Barbara J
382:Caribbean
374:Nicaragua
343:Guatemala
253:Biography
1588:Oklahoma
1325:Invasion
867:Ethiopia
214:and the
110:Service/
51:Oklahoma
49:Manard,
1562:Portals
1533:Related
1311:Katanga
1291:battles
1112:Belgian
846:Ireland
755:U Thant
433:malaria
380:on the
327:psy-ops
288:Captain
239:malaria
218:—and a
1381:UNOKAT
853:Sweden
839:Canada
399:Blagar
393:while
367:London
151:(USMC)
112:branch
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86:, U.S.
70:, U.S.
53:, U.S.
1481:South
1253:Other
860:India
423:Death
296:Major
286:as a
149:Major
359:Cuba
243:Laos
158:Unit
140:Rank
58:Died
37:Born
892:CIA
268:née
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