Robin Moore, whose novel “The Green Berets” helped shape the public image of Special Forces, died Thursday in Hopkinsville, Ky., after a long illness. He was 82.The Fort Bragg Special Forces community Friday mourned the passing of the author, who also helped Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler write its anthem, ‘‘The Ballad of the Green Berets.’’ The song is played at Special Forces ceremonies.
Maj. Gen. Gary L. Harrell, deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, said in a statement: “All Special Forces soldiers, past and present, mourn the passing of Robin Moore; he was a valued and trusted member of the special operations family. Robin was a devoted advocate and a true ambassador for the ‘Green Beret’ and all they stand for.”
Visitations will be held Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. and at 10 a.m. March 1 at Lamb Funeral Home in Hopkinsville, Ky. The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. March 1 at Grace Episcopal Church in Hopkinsville.
Memorial donations may be made to Special Forces Association Chapter 38, P.O. Box 223, Fort Campbell, KY 42223.
Mr. Moore also was the author of ‘‘The French Connection,’’ and ‘‘The Happy Hooker.’’
Mr. Moore continued to visit Fayetteville and stayed in touch with the Special Forces community. His 2003 book, ‘‘The Hunt for Bin Laden: Task Force Dagger,’’ takes readers from the initial top secret meeting of the task force in Tampa, Fla., on Sept. 11, 2001, through the war in Afghanistan.
In 1989, Mr. Moore received a Special Forces tab at Fort Bragg for being the only civilian to complete the Special Forces Qualification Course in 1963 for research of his novel, on which a John Wayne movie was later based. The movie, released in 1968, was one of the few pro-military films during the turbulent Vietnam era.
Successful completion of the course entitles soldiers to don the green beret and wear the Special Forces tab, a curved cloth insignia, on their left shoulder, and join a Special Forces group.
Mr. Moore got a standing ovation at the graduation ceremony of the latest Special Forces “Q” course at the auditorium of Fort Bragg’s John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, which conducts Special Forces training.
“Twenty-six years later!” Mr. Moore said after returning to his seat. “I can’t think of a more glorious way of getting it. It was worth waiting all those years.”
He said he also took airborne training at Fort Benning, Ga., several months before enrolling in the “Q” course.
Mr. Moore said the Special Forces tab was not awarded when he went through the course, and he “never got around to” obtaining one.
It was Mr. Moore’s partnership with the late Lt. Gen. William P. Yarborough that helped form the public perception of Special Forces.
Mr. Moore said Lt. Gen. Yarborough enabled him to go through the course “and kept an eye on me like you wouldn’t believe.” Lt. Gen. Yarborough died in Pinehurst in 2005 at age 93. Lt. Gen. Yarborough helped develop Army parachuting and prompted President John F. Kennedy to approve the green beret as official headgear for Special Forces in 1961.
Asked if officials gave him special consideration for being a civilian, Mr. Moore said, “None at all. I didn’t want them to.”
Mr. Moore died Thursday night at a hospital in southwestern Kentucky, said Dennis Monroe with Lamb Funeral Home.
Mr. Moore has said he moved to the small town in 2005 with his wife, Helen, because it borders Fort Campbell, a sprawling Army post on the Tennessee border that is headquarters to a Green Beret group.
Published books
Born Robert L. Moore Jr. on Oct. 31, 1925, in Massachusetts, he wrote his books under the name Robin Moore. Among his best known were “The Green Berets,” published in 1965 and “The French Connection,” published in 1969. He also helped write “The Happy Hooker,” which was published in 1972.
He co-wrote “The Ballad of the Green Berets,” which became the signature song of the Special Forces unit.
Maj. Gen. Gary L. Harrell, deputy commander of the Army’s Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, called Mr. Moore a “devoted advocate” for the Special Forces and said his writings became textbooks for the Army’s unconventional forces.
“They were both educational and inspirational and introduced the world to the Green Berets,” Maj. Gen. Harrell said in a statement posted Friday on an Army Special Forces Web site. “He will be missed.”
“The Green Berets” was written following Mr. Moore’s service alongside soldiers with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Vietnam as a civilian author.
“The French Connection,” about a New York drug bust, inspired a movie that won five Academy Awards in 1971, including best picture.
A complete list of Mr. Moore’s survivors wasn’t available.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Military editor Henry Cuningham can be reached at cuninghamh@fayobserver.com or 486-3585.
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