William Francis Buckley

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For other people named William F. Buckley, see William F. Buckley (disambiguation).

William Francis Buckley
Birth nameWilliam Francis Buckley
Born(1928-05-30)May 30, 1928
Medford, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJune 3, 1985(1985-06-03) (aged 57)
Lebanon
Buried
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Service/branch United States Army
Central Intelligence Agency
Years of service1947–1965 (Army)
1965–1985 (CIA)
Rank Lieutenant Colonel (Army)
Paramilitary Operations Officer (CIA)
UnitU.S. Army

Central Intelligence Agency

  • Special Activities Division
Battles/wars
Exceptional Service Medal
Alma materBoston University (BA)

William Francis Buckley (May 30, 1928 – June 3, 1985) was a United States Army officer in the United States Army Special Forces, and a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) station chief in Beirut from 1984[1] until his kidnapping and execution in 1985.

Buckley's cover was as a political officer at the U.S. Embassy.[2][3] He was kidnapped by the group Islamic Jihad in March 1984, and held hostage and tortured by psychiatrist Aziz al-Abub. Hezbollah later claimed they executed him in October 1985, but another American hostage disputed that, believing that he died five months prior, in June.[4][5][6]

He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery and is commemorated with a star on the Memorial Wall at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.[7]

Early life and education

Buckley was born in Medford, Massachusetts, on May 30, 1928. He grew up on south Main Street in the neighboring town of Stoneham. He graduated from high school there in 1947,[8] and then joined the United States Army.

He began as a

Fort Knox, Kentucky, and the Intelligence School at Oberammergau, West Germany
.

Career

U.S. Army

After serving as a

company commander during the Korean War with the 1st Cavalry Division, Buckley returned to Boston University and completed his studies, graduating in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. It was during this time that Buckley began his first employment with the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), from 1955 to 1957. He was also employed as a librarian in the Concord, Winchester and Lexington public libraries.

In 1960, Buckley joined the 320th Special Forces Detachment, which became the 11th Special Forces Group, and attended both Basic Airborne and the Special Forces Officers Course. He was assigned as an A-Detachment commander and later as a B-Detachment commander.

Colonel Buckley served in Vietnam with the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, or MACV, as a senior advisor to the South Vietnamese Army.[9]

He was inducted into the U.S. Army ROTC Hall of Fame in April 2022.[10]

Central Intelligence Agency

In 1965 (or 1963, according to one source), Buckley rejoined the CIA in what is now called the

Special Activities Division.[11] According to Leslie Cockburn's book, Out of Control (1987), Buckley was involved in approving CIA assassinations undertaken by controversial CIA operative Theodore Shackley. In his book, Prelude to Terror (2005) Joseph Trento claims that Buckley was "one of Shackley's oldest and dearest friends."[6]

Buckley may have been working for the CIA while in Mexico in 1963, but this is unconfirmed.[11] His CIA employment kept him in South Vietnam from 1965 to 1970, and he was promoted in his military capacity to Lieutenant Colonel in May 1969. After leaving Vietnam, he served in Zaire (1970–1972), Cambodia (1972), Egypt (1972–1978), and Pakistan (1978–1979).[11]

In 1983, Buckley succeeded Ken Haas as the Beirut Station Chief/Political Officer at the U.S. Embassy. Buckley was successfully rebuilding the network of agents lost in and due to the

Islamist group Hezbollah wrongly announced that they had also killed the CIA station chief, not yet knowing the station chief was Buckley.[1] Their announcement was the first real indication that he was on a Hezbollah "hit list".[12][13][14]

Kidnapping and death

Background and prelude

In recent history, Lebanon has been considered by American Intelligence agencies as a

Shi'ite population of Lebanon became increasingly radicalized and started to target Westerners and Western-owned infrastructure such as embassies.[15][16]

David Barkay, a former officer in Israel's intelligence unit 504, asserts that a spy from Hezbollah delivered a note to his operatives (Barkay among them) six days before the kidnapping occurred.[17] The note contained a message from Imad Mughniyeh to a Hezbollah team that had been training for a kidnapping operation for months. The message instructed the team to prepare for the operation, which was set to take place in a couple of days. The note identified the target of the operation as "an American senior intelligence officer". Barkay adds that it's possible that the information about the impending kidnapping did not reach the CIA due to an "egotistical" dispute between the Mossad and Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate.

Kidnapping

On March 16, 1984, Buckley was kidnapped by Hezbollah[18] from his apartment building when he was leaving for work.[5][19] Army Major General Carl Stiner had warned Buckley that he was in danger, but Buckley told him that "I have a pretty good intelligence network. I think I'm secure." However, according to Stiner, Buckley continued to live in his apartment and travel the same route to and from work every day.[20]

It was thought that one of the reasons he was kidnapped along with two other Americans at different times in Beirut was because of the upcoming trial of 17 Iranian-backed militants that was about to begin in Kuwait.

Aftermath

On November 22, 1985,

Atlantic Hotel in Hamburg, where he met General Manouchehr Hashemi, the former head of SAVAK's counterintelligence division. Also at the meeting was Manucher Ghorbanifar. According to the report of this meeting that Shackley sent to the State Department, Hashemi said Ghorbanifar had "fantastic" contacts with Iran,[21] but the CIA had designated him one year earlier as a "fabricator".[22] At the meeting, Shackley told Hashemi and Ghorbanifar that the United States was willing to discuss arms shipments in exchange for the four Americans kidnapped in Lebanon, although Buckley was already dead at this point.[23][24][4]

Major General Carl Stiner stated that "Buckley's kidnapping had become a major CIA concern. Not long after his capture, his agents either vanished or were killed. It was clear that his captors had tortured him into revealing the network of agents he had established."

narcotics. According to several sources, as a result of his torture, he signed a 400-page statement detailing his CIA activities.[5][26]

In a video taken approximately seven months after the kidnapping, his appearance was described as follows:

Buckley was close to a gibbering wretch. His words were often incoherent; he slobbered and drooled and, most unnerving of all, he would suddenly scream in terror, his eyes rolling helplessly and his body shaking.[27] The CIA consensus was that he would be blindfolded and chained at the ankles and wrists and kept in a cell little bigger than a coffin.[5]

Execution

On October 4, 1985, Islamic Jihad announced that it had executed Buckley.[28] After Buckley's death, Hezbollah's concern for other hostages' health increased, with Hezbollah captors inquiring about the hostages' health and well-being.[29]

The United States National Security Council acknowledged in an unclassified note that Buckley probably died on June 3, 1985, of a heart attack.[4][5][30]

Buckley's remains were recovered by Major Jens Nielsen (

Arlington, Virginia.[33][34]

Legacy

The CIA Memorial Wall as of January 2005

An agency memorial service was held in August 1987 to commemorate his death. A public memorial service was held with

CIA Director William H. Webster eulogized Buckley, saying, "Bill's success in collecting information in situations of incredible danger was exceptional, even remarkable."[7][4]

There is a small park (dedicated May 30, 2010) with a memorial in his memory in the main square of his hometown of Stoneham, Massachusetts.[35][36]

Awards and decorations

Among Buckley's decorations and awards are the

Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with bronze star from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.[37] Among his CIA awards are the Intelligence Star, Exceptional Service Medallion and Distinguished Intelligence Cross
. Among Buckley's civilian awards are the Freedom Foundation Award for Lexington Green Diorama, Collegium and Academy of Distinguished Alumni Boston University. The William F. Buckley Memorial Park in Stoneham, Massachusetts, is dedicated to his memory.

The 51st star on the

Exceptional Service Medal, but has not said whether any of these were issued posthumously (although at least one award of the Exceptional Service Medal must have been made posthumously).[citation needed
]

Intelligence Star
Distinguished Intelligence Cross
Exceptional Service Medal
12 Overseas Service Bars

Personal life

According to the biographical information distributed by the CIA, Buckley was "an avid reader of politics and history" and "a collector and builder of miniature soldiers." The latter hobby enabled him to become a principal artisan in the creation of a panorama at the Lexington Battlefield Tourist Center near his native Medford, Massachusetts. The press release also said he owned an antique shop and was an amateur artist and a collector of fine art. It called him "a very private and discreet individual".[7]

See also

References

Notes

Citations

  1. ^ a b Binder, David (June 27, 1985). "Hostages in Lebanon: Israelis are guarded; another seven Americans held hostage in Lebanon". The New York Times. Vol. CXXXIV, no. 129. p. A10. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  2. ^ Thomas 1989.
  3. ^ Kushner 2003, p. 85-86, Buckley, William Francis (Entries A-Z).
  4. ^ a b c d "Former Hostage Says Buckley Died Five Months Before Date Given by Captors". The Associated Press (AP). December 2, 1986. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e Thomas, Gordon (October 25, 2006). McLeod, Judi Ann T. (ed.). "William Buckley: The spy who never came in from the cold". Canada Free Press (CFP). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Archived from the original on November 9, 2006. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  6. ^
    OCLC 237187597. Retrieved September 14, 2021 – via Internet Archive
    .
  7. ^ a b c Binder, David (December 28, 1991). "Remains of C.I.A. official are flown to U.S. for rites". The New York Times. Vol. CXL, no. 102. p. A3. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Stoneham, Mass Stoneham High School (1947). Stoneham High School yearbook. Stoneham Public Library. Stoneham High School.
  9. OCLC 1038024600. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2021 – via Google Books
    .
  10. ^ "Boston University Honors CIA Officer William Buckley" (PDF). Afio.com. Boston University Army ROTC. April 29, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c "William Francis Buckley". Spartacus Educational. Archived from the original on July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Clancy, Stiner & Koltz 2002, p. 239, VIII. The Lebanon tragedy.
  13. ^ Clancy, Stiner & Koltz 2002, p. 253, VIII. The Lebanon tragedy.
  14. ^ Stephens, Bret (October 22, 2012). "Stephens: Iran's Unrequited War: The mullahs are at war with us. Maybe we should return the favor". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  15. OCLC 742181947. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on September 15, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021 – via Radboud Repository (Radboud University).
  16. ISBN 978-1-85043-835-9
    .
  17. ISBN 978-965-552-175-7
    .
  18. LCCN 2003011097. Retrieved September 11, 2021 – via Internet Archive
    .
  19. Washington Post. Archived from the original
    on March 29, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015 – via highbeam.com.
  20. ^ Clancy, Stiner & Koltz 2002, p. 260, VIII. The Lebanon tragedy.
  21. ^ President's Special Review Board (February 26, 1987). Report of the President's Special Review Board (PDF). Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. p. B-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  22. ^ Byrne, Malcolm; Kornbluh, Peter; Blanton, Thomas (November 24, 2006). James, Edgar N.; Soderberg, Nancy E.; Sloan, Cliff; Kranich, Nancy (eds.). "The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On: Documents Spotlight Role of Reagan, Top Aides". National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book (Mailing list). Washington, D.C.: The National Security Archive (George Washington University). Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  23. OCLC 964883038. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2021 – via Google Books
    .
  24. S2CID 219459136. Archived
    from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  25. ^ Clancy, Stiner & Koltz 2002, p. 261, VIII. The Lebanon tragedy.
  26. ^ Anderson, Jack; Van Atta, Dale (September 28, 1988). "CIA Official Tortured to Death, Gave Secrets". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  27. ^ Hand IV, George E. (January 4, 2020). "A Delta Force encounter with a Hezbollah operative". SOFREP. SOFREP Media Group. Archived from the original on January 5, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  28. ISBN 978-1-939149-34-3. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2021 – via Google Books
    .
  29. ^ Peraino, Kevin (January 16, 2008). "The Death of Terror's Pioneer". Newsweek. New York City, New Work. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  30. ^ United States National Security Council, "U.S./Iranian Contacts and the American Hostages"-"Maximum Version" of NSC Chronology of Events, dated November 17, 1986, 2000 Hours – Top Secret, Chronology, November 17, 1986, 12 pp. (UNCLASSIFIED)
  31. ^ "Lebanon—UNOGIL". United Nations Peacekeeping Missions. United Nations. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  32. ^ Picco 1999, pp. 334.
  33. ^ "Burial Detail: Buckley, William F. (Section 59, Grave 346)". ANC Explorer. Arlington National Cemetery. (Official website). Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  34. ISSN 0746-5858. Archived
    from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  35. ^ Daderot (February 19, 2012), Memorial in Stoneham, Massachusetts, USA., archived from the original on November 6, 2023, retrieved October 18, 2021
  36. ^ Aliberti, Joe (June 1, 2010). "Honoring the late William Buckley". Wicked Local / Stoneham Sun. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  37. ^ "Buckley, William Francis, LTC". army.togetherweserved.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2020.

Sources

Further reading
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