Episode 14 of the Late Night History podcast, your host Matt Fratus interviews former Navy SEAL officer Jim Hawes. About a year and some change ago, I interviewed Jim while he was in Botswana on business. The connection was spotty at best, so we re-recorded this episode here and mostly discuss Jim's career where he had a cup of coffee at SEAL Team 2 before he took an assignment with MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War. We touch on going through BUD/S — then called UDT/R with class 29 on the East Coast — and early SEAL history. We also briefly covered smokejumpers in Vietnam who were recruited by the CIA to perform resupply missions.
Afterward, we go into Jim's unique role in the Congo during the Cold War. While working with the CIA, Jim had the difficult task of recruiting a mercenary navy. He pulled prime talent from brutal British soldiers of fortune underneath the famed Mike Hoare. He also received assistance from the heroic Cuban veterans from Brigade 2506 who participated in the failed Bay of Pigs. This mission ultimately chased Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara out of Africa.
Jim is the first Navy SEAL officer to appear on the Late Night History podcast — although he certainly won't be the last.
For 50 years, Jim never spoke publicly about his time in the Congo as the mission remained classified until the 2010s. In 2018, he authored Cold War Navy SEAL: My Story of Che Guevara, War in the Congo, and the Communist Threat in Africa.
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