Legendary CIA Paramilitary Officer Jan “Dutch” Wierenga w/ Kim Kipling | Ep. 144

Master Sergeant Jan W. “Dutch” Wierenga is a little known but highly respected Special Forces and CIA legend. He has served the USA for sixty years in total, in some of the most dangerous and difficult circumstances imaginable. Born in Indonesia in 1936, he and his family spent a total of four years imprisoned in Japanese and Indonesian internment camps under unspeakably harsh conditions. They were rescued under fire by British Gurkha troops in 1946. He was running jungle combat patrols by age 16, and emigrated to Holland by cargo ship in 1955. He arrived in the USA in 1960, became a US citizen and enlisted in the US Army in 1963, serving three tours in Vietnam. A Green Beret, he was a Recon Team leader in the then-secret, now legendary MACV/SOG, running some of the most harrowing and highly-classified missions of the Vietnam War. He later served as a Special Forces Team Sergeant, Recon Instructor, HALO parachuting instructor and First Sergeant of the Special Forces Training School. He was the Senior NCO at the founding of the Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape (SERE) program under COL James “Nick” Rowe. Dutch earned numerous combat decorations including the Silver Star, four Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart. He retired from the Army in 1986. Dutch then joined the CIA as a Paramilitary Operations Officer. He conducted numerous clandestine missions for CIA, including serving as a Battalion Adviser to the Nicaraguan “Contras” and acting as Chief of Station in a war-torn African country. He became a beloved Training Instructor at the CIA's “Farm”, serving in that capacity until he finally retired in Spring 2022. Now, his incredible life story can at last be told. This book is the biography of this remarkable American patriot. It contains numerous period photos, and first-hand descriptions of Vietnam combat, CIA operations and other historic events. It was written by a friend and CIA colleague. Today's sponsors: