John Alan Coey

We will Remember

Coey arrived in South Africa and made his way to Salisbury swore into the Rhodesian Army. He was immediately put into the RLI's 19 week basic training that would introduce him to the Rhodesian Army and begin his journey. He was struck by the differences of the training and mostly the discipline that was a marked contrast to his time with the Marine Corps. He took to it well and understood it to be integral to the type of warfare that they were to be engaged in. During that time he met many foreigners. In particular he met with another Marine who had deserted and fled to Rhodesia. He was none to impressed and felt he had enlisted for the wrong reasons and another Combat veteran of the Vietnam war whom he felt more synergy with. The weeks passed and he performed well enough to be considered for SAS selection. He was excited at this prospect as he felt it would help him get to the sharp end of the spear and engage the enemy. 5 of the fifteen made it through his course and he then proceeded for the next six months on to specialist training. He was the third American to join the ranks and only two remained. The other having deserted back to the states.At this time he had contact with a Mr. Brown , a journalist in South Africa. He submitted articles to him and was pleased that they were to be published starting with his 'Protest'. In many of the articles that were published he explained his world view on the reasons Rhodesia was fighting its war, those whom he felt were the true enemies of freedom and democracy and even some problems he felt the Rhodesian Government were not handling properly. Although this gave him some notoriety it didn't bode well overall for his standing in the army.Foreigners were welcome to the cause but were also targets of suspicion. The Rhodesians were well aware of their precarious standing with the US and Britain since the declaration of independence as a British colony and the rising support of African nationalism in the halls of US power. Many instances of CIA incursions into the country didn't help the trust factor of Americans being brought into secretive units. He however finished his training and was a full member of the SAS. In September of 1972, he found himself at a crossroads and began to express his disappointment on issues agreed upon by British Delegates and Ian Smith.

- Unimpeded progress of Black Majority rule

- Stationing of foreign troops

- An increase of parliamentary seats by nationalists

- Coupling the Rhodesian dollar to the Pound

He felt that these things were the exact opposite of the cause of independence and preservation of Western Civilization and that nationalism was simply a route for Communism to take over. His commitment vascillated but he pressed on in hopes of fighting off the Red Hoard.When he was posted to his unit he found it hard to bond with the troopers. With front line units, it requires a certain mindset. Those living the lifestyle of possibly dying often live their lives on the edge in their free time to escape the stress. The old adage of 'you don't send choir boys to fight a war' rang especially true. Coey was a teetoaler and his mates might have taken his disinterest in the things young soldiers love as an afront. He however did manage to perform well enough to go for Officer's Selection, which he was most excited about. His internal angst at a perfect ideology and an army that performed it caused some reluctance that was noted by the officers board. "You take life too seriously and you must project your personality and withdraw from your shell".He continued on but was dismissed from the course for academic and temperament issues. He began to realize that some of his views were considered subversive to the morale of the Rhodesian Army. His articles had reached the ears of people in charge and it was deemed best not to have an officer making any contrary statements to official stances within its ranks. He was rotated back to the SAS and began aggressive patrols searching out terr camps. He determined he would not be deterred and not falter on his personal beliefs. He enjoyed this but was still not meshing with the men of the SAS.Things came to a head in December of 1973 when his Major said he would no longer be going on patrols and his jump pay revoked. He stated that Coey ' just wasn't worth it '. It was a great humiliation that cause him to consider applying for a discharge but instead chose to go to the RLI.Coey reassesed his purpose and goals and wrote this.

My purpose in coming to Rhodesia has been to fulfill my Christian duty of opposing Communism in two ways. First is to focus attention on the Conspiracy by refusing to be its pawn and by writing to expose it. The second is to actively fight Commuist inpsired terrorism in Africa by Military service.

Even though he had become a victim of his own ideology in the SAS and Officers course he was about to embark on what he felt to be his real mission and put actions behind his convictions.
More to come........

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Part 2

Coey managed to stay on with the SAS in spite of his orders to stand down and even went on another External to Mozambique, which caused the Major to initiate an opportunity to get rid of Coey. He demanded that he choose a different regiment or corps within the week. During this time, he proably reached his lowest point while in Africa. He continued writing and published another article for Mr. Brown. He decided to take this proverbial 'slap in the face' as an opportunity to learn something new. It also prompted him to apply for a discharge from the Army entirely. In the end, he remained resolute to stay with the cause that had brought him to Africa.

After a lengthy interview he was given the option of attending Medics Course in Bulawayo which was six months and would allow him to advance in rank to a full Corporal. In his journal, he wrote that he would be reposted to a combat outfit. Hopefully the RLI in Salisbury.

Even though he enjoyed the education he was receiving, he wrote, "My inability to completely submit to organization has caused me much grief and embarrassment because, sometimes, I think too much of myself, istead of having confidence in those in authority over me. I have made mistakes, and they been my own fault. I cannot blame it on bad luck or circumstances. I hope I can redeem myself before leaving the Army, somehow....."

He finished his medics course in July of 1974 and got his wish to be posted back to the RLI. He was posted in an operational area around Mt. Darwin dealing with injuries sustained by the troops in the field. He found it to be a comfortable place where he could write and get stamps but the boredom began to get to him. He wanted to be on the sharp end of the spear. He proposed to the CO that he wanted to go out and act as a medic and infantryman. He had both skills and the CO approved his request.

He joined the sticks going out on callouts. It was here that he had a chance to treat his first onsite battle casualties. One on operation he spent the night in a krall attending to some civilian casualties awaiting a casevac the next morning.

Terrorist activity increased during this time around Mt. Darwin and his skills as a medic and soldier were put to use. He noted that having a combat medic in the line increased the confidence and morale of the troopies. Coey began to regain his sense of purpose and vigor that had brought him to Rhodesia. He writes "Its important for me to remain a combat soldier and a specialist medic, because only then will some people listen to you when you attempt to explain the bigger issues; of such, the battle for Rhodesia is only one." And, "I feel that I have found my historical role here, and once that is finished, I dont know what I'll do...."

After some R&R he went back but was again posted to HQ. He again asked for a different posting, hopefully permanent in terms of his duties. Many people implored him to look at his duties as a medic and non combatant as a blessing but he would hear none of it. "I have an inner peace because I trust God to look after my safety, even if I get drilled one day. I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that I achieved my pupose in this country, and that I gave all I could. It is important to do this even though others may betray you."

There was trepidation at granting his request due to the lack of trained medics at the time. He believed in doing this that it would improve the morale and respect of the Medical Corps. A Commando Medic. He cited the use of theUSMC and their use of the Corpsman in the ranks of the rifle company. A medic who acted in a combatant role would serve a dual purpose of being able to fight as well as a better chance of saving valuable troops by responding on the spot.

Permission was granted for this experiment and he returned to Mt. Darwin as an unattached medic. He would go on whatever fire-force operation was called up. In December of that year, the tempo increased and he was on almost continuous duty. The RLI was racking up kills with few casualties of its own. Coey had a close call when one of the choppers he was on was came under fire with the pilot being shot. Fortunately, the co pilot put the bird down without further injury.

Coey spent Christmas in Salisbury which he admitted was very 'lonely' but remained motivated. He recounts that his performance in Fire Force was enough to have most medics retrained with the capability to act as medic and infantryman. In influencing the Army, he felt that he was expunging the humiliation that had come with his dismissal from the SAS.

During the following months he rotated in and out of Mr. Darwin and the Zambezi Valley. With renewed pride and resoluteness, he decided to apply for citizenship as a Rhodesian. In June, he was granted citizenship and also applied for a new passport as a dual citizen. "What a chuckle, filling out those papers under a portrait of Henry Kissinger !" He was now firmly commited to finishing his military service and looked forward to possibly staying on in Rhodesia permanently.

Rotations continued, forever chasing down the terrs, sometimes coming up dry and others, heavy clashes. By this time he has participated in close to 60 Fire Force missions and had established himself in the RLI as a solid trooper and capable medic. The tone of Coey's letters home and journal entries became less longing and more stable as he had finally found his place, contributing to the destruction of terrorists and rendering aid to his wounded soldiers. It seemed that Coey was finally content that he was carrying out the 'historical mission' for his life that he had spent the last 3 years trying to find.

The Last Battle

On July 19th 1975, Two Commando was posted as Mt. Darwin for Fire Force duties. 7-Troop was designated the 'first wave'. They would be first responders to any call outs for support to patrols who had made contact in the bush. As the Commando Medic, Coey was assigned to Lt. Du Plooy's stick which acted as command and control.

A TA unit had been ambushed that morning by approximately six terrs. The TA's returned fire, killing two but the rest broke contact and ran. These soldiers began to track and regain contact but had no success. As 7 Troop was not called out as a result but a request for trackers was fulfilled. Coey went with them to be on scene if they regained contact.

Trackers began to pick up spoor and then 7-Troop was called in for backup as it wasn't known if the terrs were returning to a larger group. The tracks led them in to a dense, overgrown river bed known as a denga. With several curves in the river, it was a perfect defensive position to lay up an ambush as soldiers rounded a bend.

Moving in on the terrs, three members of the combined troops were shot, two fatally, one had his legs shredded. They hunkered down and awaited reinforcements due to the fact that they could neither spot the terrs nor their strength. Lt. Du Pooly arrived on the scene with Coey shortly after. With the possibility of saving the life of the third wounded man, John Alan Coey slid down into the river bed and approached his fallen comrades. Unknown to either Coey or the Lieutenant, terrs were directly underneath the insertion point. Coey was shot twice. Once through the head and a second one through the ankle. The Lieutenant was also wounded.

Over the next few hours, the attempts of the RLI to dislodge the terrs were unsuccessful as the roots and foliage were thick enough to stop grenades from penetrating their hiding spot and nearly impossible to get a view of the location. The SAS was called in as darkness came to use their night sights. Around midnight the terrs broke contact and ran. It was only then that the bodies of the RLI soldiers were retrieved from the river bed. It has been a bad day for the RLI.

Fingers were pointed and soldiers lost. David Armstrong says of this contact, "The riverbed contact was the worst single event of my three years with 2 Commando and the only one in which the terrorists got the better of us................"

John Alan Coey a citizen of both America and Rhodesia was laid to rest with full military honors. Coey had come to Rhodesia to fight the evils of communism, to preserve the dying off of western civilization and fulfill what he repeatedly called his 'historical mission in life'. In many ways, he fought other battles along the way but remained true to his convictions whatever the price. Many can point out the futility of his death. They can say that it was a worthless cause and that sacrifice was in vain. I think not. Those few guardians of the good in this world can look to his life and death and know they are in good company.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.

Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

Daniel R. Tharp ....© Copyright 2010

Eagles Will Gather