Published Saturday, June 20, 2009

Shelton trained Bolivian troops who captured Che Guevara

The Times-Herald

He's not quite as famous as "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," but retired Army Major Ralph "Pappy" Shelton will always be remembered by Army Special Forces and the people of Bolivia as the man who trained the Bolivian troops who captured and executed revolutionary icon Che Guevara.

Guevara rose to prominence fighting next to Fidel Castro during the Cuban revolution, then moved on to lead more insurrections across South America.

"We had a job to do and we did it and I'm proud of what we accomplished," Shelton told members of the Newnan White Oak Golden K Kiwanis Club at Thursday's meeting. "The people of Bolivia wanted Guevara gone and asked for help and we were glad to give it. That man is famous now, but he killed lots of innocent people and we were glad to help put him out of business."

Shelton served part of his Army career with Golden K member Mel Hayden, who arranged for Shelton to speak and introduced him to the club.

Shelton grew up in rural Mississippi and Tennessee. He left school in the 10th grade to help support the family, eventually moving to Detroit to work in an auto plant. In 1948, with auto layoffs looming, Shelton joined the Army.

He advanced rapidly and by 1950 had attained the rank of sergeant, just in time for the Korean War. During his time in Korea, Shelton distinguished himself several times in combat, earning the Silver Star for valor.

He left the Army briefly after his five-year enlistment ended in 1953, but returned and entered Army officer training, finishing first in his class in 1958. Ranger and Airborne training followed, and in 1961, Shelton joined the Special Forces -- or Green Berets -- the elite unit being promoted by then-President John F. Kennedy.

Shelton's Special Forces units -- called MTTs, or Mobile Training Teams -- served much of their time behind enemy lines, often working with CIA operatives to train natives of other countries to fight the growing number of insurgencies across the globe.

In 1962, Shelton's Mobile Training Team fought Laotian insurgents in Southeast Asia. He then returned to the States and had assignments in Panama and the Dominican Republic before being assigned in 1967 to train men to capture Guevara in Bolivia.

Shelton gave a slide showing depicting his Mobile Training Team's duty in Bolivia. The training took place in an abandoned sugar mill in Bolivia that was transformed from an empty factory into a training and housing complex.

In addition to training Bolivian troops, Shelton's MTT assisted the local villagers, providing them with clean water, a new school and much-needed medical care. American troops also showed the Bolivian locals how to improve sanitary conditions by constructing an open slit-trench latrine like the ones used by the U.S. troops.

Shelton showed pictures of the completed latrine and said the Bolivians were "so proud of it they refused to use it because they didn't want to mess it up."

After weeks of training by Shelton's MTT, the Bolivian 2nd Ranger Battalion set out in late September 1967 in search of Guevara. Americans were forbidden from entering the guerrilla-held territory.

Just 13 days later, Guevara was captured by Bolivian troops and later executed.

"It was an important mission and our Bolivian troops did just what they were trained to do," Shelton said. "The Bolivians couldn't thank us enough for getting rid of that man."

After he left the Army, Shelton earned a bachelor of science degree in political science and a master's degree in teaching from the University of Memphis. He taught 12 years JROTC in Memphis City Schools and served five years as director of Operation Wilderness for Memphis City Schools, a summer out-of-school experience modeled after the Outward Bound Program. He also served 14 years as training director with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Memphis.

He retired to Sweetwater, Tenn., and served as Sweetwater City Commissioner for six years. He currently serves as chairman of the Sweetwater Regional Planning Commission.

Shelton has been married for 35 years to the former Susan Vestal of Athens, Tenn. A retired attorney, Susan is an adjunct professor at Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, Tenn.