Moore co-authored the lyrics for "The Ballad of the Green Berets", which was one of the major hit songs of 1966. The song was featured in the 1968 film The Green Berets, based on Moore's book, which starred John Wayne. A new edition of The Green Berets was published in April 2007, and his last book, Wars of the Green Berets, co-authored with Col. Mike 'Doc' Lennon, was released in June 2007.
Due to connections with Harvard classmate Robert F. Kennedy, (Harvard class of 1948), Moore (Harvard class of 1949) was allowed access to the U.S. Army Special Forces to write about this elite unit of the United States Army. General William P. Yarborough insisted that Moore go through special forces training to better understand "what makes Special Forces soldiers 'special'." He trained for nearly a year, first at "jump school" for airborne training before completing the Special Forces Qualification Course or "Q course", becoming the first civilian to participate in such an intensive program. Afterwards, Moore was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group on deployment to South Vietnam. His experiences in-country formed the basis for The Green Berets, a bestseller that helped secure him international acclaim (see United States Army Special Forces in popular culture).
During the 1970s and '80s, Moore travelled widely, spending time in such places as Dubai, Iran, Rhodesia, and Russia. Having gathered the information needed, he wrote The Crippled Eagles (later published as The White Tribe) and The Moscow Connection. Due to political controversy, The Crippled Eagles was rejected by publishers and did not appear until the early 1990s. He also wrote the nonfiction books Rhodesia and Major Mike (with U.S. Army Major Mike Williams).
While researching what became The Crippled Eagles, in 1976 Moore established what he called the "Unofficial US Embassy" in Salisbury, and began hosting events for the American volunteers who were serving in the Rhodesian Security Forces as well as doctoral students. He encouraged the volunteers to call themselves 'Crippled Eagles' due to the mistaken perception that they were being harassed, or could be harassed, by their government. Moore also sold t-shirts, sew-on patches and other merchandise using the 'Crippled Eagle' motif. During the same year, he also wrote a book that argued that Rhodesia was not racist and included profiles of foreign volunteers in the country.[1]
In April 1986, Moore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States for participating in a scheme involving means of roughly $37 million in literary tax shelters which generated fraudulent tax losses for over 1,000 individual U.S. taxpayers involving paperback books whose value had been artificially inflated, thus facilitating claims for false depreciation deductions and tax credits.[2] He was sentenced to five years of probation fined $500, and ordered to serve 300 hours of community service.[3]
Moore travelled to Uzbekistan in December 2001 to research the CIA-Northern Alliance war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, publishing the account in the bestseller The Hunt for Bin Laden.
In 2003, continuing his interest in writing about the war on terror, Moore traveled to Iraq to research Operation Iraqi Freedom and the downfall of the Saddam Hussein regime for his book, Hunting Down Saddam. Before his death, he completed The Singleton: Target Cuba with Ret. USASF Major General Geoffrey Lambert, a novel about Fidel Castro and biological warfare.
Shortly after the publication of The Hunt for Bin Laden, the veracity of the book was disputed, particularly regarding the involvement of Jack Idema. Idema, who was one of Moore's major sources, provided what later proved to be fabricated accounts of his exploits. To portray himself as having a greater role in the operation, Idema apparently went as far as to rewrite much of Moore and Chris Thompson's text prior to publication under the direct authorization of Random House editor Bob Loomis. Special Forces soldiers who were on the mission (including those whom Moore interviewed) disputed Idema's claims.[4]
With Idema thus discredited, Moore eventually disavowed The Hunt for Bin Laden and the book remains out of print.[5] Despite the dispute over the book's veracity, Moore continued to enjoy the respect of the Special Forces community.[6]
The Green Berets is a 1968 film based on Moore's 1965 book.[7] Parts of the screenplay bear little relation to the novel, although the portion in which a woman seduces a Vietnamese communist leader and sets him up to be kidnapped by Americans is from the book. John Wayne requested and obtained full military co-operation and materiel from President Johnson. To please the Pentagon, which was attempting to prosecute Robin Moore for revealing classified information, Wayne bought Moore out for $35,000 and 5% of undefined profits of the film.[8]
At the 2007 5th Special Forces Group reunion banquet, Col. Chris Conner confirmed Moore as a lifelong member of 5th SFG. At the same banquet, Moore was made a Kentucky colonel.[citation needed]
Robin Moore died in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on February 21, 2008, after a long illness. A memorial service was held in the First Presbyterian Church in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Eulogies were given by Major General Victor J. Hugo Jr., Major General Thomas R. Csrnko, Alexander N. Rossolimo, and Moore's brother John. A Presidential citation was presented to Helen Moore by General Hugo. Full military honors were rendered immediately after the service by a complement of 5th Group Special Forces soldiers from Fort Campbell .[9]
All Special Forces Soldiers, past and present, mourn the passing of Robin Moore; he was a valued and trusted member of the Special Operations family. Robin was a devoted advocate and a true Ambassador for the "Green Beret" and all they stand for.
His writings on Special Forces are textbooks for our modern Unconventional Warriors; they were both educational and inspirational and introduced the world to the "Green Berets." He will be missed.[10]
^White, Luise (2021). Fighting and Writing: The Rhodesian Army at War and Postwar. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. pp. 183–184. ISBN9781478021285.
^Smith, William French. Annual Report of the Attorney General of the United States for the Fiscal Year 1983. Washington, D.D.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 136.
^Pelton, Robert Young (2006). Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror. Random House. p. 243. Though [the Special Forces soldiers] never met or talked to Idema, and despite the fact that almost ten members had carefully detailed their actions to Moore at K2, the first chapter puts forth an account of the team's infill into Afghanistan that the men tell me has been entirely fabricated.
^Ghianni, Tim (September 11, 2006). "Fighting soldiers, tender brothers". The Tennessean. We're the only ones who understand what we do," says Steve Stone, referring to "The Brotherhood" of Green Berets, whether fresh from Iraq or weathered by Vietnam, who converge here. He nods to Moore. "And that's our icon sitting right there.
^Moore, Robin Introduction to 1999 editionThe Green BeretsThe Green Berets: The Amazing Story of the U.S. Army's Elite Special Forces Unit 2007 Skyhorse Publishing Inc.
Steve Baker, Ricky Blitt, Will Carlough, Tobias Carlson, Jacob Fleisher, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Claes Kjellstrom, Jack Kukoda, Bob Odenkirk, Bill O'Malley, Matthew Alec Portenoy, Greg Pritikin, Rocky Russo, Olle Sarri, Elizabeth Wright Shapiro, Jeremy Sosenko, Jonathan van Tulleken, and Jonas Wittenmark – Movie 43 (2013)
