James Lee Dozier (born April 10, 1931) is a retired
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
officer. In December 1981, he was kidnapped by the
Italian Red Brigades Marxist guerilla group. He was rescued by
NOCS, an Italian special force, with assistance from the
Intelligence Support Activity's
Operation Winter Harvest, after 42 days of captivity. General Dozier was the deputy Chief of Staff at
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
's Southern European land forces headquarters at
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
, Italy. The Red Brigades, in a statement to the press, stated the reason behind kidnapping an American general was that the US and Italian governments had enjoyed excellent diplomatic relations and that Dozier was an American soldier invited to work in Italy, which justified their abduction. To date, Dozier is the only American
flag officer to have been captured by a
violent non-state actor
In international relations, violent non-state actors (VNSAs), also known as non-state armed actors or non-state armed groups (NSAGs), are individuals or groups that are wholly or partly independent of governments and which threaten or use viole ...
.
Military career
Dozier was born in
Arcadia, Florida
Arcadia is a city and county seat of DeSoto County, Florida, United States. Its population was 7,637 as of the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 7,722 in 2014. Arcadia's Historic District is listed on the National Register of Histor ...
. Dozier graduated from the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at West Point in 1956. He was a classmate of General
Norman Schwarzkopf. He went to the
Armor School at
Fort Knox, Kentucky
Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...
, for basic and advanced training in armored warfare. He served in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
with the
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Blackhorse Regiment") is a unit of the United States Army garrisoned at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in California. Although termed an armored cavalry regiment, it is being re-organized as a multi ...
from 1968–1969 where he was awarded the
Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
medal and later served tours of duty at the
Pentagon
In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°.
A pentagon may be simpl ...
and in
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
Education
Dozier graduated from the U.S. Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. Later he earned a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Arizona. Dozier attended the
Army Command and General Staff College and the
Army War College.
Kidnapping
Then–
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Dozier was kidnapped from his apartment in Verona at approximately 6 pm on December 17, 1981, by four men posing as plumbers. It was later reported that as many as four additional terrorists provided support with multiple vehicles. His wife, Judy Dozier, was not kidnapped, but was held at gunpoint briefly to coerce Dozier to comply and the terrorists left her bound and chained in the laundry room of their apartment. Judy Dozier was rescued after she made noise by leaning against the washing machine and hitting it with her shoulders and knees, thereby getting the attention of a downstairs neighbor.
In Paul J. Smith's (National Security Affairs professor at the U.S. Naval War College) paper ''The Italian Red Brigades (1969–1984): Political Revolution and Threats to the State'':
Dozier was able to temporarily remove his headphones while his guard was not watching, allowing him to identify morning and evening traffic and thus tell time. He tracked the days in his diary, with a final count of 40, 2 days off from the true duration of his captivity. Dozier was able to keep a diary by playing
Solitaire
Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...
and writing down fake scores on paper provided by his guards. These scores were a base-seven alpha-numeric code developed by Dozier, based on the seven piles of cards used in the card game and the number of cards in each pile.
The Red Brigades held Dozier for 42 days until January 28, 1982, when a team of
NOCS (a special operations unit of the
Italian police
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
) successfully carried out his rescue from an apartment in
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
, without firing a shot, capturing the entire terrorist cell. The guard, Ugo Milani, assigned to kill Dozier in the event of a rescue attempt did not do so, and was overwhelmed by the rescuing force.
After Dozier’s return to the US Army in Vicenza, he was congratulated by telephone by
President Reagan on regaining his freedom.
Aftermath
Dozier was later promoted to
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
and eventually retired from active military service.
Awards and decorations
During his military career he was awarded the
Army Distinguished Service Medal
The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...
,
Silver Star
The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
and
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...
(for actions during
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
),
Ranger Tab
In the United States Army, tabs are cloth and/or metal arches displaying a word or words signifying a special skill that are worn on U.S. Army uniforms. On the Army Combat Uniform and Army Service Uniform, the tabs are worn above a unit's Should ...
and
Parachutist Badge.
sptimes.com - Parade, service to honor veterans
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Ribbon bar
See also
* Operation Winter Harvest
* Barbara Balzerani
*Licio Giorgieri
Licio Giorgieri (1 June 1925 – 20 March 1987) was an Italian air force general who was killed by a faction the far-left terrorist organisation Red Brigades.
Biography
Giorgieri was born in Trieste.
He graduated in naval and mechanical engineeri ...
References
Further reading
* Collin, Richard Oliver and Gordon L. Freedman. ''Winter of Fire'', Dutton, 1990.
External links
Retired general recalls 1981 terrorist kidnapping
The Dozier Kidnapping: Confronting the Red Brigades
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dozier, James L.
1931 births
1980s missing person cases
Formerly missing people
Living people
Kidnapped American people
Missing person cases in Italy
People from Fort Myers, Florida
Recipients of the Air Medal
Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Recipients of the Silver Star
Red Brigades
Terrorism in Italy
United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni
United States Army generals
United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
United States Army War College alumni
United States Military Academy alumni