News

DATE=7/17/98 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT NUMBER=2-235658 TITLE=MILITARY EXPERT DIES (L-ONLY) BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS DATELINE=LOS ANGELES CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS ARE BEING PLANNED IN ROSEBURG, OREGON FOR COLONEL REX APPLEGATE, A COMBAT AND COUNTER-TERRORISM EXPERT WHOSE CAREER INCLUDED DUTIES AS A PRESIDENTIAL GUARD AND COMMANDO LEADER IN NAZI-OCCUPIED EUROPE. VOA'S GREG FLAKUS HAS MORE ON THE STORY FROM OUR WEST COAST BUREAU. TEXT: HE WAS THE AUTHOR OF "KILL OR GET KILLED," A 1943 TRAINING MANUAL THAT WAS REPRINTED FOR USE BY THE U-S MARINES IN 1991. BUT COLONEL REX APPLEGATE WAS ALSO THE AUTHOR OF "CROWD AND RIOT CONTROL," A GUIDE TO NON-LETHAL POLICE TACTICS USED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES ALL OVER THE WORLD. HIS DAUGHTER, SHANNON APPLEGATE, SPEAKING BY PHONE FROM YONCALLA, OREGON, DESCRIBES COLONEL APPLEGATE AS A MAN WHO ADVOCATED A HUMANE APPROACH TO CIVIL DISTURBANCES. /// APPLEGATE ACT ONE /// I THINK THAT DAD HAD A VERY STRONG INTEREST IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND IN THE ABILITY OF POLICE TO WORK WITH CROWDS AND HE WAS A PROPONENT OF NON-LETHAL WEAPONS. HE DID HAVE A BELIEF THAT PEOPLE HAD A RIGHT TO SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES BUT HE DID NOT BELIEVE THAT THEY HAD A RIGHT TO UPSET THE SOCIETY AS HE SAW IT AND SOCIETY'S VALUES. /// END ACT /// SHANNON APPLEGATE SAYS HER FATHER WORKED TIRELESSLY WITH POLICE OFFICERS AND MILITARY TRAINERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD, KEEPING IN TOUCH BY PHONE AND FAX. ///OPT ACT TWO /// HE GOT MANY CALLS FROM PLACES LIKE INDIA AND SOUTH ASIA AND PARTS OF EUROPE. IT WAS RATHER TYPICAL ON THE AVERAGE DAY IN HIS LIFE, EVEN AS RECENTLY AS LAST MONTH, FOR HIM TO BE GETTING FAXES AND LONG DISTANCE CALLS FROM A VARIETY OF INDIVIDUALS FROM ALL NATIONALITIES IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. /// END ACT END OPT /// COLONEL APPLEGATE STARTED HIS MILITARY CAREER JUST BEFORE WORLD WAR TWO IN AN ARMY POLICE UNIT. ON ONE OCCASION, HE HELPED GUARD THEN-PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT. DURING WORLD WAR TWO, HE BECAME ONE OF THE FIRST MEMBERS OF THE OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICES, OR O-S-S, WHICH LATER EVLOVED INTO THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, OR C-I-A. IN THIS CAPACITY, MR APPLEGATE LED COMMANDO UNITS BEHIND ENEMY LINES. //OPT// AFTER THE WAR, HE MOVED TO MEXICO CITY, WHERE HE HELPED MEXICAN AUTHORITIES DEVELOP BETTER POLICE TACTICS FOR SOCIAL DISTURBANCES. LATER, HE MOVED TO OREGON AND WORKED AS A CONSULTANT TO THE U-S MILITARY AND POLICE ORGANIZATIONS. //END OPT// HE WAS ABOUT TO ADDRESS A SEMINAR IN SAN DIEGO EARLIER THIS WEEK WHEN HE BECAME ILL. HE DIED IN A SAN DIEGO HOSPITAL ON TUESDAY AT THE AGE OF 84. (SIGNED) NEB/PT 17-Jul-98 8:47 PM EDT (0047 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .