Dominican Crisis 1965-1966 (Frank Walsh)

[Story]

I've seen copies of this 40 page pictorial over the years, but never found any background on the author.

Anyone have solid perspective on this Frank Walsh?

 

 

From a March 1996 review in MUSEUM ORDNANCE Magazine

...the Dominican Republic, had also been occupied by U.S. forces, between 1916 and 1924 [...] Almost thirty years ago U.S. forces returned to the Dominican Republic in operation 'Power Pack', an intervention that was largely overshadowed by increasing U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Frank Walsh's work includes roughly ten pages of text briefly describing the upheaval that followed in the wake of the death of Dictador Rafael Trujillo in 1961 and the U.S. intervention that it prompted. the immediate cause was the Civil War that broke out between the popular 'Constitutionalists' and Gen. Elias Wessin y Wessin, who commanded the Armed Forces Training center or 'Centro de Entrenamiento de las Fuerzas Armadas' (CEFA). As the elite of the Dominican Armed Forces, the CEFA had a monopoly on its heavy weapons. Because of the U.S. weapons embargo against Trujillo, these consisted of the unlikely combination of twenty L-60 light tanks, twenty Lynx armored cars (both acquired from Sweden in the early 1950s), and twenty AMX-13 light tanks (purchased from France in 1959). It is interesting to note that, because the CEFA was located next to an air base, it has often been erroneously reported that the Dominican Air Force was equipped with tanks! Gen. Wessen launched an attack on the capital, Santo Domingo. The Constitutionalists, however, repulsed this attack, seizing a number of Wessin's tanks and armored cars. Walsh's book contains twelve photos on the Civil War, including one showing an AMX-13 in front of the National Palace and another of an L-60 in Constitutionalist hands.
The majority of Walsh's book is made up of photos illustrating the U.S. intervention and occupation as part of the Inter-American Peace Force (IAPF). Landing from the Aircraft Carrier 'Boxer', the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Marine Brigade, 2nd Division, supported by a tank company, entered the western portion of Santo domingo behind a column of LVTs, ONTOS, and M-48 Pattons. The book contains five photos of USMC M-48s and two of ONTOS. The Marines linked up with the elements of the 82nd Airborned Division, which occupied the eastern portion of the city. The two forces can be easily distinguised in photos, since the 82nd was only recently equipped with the M-16, while the Marines were still armed with the older M-14. The 'clean' look of these troops is in marked contrast to their counterparts in Vietnam.
Along with U.S. forces, the IAPF consisted of a Brazilian Infantry Battalion, and the 'Fraternity Battalion', the latter containing a Costa Rican Platoon, a Brazilian Marine Company, and rifle companies from Honduras, Nicaragua, and Paraguay. Walsh's book has ten photos of these peace-keeping troops, including one showing the Brazilian crew of a jeep-mounted 106mm recoilless rifle. Althoug fighting was largely restricted to dealing with the occassional sniper, a minor battle broke out between the IAPF and Constitutionalist forces on 15 June. The last U.S. forces withdrew in 21 Spetember, 1966.

 

See also

Power Pack: U.S. Intervention Republic, in the Dominican 1965-1966

Lawrence A. Yates Combat Studies Institute U.S. Army Command and General Staff College

https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a211926.pdf

or

https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/dom_republic/Power_Pack-US_Intervention_Dominican_Republic_1965-1966.pdf

 

 

Previous threads on this obscure campaign

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/188699-us-forces-dominican-republic-grouping-oae/?hl=%2Bdominican+%2B1965

 

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/278795-rare-invasion-map-dominican-republic-1965/?hl=%2Bdominican+%2B1965

 

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/312914-vietnam-war-colonels-footlocker/?hl=%2Bdominican+%2B1965