Early Life and Military Enlistment
James Gordon Gritz was born on January 18, 1939, in Enid, Oklahoma. While details about his childhood are less prominently documented in public records, he grew up deeply influenced by military culture — his father served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.
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Gritz later chose a military path of his own, enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1957 and quickly distinguishing himself as a soldier and leader.
He entered Officer Candidate School and demonstrated exceptional skill, earning his commission and ultimately completing the demanding qualification courses required to become a member of the Army Special Forces — the elite “Green Berets.”
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Vietnam War Service and Special Forces Command
Gritz’s military service is most closely associated with his tours in the Vietnam War, where he commanded Detachment B‑36 of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) — a unit that combined American soldiers with Cambodian‑Vietnamese troops known as MIKE Force.
