Author’s Note

All the material in this book not derived from my own firsthand observation of the events is taken from historical texts, public or official records, original correspondence, journals kept by a participant or extended interviews with those persons directly involved. All interviews with the major participants were tape recorded. Transcripts of these interviews were then submitted to those individuals to provide them an opportunity to make corrections. In those few instances of disparate recollections or failing memory, I have had to rely upon the majority opinion and my own judgment in determining what actually took place.

In reconstructing those conversations which I was not present at, I have assumed that if an individual recalled what was said and this recollection was confirmed by a second individual and there was no obvious advantage to be gained from a depiction of the conversation as recalled, then a reconstruction using the dialogue as remembered might be accepted as true. In most instances with the Mullens it was possible to reconstruct their conversations through corroboration by a third party, notes taken by Peg Mullen at the time of the event and the consistency of details as recalled.

The reconstructed “Mission” chapter at the end of the book was achieved through separate interviews with Lieutenant Colonel H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Captain Tom Owen Cameron, Abraham Aikins, Martin L. Culpepper, Gary Samuels and Willard Polk, each of whom had either taken part in the planning of the operation or been present on the hilltop when Michael Mullen died. Each man received a transcript of his interview and subsequent reconstructed version of the mission for review and correction. Although Willard Polk’s court-martial transcript was valuable for details of subsequent events, I naturally had to rely on the men’s memories of that night. I am most grateful to them for their cooperation and the dedication with which they assisted me in getting the story right.

This is also as good a place as any to express my gratitude to certain other individuals who have been instrumental in this book: Carl D. Brandt, Harvey Ginsberg, William Shawn, Martin J. Baron and Sam.

I have taken the liberty of changing the names of some of the minor participants in this book.

I suppose one can never be satisfied that one has asked all the questions one might have asked, double-checked all the details one might have double-checked, seen all the people one might have seen. But because all the major people in this story have read the finished manuscript and have expressed their agreement with the incidents as described, I am confident that what I have written is true and that the events, scenes and conversations took place as depicted.

C. D. B. B.