#260 Dale Hanson - Why MACV-SOG Had an 85% Casualty Rate and 1-in-4000 Odds

The Shawn Ryan Show

Shawn Ryan Show

Society & Culture, Philosophy

4.9 • 38.1K Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2025

⏱️ 194 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dale Hanson is a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran and Green Beret who served three years as a commando in the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG), conducting extremely dangerous reconnaissance missions deep behind enemy lines. Born in Queens, New York, and raised in Saco, Maine, with family ties to Minnesota's harsh winters, Hanson was influenced by his family's military legacy—his father, born in 1894, served and died when Dale was eight. Given the name "Kam Baw Ya Chin," meaning 'eternal life, never die,' by his Chinese mercenary counterparts, he led recon teams facing high casualty rates and earned numerous decorations. Hanson is also an accomplished sculptor, MENSA member, black belt martial artist, author, pilot of fixed-wing and glider aircraft (including aerobatics), and Special Forces underwater diver. He shares his experiences through his memoir Born Twice: Memoir of a Special Forces SOG Warrior (2016) and SOG Missions to the Well, highlighting the challenges, heroism, and lack of recognition for SOG soldiers. Hanson advocates for honoring veterans' sacrifices, preserving military history, and using personal stories to educate on the realities of covert warfare. Shawn Ryan Show Sponsors: Receive 30% off your first subscription order. Go to https://armra.com/SRS or enter SRS to get 30% off your first subscription order. Right now, you can try Aura free for 14 days when you visit http://aura.com/SRS Our listeners get 10% off at https://BetterHelp.com/SRS. Head to http://DRINKAG1.com/SRS you’ll get the welcome kit, a Morning Person hat, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and a AG1 Flavor Sampler for free. Dale Hanson Links: Studio Website - https://www.dale-hanson-studio.com Amazon Author Page - https://www.amazon.com/stores/Dale-Hanson/author/B001KD7KE0 SOG Site - https://sogsite.com/product/born-twice-memoir-of-a-special-forces-sog-warrior Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time. From startups to scaleups, online, in person, and on the go. Shopify is made for
0:22.8	entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup.
0:34.9	Mr. Dale Hansen, sir, welcome to the show. Thank you. It's an honor to have you here. So I started
0:43.5	interviewing your generation of veterans this year and I've had, I think, three, three Vietnam vets on this year. And I just want you to know that, you know, I think, three Vietnam vets on this year.
0:55.1	And I just want you to know that, you know, I was in the military, went to, went to Iraq,
1:02.9	Afghanistan, did some contract work for the agency all over the Middle East.
1:08.3	And I just want to say that your generation is the vietnam era is what
1:16.1	what was really the motivating factor for me to um to enlist in the in the seal teams and um
1:25.5	i watched all the movies read a lot of the books i mean i just was infatuated
1:31.4	with the vietnam war and what you guys were doing over there so it it really is a
1:37.3	thank you a true honor for me to be able to interview you guys thank you and uh he came very
1:42.6	highly recommended from uh john strikerme, our mutual friend. And here he are.
1:52.5	He was a good man, too. Yeah. How long have you guys known each other? We didn't know each other in Vietnam, but we knew each other after.
2:00.9	Okay.
2:01.9	You was D&C North.
2:03.1	I was seen Central, so we were only a couple hundred miles apart, but our missions were, you
2:08.5	know, parallel rather than at the same time.
2:11.0	So I knew him at the First Army Reunions, the Special Forces ones, you know, got to be friends
2:16.0	right away, you know, who can not be friends
2:18.9	with Tilt? Right. Yeah. Such an awesome guy. All you guys are awesome people, man. But, well,
2:25.4	everybody, everybody starts with an introduction here. So Dale Hansen, welcome home. Thank you.
2:33.1	A born a green Christian since the age of five, a special forces operator
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 23 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Shawn Ryan Show, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Shawn Ryan Show and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.