Command Sgt Maj Rick CAYTON (Ret)

aka Richard B. Cayton

aka Richard Barr Cayton

aka Rick Cayton

Killeen, TX
Harker Heights, TX

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Cayton has sold his Boat Shop and no longer is 
affiliated with the property in any way.    12/2006

THIS ONE'S NOT OVER YET.

Thanks to the tireless, indefatigable work of CID agents at Fort Hood, TX, this case was turned over to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District, Waco, TX in October 2006. They indicated they had a prosecutable case. WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIND OUT THE DISPOSITION OF THIS CASE, OR IF ANY ACTION WAS TAKEN BY THE U.S. ATTORNEY. 

Waco Office
Mark Frazier, Chief

United States Attorney's Office
800 Franklin Avenue
Suite 280
Waco , Texas 76701

Phone: (254) 750-1580   Fax: (254) 750-1599

Call, write, fax

Ask the DISPOSITION of the case.

Ask for a docket number and a way to contact to clerk of the court.

Call the clerk for a copy of ANY court action. 

If you are one of Cayton's "victims" you have a right to know this information. IF you get any response, PLEASE let us know.

January 12, 2004 To: POW NETWORK From: Attorney Leach  (Cayton's Attorney) ....incorrectly labeled as a phony prisoner of war on your website.... remove his name ... Cayton should be recognized for his sacrifice..... false reports have caused heartache and pain not only to Mr. Cayton, but his friends and family as well.....please take immediate corrective action....

August 16, 2004 To: Attorney Leach  From: Patricia A. Meyer _______  .... appeared in the Killeen Daily Herald February 24, 2002. This article is basically about Richard Barr Cayton being a POW from 01 January 1971 through 21 January 1971. In the article, he states that my brother was a POW with him..... David was wounded on 10 January 1971 and died on 11 January 1971.... I am requesting a retraction be placed in the newspaper (Daily Herald) stating that my brother, David Meyer, was not a POW with Richard Barr Cayton. I am also requesting the article to appear in a place where the people of Killeen will read it.....

Hi Mary...Thank you for the Fax.   This e-mail is to confirm that no man named Richard B. Cayton was ever in contact with any known Vietnam War Prisoner of War.  He was not mentioned in the official debriefs on any of the surviving 661 military POWs upon their release or escape.  He is not listed in the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office Reference Document, "U.S. Personnel Missing, Southeast Asia (and Selected Foreign Nationals) May 2001."  He is not listed in the DPMO web site posting of this document (called the PMSEA, for short).  That web site is located at: http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/pmsea/files.htm .  Mr. Larry Greer, Public Affairs Officer for the Department of Defense in POW/MIA matters, would be able to substantiate this information. Mr. Greer is located in the Pentagon, telephone no. 703-699-1169.   Mr. Cayton is not listed among the 28 POWs who escaped from captivity in South Vietnam.  He is not listed as having been captured in any of the hostile countries, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, or China.  He is not listed as a repatriated POW.  I see in the DD-214 attachment you sent that he is listed as a POW for the period "710101-710121," a period of approximately 21 days.  However, there is no mention of being awarded the Prisoner of War Medal.  If he were to be listed as a POW for this period, he would have automatically been awarded the POW Medal.  If injured in his capture incident, he would be awarded the Purple Heart.  If injured while a captive, he would have been awarded a second Purple Heart, both of these would state  the circumstances in the official citations.  As well, he would automatically be listed in the DOD PMSEA.  As well, when men are missing from their units in a hostile action, reports are required within 24 hours to the man's family as well as to seniors in his chain of command.  There are a myriad of reports to include and After Action Report and his unit Morning Muster Reports which are held at the National Records Center in St. Louis.  His family would have a copy of the Western Union notification which would have been delivered to his family by the nearest Base Commander, the Base Chaplain, or an assigned Casualty Assistance Calls Officer (CACO).  All documentation is either missing or non-existant or the DPMO would have Mr. Cayton listed in their reference document, the PMSEA.    NAM-POWs Corporation is a an Arizona 501 (c) (19) veterans organization formed in 1973 for the Prisoners of War from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and China.  All 661 surviving POWs (includes the 30 men who escaped from South Vietnam and Laos), are members.  No member has ever mentioned having had contact with a prisoner named Cayton.  If you wish confirmation from any of the 661 POWs on this matter, I probably have the addresses and contact information you require.   I hope this will be of assistance in the information you seek.  Sincerely,   John M. McGrath, Captain, USN (Ret) NAM-POWs Corporation Historian POW North Vietnam 5 years 8 months 719-488-0962 mmcgrath62@adelphia.net

Quoted from Killeen Daily Herald 02/24/2002  
                                "Survivor Types: Residents overcome odds, become better human beings" 

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...That same someone needs me intensity compelled POW Cayton to persevere in January 1971. The Viet Cong attacked Sgt. Caytons six man squad at night in a quick, fierce fight.
   Cayton, then 20, regained consciousness to discover his arms tied to a branch across the back of his neck and shoulders and a rope tied like a leash around his neck. Only he and David Meyers had survived the fight, though both were wounded.
   The two Americans were marched from village to Vietnamese village as propaganda tools.
   They did degrading, inhumane things to us, he said. When either Cayton or Meyers was tortured, the other said things, surviving on the thought the other guy needed us more than we needed ourself, he said. His facial scars testify to his horror.
   POW Cayton struggled with physical and mental pain from the beginning.
   The first day was the worst, because I felt defeated, he said. The POWs were not supposed to talk, but they encouraged each other with their eyes. It was an emotional teeter-totter, he said. When one was depressed, the other helped him.
   The VC fed them poorly and treated them worse, inflicting physical torment and abuse in a VC propaganda campaign to prove Americans were not supermen and therefore Vietnamese villagers should support the VC cause.
   Both Cayton and Meyers were very religious, which helped them keep going. Also, patriot-ism was very important to them, he said, but it became more important to survive for their buddy. Their captors would have killed the Ameri-cans when they tired of them, Cayton said, leaving their bodies in unmarked jungle graves except for a fortuitous break.
   Focus on a plan
   POWs and guards were caught in an American carpet bombing raid seven days after their capture.
   Our guards ran one way, so we ran the other, Cayton said. Eventually he and Meyers stopped, untied each other and kept running. Religion and David Meyers is why I'm here today, he said simply.
   In a fight you can jump in a foxhole and wait for the enemy to come kill you and they will or you can get out and try to make the situation better, Cayton said.
   Our plan was to run east and find something familiar, he said. They traveled at night and hid during the day.
   For food they watched what the animals ate and ate the same. We got very sick, he said.
   The escapees moved all night or until they were too ex-hausted or ill to go further. On Jan. 20 they descended from the mountainous region into the coastal plain. In front of them stretched a huge rice paddy. The only way to cross it unde-tected was to go around it, Cayton said, so they slept that night and waited.
   At dawn on Jan. 21, they heard a large number of Huey transport helicopters coming and knew there would many American troops landing right in front of them......
   Because of his POW experience, Cayton said, he became mean and drank too much. His experiences had not yet made him a better man.
   On his next military assignment in Alaska, Chaplain Henry Pollack took Cayton under his wing.
   He got me involved in Boy Scouts, which calmed me down, Cayton said. He helped me focus on something other than myself and helped me grow.
   Other chaplains and commanders throughout his Army career continued to help him mature. Even so, he said he could not talk about being a prisoner until 1995.
   I’m here because of the good Lord and good people along the way. They kicked me in the britches when I needed it and hugged my neck when I needed it, said Cayton.
   Sometimes truth hurts, but you need to tell the truth to friends, family, children. I’ve still got more to learn, a long way to go, he said.

   Former POW Cayton served 26 years in the Army, seeing combat in hot spots including Cambodia, Haiti, Somalia and Iraq.
   Their social values play into their value of human life, and I'm glad ours are different, he said. I came back feeling strongly that our society is better than the alternatives.
   He now has a family and a retail boat business in Harker Heights. His experiences taught him to raise his family by emphasizing character, honesty and understanding responsibility, he said.
   Thirteen classmates from his sergeant training were stationed together in the same unit in Vietnam.
   I am the only one who lived. That's tough, he said, choking up. I believe the Lord had his hand on me. Not a day, even today, goes by that I don't say Praise God, because every-thing is from him. Life made that stronger in me.....

==========================

• Quoted in Ft Hood SENTINEL 11/14/02 as a POW.
• Noted on www.rayscott.net - escaped and evaded for 31 days...shot nine times....VC cut and tortured him...has survived hell on earth.
• Taught at CAMDEN MILITARY ACADEMY. 

LASTNAME MEYER FRSTNAME DAVID LEE RANK SSGT BRANCH ARMY CITY CHARLES CITY STATE IA PANEL 05W LINENO 040 BORN 19490714 KILL 19710111	The men Cayton served with were Meyer and Berger.... NOT Meyers. Cayton, Meyer and Berger, and 9 other men were on a mission January 10, 1971 when these men lost their lives. How about the REAL story CSM Cayton ??	Barry Berger (front) David Meyer (back) on the fateful mission
LASTNAME BERGER FRSTNAME BARRY HOWARD RANK PFC BRANCH ARMY CITY HYATTSVILLE STATE MD PANEL 05W LINENO 036 BORN 19490627 KILL 19710110

Cayton claims:

Distinguished Service Medal 2 Silver Stars 3 Legion of Merit 4 Bronze Stars 2 Bronze Stars w/V 5 Purple Hearts 3 Meritorious Service 3 Air Medals 3 Joint Service Commendations Army Commendation Medal Joint Service Achievement Medal 8 Army Good Conduct 2 National Defense Medal Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal w/bronze Arrowhead 4 Vietnam Service Medals Southwest Asia Service Medal w/3 Bronze Service Stars

Humanitarian Service Medal 4 NCO Professional Development Ribbons Army Service Ribbon 3 Overseas Service Ribbon Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal Kuwait Liberation Medal Joint Meritorious Unit Award Valorous Unit Award Combat Infantryman Badge Master Parachute Badge w/Bronze Service Star Aircraft Crewman Badge Canadian Parachute Badge Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm Ranger Tab Rifle M16 expert qualification badge Pistol 9MM expert qualification badge .45 cal expert qualification badge

COMMENTS

St. Louis has been unable to provide orders or dates of issue for MANY medal noted in his records - and the list differs from the records noted on his DD214. Command Sgt Major Cayton's  DD214 states "POW" Command Sgt Major Cayton's  records claims "POW"

....Anyways, I can verify he doesn't have the DSC nor a DSM.  .... Bruce.

4. recollection: family never notified of MIA , POW, time in any hospital, nor did David come home on leave  Respectfully, G. Meyer -- older brother

I was in HHC 1/75 in 1991.  This guy wasn't there.   Karl

Cayton's father was the Bn Sergeant Major when I got there. I saw him again at Ft Bragg sometime in 74....   To my knowledge he never wore 2 Silver Stars while I was there. He may have waited until his Father was reassigned. I heard about the phony attack....., but don't have any first hand knowledge of the incident. He did drive a new BMW which was strange for his rank and not the kind of vehicle someone would drive in Fairbanks Alaska.      D.

I served in G/75 in 1969.  I was one of the founders of our company Association and have been to many reunions.  I have never heard a story of anyone from our company (either E/51 or G/75) being a POW.  If this is the same guy, well, ....... you know what to do. Michael

.... when Cayton got to his duty station in Alaska i.e.; Co C 6th Bn 9th Inf 171st Inf Bde, Ft Wainwright....  told us that Cayton never mentioned that he had been a Ranger in VN. He also does not recall him wearing SS's. Also, he was scar free when he got there. Those occurred after he was there ..... S.

.... This was the second time he faked an incoming chi-com by pulling the pin on one of his throwing it out and yelling incoming, thus compromising our position and putting us in contact.......and chi-com Cayton is the guy with the glasses......               B.

I believe that Cayton was able to successfully pull off the trick with the grenade a couple of times before ____________ saw him do it....                     G.

Steve. There's more to the story.... Today there were a whole bunch of replies to my quarry. It seems that this guy was held in serious contempt by junior members of the battalion, several of whom went on to get commissioned and at least one of whom is still on active duty. According to these guys, he was the consummate self promoter, egomaniac and all around asshole. This is not just from some private who thought the guy was a hardass - quite the contrary. All the guys that replied either retired from active duty or at least reached NCO rank before ETS'ing. It says something when not a single guy had anything positive to say. Clayton evidently told the POW story complete with torture, etc. to each RIP class he taught. For a time he was assigned to the 1/75 Ranger Indoc Program at Hunter before the Regt was activated and that function consolidated at Ft. Benning. There's a good chance this POW stuff is all hot air on his part - simply based on the rabid responses I got.  Hope this helps. It's simply more of the total picture of this guy. Bob

.... I recall him clearly relating the story of his "POW experience" to all of us RIP Rangers. He had all of us standing at attention on the PT field while he told us about the whole thing from atop the PT platform with another guy holding the flag behind him. Supposedly it was the anniversary of the event......                R.

The History of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club

The original club was started at Fort Hood, Texas early in 1986. There were several key people at Fort Hood - officer, enlisted, civil service, and a Killeen civilian - who were instrumental in getting this club up and running.

Leading the effort was Lieutenant General Crosbie Saint, then the III Corps commander; his Command Sergeant Major George L. Horvath; III Corps Awards Clerk Jean Crisp, who is now Test and Experimentation Command (TEXCOM) awards clerk, and Don Moore, a Killeen artist who assisted with designing the logo and club awards.

In 1991, then III Corps Commander Lieutenant General Pete Taylor and Command Sergeant Major Richard B. Cayton expanded the Fort Hood installation club to include all of III Corps. This included Fort Riley, Kansas; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Polk, Louisiana; and Fort Carson, Colorado.

In 1993, CSM Cayton was voted into the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club by the membership and then became the Forces Command Sergeant Major. Soon thereafter, the club became Forces-Command (FORSCOM) wide, including the Reserves and National Guard.

 

Fort Sill, Sgt Audie Murphy Club SAMCA Redleg Chapter Webmaster Staff Sergeant (Retired) George K. Keck Unofficial Snail-Mail Address SSG(R) George K. Keck 323 N.W. 62nd Street Lawton, OK 73505 THEIR Webmaster

 

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Thanksgiving, 2004

http://www.hood.army.mil/1stcavdiv/news/News%20archives/december%2004/bass%20boss%20visits%20anglers.htm

Bass Boss Visits Anglers at Camp Prosperity
By Staff Sgt. Susan German
122nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

 

  ..... The tour was sponsored by Armed Forces Entertainment (AFE) and allowed the group to meet with Soldiers stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. Prior to their arrival at Camp Prosperity, they were scheduled to meet with wounded Soldiers at the 31st Combat Support Hospital in the International Zone. A few weeks ago, before embarking on their trip overseas, Scotts group, which consisted of several retired military men as well as Don Day, a radio broadcaster from Alabama, was invited to a send-off reception with President George Bush, Scott said.
    Rick Cayton, a retired III Corps command sergeant major, explained that during their meeting, the president placed his hands on the shoulders of Cayton and Scott and said When you get there [to Iraq], you tell those guys I love them all. He didn't want to send a letter, Cayton said. He wanted us to tell the troops, face to face. He said Look in my eyes, and tell the troops in their eyes that I love them....

WANT TO SEE  MORE CAYTON WHITE HOUSE PICTURES?
http://www.wlwi.com/scrapbook/dondaytrip.asp

The Wall Street Journal -- Retired U.S. Army Sergeant Major Rick Cayton says he isn't interested in most energy bars available at his local grocery store in Killeen, a small town near the Fort Hood military base in central Texas. But the decorated Vietnam War veteran says he loves the Hooah! bar, the official nutrition bar of the U.S. military. Read More...

 

Just can't stay away:
http://members.tripod.com/~wacovvm/specialevent.html

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http://www.cavalrycountry.org/announcements.htm

CSM (R) Rick Cayton,  ......, is sponsoring the Bass Tournament and he has coordinated with Triton Boats to have a $30,000 bass boat donated so we can have a drawing and give a boat away. Money raised from the drawing will go to the Foundation to provide scholarships for the children of Troopers who died while serving with the Division in combat. I will be working with him and with the Division CSM to sell the tickets, $5 donation each ticket, prior to the drawing. Rick has always been a supporter of Soldiers and his similar efforts last year for the 4th Infantry Division earned over $35,000 for the 4th Inf. Div. Assn....