Sallah, Michael D.

PERSONAL:

Born in Toledo, OH. Education: University of Toledo, graduated.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Miami, FL.

CAREER:

Writer, reporter, and investigative journalist.

Toledo Blade, national affairs reporter, 1989-2004; Miami Herald, investigations editor, 2004—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Best Reporter in Ohio distinction, Society of Professional Journalists, 2002; Monthly Journalism Award, Washington Monthly, 2003; Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting (with Mitch Weiss and Joe Mahr), 2004, The Medal by Investigative Reporters and Editors, Sigma Delta Chi Award, first place, for investigative reporting, Neiman Award, first place, Neiman Foundation at Harvard University, and first-place award for investigative reporting, Associated Press Society of Ohio, all for newspaper series on Tiger Force; Reporter of the Year (two-time recipient), Ohio Society of Professional Journalists; recipient of other state and national journalism awards for stories on organized crime, white-collar fraud, and clerical sexual abuse.

WRITINGS:

(With Mitch Weiss) Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War, Little, Brown (New York, NY), 2006.

ADAPTATIONS:

Tiger Force was adapted to audio CD.

SIDELIGHTS:

Michael D. Sallah and Mitch Weiss are journalists and editors whose work has earned them the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. Weiss and Sallah, along with collaborator Joe Mahr, received journalism's highest honor for their 2004 series in the Toledo Blade, which uncovered atrocities committed by Tiger Force, an elite Army combat platoon from the 101st Airborne Division that operated during the Vietnam War. In their series of articles, entitled "Buried Secrets, Brutal Truths," the authors revealed how members of Tiger Force, essentially leaderless, indulged in a seven-month rampage in which they indiscriminately killed unarmed Vietnamese civilians, including women and children, dispensing violence, destruction, and bloodshed wherever they went. Sallah, Weiss, and Mahr also revealed how the army refused to punish or even prosecute members of Tiger Force, even after an internal investigation concluded that war crimes had been committed. Tellingly, the authors discovered that the army not only knew about Tiger Force's actions but in some cases had even encouraged them.

In their book Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War, Sallah and Weiss expand on the story of Tiger Force, the scandals that accompanied them, and the soldiers who committed the acts of brutality. They relate how Tiger Force began as an all-volunteer combat team organized by Major David Hackworth. The unit was highly decorated, though it suffered from numerous casualties, and its combat-forged reputation was strong. Yet despite its honorable origins, Tiger Force "descended into a moral abyss" beginning in May 1967, noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Hundreds of innocent victims fell to the unit's unrestrained violence. Soldiers took macabre trophies such as scalps, ears, and teeth. The memory of the unit eventually faded, and the story became one punctuated by rumor and legend until Weiss, Sallah, and Mahr revisited it, interviewing former platoon members, scouring written records, and confirming the truth of the unit's atrocities. The authors discovered that, even in the midst of its depravity, some soldiers tried to stop the killing, including Sergeant Gerald Brunner, who leveled his weapon on his fellow troops in an attempt to stop them, and Lieutenant Donald Wood, who tried to countermand orders that sent the platoon to kill. However, they also found that the commanders were well aware of what Tiger Force was doing and at best looked the other way or at worst encouraged the carnage. In an encouraging sign, Sallah noted in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now that current Pentagon leadership has expressed interest in looking at the case again. The Publishers Weekly reviewer noted, "In the best tradition of investigative journalism, the authors let the story speak for itself" in this "outstanding book." Library Journal contributor Karl Helicher called the book a "searing narrative, difficult to read yet difficult to put down."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, April 1, 2006, Karl Helicher, review of Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War, p. 109.

Publishers Weekly, February 13, 2006, review of Tiger Force, p. 73.

Toledo Blade, April 6, 2004, Kelly Lecker, "Blade Wins Pulitzer; Series Exposing Vietnam Atrocities Earns Top Honor," profile of Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss.

Washington Monthly, December, 2003, "The Washington Monthly's Monthly Journalism Award," p. 14.

ONLINE

Democracy Now,http://www.democracynow.org/ (October 29, 2003), "Tiger Force: A New Report Uncovers Multiple Atrocities Committed by an Elite Platoon in 1967 Vietnam," Amy Goodman, transcript of radio interview with Michael Sallah.

Hachette Book Group USA Web site,http://www.twbookmark.com/ (December 10, 2006), biography of Michael Sallah and Mitch Weiss.

On the Media,http://onthemedia.org/ (November 21, 2003), Brooke Gladstone, "Vietnam Coverup Uncovered," transcript of radio interview with Michael Sallah.