2nd Lieutenant Arvel Leo Acoach (Lieutenant Colonel)
Arvel L Acoach Jr was born on 19th August 1946, and was named after his dad, a WW2 veteran. He went to Arkansas Tech University and was a ROTC graduate. He enlisted on September 19th 1966 and went to vietnam as a medic with the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division at some point, as there is a reunion letter addressed to him from a squadmate of the 2/28th. He was also part of the 2nd Armoured Division as a platoon leader. The last unit he was with was the 22nd Provost Marshal Detachment, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade which was stationed in IV Corps Tactical Zone, Mekong Delta Region of South Vietnam in the Can Tho compound. He was assigned as the Detachment Operations Officer as a 1st LT on March 5th 1970. He returned to the US and was stationed lastly as a Provost Marshal at Pine Bluff Arsenal and had to provide security while the arsenal was being threatened by a violent activist group. In 1971, he requested to leave the army to join the Arkansas Police. He did so in March and trained for 6 weeks in troop school. Mr. Acoach said that his motivation to join the police force was from his dad, who was the chief of police in Arkansas for 14 years, starting after he returned from WW2. He was assigned to Troop H, and in 1975, went to the FBI academy, but returned to the Arkansas State Police later on. In 1977, he was designated as a sniper. He was simultaneously involved in the USAF starting in 1972, being in the 188th SF Squadron and the 554th Silver Flag Alpha Security Police Squadron, eventually commanding both as a Lieutenant Colonel until 1992. This involved him in the Cuban Refugee Crisis, as the 188th SF Sqdn transported some of the refugees to America. He was also present defending Fort Smith from a refugee riot with 23 other officers, and saved an officer being beaten by a cuban at Fort Smith during a different riot in June 1st 1980. Arvel was also in charge of the security of Van Denton, who along with an accomplice, murdered 2 law enforcement officers in Arkansas. He also was involved in uncovering the intentions of the CSA, a far right Christian group who were stockpiling weapons. Mr. Acoach passed away on January 22nd 2018, age 71.
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