Charles Beckwith (1929-1994) was a Colonel in the United States Army, and is most famous for creating the now legendary Delta Force. After serving as a Second Lieutenant in post-war Korea, Beckwith attended Ranger school and was assigned to Laos as a part of Operation Hotfoot. He was then sent as an exchange officer to the British SAS counter terrorism unit as a part of the Indonesian Confrontation. It was during this time that he realized the United States was lacking a specialized unit to deal with international terrorism. When he returned stateside, Beckwith wrote a report on the United States' need for a counter-terrorism unit similar to that of SAS. The Army would repeatedly turn down Beckwith's request to create such a unit. In the meantime, he was rebuilding the way 7th Special Operations Group trained based on what he had observed in Laos. Beckwith volunteered go to Vietnam where he ran Project Delta Operational Detachment B-52, a special forces recon group. Following a brief stint back in The States following a gunshot wound from a .50 caliber round, Beckwith returned to the Vietnam War serving as commander for 2nd Battalion, 327th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. In the mid-70s, as international terrorism was on the rise, Beckwith would finally be granted his wish. Delta Force was established on 17 November 1977 based on the SAS counter terrorism practices. The groups first mission Operation Eagle Claw, to rescue the staff of the American Embassy in Iran, was ultimately aborted due to failures of three of the eight helicopters. Beckwith would retire from the Army following the operation, but Delta Force remains to this day as one of the elite units of the American Armed Forces. The pistol is fitted with a replacement serrated blade front and Bo-Mar rear sight and national match internals. The front strap has been hand stippled and the mainspring housing shaved down and stippled. Included with the pistol is a custom display case with "DELTA FORCE COMMANDER/CHARLES A. BECKWITH" over the Delta Force logo on the exterior of the lid with the inside listing his command positions throughout his career and the awards he received. The interior of the case is inscribed stating the pistol was Colonel Beckwith's personal sidearm, a copy of Beckwith's book "Delta Force", and a certification from his daughter stating the pistol belonged to her father.

Very fine, as used by Delta Force Commander Colonel Charles A. Beckwith, retaining 97% professionally refinished parkerized finish with some scattered minor scratches, and an attractive plum coloration on the slide stop and mainspring housing. Grips are very fine with spots of softened checkering. Mechanically excellent. This is your opportunity to have the personal sidearm of Delta Force's original commander Charles A. Beckwith!