Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Campfire Vietnam stories revisited

With the advent of the Burn's documentary this evening I feel it's only proper for you SEA friends to give up some of your experiences [ stretching the truth a little is acceptable ] whether before a mentioned or not... I've been around for several years now and have been fortunate to call many of you my friends but there are also those of you I don't know well.. So if you'd be so kind to share your timeline,locations A/O locations combat related or not it would be most appreciated..No branch of service was exempt nor were invisible lines on a map separating adjoining countries not involved, therefore this evening as I watch I'll be thinking about ET and our joint adventure on and above Hill 474 in the An Lao valley...,Many thanks to all of you for your service under the most undesirable circumstances imaginable !

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",Many thanks to all of you for your service under the most undesirable circumstances imaginable !"

No kidding. You generation taught mine well. Thanks for your sacrifices and I am so sorry that idiots have unsettled the country and wrecked your homecoming.

Lest We Forget.

Jan '67-Feb '68 9th Div air-mobile 105 howitzers out of Rach Kien, about 20 miles SSE of Saigon. Extending my tour for 39 days (to get early out) placed me there for the big TET offensive.

Ever since I was a child I've had a very special place in my heart for Vietnam war veterans. I was born in 1971 so it's not a vivid memory but I remember my mom, dad and grandparents telling me how poorly our vets were treated. My dad was army post Korea and my grandpa was army during WWII and they'd have tears when telling me stories about our boys coming home and being spit on. I think that those stories are what fundamentally formed my opinions on leftists and veterans. I've bought more drinks for vets than I've bought for "friends" and I still want to kick every leftist in the throat so my early opinions haven't changed, they've merely been reinforced over the decades.

To all of you that served in that unpopular war I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I never fail to tear up when our friends here offer remembrances to their friends that made the ultimate sacrifice and as long as I draw a breath they won't be forgotten.

9/65-5/66 Bravo 229th AHB Bien Hoa, RSVN, door gunner ass & trash hauler. 4 trips in and out of LZ X-Ray on that first fateful day.

Spent a night in the bush with a few grunts on another hill so the chopper could haul the last wounded guy out. Burned up a bunch of belted 7.62 than night!

Set off a good sized mine with a commo jeep , it broke a bunch of my bones and gave me the gift of gas gangrene in the back of my left hand, ended up spending 6 months in the hospital, 5 surgeries on my hand then honorably discharged COG for medical reasons.

Well said. My sentiments exactly.

Thank you gentleman. Thank you very much.

As for me my timeline was early '69-'70 ..PhuCat AB RSVN. One of the newer AFB's constructed with heavily defended perimeters afforded by a complement of ROK grunts and a very noisy 105 battery ..Although heavily defended we still managed to be a 10 ring for Russian 122mm rockets and of course the biggest threat from coordinated motar attacks...I was a 21 year old junior NCO with only a few months time in grade,Spooky gunner/loader sometime flare kicker fresh from gunship training at Eglin AFB Florida,specifically Hurlburt Field West of Mary Ester home of the 4th SOS. Many stories come to mind of our CAS missions but as I previously mentioned the battle with ET { Jim } was one of the most memorable since we ran into each other here on the Fire after 41 years.

Most sobering for me was to learn just prior to my arrival we had two AC-47's bagged on the same day by NVA and VC forces during what was sometimes called the 'Little Tet" which changed our rules of engagement and overall combat flight OPS.. What I'm most proud of is the reference to our AC-47 experience.."No outpost or village under gunship protection was ever lost to the enemy." .We shared and owned the CAS skies in those days with Army "Snakes",Huey's and the small but highly maneuverable LOACH. and of course the Navy A1-E "Spad" and USAF "Sandy's"
Our aircrews really had it made after combat,back home good chow ,a warm dry bunk and cold beer at the club..I always felt bad for you grunts after returning from a mission to these luxuries..maybe not

Hey there Woody. Nice to see your smiling face here. Always enjoy your tales. At the time, I regretted not being allowed to visit over there, but now, I'm just as glad I did not.

Didn't know this about you Terry. Your stock just went up in my book...if thats possible.

Kudos.

Thanks Sam looking forward to finally shaking your hand in a few weeks.Remind me to show you a special 7.62 case I wear around my neck at all hunting trips.

I never did resent the protesters in any way. I came to the realization before I left the states that my friends were being killed for nothing. I knew that Viet Nam posed no threat to me nor anything important to me. Did the protesters get their fondest wish and the war was ended yesterday, nothing bad was going to happen and a whole lot of good would. Being in a very critical MOS I was held until the last minute and consequently flew into an AFB in Davis, Ca. I knew better than to leave for San Francisco in uniform so I had my fiance pick me up and drove there in civvies. I came back to Minnesota, put it all behind me and got on with my life.

When I first enlisted my PSG was a vietnam vet. That was back in 1989, because of you the public has been very much changed and great to us WOT vets. Your generation of Combat Vets have my greatest respect and admiration.

Thank you and God be will you.

May '71 to April 72', USRVICCV Long Bien. Was inspector general for computer supply systems from DMZ to Siagon. Sounded like a fun job when it was offered to me. Then I found out where all these computer systems were and realized why no officer wanted the job. Ha! Even knowing what I would go through, I would proudly do it again. ( At that age, of course.)

And yes, I was on the first flight out of Nam to land in Seattle.We landed at two in the morning and were met by angry people blaming us for killing women and children and in general being terrible people. Two weeks later I was in college, summer session, listening to my professors talk about how horrible our being in VN was. Interesting learning experience.

Thanks to everyone that honorably served from any branch and at any time.

I was a Loadmaster on C-130E's in RVN. Volunteered for two tours.

I loved the C-130's

My car..



This happened to one of the crews in our squadron...

They ALL lived in this one, but many others didn't... I vividly remember seeing the flash that killed 13 guys in the 50th at CCK when one of our planes augered in, 600 feet short in a bad fog.

Kaboom at Katum


God rest the souls that didn't get to come home

My FIL got plucked from flying bush planes to Kodiak and found himself in SE Asia from 1970-75. He flew for Air America and then spent his career flying for the US government in one form or fashion. He's been shot down a number of times in fixed and rotary wing aircraft. His Alzheimer's is such that we spend a lot of time talking about the old days since those are most deeply imbedded in his memory. If he'd have never gone I'd have never met my wife.

Ho Li......me and Terry were in the same unit, just different times.

B/2/17th Air Cav - May '69 thru Apr '70 Aero Scouts/Guns. I Corps
HHT/2/17th Air Cav - May '71 thru Feb '72 Slicks; I Corps
F/9th Air Cav - Mar '72 thru Apr '72; Aero Scouts; 3 Corps
B/229th AHC - Apr '72 thru Sep '72; Slicks/Night Hawk; 1 & 3 Corps
F/7/17th Air Cav - Sep '72- Dec '72; Aero Scouts/Slicks; 2 Corps
USA - Dec '72 - Present; REMF

DigitalDan, First thanks for your service! What are slicks versus aero?

They were all lucky that day.

You should read Dan's story. It's posted here on the fire, maybe Dan will share a link to it.

Slicks are Hueys. We used to say Slicks are for kids. After a ride to the Evac Hospital a fellow wouldn't say that. Slick crews had big balls.

Maybe someone has a thread link on the story, I can't find it and am limited to a cell phone at present because of Irma.