Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire "Flak Traps", Vietnam aviators worst nightmare.

I was just thinking about that. Your situation was totally different than an Army division or even company. It's not like you and 200+ of your friends went to one place and accomplished one objective. It was usually just you working with a few other people whom you may not have had much contact with beyond the one mission. Odds in your case aren't good that even one person is not only going to know enough, but be motivated and talented enough to write about the big picture. The fact that we've had you to write anything is pretty much a miracle.

You're probably right. When I worked with the 173rd Airborne, there were only four of us FACs. At Ban Me Thuot, six. And we always worked alone. At BMT, that meant 100 miles deep into Cambodia, often out of radio contact, and dawdling over a few thousand of our best enemies!

Miracle might apply.

I’m surprised there’s no mention of “Unit History” books for you guys.

My late brother flew out of Vinh Long airfield, south of Saigon for the 114 AHC. Red Knights.
I have of unit history book titled “Knights over the Delta. Vietnam 1963-72.
It tells the history of course and a lot of stories from those that were there.

I’m aware that some of you were involved in operations that were/are classified and therefore no written word retained to tell your stories. That’s a shame.

When my son returned from Iraq, I handed him a “book”.... copies of every email conversation we had during that time plus any newspaper clippings regarding his units deployment. They were Oregon National Guard.

A book called “The Devils Sandbox” was written detailing their tour in detail. He has that, too and a sizable pile of pictures he took. So someday, his two boys (or anyone that’s interested) can see the pictures and read about his entire tour as it happened.

I just re-read the whole thread. It's a damn shame that the Great Covidiocy prevented us from even planning a "Nammies Getogether" But if any of you are interested, I'd be delighted to hear options. I'll still propose a mid-country place like Kansas City - or someplace else that hasn't gone woke.

I'd consider looking into hosting it here in Ogden. We have Hill AF and the excellent museum there, plus the Browning Museum for times when we aren't BSing. Flights into SLC are plentiful and you can ride the trains from the airport to Ogden if you don't rent a car.

Burns can be your guest speaker...Then we can set him on fire...

Tag for later reading

In Honor of Viet Nam Veterans Day yesterday I'd like to post a thread that's related to this one where EvilTwin <ET> tells the story how FlyboyFlem ah, assisted ET and his fellow soldiers.

When I read this years ago <2011> I was awestruck by what you Soldiers did in Viet Nam. Bless All of you. I did not serve as I was a too young punk at the time and was never directed to the service by parents and so forth.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/12579839/1

Rocky, thanks for bringing this thread to the top again. I really enjoyed reading through it.

Thanks to all of you brave men and to your missing comrades for your service and sacrifices.

I’m interested, but have much background noise at present. Will join up with y’all if I can.

Rocky, after surviving six days in intensive care with Covid blood clots in both lungs almost two years ago, I'd love to be part of a meet & greet somewhere in reasonable driving distance of middle Tennessee. I'm not exactly 100% since then, but things are almost back to normal. Let's keep this thread going, or start a new one dedicated to making something happen before many more of us end up on the brown side of the grass.

I just read this whole thread. Outstanding guys. You all have my complete admiration and gratitude for all you've been through and done. I hope you can all get together soon and pull a few corks. The world would be a much lesser place without you all in it. God bless.

Bob

I feel honored just to have the ability to even read this thread, You guys that were in the deep of these operations,

My hats off to you, True warriors.

Best thread in a long time, Thank you.

Very forward conversation. Those I have known who were there only spoke bits and pieces; then only to friends. I am of your generation but did not serve. I also did not dishonor those who did. Never would and never will. In the deep South I suppose it was quite different than some other places. The long hairs and partiers I hung around with worked for a living, shot guns, hunted and fished. We listened to rock music, drank beer, ate beans greens and cornbread. No one I was around even considered being the kind of [bleep] that would give chit to warriors. Hell, we partied together.

Thank you all, and your partners, for what you gave. If ever we’re together I’ll shine your shoes.

About that "bits and pieces" comment...

It is true of all wars, but everyone's experience is unique. Each of us was but one pixel in the big picture. None of us can answer questions like "Was it worth it?" or "What was it all about?" We can only describe what happened to us.

I read somewhere that only about 10% of the people who went to Vietnam actually saw combat. If that's true, it is still very misleading. There were no battle lines in Vietnam, no "rear areas" and nowhere that was truly safe. The enemy could and did strike anywhere, from major engagements down to some cute little kid dropping a grenade into your jeep or the barber slitting your throat (both of which happened at one of my duty stations.) Rockets and artillery could strike anywhere at any time. Booby traps were everywhere. If you were there, you had reason to be fearful.

Many thanks to all of you guys for what you did. My Weekend at Padre Island when Rocky was there is one of my cherrished memories. Miles

Mine too, Miles.

Hard facts right there, and well said. I can't count the number of times I wound up face down in the dirt at 0'dark thirty to the sound of sirens or WHUMP of incoming artillery. And I know a fella that shot one of those "cute little kids" who blew up a few seconds later. And he shot the fella that gave the kid the grenade too. There was no secure ground anywhere.

It seems that we haven't learned much about our real enemies over the past couple of hundred years. The battles of the future aren't likely to happen halfway around the world. I wonder if some of our descendants will discuss what happened in Chicago, Houston, St. Louis, San Francisco, Portland, Austin, Atlanta, Washington DC, and a few other hellholes right here at home? Those of us who went to southeast Asia might have accomplished more if we'd stayed home and dealt with the politicians who hung us out to dry, declared "victory", and slunk away like the jackals that they were (and still are). Which was the worse defeat- - - -Saigon, or Afghanistan half a century later?

I have long maintained that we did win in Vietnam. Today, Vietnam has a roaring economy based on free enterprise. They are still nominally Commie, but it is capitalist in practice.

Rocky is correct. The Paris Peace Accords were signed in '73. The north ignored the accords and attacked the south after we had vacated the affair. The "loss", if you want to call it that, rests on the shoulders of what was then the South's leadership. I note the Vietnamese and Chinese have been at each other's throats for many, many years. Based on my readings this goes back to around 1,000 years ago. The Chinks have not prevailed, and in point of fact failed again shortly after the fall of the South. Today's Vietnam is much more oriented to a Capitalist endeavors than Commie.