we know the Air Assault troopers often exited helicopters without the copters setting down in a landing field.

were there any actual paratroopers deployed with parachutes from planes, or otherwise.

i was thinking there wasn't, but i could be wrong.

the Screaming Eagles were deployed.

what about the 82ndAA?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/173rd_Airborne_Brigade_Combat_Team#Vietnam_War
On 22 February 1967, the 173rd conducted Operation Junction City, the only combat parachute jump of the Vietnam War. The operation saw three brigades controlling eight battalions dropped by helicopters and US Air Force aircraft into War Zone C, in Tây Ninh Province. During the battle, the brigade operated out of the northeastern part of the war zone along with the 196th Infantry Brigade (Separate), as four other brigades from the 1st and 25th Infantry Divisions attempted to surround and destroy the 9th Viet Cong Division in the War Zone. The operation was a success, and the battered VC division fled. In August of that year, the brigade received its distinctive unit insignia. The soldiers chose to have it contain a parachute and dagger to symbolize their participation in Operation Junction City and the other heavy fighting they had been through. The DUI was also inscribed "Sky Soldiers" as homage to the nickname that the Taiwanese soldiers had given them.

Here are the jumps listed for the 82nd during that time frame.


12 Feb 1962 FTT-1 (White Star Team) Nam Beng Valley Campaign vs. Pathet Lao 12 Nam Tha Airstrip Laos Day Mass low-level tactical personnel static-line jump
2 Jan 1963 ARVN 8th Airborne Battalion w/ 2 US MACV "Red Hat" Advisors Battle of Ap Bac 302 Ap Tan Thoi South Vietnam 7 C-123 Day, Mass low-level tactical personnel static-line jump
1964 Belgian 1st Parachute Battalion (+) Dragon Rouge 324 Stanleyville Airport Congo C-130 Day Mass low-level tactical personnel static-line jump Equipment/supplies air-delivered: gun jeeps, crew-served machine guns. USAF aircraft delivered Belgian/mercenary paratroopers.
22 Feb 1967 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate): 2nd and 3rd Battalions (Airborne), 503rd Infantry; 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 319th Field Artillery Junction City 845 Katum South Vietnam C-123, C-130 Day Mass low-level tactical personnel static-line jump Equipment/supplies air-delivered: Gun MULEs (M274s), 105mm artillery pieces. Jumped at 0900 hours on 22 February 1967.
2 Apr 1967 A-503 and A-344, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces; MIKE Force Battalion Harvest Moon 356 Bunard, Phouc Long "Happy Dragon" Province South Vietnam C-130 Day Mass low-level tactical personnel static-line jump.
5 Oct 1967 B Company, II CTZ MIKE Force Battalion; Pathfinder Detachment Blue Max 374 Bu Prang CIDG Camp, Quang Duc "Great Virtue" Province South Vietnam C-130 Day Mass low-level tactical personnel static-line jump. Pathfinder Detachment consisted of 12 US Special Forces peronnel and 37 ARVN Special Forces (LLDB) personnel. B Company, II CTZ MIKE Force Battalion consisted of 50 Special Forces Personnel and 275 ARVN Special Forces (LLDB) and indigenous personnel.
1968-73? Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) Airborne Studies Group (SOG 36) Eldest Son, Italian Green, Pole Bean North Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia C-130E Combat Talon Operations to sabotage enemy ammunition supply. Included 13 separate static-line jumps. SOG commandos won 10 Medals of Honor.
28 Nov 1970 RT Florida, Command and Control North (CCN), Military Assistance Command ,Vietnam - Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG) Ground Studies Group (SOG 34) 9 Ho Chi Minh Trail section Laos C-130E Combat Talon Team consisting of 2 American personnel, one ARVN officer, and 6 "Montagnard" troopers. High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) jump from 17,000 to 21,000 feet with oxygen, between 0001-0300 hours. Objective to close the Ho Chi Minh trail by calling in air strikes. Individually extracted with by helicopter using STABO (Stabilized Tactical Airborne Operation) rig. First men to receive combat stars on HALO wings. Formerly classified.
7 May 1971 RT Alaska, Command and Control North (CCN), Military Assistance Command ,Vietnam - Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG) Ground Studies Group (SOG 34) 4 Ashau Valley, near Laotian Highway 921 Laos C-130E Combat Talon Objective to close the Ho Chi Minh tral by calling in air strikes. Formerly classified.
22 Jun 1971 Team One Zero, Military Assistance Command ,Vietnam - Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG) Ground Studies Group (SOG 34) 4 60 miles southwest of Danang Southeast Asia C-130E Combat Talon Objective to close the Ho Chi Minh tral by calling in air strikes. Formerly classified.
22 Sep 1971 Team Storter, Military Assistance Command ,Vietnam - Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG) Ground Studies Group (SOG 34) 4 Plei Trap Valley, northwest of Pleiku Southeast Asia C-130E Combat Talon Objective to close the Ho Chi Minh tral by calling in air strikes. Formerly classified.
11 Oct 1971 RT Wisconsin, Command and Control Central (CCC), Military Assistance Command ,Vietnam - Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG) Ground Studies Group (SOG 34) 10 25 miles southwest of Pleiku in the La Drang Valley Southeast Asia C-130E Combat Talon Team consisting of 5 Americans and 5 "Montagnard" troopers. Objective to close the Ho Chi Minh tral by calling in air strikes. Formerly classified.

The Fifth Special Forces Group, Airborne had an officially recognized jump school in RSVN.
It was at Det. B51 in Dong Ba Thin.
All branches sent trainees there to get jump qualified.

The 5th trained their Mike Force (Montagnards) there.
Quite the picture.
Imagine emptying a Caribou load of cadets out of the door in under 10 seconds at 2500 feet.
Lots of wrecks in the sky.

Of course any other jumps made by the 5SFGA were classified.
A Secret Security Clearance was required to serve with them.

The French jumped into Dien Bien Phu.

The French made over 300 combat jumps in Indochine between 1946 and 1954.

i've never understood in my feeble mind why the 101st and 82'nd didn't stop the flow along the ho chi minh trail. i ain't never had no AIT trng, but looking at the map could alert one to the inflow/influx of foreign intervention, and how best to stop the flow.

oh well, that game is over, it's closed, and thanks to Nixon we're getting our tv's from those folks.

MACV, SOG had a lot of them, behind the lines

I knew a fellow over in Payette, ID who was in the 101st and had made at least one combat jump. Don't know the details of time or place but it was a hot landing area and as he was drifting down a bullet creased his fingers holding onto the riser. He had a little straight line scar across his first three fingers.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail went through Laos, and according to the Paris Accords, we were not allowed to have combat troops in Laos.

This link shows US Airborne Operations throughout history. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/airborne-jumps.htm

My judo coach who was 5SF lived and worked with the Montagnards.

The Montagnards are quite cool people. Unfortunately they suffered about like the American Natives.
All they wanted was to be left alone. A couple of the highest honors in my life was given me by Montagnards.
I hate to think of what they have struggled through. I wonder what their status is today, now that everything is
OK with our "friends" in Vietnam.

Tim, I certainly would to like to hear a little more about how you came into those honors from the Montagnards and your other experiences there

Have wanted to ask you several times and meant to--just got lost in those conversations about knives, fishing & hunting...

I agree. People like Tim are what makes the 'Fire so great!

thanks. very informative.

My coach speaks very highly of the Montagnards.

They were good people.

Tom
There are others with more and much better stories than I.
But for a breakfast, I can let you in on my time over there.
I was a draftee who got a LOT of great breaks.
You do not see many US service numbers in the 5th SFGA
Thanks goes out to all those who served any where, any time.
Tim

Too many damn trees!

The current (April 2019) issue of VFW magazine has a story of the Montagnards and a new "Central Highlands" community near Asheville, NC. A lot of SF vets in NC due to the JFK Center at Ft. Bragg.

good info. is that going to be a homeland village, or maybe structured to be a tourist attraction? i wasn't aware of that. we go to the asheville area quite a bit.

Damn. How does one jump into triple canopy jungle? Even flooded rice paddys for that matter.

Much respect.

SOG used smokejumper gear for some of their jumps.

hadn't heard of that. do you have a bit of further explanation?

John Plaster has a couple of books about SOG, Franklin Miller has one called "Reflections of a Warrior" and Charles Simpson wrote "Inside the Green Berets".

It was mentioned in one of those, I don't remember which book or books I read it in.

When I was at FT Lewis in the mid 2000's my Company sent a few guys to the smokejumper school.

Breakfast it is, Tim

Name the time--trusting the place is the same...:)

A week ago, could have dog-paddled up there.

It is a village complete with a long house. I can't recall the number of inhabitants. It is supported by many ex-SF guys.

Being a retired paratrooper, and former proud member of the 2d Battalion (Abn) 503d Inf, this subject of jumps is near and dear to my heart. Being a former member of the 2-503, I have some insights, rumors, innuendo, or whatever we choose to call it here. That said, we were always told that the 2-503 had a very interesting history in that it was the only unit ever to be in two places at the same time, North Africa and the Pacific. History was revised after the fact to change the designation of the 2-503 in Africa to the 2-509. I don't know how long after the fact or if it was indeed redesignated prior to the jumps into Tunisia and Algieria, BUT, the 2-503 was constituted from the original "Test Platoon" and sent to Scotland and from there to the jumps into North Africa as the 2-503. We were told this as members of the unit. In fact my jump wings were pinned onto my chest by the first enlisted man to jump from a plane, PFC Robert N. (Red) King, a former member of the test platoon, and the 2-503. Just thought that I would pass that along. The 2-503 is a very proud unit with much history. So much history that it holds it's own reunions in addition to the reunions of the 173 Airborne Brigade. I was in the 2-503 during the 11years it was in the 101st Airborne Division. It also had a short stint in the 2d Infantry Division in Korea. during the Regimental alignments in the early to mid 1980's before the 173d was reconstituted.

Wouldn't mind joining you if you have room for a third.

cf

Most were air assaults (helicopter) not jumps... only one that would come anywhere close to what one might think of as like in WW2. Very few had any great numbers of troops, and most of those left will never be spoke of.

Here's a list of those that we will own up to... U.S. jumps in combat zones.

Link


Phil