View Full Version : The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975.
The war was fought between the communist North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other member nations of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).
The Vietcong, the lightly armed South Vietnamese communist insurgency, largely fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region.
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A Marine from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, moves a Viet Cong suspect to the rear during a search and clear operation held by the battalion 15 miles west of Da Nang Air Base.
The North Vietnamese Army engaged in a more conventional war, at times committing large-sized units into battle. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search-and-destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery and air strikes.
The United States entered the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment. Military advisors arrived beginning in 1950. U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s and combat units were deployed beginning in 1965. Involvement peaked in 1968 at the time of the Tet Offensive. Despite a peace treaty signed by all parties in January 1973, fighting continued.
In April 1975, North Vietnam captured Saigon. North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year.
The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, including 3 to 4 million Vietnamese from both sides, 1.5 to 2 million Laotians and Cambodians, and 58,159 U.S. soldiers.
1st Lieutenant Henry Shelton on patrol along the Vietnamese border, 1967.
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KG AirborneBob
I served with then Brigadier General Shelton when I was with the 101st in Iraq during Desert Storm. I had to brief him daily on the maintenance status of vehicles for redeployment after the war. he was a very intelligent and thorough Assistant Division Commander, I guess thats why they made him the Chief of Staff of the Army several years ago.http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/thefgmforum/../FGMForum/images/smilies/beerglass.gif
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French Indochina
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Nam
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GENERAL TRUONG
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"General Truong was capable of commanding an American division." - Gen. Creighton Abrams, commander of U.S. military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972.
It's essential in war to study the map and visualise a Big Picture in your mind of how the battle will go, as the following extract from Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf 's autobiog "It Doesn't Take a Hero" illustrates, in which he says (page 158) the "most brilliant tactical commander i'd ever known" was Col. Ngo Quang Truong of the South Vietnamese Army who had the ability to see the big picture.
Schwarzkopf was a Major at the time and worked closely with him in Nam.
"He did not look like my idea of a military genius" says Schwarzkopf, "only five feet seven,in his mid-forties,very skinny...yet he was revered by his troops and feared by those North Vietnamese commanders who knew his ability...it was fascinating to watch him operate.
As we marched, he would stop to study the map, indicate a position and say "fire artillery here". I was skeptical at first but called in the barrages; when we reached the area we found bodies. Simply by visualising the terrain and drawing on his experience fighting the enemy for 15 years,Truong showed an uncanny ability to predict what they were going to do.
When we set up our command post that night, Truong opened his map, lit a cigarette and outlined his battle plan. The strip of jungle between our position on the ridges and the river, he explained, made a natural corridor - the route the NVA would most likely take.
He said 'At dawn we will send out one battalion and put it here on our left as a blocking force between the ridge and the river. Around 8 o'clock tomorrow morning they will make a big enemy contact.
Then i will send another battalion here to our right. They will make contact at about 11 o'clock.
I want you to have your artillery ready to fire into this area in front of us, and then we will attack with our 3rd and 4th battalions down toward the river. The enemy will then be trapped with the river at his back.'
"I'd never heard anything like this at West Point.." said Schwarzkopf.
The battle went exactly to plan, and Schwarzkopf writes "We'd scored a decisive victory!"
(PS-Truong later emigrated to Virginia and died there in Jan 2007)
Wikipedia- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngo_Quang_Truong
VC TUNNEL COMPLEX
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US 'tunnel rats' go down
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Recently watched a movie called The Tunnel Rats which was released last year... not much of a story but full of action and very very gory. At one stage an American Tunnel Rat gets attacked by the VC one coming from the front and the other from behind. He kills them both but finds himself stuck in the tiny tunnel as the 2 bodies are blocking either way..... needless to say he has to cut one up into tiny bits to get by it... very gruesome.
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http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RmEuGECjMls
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Vietnam: Cpt Robert Bacon 1964
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CHARLIE
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CLICK- http://www.nexus.net/~911gfx/sea-ao.html (http://www.nexus.net/%7E911gfx/sea-ao.html)
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Vietnamese commandos winkling out a Vietminh rebel, French Indochina War 1953
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S.Vietnam troops, Mekong Delta 1962
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Airstrike, Nam 1962
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HO CHI MINH
"Whoever should wish to seize Vietnam must kill us to the last man"-Ho Chi Minh
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captured Vietcong 1962
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Caption-"Wounded Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jeremiah Purdie (center) being led past stricken comrade after fierce firefight for control of Hill 484 during the Vietnam war, 1966"
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Three dead Vietcong lie in the street after battle with S. Vietnam troops.
"You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours,
but even at those odds, you will lose and I will win." -Ho Chi Minh
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PT-76, Vietnam
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U.S. Hawk SAM battery, Vietnam
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Near Da Nang, 1965
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"The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. The American military did not lose a battle of any consequence. From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance"- Prof. Douglas Pike, University of California, Berkeley
Nam 1966
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Vietnamese veteran Nguyen Van Mai in front of a sculpture made from the wreckage of U.S. Air Force planes shot down during the Vietnam War, at a museum in Hanoi April 30, 2009
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Hueys
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1966
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Vietcong prisoners, Mekong Delta 1967
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US Marines, Nam 68
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"American soldiers of 1st Batt. 26th Inf., 1st Div. man a machine gun from a concealed position during Operation Junction City. Nam, March 1967"
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Vietnam,uncaptioned
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Nam, no caption
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no caption, Nam
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Marines, Nam 1966
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uncaptioned
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French base, Nam 1954
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French base, Nam 1954
I sent this pic below to the Royal School of Artillery (Larkhill,England) asking if they knew what the holes are for, and this was their reply--
"Dear Sir,
Thank you for recent enquiry regarding the holes depicted in the Vietnam gun position. Whilst I am unable to give an official or authoritive answer, I have canvassed opinion amongst a number of personnel within the school and the general consensus is as that suggested by the RA Museum, viz personal protection for gun crew from incoming fire. It is believed the holes would have been mechanically drilled hence the regular size.
Regards,
David Geddes
Admin Manager
HQ RSA"
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French convoy, Nam 1954
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(http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/thefgmforum/../FGMForum/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=15117)
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Pic at FB Alpine, I Corp 1969
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Pic at OP Ben, I Corp, FSB Rockpile partially obscured behind the Marine 1969
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Heli door gunner over Mekong Delta 1967
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'THE THREE SOLDIERS'
Vietnam War Memorial sculpture, Washington DC
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Vietnam Womens Memorial, Washington DC
(nurses tending soldier)
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"Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names"- Proverb
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Vietnam 1961
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French Indochina
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French Indochina
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Soc Trang 1963
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1963
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Mekong Delta 1963
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1963
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Nam 1964
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Nam 1969
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Table set for officers' dinner at French post in Red River Delta area. After eating, post suffered night long attacking by the enemy.
Phulo, Vietnam. 1950.
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Agent Orange goes in
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Charlie v US air
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US air v Charlie
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CtEvMIImOc
B-52 shot down, Hanoi 1972
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PoorOldSpike
11-21-2009, 10:14
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/6574/namchopp.jpg
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/Non%20WW2/viet_026.jpg
PoorOldSpike
03-17-2010, 03:53
US Marines, Mekong Delta 1967
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/Photos/Nam1967.jpg
PoorOldSpike
03-17-2010, 03:54
US Marines land at Kien Hoa 1967
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PoorOldSpike
04-02-2010, 10:58
Excellent Nam map site here-
http://www.rjsmith.com/topo_map.html
PoorOldSpike
05-31-2010, 20:44
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Tourist
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PoorOldSpike
07-12-2010, 13:07
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PoorOldSpike
08-07-2010, 23:45
"The Wall"
"Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names"- Anon
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PoorOldSpike
01-09-2011, 09:11
Nam 66
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PoorOldSpike
01-29-2011, 05:21
M551 Sheridan
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ACSpectre
01-29-2011, 07:32
75th Rangers in Vietnam
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American soldiers of 2nd Batt, 503rd Airborne Inf., 173rd Airborne Div.gear up for a long range patrol during Operation Junction City.- March 1967
ACSpectre
02-01-2011, 05:21
The Battle of Hue
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A Vietnamese man with a the body of his dead child asks for help from rather disinterested South Vietnamese soldiers
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John Lennon and Yoko Ono pose on the steps of the Apple building in London, holding one of the posters that they distributed to the world's major cities as part(1940 - 198 of a peace campaign protesting against the Vietnam War. "'War Is Over, If You Want It'.
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Members of the 101st Airborne Division take photographs during the Bob Hope Christmas Show at Camp Eagle in Vietnam on December 23rd, 1970.
PoorOldSpike
04-28-2011, 05:18
B-52 over Nam
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M37Cs in an armory in Viet Nam. On the left are Browning .50 caliber.-
Pic at FB Alpine, I Corp 1969
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Pic at OP Ben, I Corp, FSB Rockpile partially obscured behind the Marine 1969
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These pics are of me while I was still a Grunt, before I picked up the Facman duties.
"The Wall"
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The first time I ever saw this painting, I was moved to uncontrollable tears. It still speaks volumes to me, as 'The Wall' is an aspect of my life that words cannot adequately describe.
7002
Vietnamese Graves along roadside, Quang Tri Province, 1969
Thanks for sharing Facman.
700370047005
1st Bn 4th Rgt 3rd Marine Div
My combat lineage.
7007
'Leatherneck Corner'
PoorOldSpike
05-29-2011, 15:59
Nam Huey pilot Robert Mason is the author of the classic autobiog 'Chickenhawk'-
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And his website is here (including the first 4 chapters of the book)- http://www.robertcmason.com/
I gave him an FGM link in early 2011 and asked him if he'd like to answer questions about his time as a Huey pilot in Vietnam and he kindly emailed me back with-
"Hi Mick. Sure, send me some questions.
Best,
Robert Mason"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(POS)-Hi Mr. Mason, Thanks for kindly agreeing to answer some chatty questions for the Few Good Men military discussion club, I've just read Chickenhawk again for the second time (the first was about 20 years ago). Incidentally I'm 62 and spent 1965/ 66 working in a boring warehouse here in England while you were having fun in Vietnam..
Okay here goes-
When you joined the army to be taught to fly helos at no financial cost to yourself (smart move), Nam hadn't yet flared up bigtime, but suppose the war was raging, would you still have joined up knowing you were going to get sent there and shot at?
Incidentally,about how many other Cav/Prospector pilots joined just to be taught how to fly?
(RM)- It probably wouldn't have made any difference. I remember seeing a Newsweek magazine which showed a helicopter crewchief in Vietnam (1962) with a couple of captured VC. I recall thinking how advanced we were compared to the Vietnamese. How dangerous could it be? I think that goes for most of my comrades. You just can't see the danger when your of a certain age. Until you get there.
(POS)- When you got to Nam and began getting shot at, did you ever think "What the hell have I got myself into?", and feel any resentment towards yourself, the Army and the world in general, or did you take it philosophically and just decide to ride out your tour without complaining?
(RM)-I complained all the time. I was the worse team player you can imagine. I did the job, but I bitched the whole way.
(POS)- How did Patience, her parents and your parents feel about the Army sending you into harms way? I mean, there must have been Army helo pilots flying in different parts of the world and even within the US homeland, so why weren't you assigned to somewhere like that instead of Nam?
(RM)-Patience was for our foray into Vietnam while I was against it, politically speaking. She later changed her mind when I started sending her letters.
(POS)- For about half (?) your year-long tour, you and most of your Cav pilot colleagues were without chest protectors, yet other units (Prospectors) always had more than enough.
Didn't you or your Cav mates ever get mad and feel like raising hell about the shortage, as obviously it was caused by some incompetent admin foulup.
(RM)- We complained, but it's difficult to know to whom to complain in an organization the size of the US Army. Besides, we didn't know other units had them until we were assigned to them later.
(POS)- Why didn't your superior officers do something to put it right? (Personally I'd have been so mad I'd have been in a permanent state of near-mutiny and done stuff like leaking the story to the media and continually bellyaching to the brass).
I'd have even somehow made my own chest protector (a slab of thick steel) hung around my neck and buttoned under my flight suit. I might even have put another slab under a cushion to sit on.
(RM)- They did try to get us the armor. The officers who could've gotten the armor were met with a wall of bureaucracy that claimed the stuff was just lost in the vast supply line and would turn up any day. So, the belief that the chest protectors were on the way, just delayed, kept us going. Besides, it's a war, right? I thought armored helmets would be smart, too, but they were never made. These days the helos are armored quite well, but a Huey wouldn't get off the ground with the armor they carry on a Blackhawk, for example.
(POS)- Presumably not all pilots were married with children, so looking back, do you think they were the ones who handled combat stress better?
I mean, married guys such as yourself must have had the huge extra worry of staying alive for your family.
(I remember when my elderly mother was alive, I used to be extra careful while cycling to work in case I got trashed in a road accident because always at the back of my mind was the thought that I had to stay alive for her. When she died, I felt that heavy 'must stay alive' burden lifted from my shoulders)
(RM)- I don't think that was the case. I think everyone, single or otherwise, had family they would not like to abandon by dying prematurely.
(POS)- What was your personal life philosophy during your time in Nam? Was it christian-based, scientology-based, hindu-based or whatever?
How about your pilot mates, what was their philo outlook too?
(RM)- We had the usual mix of religious and agnostics. I was, and am, clueless about higher powers, etc. I did offer up some pleas for help when I was in the middle of some shit. Foxhole religion, I guess.
(POS)- You were offered a switch to gunships in the Prospectors, but you preferred staying with unarmed slicks, any particular reason? At least with guns you could have given Charlie some payback instead of just sitting and passively taking it in slicks.
(RM)- The reason we wanted (Resler) to stay with slicks was for purely superstitious reasons. There was no logic in this decision, of course. We just had survived doing what we did, and didn't want to change it. Probably we were safer in the slick job because we were very good at it with lots of experience by the time we got to the Blue Stars (Prospectors). Don't change horses mid-stream?
(POS)- You were only in your 20's, so looking back do you think your lack of life experience added to the stress?
I mean, suppose you were sent to Nam as a mature 40-plus years of age, do you think you'd have handled it better?
If you could reach back through time to Nam and give that young kid called Bob Mason any fatherly advice, what would it be?
(RM)- No, as a matter of fact, the older guys seemed to suffer more (I'm too old for this shit?). Cpt Morris, for example, was a nervous wreck about the tight formation flying, the night formation flying, the refueling chaos, etc. And he died of a bullet in the heart. It didn't matter. Certainly that was a demonstration to us that it didn't matter how cool or how stressed you were taking all this shit, bullets are the great equalizers. The key to your reaction to stress was whether you cared or not. I cared, I paid.
Best wishes,
Robert Mason
PoorOldSpike
05-29-2011, 16:12
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Excellent interview POS.... very well thought out questions.
Im saddened by his choice of 'Chickenhawk' as a call sign, I would have rather that 'nom de guerre' be reserved for the likes of the real Chickenhawks, i.e.; like Dick Cheney and his ilk. I didnt work with UH-1s very often, as the USMC mainstay during my ToD was the CH-46, but I did get to call in a few 'Dustoffs' (medevacs) using the 'Doggie' (Army) choppers. One good thing about the 'Doggie' pilots (usually WOs), they would come into my LZ, 'Hot or Cold' to get my boys out. That wasn't always the case with USMC choppers, whose pilots were always officers and probably concerned with their careers (doesnt look good to crash equip on your record).
PoorOldSpike
05-29-2011, 22:26
Im saddened by his choice of 'Chickenhawk' as a call sign..
Yeh but perhaps in the 1960's it had a different connotation, i'll ask Mason if he gets back to me, I gave him a link to this thread.
In fact I think he touches on the word in his book, i'll go through the pages and try to root it out again, I seem to vaguely remember he chose it as a self-deprecating gesture to remind the world he was no hero but was as scared as any other regular guy..
Yeh but perhaps in the 1960's it had a different connotation, i'll ask Mason if he gets back to me, I gave him a link to this thread.
In fact I think he touches on the word in his book, i'll go through the pages and try to root it out again, I seem to vaguely remember he chose it as a self-deprecating gesture to remind the world he was no hero but was as scared as any other regular guy..
I suspect you are correct. Its too bad the significance of a white feather would be lost on these cowards.
Facman at work (original pic from which my avatar was cropped)
7037
If you look closely, you might be able to see the steel cajones of the only one to be standing in the open...
Interesting pic,thanks for sharing.
7038
Facman
Quang Tri Province, RVN
A sign at the 2nd Squardon (one of three squadrons) of the 11th ACR or in military short hand 2/11
The 11th was one of the participants in Operation Cedar Falls in early 1967. The plan was to shut down the communist base in Binh Duong province, which is better known as the Iron Triangle. But the Vietcong tactics were to withdraw rather then to confront the enemy and the area was taken and destroyed without the anticipated resistance.
The US actually wanted to engage the Vietcong in large-scale battles to be able to take advantage of their superior firepower.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/Capture-81.jpg
Dutch Grenadier
06-24-2011, 17:23
These pics are of me while I was still a Grunt, before I picked up the Facman duties.
What is Facman duty?
About the wall. Mind me asking how many of your friend are on it? I lost a few buddies in Afghanistan so I know the feeling.
What is Facman duty?
I was responsible for all air operations involving my Company. Calling in Medevacs, transport, airstrikes and aerial observation missions. I also supervised the construction and maintenance of LZs. Prepared helo teams for insertion/extraction, and ran the air ops in and out of my LZs. The pic above, is of me bringing a chopper on to my LZ.
About the wall. Mind me asking how many of your friend are on it?
I couldn't tell you the exact number, probably close to a dozen from my unit, but there is one that was my best Buddy...
Doc
7094
The description of his passing on the memorial was provided by me, as I was watching from about 10 ft behind him when he went to the otherside. He gave his life attempting to save a wounded machine gunner (Byars). He shall live in my memory forever as a hero for his actions that day. It took me 35 years to find his family and tell them the story of his heroism.
http://www.virtualwall.org/do/OverstreetDD01a.htm
Thanks for sharing Facman.... and through forums like this his name is still spoken, not forgotten. Now we all know what 'Doc' did.
Dutch Grenadier
06-24-2011, 19:12
I was responsible for all air operations involving my Company. Calling in Medevacs, transport, airstrikes and aerial observation missions. I also supervised the construction and maintenance of LZs. Prepared helo teams for insertion/extraction, and ran the air ops in and out of my LZs. The pic above, is of me bringing a chopper on to my LZ.
A right. We call those FAC'ers (Forward Air Controllers). I believe thats the NATO callsign and the US army uses this callsign aswell.
I couldn't tell you the exact number, probably close to a dozen from my unit, but there is one that was my best Buddy...
Doc
7094
The description of his passing on the memorial was provided by me, as I was watching from about 10 ft behind him when he went to the otherside. He gave his life attempting to save a wounded machine gunner (Byars). He shall live in my memory forever as a hero for his actions that day. It took me 35 years to find his family and tell them the story of his heroism.
http://www.virtualwall.org/do/OverstreetDD01a.htm
My deepest respect!
Although I'm a vet its nothing compared to what you guys went trough. I did not fight in a war. We, the Dutch Army, were in Afghanistan for "peacekeeping". Thats different. I went to Bosnia twice and witnessed the aftermath of the war. I witnessed alot of shit and fought many battle's. I saw a few IED strike's but still thats nothing compared to war!
Like I said earlier I'm pro USA and I support your troops!
I do find it very brave that you went looking for his family to tell the story of his herioc deed. Indeed Bootie trough forums like these men like him will never be forgotten! :rip:
Private First Class Milton L. Cook is ready to fire his M-60 machine gun into a wooded area from which sniper fire had been received 10 miles northeast of Cu Chi, Vietnam. He is a member of the 25th infantry division. April 17, 1967
The M60 was is a 10.4 kilo, belt-fed machine gun capable of firing 600 rounds per minute at a range of 900 meters. It served as the basic infantry platoon automatic weapon and was also mounted on a number of vehicles including helicopters.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/Capture-82.jpg
http://www.thefewgoodmen.com/thefgmforum/album.php?albumid=74
Battalion Seas Arriving in South Vietnam
An amphibious task group of Second Battalion, Third Marines lands along the coast of South Vietnam, 15 miles north of Hue on July 20th, 1967. The Amtracks transported the Marines from landing ships in the South China Sea to the assault beach.
This mission called "Bear Chain" operation was the thirty-fourth assault that Pacific Fleet Amphibious Force ships had launched on the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong positions in South Vietnam, since March 1965.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/Capture-84.jpg
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/6_RAR_National_Servicemen_1966.jpg
Unknown photographer Enoggera, Queensland 1966 Members of 8 platoon, C Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, in the battalion lines at Enoggera, Queensland, prior to deployment to Vietnam in May 1966. From left: 2781803 Private Rodney Cox of Ganmain, NSW; 2781794 Private Gordon Stafford of Gunnedah, NSW; 2781823 Private Neil (Pop) Baker of Newcastle, NSW; 2781790 Private Mark (Scrub) Minell of Moree, NSW; 2781809 Private Graham Irvine of Coolamon, NSW. All five men were called up in the first intake of national service in July 1965. Note the protective steel helmets with camouflage netting, usually worn by Australian infantry on operations in areas known to have been mined by the enemy.
A South Vietnamese soldier holds a cocked pistol as he questions two suspected Viet Cong guerrillas captured in a weed-filled marsh in the southern delta region late in August 1962. The prisoners were searched, bound and questioned before being marched off to join other detainees.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam001.jpg
A U.S. crewman runs from a crashed CH-21 Shawnee troop helicopter near the village of Ca Mau in the southern tip of South Vietnam, Dec. 11, 1962. Two helicopters crashed without serious injuries during a government raid on the Viet Cong-infiltrated area. Both helicopters were destroyed to keep them out of enemy hands.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam002.jpg
A Helmeted U.S. Helicopter Crewchief, holding carbine, watches ground movements of Vietnamese troops from above during a strike against Viet Cong Guerrillas in the Mekong Delta Area, January 2, 1963. The communist Viet Cong claimed victory in the continuing struggle in Vietnam after they shot down five U.S. helicopters. An American officer was killed and three other American servicemen were injured in the action.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam003.jpg
Flying at dawn, just over the jungle foliage, U.S. C-123 aircraft spray concentrated defoliant along power lines running between Saigon and Dalat in South Vietnam, early in August 1963. The planes were flying about 130 miles per hour over steep, hilly terrain, much of it believed infiltrated by the Viet Cong.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam006.jpg
General William Westmoreland talks with troops of first battalion, 16th regiment of 2nd brigade of U.S. First Division at their positions near Bien Hoa in Vietnam, 1965.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam009.jpg
The sun breaks through the dense jungle foliage around the embattled town of Binh Gia, 40 miles east of Saigon, in early January 1965, as South Vietnamese troops, joined by U.S. advisors, rest after a cold, damp and tense night of waiting in an ambush position for a Viet Cong attack that didn't come. One hour later, as the possibility of an overnight attack by the Viet Cong diasappeared, the troops moved out for another long, hot day hunting the elusive communist guerrillas in the jungles.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam010.jpg
Hovering U.S. Army helicopters pour machine gun fire into a tree line to cover the advance of South Vietnamese ground troops in an attack on a Viet Cong camp 18 miles north of Tay Ninh, northwest of Saigon near the Cambodian border, in Vietnam in March of 1965.
You may want to rewrite this, as those choppers are not hovering. They have just dropped the troops on the ground and are nose down to pick up speed and get out of the area. Choppers don't usually hang out at that low a level to support the troops for several reasons. One, there will be too much small arms fire to face at that altitude if this is a hot zone, if it's not a hot zone, they wouldn't be hovering and firing. Secondly, in the tight formation they are in, potential for a pilot to get hit and send his aircraft awry is way to risky to the other choppers nearby. In and out is all they are about.
Just a FYI from a guy who was a Facman in this war.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam011.jpg
Capt. Donald R. Brown of Annapolis, Md., advisor to the 2nd Battalion of the 46th Vietnamese regiment, dashes from his helicopter to the cover of a rice paddy dike during an attack on Viet Cong in an area 15 miles west of Saigon on April 4, 1965 during the Vietnam War. Brown's counterpart, Capt. Di, commander of the unit, rushes away in background with his radioman. The Vietnamese suffered 12 casualties before the field was taken.
Any idea what the tray like thing the guy at the back is carrying?
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam013.jpg
U.S. Army helicopters pour machine gun fire into a tree line to cover the advance of South Vietnamese ground troops
I suspect that the gun crews on the choppers are firing suppressive fire into area adjacent to LZ, as that would be SOP for the first wave in. Subsequent waves would have to be a bit more cautious due to advancing friendlies. From the stance & positions of the troops in this pic, I would propose they are not even under fire. The guy in the foreground appears in no hurry with rifle tucked under his arm, several of the guys in the distance are far to erect to be under fire.
Dutch Grenadier
08-02-2011, 20:13
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam013.jpg
Well he is also gonna look for his small notebook...
(look before his right feet)
Rolling Thunder
08-05-2011, 16:33
All pictures taken at 8th Tactical Fighter Wing "Wolfpack" Ubon RTAFB,Thailand 1971-72
OV-10 Bronco Forward Air Controllers leaving for mission over South Vietnam
http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k534/waldo-p/8-5-201190656AM.jpg
16th SOS AC-130 Gunship with crew, 2-20mm miniguns front,2-40mm canons rear, year later all 130's retrofitted to 1-105 recoiless cannon
http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k534/waldo-p/8-5-201190504AM.jpg
F-4E with nose cannon
http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k534/waldo-p/8-5-201190239AM.jpg
F-4C's parked in revetments
http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k534/waldo-p/8-5-201190054AM.jpg
Me doing my small part
http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k534/waldo-p/8-5-201185938AM.jpg
And of course Bob
http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k534/waldo-p/8-5-201185744AM.jpg
The OV-10s (Broncos) were the guys I talked to, when I needed to get airstrikes lined up, as the attack aircraft didn't have FM frequency radios and we Grunts didn't carry UHF radios, the OV-10s carried both. The OV-10s would relay my directions to the attack aircraft as well as mark my targets with their 2.76" WP rockets. And even if there were no attack aircraft available, the OV-10s would run airstrikes with their MGs & Rockets.
As long as we weren't in contact with enemy, the OV-10s would end their support with 4 point rolls, that we boys on the ground loved.
Dutch Grenadier
08-05-2011, 19:05
RT are you a vietnam vet to? Nice pics then.
Rolling Thunder
08-05-2011, 21:05
Technicaly, yes, served 2 tours 71-72 and 74-75. But in reality I don't consider it to be so.
While the real warriors were in Vietnam doing the dirty work ,I was hundreds of miles to the rear, partying like there was no tommorow. Think spring break times 10, the vast majority of men lived downtown and hit the bars nightly. Not exactly dangerous combat duty.
Whereas real warriors wore patches saying 100 missions over Vietnam and never shot down, we joked 100 missions over Suzy Wong and only shot down once.
Whereas the real vet left with scars both physical and mental, I left with memories of some the best times of my life.
So no, not as one would normally consider it to be. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the true warriors.
I deserve none for my part.
Either way, you have served your country, RT.-
I deserve none for my part.
Bullcrap! If you dont keep that bird flying, she's not there when I need close air support!
Rolling Thunder
08-06-2011, 02:05
Gentlemen,
I worded that wrong, yes I served honorably and there is the respect due to any vet who did their duty.
What I meant but it came out as dishonest humility was that the real heros of that war were the men like you Facman, the ones who put their butts on the line. We all played a part and all were needed but not all paid the same cost.
I salute you and your comrade in arms, and that is the way I see it.
yes I served honorably and there is the respect due to any vet who did their duty.
Which is why I busted your chops for downplaying your own service. When we were deep in the shyte along the border with Laos, it was air cover that kept them bastiches from wiping us off that hill (FSB Argonne). Puff and Spectre orbiting all night, and fixed wing on call all day, kept our arses alive. So your part, while it may have seemed small to you, was something we Grunts will always be thankful for. Therefore, you get a salute from me anytime, because in our hearts, you are a Brother in Arms.
Dutch Grenadier
08-06-2011, 08:38
Therefore, you get a salute from me anytime, because in our hearts, you are a Brother in Arms.
Allthough I'm a modern day vet I salute you to! :usa2:
I always joked about people who stayed on the base and had the biggest stories about the tour.
But still without them we Grunts cant keep the fight going.
We are all an extraordinary league of men who served our countries during a time of shit.
Wear your medals with pride my friend. Although it might seem small to you there's a whole group that cant say that
they did their part. Specialy during your time with those hippies back home protesting against somthing they have no knowlegde about.
Rolling Thunder
08-06-2011, 10:29
Then I stand a little taller and am proud to call you "brothers in arms"
On a lighter note:
I always joked about people who stayed on the base and had the biggest stories about the tour.
Does that mean all these years everyone saw through my story about fighting off 35 Viet Cong armed with nothing more than a toothpick?::madgrin:
Dutch Grenadier
08-06-2011, 11:12
I've heard you layed in ambush for days and killed a few with your bare feet???
U.S. soldiers are on the search for Viet Cong hideouts in a swampy jungle creek bed, June 6, 1965, at Chutes de Trian, some 40 miles northeast of Saigon, South Vietnam.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam014.jpg
The strain of battle for Dong Xoai is shown on the face of U.S. Army Sgt. Philip Fink, an advisor to the 52nd Vietnamese Ranger battalion, shown June 12, 1965. The unit bore the brunt of recapturing the jungle outpost from the Viet Cong.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam015.jpg
American 4th Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade soldiers loading wounded onto an UH-1D "Huey" helicopter being evacuated from Hill 875 15 miles southwest of Dak To during the Vietnam War.
http://www.gstatic.com/hostedimg/b05d889088d40c32_large
That's quite some flying skills...
sittelle
10-25-2011, 10:02
I think it's the same picture a few seconds before.
This is the first picture I post I hope you enjoy it
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aA4j557JDN0/Tqa94b8vVXI/AAAAAAAAAT4/9mgg3V7RmpI/w500-h331-k/LIFE%2B-%2B002.jpg
US air v Charlie
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/Photos/F-4-bomb.jpg
Certainly looks similar... thanks Sitelle.
sittelle
10-25-2011, 12:58
AC-130 Spectre is a device Close air support gunship type, designed to provide fire support for units engaged on the ground. Developed for the Vietnam War.
It is equipped with M61A1 VULCAN: The rotation of the barrel occurs either electrically or hydraulically.
Thanks to correct me if I'm wrong
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FrU7WK5TPcs/Tqa948y15_I/AAAAAAAAAT8/sF1ZeKuVXxk/w500-h334-k/LIFE%2B-%2B005.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tVU6VlTCRQc/Tqa94uMJ7MI/AAAAAAAAAUA/T5Os1icZy00/w500-h333-k/LIFE%2B-%2B004.jpg
How did they take that shot... looks like a cutaway!!
sittelle
10-25-2011, 14:52
Certainly looks similar... thanks Sitelle.
I think this is the complete suite of F4 Phantom in action
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Ml3ByzeXFJU/Tqa94fqrMiI/AAAAAAAAATw/Lai-9s3YftU/s1152/LIFE%2B-%2B001.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-aA4j557JDN0/Tqa94b8vVXI/AAAAAAAAAT4/9mgg3V7RmpI/s1152/LIFE%2B-%2B002.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1912vnQH86A/Tqa94ZRjryI/AAAAAAAAAT0/Fa0GS6SrtXk/s1152/LIFE%2B-%2B003.jpg
The Associated Press photographer Huynh Thanh My covers a Vietnamese battalion pinned down in a Mekong Delta rice paddy about a month before he was killed in combat on Oct. 10, 1965.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam019.jpg
Elements of the U.S. First Cavalry Air Mobile division in a landing craft approach the beach at Qui Nhon, 260 miles northeast of Saigon, Vietnam, in Sept. 1965. Advance units of 20,000 new troops are being launched for a strike on the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam020.jpg
A napalm strike erupts in a fireball near U.S. troops on patrol in South Vietnam, 1966 during the Vietnam War.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam027.jpg
Weary after a third night of fighting against North Vietnamese troops, U.S. Marines crawl from foxholes located south of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Vietnam, 1966. The helicopter at left was shot down when it came in to resupply the unit.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam032.jpg
Pfc. Lacey Skinner of Birmingham, Ala., crawls through the mud of a rice paddy in January of 1966, avoiding heavy Viet Cong fire near An Thi in South Vietnam, as troops of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division fight a fierce 24-hour battle along the central coast.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam035.jpg
A helicopter hovers over the field, ready to load personnel and equipment during Operation Masher in the Vietnam War, May 7, 1966.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam041.jpg
A U.S. Marine CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter comes down in flames after being hit by enemy ground fire during Operation Hastings, just south of the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam, July 15, 1966. The helicopter crashed and exploded on a hill, killing one crewman and 12 Marines. Three crewman escaped with serious burns.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/vietnam043.jpg
Pinned down by Viet Cong machine gun fire, a U.S. medic looks over at a seriuosly wounded comrade as they huddle behind a dike in a rice paddy, near Phu Loi, South Vietnam, August 14, 1966.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam044.jpg
A U.S. infantryman from A Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry carries a crying child from Cam Xe village after dropping a phosphorous grenade into a bunker cleared of civilians during an operation near the Michelin rubber plantation northwest of Saigon, August 22, 1966. A platoon of the 1st Infantry Division raided the village, looking for snipers that had inflicted casualties on the platoon. GIs rushed about 40 civilians out of the village before artillery bombardment ensued.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam045.jpg
An American F-105 warplane is shot down and the pilot ejects and opens his parachute in this photo taken by North Vietnamese photograper Mai Nam on September 1966 near Vinh Phuc, north of Hanoi. This photo is one of the most recognized images taken by a North Vietnamese photographer during the war. The pilot of the aircraft was taken hostage and held in a Hanoi prison from 1966 to 1973.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam046.jpg
Paratroopers of the 173rd U.S. airborne brigade make their way across the Song Be River in South Vietnam en route to the jungle on the North Bank and into operation Sioux City in the D Zone on Oct. 4, 1966. Troopers and equipment were flown in by helicopter to the central highlands area, but the choppers couldn't land in the D zone jungles. The operation began late in the week of September 25.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam047.jpg
U.S. President Lydon B. Johnson reviews troops assembled in honor of his visit to the U.S. base at Cam Ranh Bay in South Vietnam on Oct. 26, 1966 during the war. Beside the President is Gen. William Westmoreland, Commander of the U.S. Military forces in Vietnam.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam048.jpg
Empty artillery cartridges pile up at the artillery base at Soui Da, some 60 miles northwest of Saigon, at the southern edge of War Zone C, on March 8, 1967
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam049.jpg
Three American marines sleep atop ammunition boxes during a pause in the fighting at Gio Linh on April 2, 1967, just south of the demilitarized zone in Vietnam.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam050.jpg
A wounded U.S. soldier of the 1st Infantry Division, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, receives first aid after being rescued from a jungle battlefield south of the Cambodian border in Vietnam's war zone C, April 2, 1967. A reconnaissance platoon ran into enemy bunkers, and their recuers were pinned down for four hours in fighting that left 7 U.S. dead and 42 wounded.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam051.jpg
The pilot of the aircraft was taken hostage and held in a Hanoi prison from 1966 to 1973.
Sorry, but they were not hostages, they were POWs. To call them hostages denigrates their status IMHO.
Dutch Grenadier
12-08-2011, 07:02
True
I didnt make the quote merely posted it.
A U.S. Marine sergeant points directions to a group of newly arrived replacement soldiers atop embattled Hill 881, below the demilitarized zone near the Laotian border, South Vietnam, in May 1967. The men were flown in by helicopter to enforce U.S. Marine lines badly weakened by casualties after several days of fighting for the strategic hills.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam054.jpg
A wounded member of the 1st Plt. Company "C," 25th Infantry Division, is helped to a waiting UH-1D "Iroquois" helicopter in Vietnam, May 10, 1967, during the Vietnam War.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam055.jpg
U.S. Marines of the 3rd Battallion, 4th Marines, crouch in the cover of a pagoda entrance as their patrol moves through a village along the Ben Hai river in the southern sector of the DMZ in South Vietnam, on May 22, 1967. The pagoda walls are richly decorated with images of dragons and snakes
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam056.jpg
American infantrymen crowd into a mud-filled bomb crater and look up at tall jungle trees seeking out Viet Cong snipers firing at them during a battle in Phuoc Vinh, north-Northeast of Saigon in Vietnam's War Zone D on June 15, 1967
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam057.jpg
Defense Secretary McNamara and Gen. William Westmoreland, commander U.S. Forces in Vietnam, sit with muffler type radio earphones as they ride in helicopter toward the DMZ on McNamara's first field trip during his current visit to Vietnam, July 10, 1967.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam060.jpg
Vietnamese Navy boats laden with Vietnamese Army infantrymen swing along the Bien Tre river to launch a search mission some 50 miles south of Saigon in the Meking Delta's Kien Hoa province, July 11, 1967. Viet cong guerrillas fired on the flotlla from the brushy shoreline, but no major contact was made.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam061.jpg
William Morgan Hardman is interrogated by North Vietnamese military authorities in front of Hoan Kien Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam on Aug. 24, 1967. Hardman, a U.S. pilot, was captured after his plane was shot down.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam062.jpg
This general view shows a direct hit with North Vietnam 122 mm shell explosion in a U.S. ammunition bunker of 175 mm cannon emplacements at Gio Linh, next to demilitarization zone between north and south Vietnam, Sept. 1967, during the Vietnam War.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam063.jpg
Grieving widow crying over plastic bag containing remains of husband recently found in mass grave killed in Feb. 1968 Vietnam war Tet offensive. (Hue, Vietnam, April 1969)
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/8094/aabun.jpg
The address is muddy bunker and the mailman wears a flak vest as CPL. Jesse D. Hittson of Levelland, Texas, reaches out for his mail at the U.S. Marine Con Thien outpost two miles south of the demilitarized zone in South Vietnam on Oct. 4, 1967.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam064.jpg
U.S. troops move toward the crest of Hill 875 at Dak To in November, 1967 after 21 days of fighting, during which at least 285 Americans were believed killed. The hill in the central highlands, of little apparent strategic value to the North Vietnamese, was nevertheless the focus of intense fighting and heavy losses to both sides.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam068.jpg
U.S. Marines pass a Catholic church as they patrol near Danang, Vietnam, during the Vietnam War in 1968.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam071.jpg
First Lt. Gary D. Jackson of Dayton, Ohio, carries a wounded South Vietnamese Ranger to an ambulance Feb. 6, 1968 after a brief but intense battle with the Viet Cong during the Tet Offensive near the National Sports Stadium in the Cholon section of Saigon.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam076.jpg
A U.S. Marine shows a message written on the back of his flack vest at the Khe Sanh combat base in Vietnam on Feb. 21, 1968 during the Vietnam War. The quote reads, "Caution: Being a Marine in Khe Sanh may be hazardous to your health." Khe Sanh had been subject to increased rocket and artillery attacks from the North Vietnamese troops in the area.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam077.jpg
American soldiers take shelter in a sandbagged bunker as North Vietnamese rockets hit the U.S. Marine base at Khe Sanh on Feb. 24, 1968.
http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq273/greershane/ShanePics/vietnam078.jpg
An American C-123 cargo plane burns after being hit by communist mortars while taxiing on the Marine post at Khe Sanh, South Vietnam on March 1, 1968.
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U.S. Air Force bombs create a curtain of flying shrapnel and debris barely 200 feet beyond the perimeter of South Vietnamese ranger positions defending Khe Sanh during the siege of the U.S. Marine base, March 1968. The photographer, a South Vietnamese officer, was badly injured when bombs fell even closer on a subsequent pass by U.S. planes.
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Riverine assault boats, Operation of the Riverine Force of the U.S. 9th Division, glide along the My Tho River, an arm of the Mekong Delta near Dong Tam, 35 miles southwest of Saigon, Vietnam, March 15, 1968.
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As fellow troopers aid wounded buddies, a paratrooper of A Company, 101st Airborne, guides a medical evacuation helicopter through the jungle foliage to pick up casualties during a five-day patrol of Hue, South Vietnam, in April, 1968.
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Pfc. Juan Fordona of Puerto Rico, a First Cavalry Division trooper, shakes hands with U.S. Marine Cpl. James Hellebuick over barbed wire at the perimeter of the Marine base at Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, early April 1968. The meeting marked the first overland link-up between troops of the 1st Cavalry and the encircled Marine garrison at Khe Sanh.
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Air Cavalry troops taking part in Operation Pegasus are shown walking around and watching bombing on a far hill line on April 14, 1968 at Special Forces Camp at Lang Vei in Vietnam.
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A supply helicopter comes in for a landing on a hilltop forming part of Fire Support Base 29, west of Dak To in South Vietnam's central highlands on June 3, 1968. Around the fire base are burnt out trees caused by heavy air strikes from fighting between North Vietnamese and American troops
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A helicopter full of Marines heading out on patrol lifts off the airstrip at the Khe Sanh combat base on June 27, 1968 in Vietnam.
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U.S. 25th Infantry division troops check the entrance to a Vietcong tunnel complex they discovered on a sweep northwest of their division headquarters at Cu Chi on Sept. 7, 1968 in Vietnam.
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At a hilltop firebase west of Chu Lai in Vietnam, a huge army "Chinook" helicopter prepares to lift a conked-out smaller one to a base for repairs, April 27, 1969. The firebase was named LZ West and was manned by the troopers of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade forming part of the American Division. The smaller helicopter - a Huey UH-ID - had developed engine trouble so its crew chief called in the local aerial towing service. One sturdy nylon strap to the chopper's winch and the two were off.
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A medic lights a cigarette for Spec/5 Gary Davies of Scranton, Pa., awaiting evacuation by helicopter from Ben Het in South Vietnam where he was wounded, June 27, 1969.
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Banners of appreciation from the Vietnamese decorate the dock at Danang where a farewell ceremony was held by the Vietnamese Government for departing Marines of the 1st Battalion/9th Regiment, July 14, 1969.
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Some of the 300 troops of the 9th Infantry Division scheduled for departure from South Vietnam line up to board aircraft bound for Hawaii, August 27, 1969.
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Vietnamese soldiers of the 21st Recon Company rush to board waiting Huey choppers in the rice paddies near their forward command post in South Vietnam on Nov. 14, 1969. The men are to be transported into the interior of the U-Minh forest, the large marshy and swamp and forest area at the southern tip of Vietnam, long considered to be a VC strong-hold. For the previous month, an all Vietnamese operation called "Operation u-minh" had been attempting to drive the VC and NVA regulars from the area. It was the second such operation within the year.
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Photographer Larry Burrows, far left, struggles through elephant grass and the rotorwash of an American evacuation helicopter as he helps GIs to carry a wounded buddy on a stretcher from the jungle to the helicopter in Mimot, Cambodia, May 4, 1970. The evacuation was during the U.S. incursion into Cambodia during the Vietnam War.
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American flag-bearing construction workers, angered by Mayor John Lindsay's apparent anti-war sympathies, lead hundreds of New York City workers supporting U.S. war policy in Vietnam in a demonstration inside a barricaded area near Wall Street in lower Manhattan, May 12, 1970. More than 1,000 police were on the scene to prevent possible clashes with anti-war student demonstrators, who were among office workers along the barricades.
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With a helmet declaring "Peace," a soldier of the 1st Cavarly Division, 12th Cavalry, 2nd Battalion, relaxes June 24, 1970, before pulling out of Fire Support Base Speer, six miles inside the Cambodian border. The troops were returning to South Vietnam after operations against enemy sanctuaries in Cambodia
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John Kerry, 27-year-old former navy lieutenant who heads the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), receives support from a gallery of peace demonstrators and tourists as he testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, D.C., April 22, 1971.
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South Vietnamese troops move out on patrol from Firebase Fuller, a hilltop position four miles south of the demilitarized zone, Vietnam on July 20, 1971.
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A South Vietnamese Marine carries the dead body of a comrade killed on Route 1, about seven miles south of Quang Tri Sunday, April 30, 1972. Marines were fighting to reopen the road in order to break the North Vietnamese siege of the provincial capital.
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Lightly-wounded civilians and troops attempt to push their way aboard a South Vietnamese evacuation helicopter hovering over a stretch of Highway 13 near An Loc in Vietnam on June 25, 1972.
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A line of South Vietnamese troops move along a devastated street in Quang Tri City as the battle continues for the provincial capital on July 28, 1972. Government forces were the midst of a campaign to retake the northern South Vietnamese city which was captured by enemy forces two months earlier.
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Police in Da Nang cover the eyes of a woman who was an alleged member of a Viet Cong terrorist unit on Oct. 26, 1972. The woman was captured carrying 15 hand grenades, during the previous night's battle in Da Nang.
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The flag comes down at the U.S. Army base at Long Binn, 12 miles Northeast of Saigon, as the base is turned over to the South Vietnamese Army, Nov. 11, 1972. It was at one time the largest American base in Vietnam with a peak of 60,000 personnel in 1969.
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Unaware of incoming enemy round, a South Vietnamese photographer made this picture of a South Vietnamese trooper dug in at Hai Van, South of Hue, Nov. 20, 1972. The camera caught the subsequent explosion before the soldier had time to react. The incident occurred during one of many continuing small scale fire fights in South Vietnam, despite talk of a forthcoming ceasefire.
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An American POW talks though a barred doorport to fellow POWs at a detention camp in Hanoi in 1973.
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Released prisoner of war Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm is greeted by his family at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif., as he returns home from the Vietnam War, March 17, 1973. In the lead is Stirm's daughter Lorrie, 15, followed by son Robert, 14; daughter Cynthia, 11; wife Loretta and son Roger, 12.
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A South Vietnamese soldier rests his eyes at a lonely outpost northeast of Kontum, 270 miles north of Saigon, March 25, 1974. The hill overlooks a vital North Vietnamese supply road and is located rear the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting in South Vietnam since the cease fire. The soldiers on the hill say the enemy is "all around them."
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South Vietnamese troops fill every available space on a ship evacuating them from Thuan An beach, near Hue, to Da Nang as Communist troops advanced in March, 1975.
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South Vietnamese troopers and western TV newsmen run for cover as North Vietnamese mortar round explodes on Newport Bridge in the outskirts of Saigon on Monday, April 28, 1975.
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U.S. Navy personnel aboard the USS Blue Ridge push a helicopter into the sea off the coast of Vietnam in order to make room for more evacuation flights from Saigon, Tuesday, April 29, 1975. The helicopter had carried Vietnamese fleeing Saigon as North Vietnamese forces closed in on the capital.
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A North Vietnamese tank rolls through the gate of the Presidential Palace in Saigon, April 30, 1975, signifying the fall of South Vietnam.
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Evacuees mount a staircase to board an American helicopter near the American Embasy in Saigon.
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RyansDaddy
05-16-2012, 17:04
Folks I found this photo on a site that said this was in Viet Nam in 1968. But it looks so clean and sharp and the Trooper so clean I am wondering if it is not stages or a fake. Anyone have any infor on this photo?
Thank you
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k47/RunninBuckNutty/Just%20stuff/VN.jpgFolks I found this photo
No thats Tom a re-enactor from Des Moines Iowa.
http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=58156
RyansDaddy
05-16-2012, 18:09
Thank you Very much
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