COMBAT STORIES FROM Vietnam

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Showing : Vietnam Videos

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  Joe McDonald - Army +5 Total Videos

  A Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Division

  The RPG that severed Joe McDonald’s foot didn’t kill him. The machine gun fire that hit him as he still tried to help others didn’t kill him. The grenade taped to his hand might have killed him if the VC had found his hiding place.

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  Freddie Owens - Army +11 Total Videos

  A Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

  After the column was devastated by an NVA ambush, wounded Americans were scattered in the darkness. After his captain heard one such group calling for help on the radio, Freddie Owens joined a patrol to find them, guided by a gunshot every few minutes. Once there, medic Daniel Torres volunteered to stay with those who couldn't move and protected them through the night with medicine and a machine gun.

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  Tommy Clack - Army +8 Total Videos

  C Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division

  In a letter home, Tommy Clack expressed his worry that something bad was going to happen and it did when his unit engaged the NVA near the Cambodian border. He saw the enemy soldier stand and fire the RPG that changed his life forever.

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  George Forrest - Army +11 Total Videos

  1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment

  They were hunkered down after fierce fighting when the call came from "Ghost 4-6." It was a group of wounded men who had pulled themselves together after the ill fated march to LZ Albany and were lost in the dark. George Forrest sent a patrol to find them, and in an incredible act of bravery, medic Daniel Torres stayed through the night with them and saved many men. Captain Forrest still had to write a gut-wrenching letter to the mother of a missing soldier. Part 3 of 4.

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  LtGen Ron Christmas - Marines +16 Total Videos

  H Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division

  As Marine Captain Ron Christmas fought to regain the city of Hue, he found the enemy adept at concealment and surprise. Every soldier in a spider hole was armed with a rifle and a RPG launcher. He also encountered a nun with an AK-47. His action during this time earned him the Navy Cross.

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  Stuart Jamison - Army +9 Total Videos

  9th Infantry Division (ARVN)

  Stuart Jamison recalls observing the reality and immediacy of death as his unit assaults a Viet Cong company during Phase II of the Tet Offensive.

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  Lee Ellis - Army Air Corps/Air Force +9 Total Videos

  390th Tactical Fighter Squadron

  Col. Lee Ellis (ret.) gives details about the infamous Hoa Lo Prison, better known as "The Hanoi Hilton," where US servicemen were kept as Prisoners Of War.

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  Larry Jennings - Army +9 Total Videos

  Marine Attack Squadron 333 (VMA-333)

  Larry Jennings was a little older than most of the guys he served with in Vietnam and he tried to steer them away from the bad choices that they could easily make. Many of them looked up to him and took his advice, including one who didn't make it.

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  Kenneth Sager - Army +5 Total Videos

  1st Cavalry, A Company, 228th Assault Helicopter Company

  After basic training in Fort Gordon, Ken Sager made sure that he got sent to Vietnam because he wanted to be a part of the war. He worked on loading the ships, where he got his first introduction to the war.

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  Larry Jennings - Army +9 Total Videos

  1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division

  The patrols at the forward fire base were the scariest thing Larry Jennings did while in Vietnam. He was the supply sergeant but he also supported the line companies on their missions. Trip wires, rockets from bamboo tubes and mined bridges were a few of the dangers he faced. Then there was the sacred water buffalo.

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  Roger Hamann - Army Air Corps/Air Force +3 Total Videos

  23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron

  Hamann admires a Cambodian colonel and his soldiers, whose sacrifice was felt throughout the war. The Rustics feel guilt and dismay following orders to vacate the region, leaving their Cambodian allies to face communist aggression without US air support.

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  Tom Blake - Army +8 Total Videos

  11th Infantry Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division

  Tom Blake was the RECON Platoon leader and he depended heavily on his point man, Tex Quinn. You could bet a six pack on your location on the map and you'd lose. They used characters from Robin Hood for radio code names, but there was no fun and games if you were caught falling asleep on watch.

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  Omer McCants - Army +8 Total Videos

  162nd Assault Helicopter Company, 13th Combat Aviation Battalion

  It was flat in the delta. You could see for miles and that made for good flying, says helicopter pilot Omer McCants. It was wet, a lot of rain. Back at the base, they hung out in the officers club, where he spent a lot of time reading and writing letters home. He was aware of the anti-war movement, but it made no difference to him.

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  Roger Hamann - Army Air Corps/Air Force +3 Total Videos

  23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron

  Upon his arrival in Vietnam, Roger Hamann is assigned to serve as a "Rustic", communicating with French-speaking Cambodian troops from the back seat of an OV-10. Though he flies dozens of combat missions out of his Thailand air base, one in particular still haunts him.

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  Bill Patterson - Army +7 Total Videos

  319th Transportation Company, 6th Transportation Battalion, 48th Transportation Group

  There was some serious weaponry in Vietnam, recalls Bill Patterson. The truck driver felt his 5 ton truck bounce into the air when a huge cannon was fired. On another occasion, as he was delivering ammunition to a base, the ground began to shake so violently he thought it was an earthquake. The men unloading the trucks went calmly about their business as if nothing was going on.

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  Mark Kramer - Marines +7 Total Videos

  C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines

  After only a few hours in Vietnam, Mark Kramer is sent to spend the night in a foxhole with 2 slightly more experienced soldiers. He soon learns he will be sent to Khe Sanh, where the Tet Offensive is already underway.

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  Mike Law - Army +8 Total Videos

  7th Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry, Headquarters Company B & C

  Staying on the same page as a unit and as a branch was very important for efficiency. Meetings, communication and listening to superiors was essential.

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  Robert Goddard - Navy +7 Total Videos

  Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light)3

  Navy gunship pilot Robert Goddard flew missions in support of ground troops in Vietnam. His Huey gunship had awesome firepower but he had to be careful when the situation called for firing very close to friendly forces.

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  Larry Jennings - Army +9 Total Videos

  1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division

  The NVA was a trained army, but the Viet Cong were ordinary people, and that included women, children and old people. Larry Jennings was constantly on edge as he rode by the rice paddies, wondering which one of the workers out there would suddenly fire on him. He spent some time off in Saigon, which had it's own problems.

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  Roger Hamann - Army Air Corps/Air Force +3 Total Videos

  23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron

  Hamann returns to the US to serve the remainder of his military time close to his home in Maine. Just days into a new job, Hamann - who was never wounded in combat - loses an eye in a carpentry accident.

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  Dale Ney - Army +10 Total Videos

  173rd Airborne Brigade, 503rd Infantry Regiment

  There was no reason for them to be there. Dale Ney spotted a group of civilians working on a rubber plantation in a Communist stronghold. He fired in their direction and they scattered, but they had a radio and soon their compatriots set up an ambush which pinned down the Americans for over an hour.

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  Bill Cunningham - Marines +24 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  It was a strange trip home. Bill Cunningham was in a full body cast and next to a patient who was ranting and raving. Then an engine went out, which caused him to make an urgent request to the nurse.

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  Pat Richardson - Army +8 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Pat Richardson had served three years and was at at college when he went back for more. His first service was as a nuclear weapons technician, which instilled a good sense of procedure and precision. This helped him tremendously in his later duty as an aviator.

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  Paul Hart - Army +6 Total Videos

  1st Cavalry Division, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, C Troop

  Paul Hart remembers growing up with some military influence in his family when he got his notice to report for a physical. He remembers not really knowing much about the conflict in Vietnam during the time of his joining.

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  Dick Sklar - Army +10 Total Videos

  1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

  After training at West Point, Dick Sklar took a train out to San Francisco and shipped out to head to Vietnam. Landing in Cam Ranh Bay, Sklar and his battalion had to scout the area and start their departure into the mainland of the country.

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  James Holmes - Army +5 Total Videos

  101st Airborne Division, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, A Company

  James Holmes remembers shipping off to Vietnam just before his 21st birthday. Since he had 4 years military experience, his leadership was essential to the success of their unit while stationed over there.

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  Grady Birdsong - Marines +8 Total Videos

  1st Battalion, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division

  In 1967, General Westmoreland called for more troops in Vietnam, which President Johnson later approved. Grady Birdsong and his battalion were called into Hue City in 1968 to run support on the canal areas near the citadel.

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  Paul Hart - Army +6 Total Videos

  1st Cavalry Division, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, C Troop

  Paul Hart remembers two of his good friends from flight school, Ralph and Wylie. Helicopter pilots had a high risk of injury and death, but even decades later, Paul remembers these men and what happened to them both during and after Vietnam.

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  Joe Chan - Army Air Corps/Air Force +4 Total Videos

  23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron

  Running day missions over the jungles was a constant threat for Joe Chan and other pilots. Running an efficient team on these missions was essential to success.

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  Larry Jennings - Army +9 Total Videos

  1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division

  Larry Jennings saw some of the younger soldiers in Vietnam going astray with the local women, which he attributed to the very young age of the men. Out in the field, friendly fire was sometimes a problem, affecting our Australian and Korean allies as well.