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Grady Birdsong

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Grady Birdsong remembers growing up in Kansas as the son of an oil man. During the time Vietnam was starting, he decided to enlist in the service as a Marine. (5:45)

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Grady Birdsong remembers one of the funny moments during training. At Fort Pendleton, he went to basic electronics school and was passed despite not passing the class. Arriving in Vietnam, the humidity stuck with him as being one of the hardest parts about transitioning into lifer there. (5:39)

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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. (5:55)

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Grady Birdsong remembers one particularly harrowing combat experience in Hue City. Under mortar attack, chaos breaks loose and every man is left to find their way and care for the injured. (5:29)

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Off the coast of Hue City, Grady Birdsong and his battalion set up to siege the beach, but fortunately nothing ended up happening. Once they got to a temporary basecamp, they began to prepare for a more legitimate field of defense. (5:10)

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Heading back to Da Nang, Grady Birdsong and his company undertook Operation Allen Brook to overtake enemy forces. (7:24)

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After his first tour, Grady Birdsong got orders to a new assignment in Dong Ha, where he spent time clearing roads and running security. Keeping an eye out for enemy forces while on the road was essential to staying alive. (4:44)

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Returning home, Grady Birdsong remembers not telling people he was a veteran and having to watch the war be lost on national TV. Being treated with disrespect after all he had been through was a very upsetting thing to have to go through. (5:49)

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Grady Birdsong feels conflicted about the way the war was run back in Washington and regrets the decisions that were made to have the war be lost. He hopes future generations will be sure to learn from history. (3:53)

Grady Shumate

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The Naval Reserve program offered Grady Shumate a chance to leave his unhappy home situation and he was soon assigned to an Assault Transport and on the way to England. Under the threat of air raids, they trained in the English Channel for the coming invasion. (5:02)