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Tom Blake

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Lt. Tom Blake had a Kit Carson scout in his platoon and the former Viet Cong was good at getting information from the locals, but, after the My Lai incident, cooperation was hard to come by. The tragedy occurred in the same area and Blake felt the fallout in his civilian encounters. (6:13)

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How did the M-16 rifle function in a jungle environment? Just fine, according to Tom Blake, RECON Platoon leader in Vietnam. As long you kept it clean and dry in the hot, wet mess of the rice paddies. There were less booby traps there than up North, but no less Viet Cong. (6:47)

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He came out of the field his last few weeks in Vietnam, but Lt. Tom Blake hated leaving his men. He would give them the Mother Hen treatment when he saw them leaving the firebase while he was waiting to go home. On the last leg of that trip, an airline pilot gave him a solid welcome home. (5:35)

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Tom Blake recommends two excellent books on the Vietnam War that he thinks give a good feel for what it was like there. He nearly returned to visit the former battlefield, but doesn't regret his decision to stay home. He has a healthy respect for his former enemies in that difficult war. (3:30)

Tom Buchan

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Tom Buchan remembers growing up outside of Los Angeles and not being friendly with rules, leading him to enlist in the Army. Deciding to join the tanker's battalion seemed the most appealing to him, so he joined up. (2:49)

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Working as a tank crewman in the Army, Tom Buchan was assigned to Fort Knox and then stayed on active duty om reserve. After getting called into active duty, he had to train for deployment. (8:27)

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After Fort Carson, Tom Buchan was sent out to his deployment in Bien Hoa, Vietnam. Getting there, he felt like he did not know much at all about Vietnam and had to learn quickly in order to stay alive. (8:52)

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Continued from Part 1. Tom Buchan remembers a particular mission while in the forest of Vietnam. Sleeping in the woods, he had to be resourceful after they faced a surprise firefight in the middle of the night. (7:42)

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Continued from Part 2. Seeing two Viet Cong in the forest, Tom Buchan fired quickly and managed to save his and his friend's life, but it left him with a very distinct memory that he still keeps today. (2:05)

Tom Cash

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Coming from a country farm and a one room schoolhouse, Tom Cash was drafted into the Army and landed on Utah beach a few weeks after the big invasion. He was picked by his sergeant to become a mortarman as they started their advance inland. He recalls an incident in which three hysterical soldiers were turned around and sent back to the front. (5:46)