Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM Vietnam

A Kim | 5th Marine Regiment

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Showing : Vietnam Videos

Bill Galvan - Air Force +4 Total Videos

Air Defense Command

Bill Galvan remembers the camaraderie he felt with his fellow soldiers -- they knew each other, cared for each other and looked out for each other. He has fond memories of sharing this time with his countrymen.
Tim Dunn - Marines +16 Total Videos

Scout Sniper Platoon, 1st Marines

What's it like to shoot somebody 1000 yards away? Marine sniper Tim Dunn recalls his time in Vietnam, where the shooting conditions had what he calls "heavy air." You had to have the right frame of mind to operate alone in the jungle. It took more than just being a good shot.
John Harms - Marines +6 Total Videos

1st Armored Company, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

After being promoted to colonel, John Harms gained a variety of new responsibilities that he was asked to take on. He learned to lean on the consultation of his staff, who he personally chose himself.
Jack Fishman - Army +6 Total Videos

319th Transportation Company

When Jack Fishman went to Vietnam, he was an immature kid who had flunked out of college. Later, after a successful graduation, a career as an IRS special agent, and a law degree, he says all that can be attributed to his experience in Vietnam. His successful life has made it possible for him to help other veterans.
Roger Cox - Army +12 Total Videos

1st Cavalry (Airmobile) Division

Helicopter pilot Roger Cox tells the story of his first shoot down, a "good" shoot down. It was good in the sense that he was able to make it to a safe place to land. On another occasion, he came to the aid of another pilot who's shoot down wasn't so good.
Dick Sklar - Army +10 Total Videos

1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

On one specific day on the border of Cambodia and Vietnam, Sklar and his division had a particularly successful day capturing supplies and resources.
Frank Francois III - Army +7 Total Videos

Support Command, 1st Cavalry

Frank Francois III was in the air in his commander's helicopter when they heard the call that one of their transport planes had crashed. He knew a classmate, Bob Ray, had been on the shuttle flight's schedule and he arrived in time to help pull him from the crash.
Rick Marotte - Army +6 Total Videos

237th Medical Detachment

Rick Marotte wanted to serve but he didn't want to be a combatant, so he volunteered as a medical evacuation pilot, call sign Dust Off. He was assigned near the DMZ, the most dangerous province in Vietnam.
Joe Bruckner - Army +9 Total Videos

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV)

Joe Bruckner describes his daily life as an advisor to a Vietnamese unit, his relationships with his counterparts, and the environs he worked in. There were Montagnard villages in his area and he had a high regard for those people, who were mistreated by both the French and the Vietnamese.
Steve Long - Marines +24 Total Videos

Marine Light Helicopter Squadron 167 (HML-167)

A Huey gunner's gear included a ceramic plate vest and an M-79 grenade launcher. The first for the air and the second for the ground, if you wound up there. Steve Long recalls the "sniffer" missions, where you flew low and fast to pick up enemy formations with air sampling equipment.
Rick Hilton - Air Force +11 Total Videos

497th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing

Fighter pilot Rick Hilton had already been flying missions out of Thailand when a former classmate was assigned to the same squadron. His first mission as Hilton's back seater was a memorable one. The plane was hit by a SAM and it looked like they were done for.
Rick Marotte - Army +6 Total Videos

237th Medical Detachment

His first Dust Off mission was flying to a friendly fire base to evacuate wounded, but soon Rick Marotte was extracting desperate men from hostile territory. He recalls one difficult mission right on the DMZ where a squad was caught in a mine field.
Bennie Koon - Army +6 Total Videos

HHC 1st Battalion 5th Cavalry Regiment 1st Cavalry Division Air Mobile

During basic training, Bennie Koon shot "expert" with the M14 and M16, which he's proud of. Leaving for Vietnam was very memorable for him and he remembers the feeling of stepping off the plane in Cam Ranh Bay.
Brice Barnes - Army +9 Total Videos

50th Signal Battalion

Brice Barnes remembers having to talk sternly to some of his soldiers in order to ensure order within camp. After an incident at the Tet Offensive, he went through what he calls the longest day of his life, as he had to deal with an incredibly complicated situation.
Joe Chan - Air Force +4 Total Videos

23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron

Joe Chan remembers some of the most challenging missions he was a part of while deployed in Vietnam.
Donald Lorentz - Air Force +4 Total Videos

101st Airborne Division

Keeping in touch with family was important to Donald Lorentz and his family. Additionally, he was able to keep up with the news from the home front which was in the middle of dramatic changes.
John Wilhite - Army +9 Total Videos

1099th Transportation Company

They tried not to have any more than three boats together on the river, says John Wilhite, a member of the River Rats, a transportation company. Once when they had six in a line, the enemy detonated a thousand pound bomb underneath the second one. The boats were carrying fuel bladders and the resulting blast blew the water out of the river at that point. Less effective were the homemade rockets that were like big fireworks.
Phil Ovelman - Marines +6 Total Videos

Combined Action Program, Group 2, 1st Unit, 5th Platoon

Ovelman returned home to find there were very few jobs available to combat veterans. Even after landing a career with the Department of Corrections, he marvels at the audacious questioning veterans must endure during the interview process.
Bennie Koon - Army +6 Total Videos

HHC 1st Battalion 5th Cavalry Regiment 1st Cavalry Division Air Mobile

Coming in for support, Bennie Koon and his platoon moved to Khe Sanh. Being prepared for anything that might happen was essential to success in Vietnam and he tried to stay ready.
John Weinig - Air Force +8 Total Videos

6th Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing

It began with a call on a field telephone and an alarm horn. Pilots and ground crews would scramble to get the planes armed and into the air. Pilot John Weinig had three radios in his A-1 Skyraider and he could communicate directly with ground forces on one of them. If the mission was search and rescue, he would supply protection to the helicopters which performed the rescue.
Quincy Collins - Air Force +18 Total Videos

80th Tactical Fighter Squadron

Collin's first assignment was to attend pilot school in Bainbridge, Georgia. In addition, he had another assignment to go to Laredo Air Force Base in Texas. There he underwent a lot of difficult training exercises.
Bob Havens - Navy +9 Total Videos

Observation Squadron 67 (VO-67)

Truck kills increased fourfold on the Ho Chi Minh Trail after Bob Havens secret Navy squadron dropped listening devices to monitor the movement. It was top secret work, and when the unit was disbanded, the men were scattered through the service so they couldn't talk about it.
Nat Robb - Army +9 Total Videos

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV)

When he saw the weapons the Vietnamese infantry had, American Advisor Nat Robb thought he was in World War II. M-16's were on the way but, in the meantime, the untested unit had to fight. There was little activity at first, but it was just a matter of time.
Joe Jamison - Navy +8 Total Videos

VA-22

Joe Jamison tells the story of a bombing raid over North Vietnam. Stories of air to air refueling and air to air collisions underline the hazards of operating off of an aircraft carrier.
John Harms - Marines +6 Total Videos

1st Armored Company, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Cooperating with local forces was very important to the success of Marines in Vietnam. Maintaining health while on the ground was also a necessity, as disease spread quickly among open wounds and less than ideal climates.
Bob Hyatt - Army +9 Total Videos

5th Special Forces Group

American Advisor Bob Hyatt recalls his friends from the Special Forces camp in Vietnam and wonders how that kind of war could have happened in the first place.
Paul Hart - Army +6 Total Videos

C Troop, 1st of the 9th, 1st Cavalry

Moving a gunship from An Khe to Dong Ha, Paul Hart had a close encounter that made him fly a lot more carefully.
Jerry Gast - Army +6 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Division

Jerry Gast got back to the world on the day of the moon landing. He soon found out that wearing the uniform was a bad idea, then the local VFW refused to allow him to join. It was time to shove Vietnam in a little box and put it away.
Duwayne Balk - Army +4 Total Videos

95th Evacuation Hospital

Growing up in a small town in Wisconsin, Duwayne Balk was looking for some more discipline in his life, so he joined the military as a combat medic. Basic and advanced training was challenging, but it prepared him for his deployment to Da Nang, Vietnam.
Frank Francois III - Army +7 Total Videos

Support Command, 1st Cavalry

Frank Francois III was always on a fast track. He started first grade at three years old, finished high school in three years, and graduated from college at nineteen. Foregoing medical school for a military career, he went to the Command and General Staff College as a captain, another notable feat.