Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM Vietnam

A Kim | 5th Marine Regiment

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Showing : Vietnam Videos

Carl Scheidegg +12 Total Videos

35th Tactical Fighter Squadron

When Carl Scheidegg returned from Vietnam, he had a short list of things he wanted, including real milk and a green salad. His family saved the Christmas decorations for his January return and he had no problems with protestors, including his best friend who was one.
Joe Jamison - Navy +8 Total Videos

173rd Airborne Brigade

Joe Jamision talks about losing his wingman, "Skip" in a raid over North Vietnam. Skip spent 7 years in a POW camp. Joe describes how being a POW caused long term implications for those captured.
Sonny Dellinger - Army +4 Total Videos

1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade

Dellinger participates in the Medical Civilian Aid Program, which has him providing medical aid to local villagers. He documents civilian interaction in photos, where we see children clamoring for candy and polaroids.
Bennie Koon - Army +6 Total Videos

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

Being a radio repairman, Bennie Koon had to be inventive with fixing up old devices that had been damaged in combat.
Thomas Owens - Army +6 Total Videos

Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division

The bus full of men deploying to Vietnam broke down in Haight-Ashbury, of all places, and some were tempted. Not Thomas Owens. He stayed on the bus. When he got to the fire base near the DMZ, they put him in front of a typewriter, but soon handed him a rifle and assigned him to a ground surveillance unit. The war was winding down and he was alarmed at the lack of readiness.
MajGen Larry S. Taylor +15 Total Videos

Air America

In his 20 months with Air America, pilot Larry Taylor never heard the initials "CIA" spoken. He and his colleagues were never under any misconception, though, about who they were working for. He dismisses the accusation that Air America was involved in smuggling heroin on the side.
Mo Erkins - Army +5 Total Videos

Multiple Units

Out of flight school, helicopter pilot Mo Erkins was assigned to Germany, an assignment which he enjoyed. But his tour was curtailed and he was ordered to Fort Campbell to prepare for deployment to Vietnam. He was willing to go where the President sent him, in fact he was eager because his fellow pilots were there and he wanted to participate.
Phil Ovelman - Marines +6 Total Videos

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

Ovelman expresses the gratitude he feels for being part of the Marine Corps, whom he truly sees as Brothers For Life.
Lee Ellis - Air Force +23 Total Videos

390th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing

Lee Ellis illustrates how he remembers getting shot down and ejecting himself out of his aircraft and straight into enemy territory. Fortunately his co-pilot, Ken Fischer, managed to also survive and the two of them surrendered to the North Vietnamese as soon as they reached the ground. (Part 2 of 3)
Paul Hart - Army +6 Total Videos

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

Paul Hart remembers coming home from Vietnam and getting a not so friendly welcome upon his return. Remembering the Vietnam War and the affect it had on the country stands out and shouldn't be forgotten.
Brice Barnes - Army +9 Total Videos

50th Signal Battalion

For new soldiers in Vietnam, more training was imperative to get them ready for the changes they would face in country. During a mission, Brice Barnes found a huge weapons cache that they were worried might be more heavily guarded than they expected.
Tony Coalson +15 Total Videos

201st Aviation Company, 1st Field Force

The Tet Offensive was only the introduction to Vietnam for helicopter pilot Tony Coalson. He still had eight months to go, but after that huge operation, it was much more routine. One thing he noticed was that the enemy persisted, even after massive amounts of American firepower was used.
Mo Erkins - Army +5 Total Videos

242nd Assault Support Helicopter Company

After his first Vietnam tour, helicopter pilot Mo Erkins served as an instructor at Fort Rucker. He went back for a second tour, this time moving from Hueys to Chinooks. Assigned as the Executive Officer, he established communication with the parents of avery man under his command and used his university training in counseling to keep professional relationships good.
Kevin Hathaway - Army +11 Total Videos

173rd Assault Helicopter Company

It was a lucky shot from a Viet Cong fighter. Door gunner Kevin Hathaway tells how his aircraft commander displayed superb flying skill as he landed his chopper with the gearbox disabled.
Bill Brezina - Army +5 Total Videos

95th Evacuation Hospital

Bill Brezina describes how many of the mistakes America made in Vietnam were the same mistakes made by the French and how war can propel society ahead in areas such as medical treatment. He reflects on his time in the military and the influences that it had on his life. Service can affect you in ways that you don't fully understand until you take time to step back and think about it.
Ray Vaske - Army +5 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 94th Artillery Regiment, 108th Artillery Group

There were occasional potshots at his helicopter, but Ray Vaske had one incident where he just missed getting knocked down by an RPG. The weather was another big problem, once causing him to dip his skids in the ocean. Back at the base, the Vietnamese barber gave him a painfully close shave. A few weeks later, they found out, maybe, he had other things on his mind.
Charles Vicari - Marines +11 Total Videos

Multiple Units

In 1951, Charles Vicari returned to duty after recovering from the wound he received in Korea. His enlistment was up in a matter of months, but he didn't find civilian life to his liking so he re-enlisted. When 1965 rolled around, he had a plum post, but President Johnson decided he was needed in Vietnam.
Fred Kroesen - Army +6 Total Videos

Multiple Units

On his second Vietnam tour, General Fred Kroesen returned to command the troubled Americal Division, which was still receiving a lot of negative attention in the wake of the My Lai incident. As the war wound down and the division had returned to the States, he remained with the dwindling and restrained American force and was saddened when the enemy overran a town that he had restored during his first tour.
Donald Lorentz - Air Force +4 Total Videos

101st Airborne Division

Donald Lorentz remembers training for Vietnam as an older enlistee, at age 27. He remembers not getting much direction on why the war was being fought, which stuck with him. Departing for Vietnam was memorable, and when he arrived in Phan Rang he needed to stay alert due to the dangers they faced there.
Roger Hamann - 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.
Jug Eastman - Air Force

22nd Tactical Air Support Squadron

Jug Eastman was attached to Advisory Team 73 and tasked with working with both assisting the South Vietnamese air and ground forces. He describes his time training in Phan Rang and one of the Vietnamese pilots who caught him off guard on the radio.
Sar Phouthasack +12 Total Videos

Royal Lao Army, Special Guerrilla Unit (SGU)

After his special forces training Sar Phouthasack was taken by two CIA operatives in plainclothes to a headquarters set up in an ordinary house in Laos. They soon moved to Thailand, where a US air presence was building. The main task of the Laotian Special Guerrilla Unit was to operate road watch teams on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Jimmie Spencer - Army +12 Total Videos

C Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

For Jimmie Spencer, the best day of his Vietnam experience was the day he was promoted to staff sergeant, a validation of his effort. The worst day was the ambush when he listened to the screams of a wounded enemy soldier for hours as he waited for dawn.
Albert Watson - Army +5 Total Videos

5th Infantry Division (Mechanized)

Newly commissioned out of ROTC, Albert Watson got to know Fort Benning really well. After his basic course, he went through Ranger school and Airborne school. At his first assignment, a very capable sergeant taught him how to be a platoon leader.
Bob Mangum - Army +7 Total Videos

1st Aviation Brigade

Bob Mangum remembers coming home to his young children and the transition that was for his son and daughter.
John Wilhite - Army +9 Total Videos

1099th Transportation Company

When the River Rats made the ocean run to fill up the fuel bladder they would carry upriver, it was party time. Through trading with sailors, they acquired the steaks, lobster and beer they need for a decent beach affair. After a night beside the South China Sea, it was up to Cambodia to deliver the goods.
Wayne Waddell - Air Force +14 Total Videos

354th Tactical Fighter Squadron

Wayne Waddell tells of the comrade he shared a prison cell with and the relationship that is formed in close quarters like that and the small things that happen that keep your spirits up.
Rick Groulx - Marines +4 Total Videos

Combined Action Platoon 1-2-7

Doc Groulx reflects on the effects that Vietnam had on his life today. He'll never forget the things that happened to him and learning to deal with them has only helped him.
Jimmie Spencer - Army +12 Total Videos

101st Airborne Division

After the battle of the Ia Drang Valley, the word went out. Infantrymen were needed and Jimmie Spencer answered the call. Pulled from the 101st Airborne, he arrived in Vietnam and was overwhelmed by the exotic culture and underwhelmed by the poorly organized replacement depot where he waited for assignment.
Brice Barnes - Army +9 Total Videos

50th Signal Battalion

Leaving out of Travis Air Force Base, Brice Barnes remembers the stoic nature of the men he travelled over to Bien Hoa. Transitioning into the climate of Vietnam, he had a lot to get used to.