Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM Vietnam

A Kim | 5th Marine Regiment

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Showing : Vietnam Videos

Bob Mangum - Army +7 Total Videos

1st Aviation Brigade

Bob Mangum recounts the time he had to pick some American soldiers up in the middle of a fire in the forests of Vietnam.
Fred Kroesen - Army +6 Total Videos

Multiple Units

In the pre-digital era of the Vietnam War, General Fred Kroesen had limited contact with his family, though it was a little better than it had been during his service in the Korean War. He got enough news through Stars and Stripes to be disgusted with the media distortion of the war and the bad treatment of returning soldiers.
John Weinig - Air Force +8 Total Videos

6th Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing

A-1 Skyraider pilot John Weinig dropped a lot of napalm in Vietnam. It was a fearsome and effective weapon. He describes one close air support mission for an Australian commander where they used constant communication to coordinate the drop as close as possible.
Dick Sklar - Army +10 Total Videos

1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

Dick Sklar remembers his commander who he credits for his success in the air as they coordinated air raids over Vietnam. While in combat, they had a few funny stories that passed the time for them.
Joe Chan - Air Force +4 Total Videos

23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron

Going to Military Airlift Command school, Joe Chan chose his career path early because he wanted to travel the world. He ended up becoming a Forward Air Controller, tasked with locating and marking enemy forces on the ground.
Grady Birdsong - Marines +8 Total Videos

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

Heading back to Da Nang, Grady Birdsong and his company undertook Operation Allen Brook to overtake enemy forces.
Andy Boyko - Marines +10 Total Videos

ASP-1

In 1965, the first Marines were landing in Vietnam and that fall Andy Boyko would be one of them. Stationed at ASP-1 (Ammunition Supply Point), he was tasked with protecting the ammo dump as American forces began to set up in country. After a few months, he’d get some of his first incoming, and then the war would take a serious turn. (Interview conducted at, and with the assistance of, The Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas.- https://theveteransmuseum.org/)
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.
Roger Cox - Army +12 Total Videos

1st Cavalry (Airmobile) Division

Helicopter pilot Roger Cox was used to dominating the enemy on the ground, but he tells the story of a time when he knew he was beaten and retreated.
Mark Kramer - Marines +7 Total Videos

C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines

After surviving the rigors of Khe Sanh, a hungry, filthy Mark Kramer returns to the seemingly safe Quang Tri base, where he is seriously injured in a freak vehicle crash. As he slowly regains the use of his senses, he volunteers to help wherever he can be useful. His service in Vietnam has come to an abrupt end, but he continues to make the best of his situation.
Jack Fishman - Army +6 Total Videos

319th Transportation Company

The lessons of Vietnam are forgotten today, says Jack Fishman, although the veterans of that war now have the respect they didn't get when they returned. He wants the draft reinstated for both men and women and not only for the military but for public service jobs. His reaction to the 50th Anniversary project? What took them so long?
Bob Hayes - Marines +8 Total Videos

1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment

His arm was wrecked by a 30 cal round and Bob Hayes began a round of surgeries, first in Japan and then back home. He was sneaking out of the hospital to party with his friends, but the chief surgeon put a stop to that. Once he had recovered, he couldn't avoid getting in trouble one more time before his discharge.
Joe Jamison - Navy +8 Total Videos

VA-22

After flying 144 Combat Missions, mostly over North Vietnam, Joe Jamison expresses his thoughts about the war and how it affected his decision to leave the military. Additional details about Aircraft Carrier operations aboard the USS Midway are described in vivid detail.
Mike Morris - Army +11 Total Videos

1st Battalion, 5th Infantry (Mechanized), 25th Infantry Division

Mike Morris thought the Vietnam War would go on forever. After serving there, he just didn't see any way you could prevail. He resumed working for the Chicago White Sox, but eventually, he returned to the Army as a chaplain's assistant and then as a recruiter for chaplains.
Tony Coalson - Army +15 Total Videos

201st Aviation Company, 1st Field Force

Relatively speaking, Tony Coalson's aviation unit had good living conditions in Vietnam. He describes the ones that were worse and then moves on to the ones that were better. Way better.
Jim Bolan - Army +13 Total Videos

1st Special Forces Group

Looking back over a long career with Special Forces, Jim Bolan remembers how little they started with, both personnel and equipment. They were under supplied and overused. He spent almost seven years in Vietnam with the first SF units which were comprised of soldiers who would never win Soldier of the Year.
Joe Bruckner - Army +9 Total Videos

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV)

The area around Da Lat was beautiful, reminding Joe Bruckner of home in North Georgia. He saw it mostly from the air in small aircraft on intelligence missions. On "sniffer missions," they would try to draw fire in a Huey and then he would fire a grenade launcher as the gunships dropped from above to attack. This nearly got him in trouble as a rookie.
Ron Sherman - Army +6 Total Videos

45th Military Intelligence Detachment, 1st Military Intelligence Battalion (Air Reconnaissance Support)

It was Max Cleland who got photographer Ron Sherman involved with a Vietnam Veterans group. Not even the former Georgia Secretary of State could put the Veterans Administration right, though, in his view. He laments that we got involved in that war at all, and points out the only thing that would be different had we not done so.
Joe Bruckner - Army +9 Total Videos

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV)

As a member of a small advisory team in Vietnam, Joe Bruckner had a lot more freedom than an officer in the field. He visited his wife in Thailand, and then, in a most unusual arrangement, she came to join him where he was stationed.
Ollie Maier - Air Force +7 Total Videos

604th Air Commando Squadron

After he got back from the mission where his plane was damaged, Maier was promised a Silver Star in addition to his Distinguished Flying Cross for the act of bravery he had up in the air. Unfortunately, the forward air controller who was supposed to follow through with awarding him the Silver Star, codenamed David 26, had gotten shot down and evacuated back to the US shortly after. He did, however, receive yet another Distinguished Flying Cross despite technically disobeying direct orders from his flight lead.
Mark Kramer - Marines +7 Total Videos

C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines

After his injury in 1968, Kramer loses touch with a good friend from boot camp and Khe Sanh. 44 years later, the two find each other and reunite. Their friendship lasts to this day.
John Wilhite - Army +9 Total Videos

1099th Transportation Company

It wasn't all warfare on the river. John Wilhite recalls the time his transportation unit took part in flood relief, carrying villagers to safety. He felt sorry for the people of Vietnam, who were deprived by years of war and angry at foreign armies in their land. He was especially touched by the plight of the orphans.
Mike Peterson - Marines +4 Total Videos

Combined Action Program, Group 3, 1st Unit, 8th Platoon

Peterson learns about the Combined Action Program from an article in Life Magazine, and joins the CAPs after his first tour. His platoon comes to accept the complicated nature of their relationship with the locals, which ultimately leads to betrayal - and the death of a comrade.
John Weinig - Air Force +8 Total Videos

6th Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing

The engine in the A-1 Skyraider was a beast, a huge piston engine with gallons of oil and a one ton propeller. Absent enemy fire, it was the most likely source of problems for pilot John Weinig. He praises his ground crews, dedicated men who kept the plane armed and flying. On search and rescue missions, he supported helicopters which did the actual rescue. One model could outrun his prop plane. Now that's embarrassing.
Bert Johnson - Army +5 Total Videos

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

Once the battle of LZ Carolyn settled down, Bert Johnson was firing at the enemy and wound up getting injured very badly in the head. When he was taken to the doctor who was going to operate on him, he was still conscious and had to sign release forms. He had a nice interaction with the doctor, who he found out went to Harvard. Once his tour was over, Bert went back to Harvard in September of 1969.
George Crockett - Marines +4 Total Videos

unknown Unit Information

George Crockett remembers the day he and his company were ambushed by enemy combatants. After being wounded by a bullet, he had to think quickly to get himself to safety.
Steve Long - Marines +24 Total Videos

Marine Light Helicopter Squadron 167 (HML-167)

A door gunner got to know which pilots were the best. One thing was sure, remembers Steve Long, you don't want to fly with the C.O. while he's getting in his flight time. In between the action, he saw some great scenery from the air. He flew in a Huey, often in coordination with Cobras and F-4 Phantoms.
Brian West - Marines +5 Total Videos

HMM 363

Brian West arrived in Danang as a First Lietenant, offloading in torrential rain, a metaphor for what was to come. After getting stationed at Marble Mountain, Brian West settled down into his company and started flying.
Carl Fedde - Army +6 Total Videos

1st Aviation Battalion, 1st Infantry Division

Fedde talks about things that could and did go wrong for him when he was flying the helicopters in Vietnam. Luckily, one time his training was able to save him and everyone on board.
David Harrington - Army +6 Total Videos

47th Infantry Division

David Harrington speaks on his time in Dong Tam and what it felt like to finally be able to enjoy some rest & relaxation under mortar fire.