COMBAT STORIES FROM Vietnam

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Showing : Vietnam Videos

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  Carl Scheidegg - Air Force +12 Total Videos

  35th Tactical Fighter Squadron

  Carl Scheidegg had his pilot's license by the time he was seventeen years old, so Air Force ROTC was a good fit for him. Yes, there was a war going on, but it was supposed to be over by the time he graduated. He got the plane he wanted, the F-4 Phantom, and deployed to Korea, but guess what? That war wasn't over.

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  Bill Patterson - Army +7 Total Videos

  319th Transportation Company, 6th Transportation Battalion, 48th Transportation Group

  There was some serious weaponry in Vietnam, recalls Bill Patterson. The truck driver felt his 5 ton truck bounce into the air when a huge cannon was fired. On another occasion, as he was delivering ammunition to a base, the ground began to shake so violently he thought it was an earthquake. The men unloading the trucks went calmly about their business as if nothing was going on.

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  Jack Swickard - Army +12 Total Videos

  118th Assault Helicopter Company

  Skip Lyons was the best crew chief helicopter pilot Jack Swickard ever had. He remembers how he once resorted to a fistfight to protect his pilot and how his foolhardiness changed over time to caution.

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  Stan Marcieski - Army +6 Total Videos

  45th Medical Company

  While serving on medical aviation command, Stan Marcieski and his company picked up a huge quantity of patients in the South of Vietnam. Taking fire, they had to be very efficient with their pick-ups.

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  Grady Birdsong - Marines +8 Total Videos

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

  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.

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  Hal Dayhuff - Army +4 Total Videos

  ARVN Advisor, Nha Be District

  Vietnam was not in the picture in 1959 when Hal Dayhuff entered the Army with a commission out of ROTC. After a tour in Germany and an interlude instructing at Fort Benning, he found himself in Vietnam as one of the first advisors to the South Vietnamese. He quickly got to know his counterparts, who were genuinely happy to work with Americans.

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  Charles White, Jr. - Air Force +10 Total Videos

  23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron

  Pilot Charles White, Jr. had a bounty put on his head for being so successful as a Forward Air Controller. He details the risky job flying low over Laos in a small plane, spotting and marking targets. He remembers one hit that went right down a cave shaft and blew up an entire hilltop.

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  Dick Sklar - Army +10 Total Videos

  1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division

  Dick Sklar went through a number of close encounters that he considers himself to be very lucky for making it through. After one particular arm incident, he was sent back to the States to go get heal up.

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  Bill Smith - Air Force +3 Total Videos

  23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron

  It was a cat and mouse game on the Ho Chi Minh trail. The insurgents on the trail were very good at camouflage but the American pilots had high tech imaging to find them. Bill Smith describes the hunt and recalls the blatant queues of vehicles over the border in North Vietnam where the Air Force was not allowed to attack.

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  Joe Ponds - Army +5 Total Videos

  13th Combat Aviation Battalion, 121st Assault Helicopter Company,

  After getting new orders to fly a combat helicopter designed to draw enemy fire, Joe Ponds started to patrol the Vietnam-Cambodia border. Later in life, he found out that his patrols may have led to intel that resulted in the invasion of Cambodia.

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  Andy Boyko - Marines +10 Total Videos

  I Co., 3rd Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment

  Vietnam veterans all remember the intense weather they experienced in country, especially during Monsoon season. Andy Boyko describes the trials of trying to stay somewhat clean in the unforgiving rain. (Interview conducted at, and with the assistance of, The Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas.- https://theveteransmuseum.org/)

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  Bud Alley - Army +13 Total Videos

  2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry

  As head of the communications platoon, Bud Alley assigned his operators to each commander as the unit then began its first big operation, which made him nervous because all the leadership had just been replaced, making it a green unit with all new staff. It was fortunate that the first landing zone was quiet, but there was a lot of noise waiting for them in the Ia Drang Valley. Part 1 of 6.

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  MajGen Larry S. Taylor +15 Total Videos

  Air America

  Air America aviator Larry Taylor was operating near a secret communications site when he heard on the radio that an A-1 Skyraider pilot was bailing out. He flew his helicopter to the area and was waiting when the parachute came down. It would be years before he learned the name of the rescued pilot.

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  Johnny Fielding - Army +5 Total Videos

  C Company, 7th Infantry Regiment, 199th Infantry Brigade

  Dealing with the elements in Vietnam was always a challenge that you had to adapt to. Johnny Fielding remembers some of the things from the jungle that still sticks with him.

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  Jack Fishman - Army +6 Total Videos

  319th Transportation Company

  The men were newly activated reserve troops and no one knew what to expect when they flew into Vietnam. After getting used to the heat, the humidity and the smell, the support unit settled into their dangerous job, hauling ammunition to fire bases. Jack Fishman says it helped if you were twenty one and bulletproof.

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  Neville Kirby - Army +5 Total Videos

  22nd Surgical Hospital

  As the Vietnam War was coming to a close, Kirby remembers when the Army closed down her hospital. Afterwards she was assigned to the 27th Hospital in Chu Lai, Vietnam. Upon returning home, she did receive harsh public treatment due to the political nature of the war. After some time home in the states, she was stationed in Germany and then in Italy.

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  Richard Hauner - Army +8 Total Videos

  9th Infantry Division, 15th Combat Engineers

  Richard Hauner realized quickly how much of a learning process being in Vietnam was. The many challenges that they had to face were quickly surmountable with smarts and a good bit of luck.

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  Richard Jackson - Marines +15 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  When he was company commander at Cua Viet, Richard Jackson had great success in keeping the area clear of enemy. After his combat commands were finished and he was a staff officer, he was asked to visit the replacement unit and advise them. His journey there and back was worthy of a Hollywood movie.

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  Donald Lorentz - Air Force +4 Total Videos

  101st Airborne Division

  Donald Lorentz vividly remembers taking enemy fire from the Viet Cong in the hills surrounding their base. Forming relationships with the different nations' forces was essential to making things run smoothly.

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  Myron Harrington - Marines +7 Total Videos

  24th Marine Amphibious Unit

  After traveling around a lot post-returning from Vietnam, Harrington actually went back to the country for his second tour. This time he was an advisor, and the war was very close to an end. In addition, he shares some final thoughts about the war and for future generations.

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  Bob Averill - Marines +12 Total Videos

  2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division

  Bob Averill remembers Marine Corps basic training and some of the men he served next to while there.

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  Paul Kaupas - Marines +7 Total Videos

  1st CA Group, 3rd Marines

  Paul Kaupas had a number of close encounters that he had to think quickly in order to keep himself and his platoon safe.

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  Harvey C. Barnum - Marines +6 Total Videos

  1st Battalion, 12th Marines

  Barney Barnum remembers his upbringing and one particular encounter at his high school that brought him to join the Marines.

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  John Weinig - Air Force +8 Total Videos

  6th Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing

  He was hit by ground fire eight times in Vietnam, but A-1 Skyraider pilot John Weinig managed to avoid any serious problems. He did have one problem related to his diet which earned him an unprintable nickname. And then there was that incident when he started receiving ground fire from both sides and froze.

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  Bill Smith - Air Force +3 Total Videos

  23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron

  Bill Smith reveals the last danger for men from his unit when their Vietnam War tour was finished, getting run over in traffic in Bangkok. A little bitter at the non-pursuit of victory by the policymakers, he nonetheless had a rewarding finish to his career flying scientific research missions.

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  Ron Sherman - Army +6 Total Videos

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

  After some kind words for Good Morning, Vietnam, photo officer Ron Sherman recalls a special mission he was given which involved a trip to Thailand. Pilots had spotted something strange in the A Shau Valley. What was it?

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  Henry Newinn - Army +5 Total Videos

  Phoenix Program

  After his time in the special services for Vietnam, Henry Newinn joined the Phoenix Program. As soon as the CIA looked at his records and saw what he had done previously, they thought he would be a good fit for the program. However, it wasn't long until the Americans decided to pull out of the war, leaving the south to fend for themselves.

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  Joe Jamison - Navy +8 Total Videos

  VA-22

  Part 1 of 2: Joe Jamison tells stories of piloting a A-4 Skyhawk off of the USS Midway. Raids deep into North Vietnam result in Joe being awarded the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross.

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  Lester Erving - Army +2 Total Videos

  U.S. Army, 1st Inf. Div., B Company

  Mr. Erving describes how he was mysteriously wounded while at base camp and sent to recover in the hospital for eighteen months.

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  Charlie Pocock - Air Force +5 Total Videos

  19th Tactical Air Support Squadron, 504th Tactical Air Support Squadron

  After re-enlisting in the service, Charlie Pocock passed his flight physical and was on active duty in Utah where he lived. When his plane was shot down over Vietnam, he had to think on his feet to run through the jungle and transmit his whereabouts via radio.