Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM Vietnam

A Kim | 5th Marine Regiment

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Showing : Vietnam Videos

John Jones - Marines +9 Total Videos

Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 165

He was in ROTC and on the drill field when a B-52 flew over in all its glory and John Jones felt a patriotic urge. When he saw a recruiting poster for Marine Aviators, he new that was what he wanted to be. He had six siblings and felt that someone had to pay the price of freedom for all those kids.
Greg Camp - Army +9 Total Videos

1st Cavalry Division

All the time. That's how often Greg Camp came under mortar fire when he was at a base camp in Vietnam. One time, he thought he was blinded after a round hit an ammunition cache. There was a soldier under his command who kept bugging him for a job in the rear. Be careful what you ask for.
Bob Atkinson - Marines +17 Total Videos

K Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment

Bob Atkinson remembers Operation Union for one reason. He found that there was something out there that could make him bleed as much as encountering the enemy. It was in a cold, clear mountain stream.
Albert Watson - Army +5 Total Videos

199th Light Infantry Brigade

There were booby traps galore in the Mekong Delta where platoon leader Albert Watson served most of his tour. His unit managed to avoid any injuries from them until they were sent north into the jungle, where they were tougher to spot. The men had to be cross trained because of the constant rotation of troops. You had to be able to step into another role to cover for someone who was no longer there.
Bob Babcock - Army +8 Total Videos

B Company, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division

Bob Babcock's most vivid memory of Vietnam is the time his unit was hit by friendly fire. A tree burst rained down shrapnel and radioman David Mendez was killed. Sgt. Roy Reynolds and Lt. Walt Ferguson were also wounded and the men had to chop down trees to give the evacuation choppers room to land.
Bob Havens - Navy +9 Total Videos

Observation Squadron 67 (VO-67)

Bob Havens salutes the memory of Dennis Anderson, a Navy pilot who was among Observations Squadron 67's first casualties. There are two stories, one funny and one poignant.
Larry Jennings - Army +9 Total Videos

510th Engineer Company

Larry Jennings was a little older than most of the guys he served with in Vietnam and he tried to steer them away from the bad choices that they could easily make. Many of them looked up to him and took his advice, including one who didn't make it.
Tony Coalson - Army +15 Total Videos

201st Aviation Company, 1st Field Force

The Tet Offensive was the most singular event of the Vietnam War. For helicopter pilot Tony Coalson, it began as almost nothing, but he knew it was a big deal when they brought out the 50 cal machine gun at the base. Does anybody here know how to use this thing? Part 1 0f 3.
Bill Crossley - Army +15 Total Videos

Provisional Artillery Group, I Field Force

His job was to inspect artillery fire bases for security and, right away, Bill Crossley could see the problems. After unclogging supply lines for concertina wire and teaching the gun crews at the first base how to patrol, he decided he needed a better way to get their attention. That led him to a former VC sapper named Nguyen. Part 1 of 2.
Barry Purnell - Army +5 Total Videos

121st Aviation Company, 13th Combat Aviation Battalion, 164th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade

He never took R&R while he was in Vietnam and he kept busy flying right up until he rotated home. Barry Purnell explains his logic and then he reveals an odd request he made of his father to prepare his homecoming. He brought home no demons from the war, but he did share in the ill treatment by an ungrateful public.
Larry Jennings - Army +9 Total Videos

1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division

Larry Jennings saw some of the younger soldiers in Vietnam going astray with the local women, which he attributed to the very young age of the men. Out in the field, friendly fire was sometimes a problem, affecting our Australian and Korean allies as well.
Tracy Sheils - Marines +5 Total Videos

1st Marine Regiment

His one trip to the hospital was memorable. Fed up with the chaos and screaming, Tracy Sheils couldn't wait to get back to his unit. He talks about surviving an ambush, how he took up smoking and why that was a good thing, and why his flak jacket was worthless.
Paul Kaupas - Marines +7 Total Videos

1st CA Group, 3rd Marines

Paul Kaupas remembers going to Phu Bai and getting acclimated to the elements there. While out on patrol, they would often face sniper fire and have to deal with maintaining cover.
John Jones - Marines +9 Total Videos

Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 165

Marine helicopter pilot John Jones suffered some superficial wounds when his aircraft was downed on a mission. While he was getting checked out for flight status, they wanted him to sign a list to get a Purple Heart. He refused.
Jim and Tuy-Cam Bullington +8 Total Videos

US Department of State

The Vietnam War was a defining event for those involved. Jim Bullington's life was shaped by his experience with the State Department there and it gives him a true perspective mostly lacking today. It also gave him a lifelong partner and they share their unique story and sage advice.
Richard Hawes - Marines +6 Total Videos

Marine Attack Squadron 224, 1st Marine Air Wing, Marine Aircraft Group 12

It was a startling discovery only two miles from the air field at Chu Lai, where Marine pilot Richard Hawes was based. A vast underground bunker facility dug by the Viet Cong, which required large bombs with delayed fuses to destroy. In the air, most of his missions were short, sometimes within sight of the air field.
Bud Alley - Army +13 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry

The enemy was supposed to be back in Cambodia and the column of Americans was snaking away from the Ia Drang battlefield toward landing zones to be picked up. But the men heading toward LZ Albany came under fire from all around. Bud Alley recalls the frightening firefight which ended with him in a ditch listening to the NVA executing the wounded. Part 4 of 6.
Vis Kimenis - Army +10 Total Videos

266th Supply and Service Battalion

Vis Kimenis describes one of the more difficult aspects of his duties as a supply and service officer in Vietnam- to identify perished soldiers and to evacuate their remains.
Bob King - Army +1 Video

199th Helicopter Unit

Bob King recalls destroying a North Vietnamese building only to discover there were more than just Vietnamese there.
Doug Garner - Army +8 Total Videos

Company A, 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division

Doug Garner shares a story about how closely he and his fellow soldiers had been interacting with Viet Cong and North Vietnamese officials without even realizing it, and how the Viet Cong would lie to the local population about the American soldiers.
Dale Ney - Army +10 Total Videos

173rd Airborne Brigade, 503rd Infantry Regiment

Dale Ney never took a bullet in Vietnam but he did have an unfortunate encounter with a punji stick. Another constant fear was enemy Claymore mines. And as if all that wasn't bad enough, every bit of wildlife in the country seemed to be against you.
Doug Garner - Army +8 Total Videos

Company A, 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division

Doug Garner recalls being ambushed by the Viet Cong on the Mekong Delta, and a firefight that lasted overnight and left him wondering how he could have survived.
Laurie Druyor - Navy +4 Total Videos

USS Sanctuary

After her year in Vietnam was up, Laurie Druyor went back over to the United States to Key West, Florida. She was lucky enough to meet her husband, who was also helping serve in the Vietnam war as a helicopter pilot. She gives her closing remarks and reflections about her experiences in war and what she hopes everyone watching will take away from this. (Interview conducted at, and with the assistance of, the Military Heritage Museum- https://freedomisntfree.org/.)
Tal Centers - Army +7 Total Videos

1st Battalion, 23rd Field Artillery Regiment

As a forward observer, Tal Centers would sometimes go up in a small helicopter for aerial spotting. On one such mission, a high caliber round from an enemy machine gun brought down the aircraft. He saw red, then he went unconscious.
Stephen Saunders - Army +6 Total Videos

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

Another close call that Saunders talks about is the time he was sleeping on a mine, and another time where one of the helicopters went down. He had a few interactions with the wildlife there and worked indirectly with ARVN troops. There were a few humorous stories too, one of which happened during an ambush. (Caution: Some strong content.)
Grady Birdsong - Marines +8 Total Videos

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

In 1967, General Westmoreland called for more troops in Vietnam, which President Johnson later approved. Grady Birdsong and his battalion were called into Hue City in 1968 to run support on the canal areas near the citadel.
Pat Richardson - Army +8 Total Videos

128th Assault Helicopter Company

While serving in a remote area of Korea in the early sixties, Pat Richardson was surprised when the water purification unit disappeared overnight. Nobody knew where they were for quite a while. He flew in helicopters while there, never thinking that he would fly them himself someday.
Bob Wylie - Navy +4 Total Videos

Naval Support Activities, Saigon

To Bob Wylie, the experience in Vietnam was a disaster for military discipline and organization. He likens it to the Korean War and blames political considerations for both outcomes.
Bud Alley - Army +13 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry

The first thing that hit him was the smell. The place just smelled different. Then he had his first ride on a helicopter, even though his unit was air mobile. At the base camp, it was pup tents in the mud, and a few feet away, the jungle. They had beat the food there, so for a week, it was Saltines and tuna and not a heck of a lot of it.
Phil Ovelman - Marines +6 Total Videos

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

Phil Ovelman's tour in the CAPs was rife with perils. He ponders the dangerous irony of winning hearts and minds, and cites the rules of engagement as an obstacle to winning wars.