Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM Vietnam

A Kim | 5th Marine Regiment

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Showing : Vietnam Videos

John Walker - Army +4 Total Videos

170th Assault Helicopter Company, 1st Aviation Brigade

Compared to the infantry, the living conditions were like a Holiday Inn, says helicopter mechanic John E. Walker. They had Vietnamese women to do the laundry and manual labor, although he didn't really trust them. He recalls an older friend there who taught him to play chess and keep on the straight and narrow.
Ed Zielinski - Army +7 Total Videos

129th Assault Helicopter Company, 1st Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade

When Ed Zielinski returned home from Vietnam, he took fire immediately, a spitball from an anti-war protestor. His entered a trying time in his life, but continuing to fly was a big help. He joined the National Guard and taught new helicopter pilots the real life skills they would need, the ones not in the book. (Caution: Coarse language)
Bill Cunningham - Marines +24 Total Videos

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 (HMM 263)

The big twin rotor helicopters flown by Marine pilot Bill Cunningham in Vietnam had door gunners with 50 caliber machine guns. As he approached a landing zone on a night mission, he heard one of the weapons fire. The gunner thought he had spotted an enemy muzzle flash. Unfortunately, it was not.
Frank Cox - Marines +23 Total Videos

F Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division

Operation Kings started out badly when two young Marines suffered heat stroke and had to be evacuated. Then the three platoons were caught in an ambush by a larger enemy force. In the chaos, Lt. Frank Cox went to aid of his favorite corporal, whose life was saved by an unusual haversack load. Part 1 of 2.
Ed Zielinski - Army +7 Total Videos

129th Assault Helicopter Company, 1st Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade

Nineteen and invincible, newly minted helicopter pilot Ed Zielinski was singing on the 26 hour flight to Vietnam. Assigned to work with a Korean unit, he began to familiarize himself with the area he was based in, determined to be the best pilot there.
Grayson Roulston - Army +7 Total Videos

3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, B. Co

While stationed in Vietnam, Grayson Roulston and his company worked on the mobile riverine force to try to secure the area from VC. After his injury, he took some time off the front lines to do some administrative work before being sent back to the field.
Ray Porter - Marines +12 Total Videos

1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment

Ray Porter was told to get 130 Marines ready to go by midnight. They were in Okinawa and he assumed that they would be going to recover gold from the embassy in Saigon. But the mission was the recovery of the SS Mayaguez, a container ship which had been seized by Cambodian forces. Part 1 of 3.
Bill Cunningham - Marines +24 Total Videos

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 (HMM 263)

Marine helicopter pilot Bill Cunningham had a hooch next to the short runway where his aircraft were based. One night he was startled to hear the roar of a large jet aircraft very close. He awoke to a strange sight.
Bob Kessler - Army +5 Total Videos

U.S. Army, 2nd Infantry Division, Forward Observer

Mr. Kessler describes extinguishing two Vietnamese divisions with artillery fire while defending an Air Force base.
Al Muller - Air Force +9 Total Videos

23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron

As an aeronautical engineer, Al Muller had done a lot of interesting work in the Air Force, but as a Forward Air Controller flying out of Thailand, he added the experience of war to his resume. After targeting a vast ammo dump that burned for two weeks, he got a surprise when he returned from R & R.
Andrew Robbins - Army +8 Total Videos

3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

After a short operation to recover a tank, the unit accidentally stumbled upon a VC bunker complex. Andrew Robbins was checking it out when enemy mines exploded. They had to shoot their way out and then they found out there was a division size enemy force in the area. This action began a series of misadventures and blunders caused by inexperienced leadership which would have many repercussions. Part 2 of 5.
Frank Cox - Marines +23 Total Videos

Echo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division

As three Marine companies advanced on a decidedly non-friendly village, the forward observer called for artillery support. Frank Cox was the artillery liaison officer and, finding the commander asleep, he gave the fire order himself, a move which had repercussions. A CBS news crew was embedded in the operation and they captured a famous image which had major repercussions back home.
GEN William Kernan - Army +4 Total Videos

101st Airborne Division

When General William F. "Buck" Kernan was a young officer going into Vietnam, he was hoping to be assigned to the 101st Airborne and he got his wish. Soon he was in command of Tiger Force platoon, a group of hardened specialists who operated in the deep jungle. There was no training that could completely prepare you for that. It was an evolutionary learning experience.
Al Matheson - Air Force +6 Total Videos

554th Squadron, 553rd Reconnaissance Wing

Al Matheson describes how a Beechcraft Bonanza became a drone crammed with electronics that replaced a manned aircraft with a crew of 31. Naturally, the Air Force came looking for that newly idled manpower.
Will Gehlen +14 Total Videos

French Foreign Legion

Fighting for the French Foreign Legion in Indochina, Will Gehlen relates his experiences during the battle of Dien Bien Phu, in which he was wounded and captured by the Viet Minh.
Harvey C. Barnum - Marines +6 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 9th Marines

After the firefight, Barnum had to deal with additional sniper fire and acted decisively to keep his troops safe. After all of this, he got some news from higher up; he was going to be receiving the Medal of Honor. Part 3/3
Michael Marshall - Marines +7 Total Videos

3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division

It was early in the battle when Michael Marshall pointed to the machine gunner to show him where to set up his weapon. An enemy round tore into his arm and he was knocked to the ground. The rapid response of his buddies and the evacuation team was outstanding. Back home, his employer before the war continued the good work.
Terry Sater - Navy +9 Total Videos

River Assault Squadron 13

Terry Sater joined the Navy in 1966 with hopes of avoiding going to Vietnam. His initial deployment was aboard the USS Enterprise stationed off the Coast of Vietnam. After failing Electronics School Terry was assigned to the Mobile Riverine Force Training in California.
Al Lipphardt - Army +10 Total Videos

D Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade

Vietnam veteran Al Lipphardt has an instant connection with other veterans of any conflict. He says to truly understand a combat veteran, one must have been through combat because the experience is overwhelming.
COL Robert Certain - Air Force +7 Total Videos

U.S. Air Force, B-52 Navigator, 307th Strategic Air Wing

Part 4 of 5: Robert spends 100 days at the infamous Hanoi Hilton and Zoo prisons in North Vietnam.
Joe Galloway (Co-author of +13 Total Videos

Civilian Journalist

Joe Galloway was right in the middle of the Ia Drang battle and witnessed the withering artillery and air power that felled so many thousands. Later, Galloway asked North Vietnam's General Giap what he thought about losing so many men. The answer surprised him.
Grayson Roulston - Army +7 Total Videos

187th Assault Helicopter Company, 1st Aviation Brigade

As Grayson Roulston and his company moved across Vietnam, they often had to face obstacles ensuring that their soldiers and equipment were safe.
George Bailey - Army +5 Total Videos

Company A/501st Aviation Battalion, 71st Assault Helicopter Company

George bailey describes Ash and Trash missions. He describes these missions as beneficial and excellent learning tools that aiding him in learning how to manage the use of an aircraft. He also gives an overall inside look at his experience in Vietnam and the different locations he traveled to.
George Forrest - Army +11 Total Videos

1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment

The war changed him for the better, says George Forrest, though it took a while to realize that family was more important than chasing a military career. A visit to Vietnam decades after the conflict made him wonder if it had been worth it. He does know two things, he would have liked a free ticket to a Packers game and he wishes the war was remembered for more than alleged atrocities and stoned troops.
Al Lipphardt - Army +10 Total Videos

D Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade

Outmanned by at least five to one, but with good air support, Al Lipphardt’s unit fought the NVA for four days in the fight known only as the Battle for Hill 63 in Operation Dorland. He had never had a greater feeling than realizing he was still alive after it was all over.
Bud Alley - Army +13 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry

The battle of Ia Drang Valley had subsided and the word came to leave the battlefield, the enemy having apparently vanished. Bud Alley recounts the bad news that piled up, no air transportation, no water resupply and not much time before the B-52 strike right where they were standing. Part 3 of 6.
Jerry Sinn - Army +6 Total Videos

Reconnaissance Platoon, Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division

The Tunnel Rats went right down into the Viet Cong's holes in the ground and eliminated them. When new Lieutenant Jerry Sinn got a taste of it, he knew he could do it. The teams were experienced, disciplined and deliberate, and since it was the 1st infantry Division, no less was expected.
Paul Van Riper - Marines +9 Total Videos

M Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

In 1969, the worry was that there would be another Tet Offensive. That did not materialize, but there was plenty of combat. Marine Captain Paul Van Riper tells the story of a large encounter with the 141st NVA Regiment during which one of his men, Lance Corporal Lester Weber, charged the enemy with such fury that he is now part of Marine history.
Charlie McMahon - Marines +6 Total Videos

Combined Action Program, Hotel 6

On the road to Hue, McMahon encounters legendary war correspondent Catherine Leroy, who surrenders herself to North Vietnamese occupiers for her now famous article "The Enemy Lets Me Take His Picture". Years later, the two reconnect.
Jim Benson - Marines +14 Total Videos

I Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

It was already late and Jim Benson had a river crossing to deal with. Once there, he called for the rope, a vital piece of gear for the crossing. Private Dewey had forgotten the rope. Private Dewey was a train wreck, but when the shooting started, he was the man you wanted by your side. The next day, after a sleepless night with the listening post reporting movement, they made a startling discovery.