Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM Vietnam

A Kim | 5th Marine Regiment

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Showing : Vietnam Videos

Ron Mastin - Air Force +6 Total Videos

11th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron

The POW's were moved around the countryside and, eventually, back to the Hanoi Hilton. They knew something was up when they were allowed to mingle and were allowed to try on new clothes. Then the camp commander read aloud the Paris Peace Accords, but the reaction was subdued. Finally, one group was suited up and marched out of the prison.
Jack Jeter - Army +9 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Division

The day Jack Jeter was wounded was the third day of serious firefights. His commanding officer, Captain Barry McCaffrey, was wounded on the first day and the temporary replacement had his own ideas about how to proceed. That led the unit right into big trouble. Part 1 of 3. (Caution: strong language.)
David Brown - Army +6 Total Videos

4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade

The heat and the smell, that's what you first noticed about Vietnam, says David Brown. He got a little relief from the heat when he was sent to the countryside and spent most of his time under the canopy in the jungle. He was out there so long that he was momentarily baffled when he sat down at a table in a mess hall after a long trek. Tablecloths? Silverware? This was nice after the malaria and the leeches.
Steve Long - Marines +24 Total Videos

Marine Light Helicopter Squadron 167 (HML-167)

Normally, a door gunner would not fly his last month in country, but Steve Long finagled his way into the air. In his other job in the avionics shop, he had a run-in with the new officer in charge. He got a little satisfaction the night after he got his orders home.
Carl Scheidegg - Air Force +12 Total Videos

35th Tactical Fighter Squadron

His tour of duty was a real tour. F-4 pilot Carl Scheidegg spent time at many different air bases in Vietnam and Thailand. When he had a chance to go to China Beach and saw the perfect sand, he had a vision of the future. The Vietnamese had a lovely country and he will never forget the civilian he met who told him what the people in the South were fighting for.
Gordon Roberts - Army +7 Total Videos

B Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

The call came in. Delta Company was in a Broken Arrow situation and could be completely destroyed, so a relief effort was assembled and they started climbing through rough terrain. Gordon Roberts was the point man when, all of a sudden, an unseen bunker erupted with fire. Finding himself alone, he moved forward toward the bunker, laying down suppressive fire of his own. When it was over, four bunkers were taken out by one man. Part 1 of 2.
Freddie Owens - Army +11 Total Videos

A Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

The man was a World War II veteran and he was clutching a flag at the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Freddie Owens tells his remarkable story and how he became the subject of a famous photograph. And don't you tell him that the Wall doesn't talk to you.
Marshall Carter - Marines +16 Total Videos

1st Marine Division

The value of the Medivac chopper standing by at high altitude was proven when a pilot on a supporting fire mission had to bail out. Marshall Carter was able to call down the Medivac unit and extract the pilot, who surely would have been a POW. Part 4 of 5.
Galen Hoover - Navy +13 Total Videos

River Interdiction Division 40

The river boats were patrolling in narrow canals and rivers, searching for infiltrating NVA troops. Galen Hoover was in the second boat, trailing a boat that was supposed to be mine sweeping. That was the last thing he remembered about that day.
George Forrest - Army +11 Total Videos

1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment

After a couple of days of fierce fighting, George Forrest was told his company was now attached to another unit and was bringing up the rear as they moved out on foot to make way for a B-52 strike. After uttering an expletive, he moved out with the column on the infamous march to LZ Albany, the last big engagement of the epic Battle of the Ia Drang Valley. Part 2 of 4.
Tony Coalson - Army +15 Total Videos

201st Aviation Company, 1st Field Force

Tony Coalson's helicopter unit flew all of II Corps, a fourth of the entire country, unlike dedicated combat units, which only flew in their little slice of Vietnam. He recalls his first combat related mission, in which he delivered an assessment team right in the middle of one of the biggest battles of the war. Part 1 of 2.
Charlie McMahon - Marines +6 Total Videos

Combined Action Program, Hotel 6

McMahon becomes part of the Combined Action Program (CAP), working with Vietnamese militia to protect villages from Viet Cong thugs. On one occasion, the village is spared from enemy attack by an army artillery unit acting without orders. He and the villagers develop a bond that would last for decades.
Jack Jeter - Army +9 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Division

The bullet barely missed wrecking his knee. Jack Jeter was in for some hospital time before he could go home. Once he did, he was amazed at the blase attitude of his friends about Vietnam. Part 3 of 3. (Caution: strong language.)
George Forrest - Army +11 Total Videos

Multiple Units

George Forrest left home thinking his father had acquiesced to the white power structure in his home town. When he returned, though, he found out that what he'd done was just the opposite. Enjoying the ROTC element of his college experience, Forrest received a commission in the Army and had some interesting assignments before he joined a newly organized air assault division.
Henry Dunn - Army +9 Total Videos

2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry

The Battle of Ia Drang Valley had raged for hours when Henry Dunn's unit was moved in for support. They listened all night to the sound of the fight and then advanced the next morning. They immediately manned the perimeter and Dunn began his work as Forward Observer, calling in areas of concentration for artillery fire. Part 1 of 4.
George Forrest - Army +11 Total Videos

1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment

He should have been leery of the whole thing. George Forrest's unit was protecting convoys on the highway when the word came, a unit was heavily engaged in the Ia Drang Valley. From that point on, nothing seemed right, starting with Chinooks instead of Hueys coming to transport them. They arrived the second day of the battle and bolstered the exhausted troops led by Hal Moore. Part 1 of 4.
Freddie Owens - Army +11 Total Videos

A Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division

Freddie Owens shares his experiences during the ill-fated march to Landing Zone Albany during the battle of the Ia Drang Valley. His company was attached to another unit and was bringing up the rear. He credits his company commander, George Forrest, with saving them after the column walked into an ambush.
Willard Womack - Army +13 Total Videos

18th Aviation Operating Detachment

Willard Womack was nervously awaiting the news of what happened to the helicopter carrying some of his friends who had just participated in the Battle of Ap Bac, a crucial turning point early in the war. They had come though that unscathed but were now missing. Decades later, he received an email that brought the memories flooding back. Part 3 of 3. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)
Frank Cox - Marines +23 Total Videos

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

Frank Cox describes the booby traps fashioned by the Viet Cong, which some say killed and wounded more Marines than anything else in Vietnam.
Al Matheson - Air Force +6 Total Videos

554th Squadron, 553rd Reconnaissance Wing

The secret electronic intelligence operation known as Igloo White kept Al Matheson busy flying over Laos and North Vietnam. He describes the complex and exotic technology used which involved IBM mainframes and thousands of sensors, and he analyzes it's predictable failure.
Willard Womack - Army +13 Total Videos

18th Aviation Operating Detachment

As the American advisor argued with his Vietnamese counterpart over the radio, Willard Womack, an Army pilot stuck in transit, could hear the frustration mounting. The battle of Ap Bac could not be won with these tactics. Eventually, the evacuation was made and, weeks later, several of the aviators involved hitched a ride to Saigon for a night of carousing. Pt 2 of 3. (This interview made possible with the support of RALPH J. TINGLE.)
Tony Coalson - Army +15 Total Videos

201st Aviation Company, 1st Field Force

When helicopter pilot Tony Coalson was on the ground during the Battle of Dak To, he was astounded at the numbers of American dead. Some of the casualties were from a terrible friendly fire incident. He remembers watching a C-130 full of wounded men just barely survive takeoff. When he returned to his base, he had a solemn observation for his roommate. Part 2 of 2.
Ernest Banasau - Army +17 Total Videos

A Company, 4th Infantry Division

Under heavy fire, choppers attempt to evacuate wounded GIs from Kontum. After one fatal crash, a dustoff chopper manages to lift Ernest Banasau to safety. Years later, Banasau meets the pilot who saved him, and learns how close he came to meeting a tragic fate. Part 2 of 2
Sardo Sanchez - Marines +5 Total Videos

Combined Action Program, Group 2, 4th Unit, 2nd Platoon

With great difficulty, Sardo Sanchez recounts critical events that prove both devastating and fortunate. After taking the life of a VC soldier, he is hit by a sniper and told he may never walk again. In a state of shock, he narrowly avoids a fatal miscalculation.
Paul Jacobs - Navy +8 Total Videos

USS Kirk (FF-1087)

Paul Jacobs took command of the USS Kirk late in 1974. Its deployment was rushed in order to provide humanitarian relief as the war effort crumbled in Vietnam in April of 1975 and people began to flee. Enlisting a tanker to clear the way into Saigon, they began to take on helicopters, pushing them over the side after offloading the people.
Tommy Clack - Army +8 Total Videos

C Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division

Tommy Clack was out for seven days following his gruesome injury at the Vietnam front. He gradually became aware of missing limbs and a pretty nurse. His memories of an out-of-body experience after he was hit became the subject of a television documentary.
Dennis Haines - Army +15 Total Videos

C Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 199th Light Infantry Brigade

“I was out of it for days,” recalls Dennis Haines, He had a head wound and would only regain full consciousness after he was evacuated to a hospital in Japan, where he learned the left side of his body was paralyzed.
Jim Benson - Marines +14 Total Videos

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

Jim Benson's mission was to hold and guard the Tu Cau bridge. The work load on his men was heavy and he details the routine of patrols and ambushes, both day and night, that left the Marines exhausted. At the same time, he had to constantly train new replacements who had no combat knowledge.
Bill Camper - Army +13 Total Videos

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV)

Bill Camper felt like the people of Hue supported the South Vietnamese soldiers he was advising. He made some headway encouraging those men to fight and he relates the story of how he taught them to advance through their own artillery barrage and surprise the enemy from the rear.
Beirne Lovely - Marines +7 Total Videos

A Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division

It was inevitable. The hilltop outpost was overrun by what must have been a battalion of NVA regulars. Jolted from sleep, with his .45 in his hand, Beirne Lovely ran right into an AK-47 wielding North Vietnamese soldier. 2ndLt Terry Roach, the unit leader, ran right into much worse.