A question for any Vietnam Army or Marine vet

[JimR]

Hello Hemi426, the old axiom was that we owned the daytime and the VC/NVA owned the night. We did not go on any night missions because it was too dangerous for us to plod through the jungle in the pitch black. If we were on a lengthy mission that required us to still be away from the basecamp at night, we always setup a circular perimeter, dug foxholes, prepared for the worst, but hoped for the best. The VC/NVA did most of their troop movements under the cloak of darkness because they could not be spotted by us from the air. We did do occasional night ambushes that we setup just outside the perimeter of our basecamp, but not too often.

We were attacked several times at night, both on the basecamp and in the jungle while in foxholes. The VC/NVA were able to penetrate the perimeter of the basecamp and wreak havoc inside the confines. This resulted in casualties on both sides. While in foxholes in the jungle, we were mortared on occasion and that was sometimes followed up by a ground assault to try and overrun us. Again, casualties on both sides.

Several airstrikes came real close to inficting casualties on our own men. The VC/NVA learned that it was in their best interest to engage us up close, so that we would be reluctant to call in an airstrike on their positions. If they were close and getting the better of us, we had no choice but to call in airstrikes and hope that the artillery or fighter pilots were accurate. Luckily, the airstrikes I witnessed killed only the enemy.

I went to Thailand for R&R and did the things that you can't mention on a family forum. I thank you again for your interest.

 

[Hemi426]

Jim,
I forgot to ask something. I suppose you were around 20 when you served. Were there any particular songs or artists that you liked to hear on Armed Forces Radio?

 

[JimR]

Hemi426, I was in fact 20 years old when I was in Vietnam.

The theme song of Vietnam had to have been "We Gotta Get Out of this Place" sung by Eric Burdon and the Animals.

Armed Forces Radio played all the great music of the 60's that I still listen to today. I liked the Beatles, Herman's Hermits, The Four Seasons, Credence Clearwater Revival, Dave Clark Five, Motown Artists, basically all the groups that popped up in the 60's.

 

[mikeg5]

Originally Posted By: JimR
I went to Thailand for R&R and did the things that you can't mention on a family forum. I thank you again for your interest.



hahahahaha... hey you needed to do what you needed to do. besides you never knew what will happen to ya.. i dont think most of us could even fathom the stress levels of actual close combat.. glad you made it home. where in nc do you live? you can pm me that if want (or not your choice). do you fly fish or anything?

 

[Hemi426]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_R._Prom

Jim,
I carry a printed picture of this man in my wallet since he was from my mother's hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. Do you carry any old pictures from the day in your wallet of people who you served with and lost?

 

[JimR]

Hi Hemi426, the Marine whose photo you keep in your wallet was an impressive man. I read his bio on the link you provided and I salute him for the unbelievable courage that he had. My condolences on his untimely passing.

I do not carry any pictures of lost comrades in my wallet. I have honored them by preserving their bio printouts from the traveling Vietnam Wall. I have also gone online to the Vietnam Wall websites and wrote messages to honor them and their service.

Thanks to all for your interest in this subject. At this point of my life, it means a lot to me. I have been silent for way too long.

 

[JimR]

Mikeg5, I attempted to send you a PM. I hope that you received it. If not, let me know and I will do better next time.

 

[greenaccord02]

I apologize if my comment above was taken to mean that these topics shouldn't be discussed. My intention was to avoid any undue stress on those veterans who might not have wished to share their stories in the public forum. This thread has been an eye-opener for me. I was raised to not ask questions of this nature because it would be impolite at best and disturbing at worst. I see now that that isn't always the case.

Thank you for sharing all of this. I have been very interested and moved by the posts in this thread and I think the number of views it has received shows that I'm not alone in that interest.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I think 99.999% Vietnam Veterans are appreciated, the only problem was we lost the war therefore most people don't want to talk about it. Also, there was a black mark about Vietnam war that nobody want to bring back, it was My Lai massacre.

 

[Hemi426]

Jim,
I keep that picture in my wallet in order to honor ALL Vietnam Vets. I chose him to keep in my wallet since he was so brave and he was from Pittsburgh. I'm glad that our exercising of your mind and memory is having a positive affect on you. I can tell that you needed to tell your story and that you are glad that a younger generation is willing to listen with excitement and respect. I just saw a TV offer for Vietnam: An American History from Time-Life. I may order it because it is supposed to be bias-free and it looks like it has some great combat footage. I was born during the war(I'm 39) but I want you to know that if you need to vent about anything regarding the war, I am a friend who will listen. Chris

 

[JimR]

Greenaccord02, I appreciate your interest in this conversation and the kind words in your message. It has been 41 years since I went to Vietnam and I still haven't been able to discuss this with my own family. The details maybe too gruesome and powerful for my mother, my father recently passed on and my two sisters and brother do not inquire. They may still think as many do that I don't want to ever talk about this with them or anyone. I am contemplating bringing up this subject at a future family gathering and see where it goes.

If you have any questions or are wondering about anything that went on, please ask.

 

[JimR]

HTSS_TR, what I tell eveyone about the Vietnam War is that we were winning the war when our Commander in Chief withdrew the troops. It was turned over to the South Vietnam Military and they lost it in two years time.

You are correct about the My Lai massacre. I hate to say it, but the My Lai massacre was committed by a platoon from the Americal Division about a year before I arrived in country. There is no excuse for what happened.

 

[JimR]

Chris (Hemi426), I do appreciate you starting a conversation of this nature. It gave me an opportunity to speak out on a topic that has lingered inside me for 41 years. The old cliche is true, "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of something related to my Vietnam experience." It is also true that you never, ever, forget what occurred during those trying times.

Thanks again for asking about the Vietnam War and I'll still be monitoring this if anyone else wishes to inquire.

 

[Hemi426]

Hi Jim,
Got a strange question for you. I've seen many photos and film of soldiers dangling their legs out of the open doors of Hueys while in flight. Did you ever hear of anyone actually falling out. I would be worried that I would be sitting like that and the chopper would come under small arms fire and have to take evasive actions and I would fall out. By the way, I have an AR-15 which I'm sure you know is basically a copy of the M-16 except it is only semi-automatic. It's a blast to shoot.

 

[JimR]

Chris, we always did our combat assaults with the doors of the chopper open and guys dangling their legs over the sides. I think I mentioned it before, the purpose was to get out of the chopper as fast as possible when you landed in a "hot" landing zone.

I never saw or heard of anyone ever falling out of a chopper whether it suddenly took evasive action or not. I'm not totally certain, but I think centrifugal force had something to do with keeping you inside.

By the way, we did not have "attack" music blaring on a loudspeaker when we did combat assaults on hostile territory. I refer to actor Robert Duvall in the movie "Apocalypse Now" who made that famous, but only in the movies.

As you may know, the M-16 was an unreliable weapon when they first started using it in Vietnam. It would jam at the worst possible times when life and death were at stake. I understand that they have since made improvements on it, and it is more reliable in today's military. I hope you don't go hunting with it.

Take care and best regards.

 

[Mr Nice]

Books such as:
Low Level Helll, Chickenhawk, To the Limit and Cleared Hot ! answer many of your questions.

 

[Hemi426]

Jim,
Yes, I knew that the Army didn't use attack music. I always thought that was kind of corny in Apocalypse Now for them to play Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner when they were coming in from the water. I know the whole story behind the problems with the M-16. As a matter of fact, My AR-15 jams from time to time. Something I forgot to ask earlier. Did you ever get to see a "Spooky" gunship in action against the enemy? That must be something to see. I watched the story of a tank division in Vietnam last night on the Military Channel. Our tanks held their own but were still nearly over-run until they were able to call a Spooky in which in turn rained down its Gatling gun and 105mm howitzer on the NVA. Were you guys friendly with the ARVN troops or did you treat them as just soldiers fighting a common enemy and keep your distance. I know some of the American advisors who were there in the early '60s became quite close with some of the South Vietnamese people and families. Thanks.

 

[JimR]

Chris, I saw a "Spooky" from a distance on several occasions. I watched from a bunker while on night guard duty on the basecamp. The Spooky was firing at something that we could not see from our vantage point. Their firepower and rate of fire were awesome. Every fifth round they fire is a tracer round. When they fire at night, all you can see is a steady stream of tracer rounds coming down. It looked like an orange laser beam coming down from the sky. The Cobra helicopter gunships were impressive also.

We were not all that friendly with ARVN troops because most of them were not well trained, lackadaisical, and were content with letting us fight their fight for them. There was much resentment on our part because of that. Luckily, we did not have to work with them all that much. The NVA were far superior soldiers to the ARVN, probably why the NVA easily won the war when we left.

 

[Hemi426]

Jim,
Was it so much the fact that the NVA was far superior or the fact that Gerald Ford dramatically cut military aid and broke Nixon's promise to bring back the B-52s if North Vietnam refused to cease hostilities?

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

Hemi, I think your time-line is out of whack.