Vietnam :: The Patriot Files :: Dedicated to the preservation of military history

My tour as a Helicopter crew chief in South Vietnam was not one to be remembered by anyone other than myself, certainly not a tour that made me a hero in anyone’s eyes nor my own eyes. It was an interesting experience, one marked by extreme excitement at times and one also marked by extreme boredom and tedious monotony.

Note: by Frank Drinkwine, 187th AHC Tay Ninh RVN 9-70 9-71 18920 Reads

The Raid on the Son Tay

On the night of 20 November 1970 at 2300 hours, five HH-53s and one HH-3 helicopter took off with fifty-six Special Forces Soldiers from Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. The aircraft would refuel over Laos and enter North Vietnamese airspace from the west. The target of the helo borne assault was the Son Tay Prisoner of War (POW) Camp located 23 miles northwest of the North Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. The flight from Udorn to Son Tay was approximately 337 miles one way.

Note: Tom Powell, “Greenleaf” Element 14395 Reads

Three Man Patrol

Between Charlie and the jungle, things had been pretty hard on us. We were very short-handed. My squad was down to three men, counting myself. Yes, just me and two other guys. Our company had encountered a major trail that was extremely, heavily traveled. We called in on the field radio to report this major trail and were told to wait to be joined by the Tiger Force. (a hard core, elite, special fighting unit of the 101st Airborne).

Note: by Sarge Lintecum 7882 Reads

LZ Sally

The plane touched down at Bien Hoa in the mid-afternoon sun. The realization of where I was came to me with mixed emotions of wonder, excitement, apprehension and fear. I had volunteered for this, I told myself, so there's no use in questioning the decision now. You better suck it up and accept whatever happens.

Note: by Steve Nirk 9116 Reads

Phan Rang Christmas

Believe it or not, it was a very cold night on the outskirts of Phan Rang Air Base that Christmas night in 1967. Most of us had been scurrying earlier, prior to Guardmount, to find a jacket or a extra shirt---actually, anything to keep warm. I mean, 68°F was COLD, and we weren't used to it.

Note: by Carl Tripp, 35th SPS, Phan Rang, Vietnam - 1967. 7851 Reads

The New Guy Who Saved My Life

We had a new guy in our mortar platoon I will call Joe C. He was a Chicano from East L. A. He was friendly, and fun loving but liked to take chances. In the world of mortars, one of the top rules, is not to have a round in each hand while firing a mortar tube. It is nearly impossible to keep track of where the round in the barrel is.

Note: by Larry Nuckolls, 81MM + 4.2", B Co., 2/22 (M) 25TH INF DIV., 1970. 7468 Reads

Seawolves

At Det 1, we were flying missions that melted into each other and in retrospect, in another theater, would have been considered "medal" material on nearly a daily basis. We on the other hand, only knew we were doing a job to the best of our ability, under often hazardous conditions, with the ultimate goal of always being there and getting our "Brother Warriors" out of trouble safely so they could go home to their loved ones.

Note: by Michael W. Dobson 9020 Reads

Seawolf Down

Early on the morning of December 3, 1971, Paddy Control contacted Dustoff Operations with an emergency scramble mission. A Navy Seawolf helicopter had just given a mayday call near Tra Vinh, indicating he had been hit by enemy fire and was going down. We scrambled immediately, and Paddy vectored us to the coordinates where he'd last seen the Seawolf on radar.

Note: by David Freeman 6814 Reads

SRAP

The Short Range Ambush Platoon was organized as a small force whose primary mission was night ambush. SRAP was capable of operating independently without the support of any other elements. I can't speak for the entire platoon, but during my time, to my knowledge SRAP was Ranger led, and ably so. The first group was selected by SFC Jay Holloway from the battalion on an individual basis.

Note: by John Smerdon, 1/50 Infantry 8507 Reads

June 28th 1967 The Arrival

At the very end of June 1967 we arrived at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam. From there we took a bus ride to Camp Alpha. The bus ride was a bit odd. There was barbed wire on the opened windows. Someone asked the driver, “Why the barbed wire?” We were told that sometimes the V.C. liked to throw hand grenades into any American bus and the wire was a preventative measure.

Note: by Thomas Andrzejczyk, Co. "C" 4th/23 Mech Infantry, 25th Division 10483 Reads

Green LTs (Story One)

Any officers (former or present) that would challenge the contention that relying on "Sarge" was a smart thing to do? I was an NCO during my tour of RVN and occasionally served as platoon sergeant so naturally I agree with the above. Amazed that OCS, ROTC, West Point didn't drive it into the heads of young lieutenants to "listen to experience."

Note: by Craig E. Thompson 6778 Reads

First Zippo Joins the MRF

I remember the first time we were told to go to Dong Tam-it seemed strange for flame thrower APC's, from the 9th Inf, 15th Engineers to be told we were going to be with the Navy for awhile. We were nicknamed on the radio and respectfully so "Zippos" sometimes the electronic firing device didn't work, so we'd bring out our Zippos lighters and light the napalm this way as it was leaving the barrel. I had no hair on my arm for the first 8 months of this.

Note: by Paul Kasper, 15th Engineers/9th Infantry Division 8753 Reads

Rescue of Dustoff 65

It seems like yesterday that I was graduating from the Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Just a year earlier my friend Don and I were walking down the street checking out girls and cars like we did everyday after junior college classes.

Note: by Tim Lickness 7797 Reads

Night Ambush - The Tiger Strikes

On arrival in Vietnam in 1966, the 5th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, (5RAR) found the enemy moving freely throughout Phuoc Tuy Province during the night. The Viet-Cong and NVA were not used to being attacked during the dark hours, as the Americans' basically fought during daylight hours.

Note: by Bob Cavill, 5th Battalion RAR, SVN 1966 - 67 11874 Reads

Rat Patrol

Ask anybody who served in Vietnam about rats and they tell you all about the size and ferociousness of the rodents. Rats were difficult at best to control and almost impossible to eradicate. One of the keys to successful rat control was keeping your area policed and trash removed.

Note: by Stephen C. Gillis 8647 Reads

War Stories: Vietnam

Should U.S. force strength be increased on the DMZ?