Was an advisor deep in the Delta, and was visiting a three person team, and it was weapon's cleaning day. On the right is a fellow Captain, later nearly killed in an ambush, on the left is a Mexican American SFC , who we called Toyota, just one of those strange combat things. They were in the bunker later when the compound was over-run, and only saved their lives by holding down the trigger and running a thousand round belt thru the M60, both severe hearing impaired later. Note the snobby on the bench.

As an advisor, I had all sorts of firearms, nobody cares or knows anything about you when you are an advisor, had 5 different SMG's and scrounged a 45 cal revolver, took 45 ACP in moon clips, and used to take it with me when I would take a chopper up to Saigon every two months to try to straighten out my pay. That way if I had to drop it and walk away, I would not lose my issue 1911.

Which I did later out of a well worn holster. All the best, and stay safe, SF VET
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Special Forces units were a lot different than most Army units. Non-issued weapons and privately owned weapons were generally forbidden. I knew a few officers and warrant officer pilots who had personal sidearms, but that required specific permission from unit commanders. For the majority of us possession of an unauthorized weapon was considered a serious offense.

I saw a couple of S&W Model 60 stainless .38 Special snubs. I remember a Colt Trooper .357 magnum. One pilot carried a Ruger Blackhawk single-action revolver, and another carried a Browning .22 pistol (which he thought would make a better survival piece than the issued Model 10 S&W 4" .38 Special).

While assigned to a Pathfinder Detachment we provided support to many different units, US, ARVN, Army, Marines, and occasionally Special Forces. Some of the SF guys carried Browning Hi Power 9mm pistols and Swedish K 9mm SMGs. From time to time I'd see the old M3 .45 SMGs, which were still being issued to tank crews but some found their way to aviation crews looking for more firepower than the .38 revolvers usually issued. Quite a few Thompsons around, WW2 M1 or M1A1 models which were probably given to Ho Chi Minh's forces while they were fighting Japanese occupation during WW2. M1 and M2 Carbines were very commonly seen, provided in large numbers to South Vietnamese troops. Shotguns were used for guard duty in some areas, mostly Winchester Model 12 or 1897 Trench Guns.

A few Lugers and Walther P38 pistols showed up, which I assume arrived in the hands of French colonial troops who were veterans of fighting the Nazis.

For those of us who had trained on the M14 rifle and later transitioned to the M16, a M14 was a prized possession if we could get one. The M16 was a lot lighter to carry (especially the ammo), but many of the early rifles had a bad reputation for serious jamming problems. As I recall, the M16A1 rifles started arriving about 1970, and most of the problems had been corrected.

Long time ago, and I seem to be rambling on.

In Vietnam, it was awash with weapons. No body cared about us advisors, we were rarely visited by anybody. I gave an M3 .45 SMG to a Jesuit priest in a tiny village along the Cambodian border, he showed me his revolver, and I told him when they come to kill you, that will never work, so gave him my M3 and a sack of magazines. Decades later, I read a great obituary about him, he made it back and devoted his life to his faith.

I shot about 600 Kodachromes with my Pentax, and a few years ago, had about 80 professionally digitalized, they look as good as the day I shot them. But the above is the only one I have relating to a revolver, so the moderators would not appreciate any other pictures.

Indeed, in Desert Storm, the army was far more explicit, all I had was my issue .45. By then I was a physician, and another MD brought his Beretta 92, and our hospital commander made him turn it into our armory until we returned. I heard of other returning troops getting caught with AK's and such when they DROS'd back 'Stateside.

I was CO of A/1/5 for 18 months out of Bragg when I got back, was MACV and not SF "in-country."

All the best, and stay safe.... SF VET

This is fantastic and I thank you all for your service...

SF VET, there are other sub forums you can post in, no worries if not, this is all long before my time but I am absolutely facanated with war time stores and love reading posts about it, with all due respect.

Thanks for sharing
Erik

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This is the way....

Dad did a tour in 69-70, with MACV Intelligence, just before his retirement. Spent a bit of time out in the field with ARVN troops. Saw things that he still doesn't talk about, the ARVN played by different rules than us.

He scrounged a Hi-Power and ammo from some Aussies, left his M16 in his hootch, and carried a Model 12 shotgun and the Hi-Power in the field. As far as I knew, nobody cared.

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Only a cold warrior

I had a buddy that was Air Force , he always had a Browning 9 Mike and a Swedish K.

We were allowed anything we wanted but you better have your issue weapon on you. I think all the problems with unauthorized weapons came from service outfits. They were issued a rifle but would get a pistol and leave their rifle. Then if SHF you had worthless people with nothing but 38Spec revolvers.

i was a.f., flew with 1st air commando,out of bein hoa,64-64. we were issued victory model and ar 15's, but carried pretty much what we wanted. i even found MODEL 19, NICKEL AND HALF A BOX .357 MAG,WORTH IT'S WEIGHT IN GOLD.also swedish k's and baby brownings.BOUGHT MANY M1 AND M2 CARBINES FROM ARVIN and vnaf.

Thank You all for sharing your stories and Thank You for your Service.

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Two Handguns every day

would enjoy sharing slides of my year in Vietnam, as soon as the moderators allow me to do so, in the Lounge I suppose. Not yet available to me. I don't want to be banned just when have joined this fine forum. SF VET

[IMG][/IMG]I am sure this pilot and his back seat are wearing their issue revolvers. But can't risk any more pics until moderators allow me. Tan San Nnut, Saigon, Was overrun in the offense. SF VET

As a pilot I had a 4" model 19 S&W in a chest holster.

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Sag Harbor & Manhattan, N.Y.

Not only that but from what I have read there were also a lot of Germans in the French Foreign Legion during the years after WWII.

If'n yer gonna ramble, this is the place to do it. We love hearing that stuff.

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Stay protected my friends.

Quality post SF Vet. I look forward to seeing the slides, wherever you decide to share them.

Interesting to see another SOF physician. Side story - I joined the Army Reserves in the early 1990s with a guy who signed up through the 19th Special Forces Group, a National Guard Unit out of Utah. Of course, that was just his foot in the door and no assurance of selection down the line. He made it to SF selection several years later but experienced persistent and debilitating intestinal issues while at Mackall and the Army discharged him medically. Disappointed, he finished college and started medical school.

He realized after several years of good health and during the second year of medical school that he, in fact, did not have the medical condition which triggered his medical discharge. So, he convinced the Army, got a waiver, and the Army took him back during medical school. He completed family and emergency medicine residencies and was again chosen for SF selection which he completed as a physician. The need to "catch up" on small unit tactics and infantry skills better known to most others presented a special challenge, as he tells it. So, the story goes on that he is still a SOF soldier and physician, now back in the states after many years in Europe and Middle East as a battalion surgeon and other roles. Reconnected with him in 2019 when he came to Charlotte for the Special Operation Medical Association (SOMA) conference.

Anyway, I mention it because there are certainly not too many SF physicians and fewer on such an odd circuitous path. Thought that you might find it interesting. Maybe not. Keep the photos coming.

Thanks to you vietnam vets who have posted and those who haven’t, have a lot of respect for you guys. Too many never made it from that part of the world. It was a crazy time in US history, most today who have never served just don’t get it. I missed out by a couple of years because of age, served during first gulf “war” which I’m not even sure really qualified as such. Was proud to serve though. Thanks to all forum members who ever did, and still do today. God bless you all.

A little more rambling some might find interesting:

The first M16A1 rifle I was issued was manufactured by General Motors Hydramatic Division.

Some of our M60 light machineguns were made by RockOla, the jukebox company.

A M3A1 .45 submachine gun I picked up was manufactured by Signal Lamp Company.

A Thompson M1A1 .45 submachinegun I had for a while was manufactured by Savage Arms Company.

A truly rough looking, but completely reliable and accurate, M1911A1 .45 pistol was made by Union Switch & Signal Company, Swissvale, Pennsylvania.

Camouflage fatigue uniforms and boonie hats were practically impossible to get in combat units, but every cook and clerk-typist at MACV HQ in downtown DaNang seemed to have all they wanted. Major headquarters areas were like fashion shows of the newest and best field uniforms and equipment.

Captured weapons and gear (Chicom pistols, belts, holsters, SKS rifles, helmets, etc) were excellent trade goods at US Air Force bases. We sold our excess for cash or traded "war trophies" for cases of frozen steaks and other goodies that were not available from other sources. We once hauled a complete 12.7mm anti-aircraft gun to the big Air Force base at DaNang and brought back a truck load of beer in exchange, after watching the latest movie in the air conditioned base theater, right next to the "big PX in the sky" filled with all the best stereos, cameras, Seiko and Rolex watches, and shops for Hong Kong tailors providing handmade custom suits for the more discriminating classes.

Interesting experiences, half a century ago.

SFVet. Thank you for your service and the great photo. I would love to see all your slides !
Army 74-77 here

One of my favorite war stories. We holed up in abandoned Marine bunker after XX1V Corps took over MR-1. We found a stack of NVA helmets that Marines had left. Me and buddy got to go back to HQ and took helmets with us. Planning to trade them. All the helmets were very good shape except one that had jagged holes and parts of previous owner dried inside. Our Battery HQ had ammo pallets for side walks. The battery clerk comes out of HQ and meet us. He had latest camo, boonie hat filled with 12g 00. He wanted to buy a helmet. After going through them he picked the shot up one. Me and buddy got Jeep with m60 and threw helmets on ground. Shot them up and raised price $10.

Chuck's preferred way to over-run an outpost was to leave it completely alone, then the Vietnamese troops would get lazy and careless. Would have their lunch, then nap in their bunkers with their families, and Chuck would walk in thru the front door, toss grenades into the bunkers, grab the commo and weapons and beat feet. In this one, across the river, I accompanied the rescue force but by the time we got there, all dead. While standing there on the berm all the Vietnamese troops started jumping into the smoldering bunkers, I asked what was going on, their reply was that the wrong coordinates were given to supporting 105's, and we had incoming. So dove in with them, and WP impacted just outside the berm.

When I am able, will post pics to I think the non-pertinent forum. When I left active duty in '73, used my GI bill to become a MD, and then back again Army for decades.

Stay safe, SF VET

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Great thread and photo's thank you SOF VET. And thank you- and all who served in Vietnam for your service to our Republic.

While in 1st ID, I acquired a few non-issued weapons during my tour. Two M2 carbines, 2 AK's, Ithaca model 37 shotgun, short barrel, hand guard and bayonet lug, and a Thompson M1A1 sub machinegun. The old man said we could carry anything we wanted, but outside the wire, M-16 and basic load were mandatory. Anyone who's been there knows you begrudged any extra ounce in that heat. So, those extras stayed at base camp, were used mainly for taking pictures to send home, especially the Thompson.

I had a wide assortment of firearms to have fun with, but when out with the Vietnamese, since I had a PRC 77 to carry, I just wore my issue 1911. I never saw a Thompson, but heard a story from my SFC companion that he had been in a unit where a trooper begged to carry a Thompson, so he did on one patrol, but had to carry a "basic load" and never left the wire with all that wt again. Here, talking a break with a counterpart, note only my 45 and all the mud. All the best, and stay safe.

SF VET
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As a Navy Corpsman w/a Marine rifle squad in ‘66 I only saw issued weapons. My name was “Doc”.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Great pictures...made it feel like yesterday. We had access to just about anything, saw lots of grease guns and a few Thompsons, I relocated a sloppy Lt. of his .45 and pistol belt when he left it laying across the seat of the jeep he was driving, carried it for six months before selling it to another G.I. for 50 bucks. That was the only unauthorized firearm I wanted to pack around, it was with me all the time and probably saved my bacon at least once when all I did was show that I had it on under my jacket while being "mugged" by a group of unarmed Korean stevedores.

Guys in my outfit that had 38s had to bum ammo from the RRRforce, our supply didn’t have it. I think they also had 357 & 9mm. The Helicopter outfits also had more than 45acp. We only had 00 12g, we got 7.5s off Navy. They had it for recreational shooting.

Lots of trading took place. Most Army units had at least one guy who was really good at scrounging things no one else could get. The "black market" was a seriously nasty business, but the "good old boys network" was a blessing for those of us not located in large base camps or headquarters areas.

One example that comes to mind now is beer. Beer was not terribly difficult to obtain, each soldier had a ration card allowing the purchase of either 4 cases of beer or 4 bottles of liquor monthly from PX Class 6 stores. Beer was $2.40 per case, most popular liquors were $1.80 to $1.90 per quart. The overwhelming problem was getting COLD BEER. Refrigeration was next to non-existent. The brass ordered CO-2 fire extinguishers kept under lock and key (a 6-pack in a sandbag, then discharge a CO-2 extinguisher into the sandbag, and you had a few chilled beers). Ice was non-existent in most outposts.

Burying your beer under the floor of an underground bunker, maybe 10 feet below ground level, resulted in luke-warm beer. There was always the danger of others locating your stash and leaving a pile of empty cans.

Best solution we ever found was a nearby Marine aviation unit. Always had a F4 Phantom jet fighter-bomber coming out of maintenance and needing a check ride. We could haul over 6 or 7 cases of canned beer, strap them into the bombardier-navigator seat, let a Marine pilot take them up to 35,000 feet or so for a half-hour. Bingo! Cold beer! The Marines kept half, we took half back to the hootch. Of course, at about $30,000 per hour for F4 operation I should add sincere thanks to the American taxpayers for chilling our $2.40 per case beers.

Still rambling on here. Beer seems to stimulate my memory cells.

Vietnam was before my time, but we also had rationing in Korea. If one used up all of their ration on themselves, they would soon weigh 300 lbs and have serious lung/heart problems. For those who drank beer, the OB off base was as good as what you could get in the Px/Commisary, so the drunks didn't have to worry about running out of ration before the end of the month.

Funny thing was, cokes were rationed. What they sold on base was shipped in from San Francisco, but the local coke products were made with real cane sugar, just like ones in Mexico are today. As such, they were richer tasting, and made you wonder why the stuff shipped from the states was rationed.

Oh well, nobody has ever accused Uncle Sam of making sense.

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Only a cold warrior

We got free beer, I forget want it was but it gathered up while we were in the boonies. We only got it when we came in to HQ. We got a big box called a Sundry Pack. Had cigarettes, chew, pipes, candy bars, and all sorts of everyday stuff. We did have a ration card for PX. Somehow we sold our ration of everything we didn’t need to “ good old boy network”. Like a small refrigerator, or electric fan, ect. Only guys at permanent bases could use that stuff, big enough to have 24/7 electric. I bought wrist watches and cameras to send home as gifts and hard booze. I only remember being in PX in Chui Lai but I’m sure I was in others.

Slight thread hijack. I was at Casey in 74/75. Similar recollection to yours. I don’t remember anybody ever buying beer or coke in the PX. It was always in the ville. OB and Crown were really excellent beers. And the bottled Korean Cokes seemed better than the American ones.

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Vegan by proxy.

There was just the two of us, sometimes three, when I was a District Senior Advisor in a Vietnamese compound way deep in the Delta, for my second six months "in-country." A big box of useful things called a sundry pack, designed for 100 men in the field, had things like paper and envelopes, soap, snacks, other useful odds and ends for troops out in the field. but it also had Wilkinson Sword razor blades, and one of my treats, was to use a new one every day to shave. A pic of my bodyguard squad. Half were Ex-VC, who changed sides. Absolutely ruthless, fearless, and brutal. Second from left has a silenced XM 203, with the under barrel 40 mm.

All the best, and stay safe, SF VET
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An aside to my earlier post, regarding to the Ithaca Model 37. The guy who gave it to me found it buried in the mud at a fire support base. I cleaned it up, inside & out, but never fired it. Used to take it along if we were mounted. One day, one of the guys asked to borrow it, had to dispatch a rabid dog. A few minutes later, I heard the report, dog's gone. When he returned it, the guy said he had to rack it three times before it fired. Turned out the firing pin was broken. As the pin rotated in the bolt, it would intermittently line back up. Said a silent thanks I didn't have to find that out the hard way. Turned it in to the armorer, never to be seen again.

ok guys, don't forget our favorite local beer. ba-mui ba, beer 33. make them flip off the cap so you know it was not messed with..........

I still have a 33 beer mug on my shelf. Our shower/kitchen with the barrels for water. One day, higher cautioned us an inspection team was doing a surprise visit, and would check our water safety. Each drum took one vial of chlorine. To be sure, I dumped in 5 or 6, and after they left, Kahn, one of my two interpreters, took a shower, and come out with swollen eyes, and completely blond. He later stepped on a mine, and blew off his legs.

All the best,,, and stay safe. SV VET
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Local fine dining establishment. Would have a 33 beer in a glass with ice, which was full of river debris, or just drink it warm. I don't recall if this restaurant had a Grade A rating or not.

All the best, and stay safe, SF VET

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I will see if I can find the picture of real 33 Beer. That is Rolling Rock from the glass lined tanks of old Latrobe. Made with pure mountain spring water
not to be confused with Coors, the dishwater beer. I have pic of Long Neck Rolling Rocks being iced in helmet on tripod made with three M16s. Our guys in picture look pretty ragged and we captioned it” Miller time my ***”
Buddy of mine sent the beer. Hard to believe they made it without blowing up from heat & handling.

The only 38's I saw in the Danang area were worn by the "White Mice" Vietnamese cops. The best beer of all in Vietnam was San Miguel, I was fortunate to know a Korean tug boat crew that had a ready supply on ice. I worked at Harbormaster as a radio operator/tug dispatcher and got invited down for a few parties. We got our canned beer cooler than ambient temp by wrapping it in burlap and pour gasoline on it, the gasoline evaporated and cooled the beer down to 70 degrees or so. The other way was to lower it down to the bottom of the huge freshwater tank located right near the Harbormaster office, the tank supplied Deep Water Piers with all their fresh water needs. That beer actually was pretty good, we sat up there drinking beer/smoking weed taking in the harbor scene many an evening.
The thing about San Miguel was it had to come from the P.I. to really be any good, the stuff that came out of Hong Kong was second rate by comparison.
While stationed on an LCU for awhile, it was a liveaboard. We learned early on that if a pallet load had its band broken it was fair game, we talked fork lift drivers to pop a band for a few cases of beer, then literally filled our lazerette with cases. We did that to get ahold of those "sundry packs" that lived in the center of a pallet of C-ration cases. Those packs were worth $100 on the black market, I loved the chewing tobacco.
The Army used LCUs to haul stuff that would never get five miles down the highway, stuff like 105mm howitzer pusher charges, beer, C-rations. We loaded right off the ammo ship, then hauled it in convoy up and down the coast where it was then choppered into fire bases. Beer and C-Rats were loaded from a ramp. From Danang we went as far North as Tan-Mai, as far South as Chu-Lai. We would leave the harbor, go out about a mile then cruise up and down the coast just out of hostile fire, we did get banged by a Dushka once, took a round through our conning tower. At the time we had 100 short ton of howitzer charges on deck.

When I joined the NPS as a LE Ranger in the late 80s, the agency had been in the process of slowly upgrading and replacing older firearms. My first posting, I was issued an old Mod. 10. I replaced it with a 686 I bought with my first paycheck. We didn't have any M16A1s, since the upper echelons decided the more popular, heavily visited NPS units had higher priority than us hicks in the sticks. We eventually received Colt "Sporter" AR15s, and then, new Remington 870s to replace military surplus Winchester Mod. 12 Trench Guns (much to my disappointment.)

Later in my career, I assumed armorer duties in another unit which had half a dozen Vietnam-era M16A1s that showed considerable wear, but were completely serviceable. One of them was stamped GM Hydramatic Division. The others were all Colts. As far as I know, all of those rifles are still in the armory, although M4 carbines are now standard issue. The Hydramatic was issued to an officer who has since been promoted to Chief Ranger. He had the opportunity to exchange it for a more modern version, but chose to keep it.

[IMG][/IMG]One for the AF guys, a Jolly Green rescue chopper, sitting on the pad at Tan Sahn Nhut, near Saigon.

I have ridden in the Navy versions of this in Africa. I love this aircraft.

All the best, and stay safe,,,, SF VET

Was that Jolly Green hauling PJ's?

BTW, good stuff, SF_Vet.

Semper Fi "Doc!" You were worshipped and appreciated by many...to say the least.

Best way to cool beer (lacking refrigeration) is spinning it on a block of ice .

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

Best picture of a Smith & Wesson m38 at work in Vietnam. An Eddie Adams photo .

Attached Images

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun

there is more to there small pic above than most folks know. The photographer who shot the pic later regretted it. The Vietnamese office puling the trigger came to the US, and died about five years ago, forever haunted by his reputation. The VC had just killed some non-combatents.

The VC did the same to local community leaders in my district.

Wars are hard on everybody.

All the best,,, and stay safe. SF VET

I have always just loved military aircraft, so when up to Saigon I would wander over to the air base, and shoot pictures. This is a bombed up AD Skyraider. They were made from just after WWII, and were extensively used in Korea. After replaced, they were sold to the French, and later, when our search and rescue Jolly Greens needed support, we needed planes with an extended loiter time and bought them back from the French. AD's were armed with wing 20's, and were the first plane able to carry more wt in ordnance that the plane weighed. My dad went into the Navy in the latter '30's, along with his brother, both were enlisted, and left the USS Langley in about '40, to go to flight school, the ship later sunk in the Java sea with great loss of life, and one of the escorting four stackers ran straight into the Japanese fleet, and the circumstance of its loss was not known for a decade or more.

My dad was flew over 30 years, mostly PBY, but told me his favorite planes were the B25 and the above AD. He showed me his list of fellow navy flight school grads, almost all the names were crossed off.

One for the AF guys on the forum.

All the best, and stay safe, SF VET
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Around Danang the flavor of the day was most often National Bohemian, can still see those pallets of rusted cans in my mind.

My father was an Army tug boat captain running supplies into forts in the Mekong river dealt. He didn't talk about the war much when I was growing up but as I got older and joined the Corps we sometimes talked weapons.

His boat mounted four dual 50 cal/81 mm mortar mounts, and about half a dozen M60s. The 60s were not official TO/E but over time the captains had picked them up and had shield mounts installed on either side so the crew could respond to ambushes.

We ran into VC that looked just like the guy in that photograph, looked like common people. I spent more than a few nights off limits downtown Danang, on more than one occasion I remember a back door to the club I was visiting opening up and a half dozen or so well armed characters with AK's and field gear dressed in civvies rolled in toss their gear in a corner, grab a girl and went upstairs. We were well surprised, I asked one of the girls who the hell they were, she calmly said "Oh they V.C., be gone soon, you relax have good time." Danang must have been Charlies R&R center, as well as one of their supply lines. From the Harbormaster office we could watch stuff going over the fence that surrounded the pier complex at night with our big Starlight scope.

CherriesWriter – Vietnam War website – See what War is like and how it affects our Warriors

Found this website surfing around and thought it might fit this thread, and thought that some here might like to see it. There is a article there- about NVA/VC terror tactics that fits into the Adams photo post above it explains quite well what we were up against and the reality of the enemy imo.

Those who fought the Communists in Korea and Vietnam fought a enemy just as bad if not worse than the National Socialist Nazis and the Imperial Japanese. You guys who were there- have my highest respect.

Joined the military in 73 never went to Vietnam never was in combat.

Outside of the HQ areas, on the fire bases and in the bush, that "block of ice" was a luxury to be dreamed about but never seen in reality.

On the other hand, I remember monsoon season in the bush, rains that can only be described as "biblical" in volume and duration, overnight temperatures dropping into the mid-40F range. Constantly wet and cold to the bone for days on end. It wasn't always a hot, sweaty, tropical nightmare. There were times of teeth-chattering cold in the mud, huddling under a poncho and wishing for dry socks.