One of my pet peeves is the revisionist reporting on Tet.

Here is what I have read as to be the real truth.

That it was a massive win for South Vietnam and the U.S. from what I have read. The VC came out and were killed off outright in numbers that supposedly left them ineffective for the rest of the war. This supposedly a plan by Ho Chi Minh to eliminate possible resistance from the VC when HE took over South Vietnam.

Another lie, repeated often, even on the disreputable history channel, "The VC got into the U.S. Embassy in Tet."

Only one V.C. got into the compund. He went into a building nearby the embassy and a civilian CIA/Spook or Army officer in civvies crawled into a window (I have seen video of this) with a M1911A1 .45. He hunted the VC alone in the building and killed him as he walked up a flight of stairs. The American was at the top of the stairs and shot the VC. He was not even looking up when he started to climb the stairs.

If Nixon had been running that war from 1964 it would have ended by 1968 probably because I don't think he would have screwed around.

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

Mack, sorry for your loss and I wish I'd seen this post earlier as you could have called the local VFW post and asked if they had an honor squad. Our VFW post does and I'm on it and we do the folding and presentation of the flag and the 21 gun salute to any family of a veteran that dies in our county and requests it. That's any Veteran and not just VFW eligible members that served in country at a time of war.

My tour in Vietnam was different in that I was in the 4th infantry 1/12 company B 2nd platoon as a squad leader and then platoon SGT and none of us except the old man had a handgun. He carried an issued 45 and a Car 15. Our mission was doing 30 search and destroy missions in the jungle and we were almost always out with full back packs and full gear so no one carried a pistol. I did see Air crew members with side arms in Vietnam and they usually had an S&W or Browning HP. All of us carried either M-16's (most guys), a M79 grenade launcher, or the machine gunners carried the M60 machine gun. Everyone carried some sort of large combat knife as their backup and I carried a Marine Kbar.

Speaking of being short I was told with 77 days to go that I got a 60 day drop to go back to college and I that only had 17 days left in country. Talk about a wake up call as I was just wounded the day before and by the time I finished my treatment it was time for the freedom bird ride home. I got a million dollars’ worth of experience over there that at the time I wouldn’t have paid you a nickel for.

Long time ago read a soldier used a Model 57. Made brass form cut down 30-30. Dont recall details. May have been Green Beret

First time I've read through this thread, thank you all for the amazing stories. I was the generation just behind most of you, who was right on the cusp (1A on my card) of going. They stopped taking folks around the time I was eligible. I had heard enough lies that I had no desire to go in, though things would be different now. Anyway, I had a good friend who was assigned communications in Saigon, and was working the day the photo referred to came across the wire. According to him there were 5 pictures in all, with a couple being extremely graphic in nature. He also let me know the back story, that the prisoner was one of a group of VC who had gone to the houses of RVN military officers and killed their families. I do not blame the general for his response.

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Even older, even crankier....

My thanks to all you Vietnam veterans and my prayers for those dealing with the disabilities still.

Found this one on the net,


Cant tell what kind of revolver but the holster and lanyard loop hint at a S&W M&P?

I was an M60 machine gunner (0331). I carried that, a 1911 .45ACP & a Kabar knife. Under my flak jacket I carried a Colt D frame,Detective Special in .32 New Police caliber with the 2 inch barrel in a Bucheimer shouldler holster. My parents sent it to me after I arrived there. Broke a lot of laws with that I'm sure. I lost it when we had to move out in a hurry from hill 552 to hill 471 which was in I Corp near Kne Sanh May 1968.

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	M60 Machine at Khe Sanh 1968 (1024x745).jpg (191.3 KB, 664 views)

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0331M60

Thank you all for sharing. A lot of great history!

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2 Timothy 1:7

In 1989 I was piloting UH-1Hs and carrying an issued 10-5 that looked just like that one, lanyard loop and all. I carried mine in a nylon holster that was sewn on to my survival vest. I didn't think much of the Model 10 at the time. I wanted one of those "new" Beretta 92s that held 15 rounds of 9mm in one mag. I was issued one (beretta) in 1990. I was totally unimpressed! To this day, I would not give you $100 for a 92. I would give a lot more for my old 10-5.

All three of those guys are Marine Corps aviators. Chances are that the revolver is a Victory Model.

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Charlie Flick
SWCA 729 HF 215

I see the last post to this thread was in Feb 2012. I was in the Air force, worked in Air transportation, air frieght, I was assigned to a detachment in the central highlands. I was with the 14th Aerial Port Sq. we were an 8 man unit responsable for 24 hour operation of the Cam Ly Air Field at Dalat, RVN I was there in 67 & 68. We were all enlisted and issued the S&W Combat Master Peace and the M16a. I kept the 38 stashed the M16 and scrunged a remington 12 ga shotgun and used buck and ball when i could get it or 00 buck shoot. My M16 chocked a lot did trust it. the 12 ga never failed and never missed. I servered with a bunch of good brave boys that became men quickly. the ncoic was 32, the youngest was 20 (me) average age 21.

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Carpriver.

Carpriver,
Welcome home and thank you.
Frank

Gun Digest collector's guide 2009 had a very nice article and photos of all guns used in Nam. I have a 38 spl 4" with original nam cart. belt & holster. Parkerized logo grips. Nice. Vet. brought it home.

Here is a story that i was told-not sure of the M13 being available in Nam years tho so forgive me if this is inaccurate regarding mdl of the Smith:
I had some gun dealing a few years back with man who was nam vet and we got on that for a bit on the phone. He was point man and I forget the unit now , but carried a M12 ( Winch shotgun ) and used it to kill a NVA or VC officer who he said had a M13. As a war souvenier he declared it and returned with it. he researched the gun via serial # and discovered it had been issued to a pilot of an aircraft i forget now, but he was shot down and killed. Assumption then is that the 13 was captured by the enemy and then recaptured by this point man.
Anyway, the point man I was visiting with tracked down the family of the pilot to return the 13 to them, but they rejected it, I suppose due to resentment of the loss of their loved one. Thus, he still had it some 20 years ago.
No extra charge for non S&W stories.
I never saw a M12 used in the '69-70 tour I did but we had a well used 870 and even some all brass shells for it. Our CO carried it one op and had an accidental discharge with it and of course it was the gun's fault so it disappeared from our company (9th div C co/5/60th)
Also met man at VA who was infantry and i asked about souveniers-he had a Browning HP he captured when officer in spider hole in Cu chi area shot this GI's helmet off from below, grazing the GIs face and ear.
Infantry survivors count your blessings!!!
We also captured a chi com tokarev that my friend shot holes in while finishing the Charlie off by moonlight.

When I read your post I went deep into my safe to bring out my ChiCom Tok (dated 1966). We supported what was left of the 9th ID in 1969. What a scragly bunch you guys were. That is compared to the 25th, and with all respect to you guys in the 9th. The reddish brown, cut-off jungle fatigues were a little bit of a surprise to me, but your AO made it all blend in.

This one was not shot up. And no, it's not for sale. It's what they call "priceless".

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	ChiCom Tok 002.jpg (239.0 KB, 515 views)

I was a Navy A-7 pilot on the USS America in 1972. Most of my missions were over North Vietnam. I was issued a blued steel model 36 with a lanyard ring as part of my survival gear. Carried tracer and flare rounds to mark my position if I ended up on the ground under a jungle canopy. I also was issued a Colt 45 auto. Would love to have either or both of those pistols today.

mohawks are still flying in the argentine army.

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vivir con pasión, perder con elegancia y triunfar con osadía

the pic shows usaf brig gen robin olds, three times ace (16 victories), when he was a colonel in viet nam war.

on his right hip, he is carrying a smith wesson k frame into a holster.

by the way, in 1990 i was a high ranking argentine ministery of defense official. having been sent for a couple of weeks to saudi arabia for liasson duties during desert shield operation, i carried a smith wesson model 36, 2", five shooter wheelgun "just in case".

nowadys that little and nice model 36 is my wife gun. (i replaced it with a 2" model 10-5 blued)

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vivir con pasión, perder con elegancia y triunfar con osadía

Hi Marine 1970,

My dad flew F-100s out of Phan Rang in 1966-1967. He carried a S&W K-38 Combat Masterpiece on 429 missions. He had orders to fly F-8 Crusaders for the Navy but the Air Force realized he had not yet been to Vietnam, so they cancelled his Navy tour and told him he could fly a tour with the Navy after his Viet Nam tour. But, he was promoted to major right after his combat tour and the Navy tour was open only for Air Force captains, so he never did get the F-8 tour. He really liked that revolver and had a custom holster and belt made for it that is similar to the rig Digi-Shots posted in reply #17. He had it made by a saddlery in Alexandria, Louisiana before he deployed. He carried his revolver in that holster on a few missions, but the belt would make him sweat, and it interfered with G-suit comfort ("G-suit" and "comfortable" are mutually exclusive, but any little bit of comfort helps), so he switched to the issued shoulder holster. That shoulder holster worked pretty well when he ejected - his revolver was still snapped in it when he hit the ground. He has found memories of that K-38, but he would not risk his carrier to bring it home to me.

I still have his holster and belt and have carried my model 67 in it some, but it does make the lower back and tummy sweat.

Happy Easter!
Rushbeau

Thank you for your post. I had suspected that most teachers, especially in college, are "left" and teach things like that. A great many were probably draft-dodging by becoming teachers and avoided Vietnam service.

When I was in college, I handed out some Rhodesian government literature giving their side of the terrorist war there and that nation's decision to leave British rule. I had a very liberal history teacher who mouthed off about that and said that she intended to fail me because of my views.

Fortunately, my Journalism teacher heard her in their lounge and told me. We got it sorted out. But you can imagine how that teacher felt about the Vietnam involvement!

same here 1985 and they had grease guns

Only thing I ever had was a 1911 as PO or JOOD.

A little interesting thing was the Navy asked Edo Corp. to come up with a mine that could not be swept back then. After we mined haiphong harbor & the NV, ChiComs & Ruskies could not sweep them & a deal was made in Paris they asked Edo to come up with a way to do that.
The engineers told them “But you wanted a mine that could not be removed”.
My Senior Chief who worked for Edo put in 16-18 hours a day till they figured how to do it.
Always wonder how many ships were sunk till they gave up….

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

WELCOME HOME BROTHERS!!!!!!

I flew out of Thailand and carried the blue 19. The nickel 19 has never been West of Gallup.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I'm a double digit midget. I'm a one hand man. I'm infanticible, which is LONG for SHORT!!! And then there were the "Snoopy" pins.

When did the Air Force swap pilot M-10s for M-15s? My brother flew F-100 in early to mid 1960s and was issued a new (or new looking) M-10. He liked it pretty well, and went to the BX & bought one like it for his own. Still has that one. I never thought about the possibility that might have changed before the Beretta autos were brought in.

About the time I received orders for RVN in 1968 I found a nice "Highway Patrolman" in a Denison, Texas gunshop. It had been a PD weapon and it looked as though a Dremel tool or some such was used to grind off the department stamp before it was traded in. That was the only problem with it, and such could obviously be fixed with a re-blue. I applied to the credit union for a loan to cover part of the purchase price and the next thing I knew I was standing before my squadron CO. Seems in the blank for the reason for the loan I wrote it was to purchase a "superior service sidearm" and someone figured since I was headed to RVN I must want to sneak it in country. Actually, that thought hadn't occurred to me yet... until getting there and seeing the condition of the fairly new M-15s in the armory!

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-30-
Fred

Perimeter patrol following engine failure 1/2 mile from LZ English.

Looks kinda undressed out there in the middle of a great big nowhere with that revolver as his primary armament!

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-30-
Fred

we were issued a S&W 38 when I flew as an air crewman in 1964-66 in the Navy in Nam...best guess is a model 15....wish I still had it

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carpe diem
one day at a time

I hope this thread keeps going. It's a great one!

173rd airborn, tunnel rat, small SKYSOLDIER CLEARING A TUNNEL,

I WAS GLAD I WAS A BIG FRAMED TALL GUY, these guys had kahones of steel to go in these tunnels

the 173rd airborne was one of the first if not the first unit in Vietnam, serving from late 1964/early1965 until late 1972

I was with them in country during 70/71 and back again in 72 when we rotated back to the states and the unit was deactivated and two battalions of the 503rd were rolled into the 101st, as there last airborne battalion

I stayed at ft. Campbell until my ETS, was one of the NCO's that was on the 101st airborne divisions Expert infantry badge testing cadre as well as an instructor in the airmobile school

on my first tour as a pfc , General Abrams MACV commander was using the 173rd as a rapid response unit in support as needed since the 173rd was recouping from a heavy battle losses before I arrived

and I got in on a small part of the Cambodian action, where a cav hunter killer team had found rock island east, and the subsequent action to clear the stock piles that were found in the area

I have a 20 gauge b model fox that was found in that stock pile ,that had everything from muzzle loaders to artillery pieces and trucks,

the little fox was broken down put in my back pack and humped out

Previous post reminds me -
We flew thru-out the Cambodia Incursion including the setting up of the first firebases Snuffy & Moe. When we first were flying, moving troops & Arty, in the areas around Moe & Snuffy looked like a golf course. A week later it looked like the surface of the moon.
When the 60 days were up, we then had to move all our stuff out and move all the captured equipment out also.
I guess all the mucky mucks had us figured out by then - ALL, and I do mean ALL, the caches were sling-loaded beneath the aircraft. None of it was allowed to be loaded internally. The powers that be had decided that anything that was loaded internally was free game to the aircrews (too true).
We had dropped off a load of wooden rifle crates and had set down and were idling next to the fenced-off area for a quick check. An MP jeep w/trailer pulled out of the compound and turned sharply left on to the dirt road. As he made the turn, a wooden rifle crate fell off the trailer without the MP's noticing. My FE ran over, grabbed the crate & quickly tossed it into the aircraft and then raised the ramp. As he raised the ramp, an MP's head appeared over it and was yelling/gesturing for us to hold-up. The FE advised the pilots to do a quick get-away which we did.
We split a case of brand new SKS's for our trouble that day.

Question for the Vietnam Vets. For aircrews; I know the USAF had Mod 15's & some M56's, the Army generally issued the Mod 10. So what did the USN/USMC issue?

I've read that they were still using the "trusty rusty" Victory's from WW2. The pic of the 3 USMC generals looks like a Victory in his holster. Also, what revolver were they using after Vietnam? I see that the SV-2 naval aircrew vests had 'revolver' holsters & ammo loops in them well into the 90's.

I can't believe it's been almost 5 years since I posted that first picture of USAF pilot Captain Clint Queen. It's time to bring this thread for some more pictures.

Enjoy!

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	Marine Tiger Stripes & Victory Model 1965 - 1.jpg (54.6 KB, 6838 views)
	Marine Tiger Stripes & Victory Model 1965 - 2.jpg (71.7 KB, 6829 views)
	Marine Tiger Stripes & Victory Model 1965 - 4.jpg (82.2 KB, 697 views)
	Guarding Prisoner on Chopper 1965.jpg (70.8 KB, 735 views)

A couple more. The lady is Madam Nhu. She was supposed to have been quite a shot. The pictures were taken in 1962.

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	ARVN Officer S&W Revolver.jpg (131.8 KB, 701 views)
	Madame Nhu Vietnam 1962- Pic 1.jpg (63.8 KB, 765 views)
	Madame Nhu Vietnam 1962- Pic 2.jpg (58.1 KB, 712 views)

Interesting, in the last picture of Madam Nhu, the woman to the left in the sombrero-ish hat is holding the box the S&W came in. Neat.

Just read this complete thread , makes you think. Sometimes it was just yesterday,sometimes a lifetime ago. Don't remember any handguns but 1911's in the 101st in 67-68. We were issued brand new M16A1's at Ft.Cambell before we left for VN took it from the crate myself,and it never let me down but all the black was gone when I turned in .

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

Looks like the ?? Has been answered. The USMC & USN still had their Vic's in service in Vietnam. Makes sense, those guns were only in their 20's. Just like so many of the brave men that carried them.

I like how in WW2, Korea & Nam many aircrews used their shoulder holsters as makeshift waist rigs.

I'm sure the blued wheelguns fared no better in VN's wonderful weather.

Thank You to all who served and posted in this thread.. Great Ride !

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82nd Airborne Div 1980-1986

Although never deployed to Vietnam, I was in the U.S. Army Military Police from 1974 to 1979. Male line MPs we were of course issued the 1911 from various manufacturers. Female line MPs were issued S&W Model 10 4 inch light barrel revolvers. I guess the Army figured women couldn't handle the 1911. (They never saw my MP ex-wife shoot one!)

Military Police Investigations (M.P.I.) were made up of all military personnel. They were issued both S&W Model 10's and Colt Detective Specials with 2 inch barrels.

Army Criminal Investigations Division (C.I.D.) made up of military and civilian personnel, were also issued S&W and Colt 2 inch revolvers.

Wow, I'm really late to this thread. I found this thread via a Google image search. Really great info and pictures here. Thanks to all who served in Vietnam.

I did find this picture, attached below. I thought it was fitting for the thread and did not see it posted before. This young fellow has a Smith in a cross draw set up with ammo loops.

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semperfi71 posted at the top of the page:

"Only one V.C. got into the compound. He went into a building nearby the embassy and a civilian CIA/Spook or Army officer in civvies crawled into a window (I have seen video of this) with a M1911A1 .45. He hunted the VC alone in the building and killed him as he walked up a flight of stairs. The American was at the top of the stairs and shot the VC. He was not even looking up when he started to climb the stairs."

Saw a documentary on TET which mentioned this event. As told in that program, the "Spook" borrowed the 1911A1 from a soldier, then after killing the VC, declined to return it.

Anybody familiar with this ...

One of the pilots on my carrier, CVA 14 Ticonderoga, in 65 or 66 carried a Ruger 22 std auto. Figured he'd be best off going to ground and hiding out til he could get back to our side somehow.

M-10's, M15's and 1911-A1's galore. 130-grain Ball ammo for the .38 Special (not worth a damn) and stock 230-grain Ball for the .45's.

I heard a story about an Ensign that was on a foot patrol that confronted a cobra with an H&R break-top revolver in .38 S&W. the young Officer shot the snake in it's flared "hood" six times, absorbing every round with little apparent effect. A Chief Petty Officer promptly drew his Model 19 and fired a 125-grain SJHP directly into the serpents head, blowing it apart! The next day, the Officer sold the H&R.

Amen, brother! Thank you for telling the truth. Even when the NVRA and VC threw everything the had at us (including the kitchen sink) they couldn't defeat the SVRA wheil we were there to support them.

Bless you, my brother.

For Semperfi17: There was a compound, called the Nordum Compound, adjacent to the Embassy. My office was in it. On the wall was a large picture of Ho Chi Minh on the wall
with a greeting to the guys in that office. I have always wondered what
the VC though if he saw the picture.

Remember: General Nguyen Ngoc Loan had a 2" barreled S&W Model 38 (nickel-plated) Bodyguard he used to good effect. It was seen by most of the world when he executed a VC General. It made for a full-page spread in Life magazine.

I prayed for the General when I first read the article. It brought the war home.

Not to be contrary but I thought the USAF pilots carried the 2" barrel model 15. I know the 4" M15 was a standard issue for this era. If someone could confirm this I would appreciate it as I am a huge fan of both barrel configurations. Thanks for sharing your photo.