Snubby in Vietnam

[Sistema1927]

I won't share details, in order to protect the innocent, but I was privileged to meet a real gentleman when I was serving. We got to be pretty good friends, and I would often host him for lunch at the NCO Club since the O club on that base was pretty poor in his estimation.

He was a 1st Lt. at the time, and his goal was to finish out his ROTC commitment and then get out. My goal was to stay in until retirement.

Things don't always work out like you expect. I refused re-enlistment, and got out to attend seminary. He stayed in, and retired as a Major General.

 

[SF VET]

Coming home...

When soldiers, or other military have come "home" from their deployments or their wars, I am sure since time immortal, they returned to joyous welcoming, or perhaps something less; maybe disgrace, or despair, or loss of everything. Maybe wounded in body and spirit. And sometimes, they came back with "baggage."

When I was back to Nebraska after I left active duty to begin some sort of medical career, I met a Vet who had had both arms blown off. To this day, I hope wherever he is, that somehow medicine found some way to give him back at least some use of his upper body muscles and nerves.

For me, as I have mentioned my first wife told me just before I flew away that she was gone for ever. I never took an in-country or out of country R&R, preferring to spend my 366 days out. While I was away, my "wife" sold or discarded everything of mine. I had no civilian clothes in Vietnam, not so much as a white handkerchief. I had one set of Khaki's, and flew back LA International wearing them, with my small gym bag. Had a captured ChiCom type 53 carbine with the folding bayonet. In a few hours, was on my way to Lincoln, where my mom and dad welcomed me.

This being a firearm form, I stepped into the bedroom I had used as a child in that home, and took down my Ruger 1022, which I had bought in '65, and left on that rack 3 years before. Of course, I checked the action, and was stunned to have a live 22 round flip out! All those years, somehow, that little rifle had been loaded and ready to fire. Somehow, I had left it loaded when I put in on that rack.

The next morning I fired up my VW Squareback and by the next afternoon reported in to the JFK center. I had no civilian clothes, so immediately went to a mens store, and told the salesperson I needed some clothes. He agreed, and put me in bell bottom pants, a belt with a big buckle, a polyester shirt with wide collars, (which I couldn't keep buttoned) and buckle high top shoes. I had been away for years, but he assured me it was what men were wearing now.

In a few days, I drove up to near Blacksburg, VA, to see my sister, who upon seeing me said "are you a dude now." I looked like Sony Bono. I soon realized I looked like some wanna-be, and discarded all that, and got some slacks and jeans and resumed any new life.

I dove into my new career as an A Team Co, and left all my past behind me.

I soon found the "rules" of dating were very different than when I had last "dated" 8 years before. Very different.

So how was it for you guys when you came back from your deployments?

Stay safe, SF VET

 

[F4phantom]

Coming home was different for many of us. My time in RVN was not as bad as some and worse then others. After TET things got a bit more exciting. As I've told people my time in was more of being shot at and missed and **** on and hit. The Marine Corps was a means to an end. In early '65 they reinstated the GI Bill. It meant that I could do more for myself.

I really liked most of my time in the Corps and wouldn't have changed a thing. But I could not put up with the chicken ****. Junk on the bunk was silly to me. Having to run a PRT in Vietnam was the most ridiculous thing that came up, let alone someone complaining that our brass buckles were not shined. We complained and didn't run the PRT. Smarter heads were thinking. Raking the sand every Friday morning was the pits. I realize that discipline was required to keep people somewhat motivated but it seemed comical at times. The men in our squadron were dedicated to keeping our planes flying and safe. We wanted the pilots to return after a sortie. That's what we did twenty four hours a day.

Leaving the RVN and waiting in the holding area at DaNang, word came over AF radio that RFK was killed and with MLK killed in April, we were wondering what was happening back home. After a couple of days in Okinawa, we were headed to California. The greeting at San Bernadino was a cluster. Finally arriving at LAX the tone was not much better. There was a feeling of hostility. I had already sent a letter to my parents telling them there was not to be a party or welcoming home celebration.

I only had seven months left when I got back and made plans to go back to school. That's what I did. Did the Corps make me a better person? I think it did and will be grateful for what the Corps gave me.

 

[fordson]

When I got back from my first overseas deployment, I got a beautiful little daughter - nine months later……

….and when I returned from my last serious deployment, DS/DS, there were airport greeting team of folks to welcome us home, there were parades, there was …….. too much…..

 

[M E Morrison]

Yep, big difference

 

[ron_c]

A few leaflets trying to convince the VC/NVA to stop fighting.

 

[ron_c]

A couple more leaflets.

 

[SF VET]

Coming home...

Twenty years after my return stateside from my year in Vietnam, I came back from six months in the Desert Storm conflict. My reserve EVAC hospital, a 400 "man" unit, was activated at Thanksgiving and then bussed the 100 miles to Ft Riley, for further training. On Christmas Eve, my CO told me to pack my gear and get on a truck taking me and about 15 other troops to the Topeka airport, us being an Advance Party, off to Saudi Arabia.

The rest of my EVAC arrived piecemeal and then in mass about 5 weeks later. At the end of that combat, the 15 hospitals supporting that conflict were shut down, ours being the last one. Our CO offered those of us who had come over early the opportunity to return before the rest of my unit, who were still packing up our hospital. I was a bit conflicted, feeling I still had things to do, but also realized my presence wasn't necessary anymore, and if my wife found out I had had chosen to stay she would have been more than upset with me.

I took a month off to just be with my family; we went out to CO and I gave talks to community groups and such. I slowly began to ratchet down from the intensity of my personality, necessary in my desert responsibilities.

So about this time I needed to have as much Chocolate Chip gear and clothing as I could acquire. As if I needed it to keep me close to such a personally rewarding time in my life. I bought all sorts of such gear, more cammo jackets, gear bags, even Dopp Kits. I tried to surround myself with Chocolate Chip. I bought several used DigiCam long capes, knives, hats, got my own helmet and cover, and on and on. It was a compulsion I didn't understand at the time.

Perhaps a psychologist would have told me I was just trying to hold onto a life changing wonderful and fulfilling experience. In time I began to return to my civilian life and occupation, and gave much of my Chocolate Chip to Good Will, and sold more on garage sales. Incidentally, my five physician practice in Topeka had treated my wife badly in my absence, and that lingering distrust led to us to moving to South Carolina 5 years later.

War experiences can "wrap" all around us, sometimes in ways we don't realize. Gradually, I left all that behind, but now sometimes wear my Cammo "boonie' hat when I am walking on the beach.

I of course was at the Topeka Airport when the rest of my EVAC arrived. Here a pic of one of my best friends, a family practice MD from a small town in mid Kansas. We hunted pheasants together with our sons every fall. He soon left his wife for a nurse he met in our hospital. That happened a lot.

One more thing. When I resumed college back at Nebraska after my return from Vietnam, that war still on, I pedaled my bike to and from the campus. I put a small SF decal on my bike, and one day came out from a class to find someone had spit a big lugi on my seat. I sometimes wonder if that other student ever recalls his or her hostility in their own youth.

Off to the Rolex 24 at Daytona tomorrow.

Stay safe, and all the best.... SF VET

 

[fordson]

Our ABDR (Aircraft Battle Damage Repair) Unit in DS/DS didn’t deploy as a organic unit but was a composite made up of members from several different reserve ABDR units, active duty and civilian techs. I was a reservist, as was my XO, my Senior Chief was active duty as was the leading 1st Class. Our Supply Officer was also active duty. My chief engineer was a reservist. We were out in the field and at forward bases throughout SA and later, Iraq. As the military drew down after the war, we did a gradual draw down of personal and equipment after about 4 months or so until, at the end after about six months in county, I had 18 reservists and active duty left. Civilian techs had all gone home by then. We closed up shop at Al Jabal, SA, and convoyed with our remaining vehicles to Bahrain where we parted company, after a very nice farewell gathering, each heading home in one’s and twos. I stayed around for a few days, filling out paperwork and reports, and writing up inputs to Eval’s and FITREPs. Then I left for Naples where I spent another week doing much of the same. When I finally left and headed for home, via MACAIR, I was fortunate enough to have company of some fellow reservist who were attached to our HQ unit in Bahrain. We arrived in Philadelphia, after what seemed like days of flying, but weren’t, with several other Mil Flts to a tremendous outpouring of patriotic support from the citizens of Philly. We were mixed in with probably several hundred other military personnel arriving in Philly at that time. The greeting was all very nice and we did appreciate it but it was over the top. I changed planes there for a commercial flight to Jacksonville where I was met by my wife and daughter. The greeting there at JAX was more subdued, surprising for a military town, but really welcomed as all I wanted was to get home. I took two weeks of leave to decompress and spend time with my family before reporting in to my civilian job.
I was not in combat as many of you here were; I was support. I did experience rocket and mortar attacks but they were of short durations and probably delivered halfheartedly. Given that, it still took me months to adjust to being home. It was high temp ops and a lot of the BS was put aside for awhile; we actually got some done. Lately, maybe because I’m aging, I have dreams about my time there. Nothing bad, just dreams.

 

[csurp34]

In 2012 I accompanied my Dad on an Honor Flight from Orlando, landing in Baltimore and busing to DC.


Everywhere we went the reception for these guys was overwhelming and most were emotional as a result.


My dad did 30 years, mostly in submarines. I was in for seven years also in submarines.


Amazing experiences.

 

[SF VET]

Buck General

Later today, meeting up with my son and his two lads, flying a HS senior grandson out from KC, and we are loading up and heading down to Daytona for the Rolex 24, a 24 hour sports car race.

So will be away for a few days, but wanted to post a pic here of my Buck General, in a custom sheath from Ranger Joe's at Benning. Sitting in a cafe with the local LTC District chief. The Buck was handy for this and that task. I have since given it to my son, along with some other nice knives. Wearing it with my issue 1911 and a two mag belt case.

Oh, picked up a mint early Ruger 44 mag carbine yesterday. Wanted one for many years, about completes my collection and acquisition. Which is a good thing, as I will be at Daytona when my wife sees the charge on my credit card. Mostly will blow over by the time I get back early next week, hopefully. I will reload for it too.

So stay safe, and see you all in a few days. SF VET

 

[Greyman50]

Saigon tea?????lol. No 33 on the table?

 

[SF VET]

one full glass of 33, one empty glass. Plus several bottles of rot-gut soy sauce. Some debris-filled river ice to chill a bit. SF VET

 

[Jessie]

SF Vet…” About completes my collection/acquisitions “
Lol! You funny GI

 

[Greyman50]

here you go….

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Ever since armies have fought, it has always been a goal of the warring parties to convince their opponent to run away, or surrender, or perhaps just get out of the way. The best result was if a former enemy could be somehow convinced to join one's own effort. Combat has usually been a last resort, unless one fights like Genghis Khan, who much preferred to slaughter his enemies. Or sadly, like our own military excursions against the Indian tribes in our own West.

In Vietnam, there was a program dedicated to just such a purpose, getting the VC and perhaps even a disillusioned NVA to "come over." It was the Chiu Hoy program, or something pronounced like that. Sort of like a modern Tokyo Rose attempt, "... why live in the jungle when you can have a life of relative peace and luxury, and even women." I recall leaflet drops, and here is a poster on a wall in a village, recounting the misunderstanding of some local villager, who finally saw the light, so to speak, and now has the correct vision of his role in the conflict. Note he has a Garand slung over his shoulder. I can't read the language, but the pictures say it all.

I suspect he later had a bad experience when the South Vietnamese army collapsed. Of course, it worked both ways. One of my district's small detachment of troops, guarding some small bridge or hamlet, one day, just took their weapons and "went over".

When my own compound's Vietnamese troops captured a turncoat, he was put in the wire cage until an operation was mounted, and said traitor was taken along, and always tried to escape, with the expected outcome. I made sure I wasn't there when that was going to happen. I didn't see it, and didn't know anything about it.

In US slang, I often heard the phrase "Chiu Hoy" in reference to any minor project that was "...heck, I give up on this".

So all the best, and stay safe. Family still asleep, and now another coffee sitting by the fire. Then off to Church and lunch with our Charlotte daughter, who just ran a 5K, a 10K, a half marathon and then on the fourth day a full marathon at Disney. Me, I slowly walk out to check the mail at the end of the driveway.

Oh, I found my M37's truck problem wasn't the carb, it was a failing fuel pump. All good now.

SF VET

The Chiu Hoi campaign (leaflets, radio, etc) encouraging hostiles to defect or surrender was reported as having some success. There were also reports or hostiles coming over (officially referred to as Hoi Chan), going thru the screening and indoctrination program, and becoming "Kit Carson scouts" to work with US or RVN troops, then using those opportunities to commit espionage or sabotage before returning to their NVA or VC commands.

The North Vietnamese command, the old Viet Minh who actively resisted the French through the 1950s, and the Viet Cong insurgent forces consisted of people with lifetime histories of war, occupation, colonization, political oppression, corruption, and generations of misery.

Vietnam was occupied by the Japanese Imperial forces throughout WW2, a brutal time of forced labor and deprivation. The Mekong Delta is known as the Rice Bowl of Southeast Asia. The rubber tree plantations were valuable assets for the war efforts.

The United States provided considerable material support to Ho Chi Minh's forces who resisted and harassed the Japanese occupiers using French and US military arms and ammunition. Thousands upon thousands of Springfield rifles, BARs, M1918 light machineguns, Thompsons, howitzers, and other weapons were provided to Ho's forces during WW2. After Mao's communists consolidated control in China (late 1940s and into the 1950s) the Vietnamese communists were supported in their fight against French Colonial forces attempting to return to the status quo ante.

Short version: The North Vietnamese leadership were highly experienced and committed, and the Vietnamese people in general were susceptible to promises of a bright shining future after many years of war and oppression. The folks we were engaging with by the 1960s were not amateurs by any standards, and they used every advantage they could exploit.

Our unit interpreter, ARVN Sergeant Tranh, summed it up pretty well when we discussed efforts to "Vietnamize" the war, relying more upon RVN forces with US efforts evolving into more of a support effort rather than active combat forces. Tranh simply said "Not our war, your war". In retrospect, 50 years later, I realize that the Vietnamese people (including RVN troops) were simply doing the best they could every day to survive after several generations of conflict without much hope or vision beyond the challenges of each day.

 

[geokeg]

Good summary.

Lobo, your last sentance speaks volumes. Well said.

(As for Chu Hoi, my part was keeping the EC-47's flying out of Tan Son Nhut in 69-70. They did leaflet drops and other Psy Ops. We called them "******** Bombers").

 

[skwchock]

Thanks for all the great stories. Brings back fond memories. I was at UDORN THANI, THAILAND and worked many of those same stories.

 

[SF VET]

Desert Storm, as it happened

Been busy with this and that. As I have posted previously, I was deployed Christmas Eve for Desert Shield, which was to become Desert Storm. I just finished this book, and it was quite revealing about events I was part of but had no knowledge of. If you were part of that War, you might find it likewise very explanatory of your role in that conflict. The book was written in 1997, and begins with the story of General Franks' early career, his loss of a leg to a NVA grenade, his post war convalescence , and vows to never let that happen to his soldiers again. And then how he and others began to rebuild our broken, shattered even, military.

I recall those times, the depths of the morass our military had fallen into, and the gradual recovery. The book continues thru his subsequent career, the development of the Combined Arms Warfare theory, and then the build-up and the actual battle. There were other parts of that attack, the VII Corps, the XVIII Corps, the British, the Egyptian forces, and of course the Marine and Naval and AF missions. Most of the war account relates to the day by day action of the VII Corps, which was the armored fist of the "left hook".

For instance, I was soon 300 miles out in the desert, at a small group of tents, I knew it was some sort of field HQ. I just read that for about six weeks, it was the Log base for VII Corps. I didn't know that, I just tried to keep a very low profile. And the small town and airbase a short walk form my EVAC's desert site was a tactical HQ for the Corps. Didn't know that either. I knew it was wet and cold, but it was the wettest Jan & Feb in at least ten years. Or that an armored division uses 800,000 gallons of fuel per 24 hours, and getting that fuel and ammunition was a difficult, complex and dangerous operation, requiring many hundreds of fuel tankers. That one Div was going to run out of fuel in less than two hours when in battle with two Iraqi divisions. An Abrams' tank uses as much fuel idling as it does at full speed.

I always thought that modern, high-tech commo and navigation was every where, and now to find out one division had NO GPS, and had to rely on Loran. And that commo was often only "line of sight", and sometimes General Franks was out of contact with his fighting divisions for hours. Accounts of fratricide, and violent armored combat.

Gen'l Franks talks about the move of one of his divisions forward across Tap Line Road, and I happened to drive right the that movement-to-contact, and got out and took some pictures of what an Armored div looks like in the attack. Maybe the Ukrainian front line troops should consider what is going to come at them.

And then the accusations of Schwarzkoph, of which I am aware. And the "hogging" of the glory at the surrender site. And how CENTCOM was 12 hours behind on knowing what was actually happening.

Much of the book is an hour by hour account of the VII Corps' battle. I experienced only a tiny part of that War, and did meet Genral Franks when he came to visit his wounded at our EVAC.

So if you were part of that War, I highly recommend you read why you and your unit were ordered to do what you did.

Be back soon, SF VET

 

[fordson]

Thanks, SF VET, for the recommendation - I’m a sucker for a good history book - especially one on a subject, as like you, that I had a small involvement.
Another good one is “Crusade” by Rick Atkinson. It’s a big picture book that covers the lead up, the war and aftermath (as of 1993) and the Navy/Marine Team contributions - something that interest me.

Thirty one years ago, the end of this month,…..my, oh my…..how time moves on…….