Green Berets The Story Behind Barry Sadler’s Ballad
HOMEFRONT Faye Dunaway a hit in Bonnie and Clyde
Skyraiders Fighting MiGs to rescue downed pilots
A Ghastly Toll Communists attack An Loc in spring 1972 Heroism on the River Patrol boat skipper most decorated Navy enlistee
Army Artists Recording combat with a paintbrush AUGUST 2017
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On the cover An A-1E Skyraider of the 1st Air Commando Squadron returns from a bombing mission in January 1968. ROLLS PRESS/POPPERFOTO/ GETTY IMAGES; INSET: SUNSET BOULEVARD/GETTY IMAGES
24
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MORE THAN JUST A PROP The aging Skyraider proved to be a vital part of Vietnam battles and rescue missions. By Don Hollway
6 8 16 20
Feedback Today In the News Voices )HYY`4J*HќYL` Homefront July-August 1967
21 22 58 64
Battlefront 50 Years Ago in the War Arsenal M113A1 Personnel Carrier Media Digest Hall of Valor Willy Williams
40
32
THE VIETNAM WAR’S SONG Barry Sadler’s “The Ballad of the Green Berets” became a hit as the iconic song of the Vietnam War. By Marc Leepson
HELL ON EARTH North Vietnamese attacks in the 1972 Battle of An Loc seemed overwhelming until airstrikes turned the tide and South Vietnamese troops prevailed. By James H. Willbanks
PHOTO CREDIT
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48
THE WAR IN PAINT
MESS HALL ANTICS
The Army’s Combat Artist Teams created stunning paintings within the frame of a brutal war. By Deborah Stadtler
Serving as an Army cook during the Vietnam era meant you had to stand the heat—and the personalities. By Mark Mathosian
AUGUST 2017
3
JOIN THE DISCUSSION AT VIETNAM MAG.COM
MICHAEL A. REINSTEIN CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER DAVID STEINHAFEL ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ALEX NEILL EDITOR IN CHIEF
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The heroics of Air Force pilot Bernard F. “Bernie” Fisher are on display in this issue’s article about the Skyraider attack aircraft, which IT[WÆM_ZM[K]MUQ[[QWV[
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The Controversies of Don Luce
Lieverman responds: I’m glad Mr. van Ackere found the article useful. I think some of the numbers are exaggerations. For example, most references refer to fewer than 1 million refugees going from the North to the South, principally Catholics urged to do [WJaKP]ZKPWЅKQIT[IVL+I\PWTQK ;W]\P>QM\VIUM[MWЅKQIT[TQSM President Ngo Dinh Diem. But the question about Luce’s views is a fair one. Luce knew the refugees from North Vietnam quite well, having worked with them in the South for years, starting upon his arrival in 1958. He also met with pilots being held in Hanoi as POWs. He assisted the boat people who arrived in the U.S. after the war. I spent many hours with Luce over a three-year period, including a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. I don’t believe Luce was blind to excesses by the North Vietnamese or their allies in the 6
VIETNAM
South. But Luce believed that a far greater harm was caused by the war itself and that his responsibility was to focus on the conduct of his own country. 0MIT[WJMTQM^M[¸IVL\PMZM¼[ a fair amount of evidence for this ^QM_¸\PI\[WUMWN\PMITTMOML misconduct of the Communist forces was exaggerated for propaganda purposes by the U.S. and South Vietnamese governments, although that doesn’t excuse mistreatment that did occur. Mr. van Ackere says that “the Reds did not give a hoot about their people,” but Luce saw with his own eyes that a succession of South Vietnamese governments demonstrated very little care for their own population. A Folly’s Repercussions Defense Secretary Robert McNamara’s decision to draft QTTQ\MZI\MIVL]VY]ITQÅML[WTLQMZ[ (“McNamara’s Folly,” by
Anti-war activist Don Luce went to Vietnam in an agricultural assistance program but later became a fierce critic of U.S. war policy and testified before Congress about South Vietnamese government abuses.
Hamilton Gregory, June 2017) reverberated around the world IVLVW\R][\QV>QM\VIU5IVa of these individuals were sent to Germany prior to duty in Vietnam and caused enormous trouble there as well. 1_I[IÅZ[\TQM]\MVIV\QV\PM 8th Infantry Division in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. Many of my soldiers were illiterate, undisciplined, downright mean and deviant. Many stole from the local economy and pillaged the locals whenever they could. One of my troops murdered another with a knife he had stolen. Some were dishonorably discharged, and some were sentenced to prison. I do not blame the soldiers. I blame McNamara. These soldiers should never have been part of the U.S. military. What a horrible, ill-conceived idea McNamara came up with. Dennis L. McClinton Bloomington, Minn.
AP PHOTO
Your feature on Don Luce (“The Transformation of Don Luce,” by Ted Lieverman, April 2017) stirred very mixed feelings. Anyone is free to have his/her opinion, including Don Luce, but one cannot help to notice how one-sided some views can be. Thanks for publishing this. No doubt many will not share my thankfulness. Luce claims the Americans simply did not understand the Vietnamese and UILMVWMЄWZ\\WLW[W_PQKP_I[¸IKKWZLQVO\WPQU¸WVMWN\PMUIRWZ reasons for our lack of success. Does he really think the Communists ]VLMZ[\WWL\PMQZW_VXMWXTM'1N[W_PaLQLW^MZ UQTTQWVÆMM[W]\PI\\PM time of partition in 1954-55? Why did over 2 million take to the seas (number of drowned unknown) to escape in 1975? Why did hundreds of thousands rot away in re-education camps after 1975? The Reds did not give a hoot about their people; only ideology counted. Does Luce really not see this side of the story? It would have been interesting to have his take on the boat people. And the treatment of U.S. prisoners of war. Marc van Ackere France
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TODAY *a,MJWZIP;\IL\TMZ
A learning experience A Vietnam War education center will be built underground across from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It will include thousands of items visitors have left at the Wall.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund has received a $10 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to build an education center at the Wall. The Lilly grant is the largest single cash donation in the Memorial Fund’s history. The education center will be a 25,000-square-foot building housing interactive and multimedia exhibits.
QM\VIU MZIÅZ[\̆XMZ[WVIKKW]V\[WN\PM_IZIVLKWV[MY]MVKM[ still being felt today. QM\VIU VIETNAM
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VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL FUND GETS $10M FOR EDUCATION CENTER
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Waited 45 years Receiving Silver Stars at a presentation ceremony are Robert Frank, front left, Robert Monette, second from left back row, Leonard Shearer, second from right back row, and John DesLauriers, far right back row.
HELICOPTER CREW HONORED WITH SILVER STARS FOR 1972 RESCUE On April 18, 2017, 45 years to the day, four men were honored at a ceremony in Little Rock, Arkansas, with Silver Star medals for a brave rescue near Saigon in 1972. Robert Monette, Robert Frank, John DesLauriers and Leonard “Bruce” Shearer were the Army crew on a UH-1H Iroquois “Huey” helicopter that spotted a burning C-130 transport plane as it crashed. They hovered over the _ZMKSIVLX]TTMLÅ^MUMV\W[INM\a ITT_PQTM\ISQVOIVLZM\]ZVQVOÅZM *IKSPWUM\PMNW]ZTQ^MLQVLQЄMZent states but stayed in touch. After a 2005 reunion, they also kept up with the C-130 survivors. “We did these sorts of things in the IQZKI^ITZaITT\PM\QUM\PMLQЄMZMVKM this time being it was recognized and documented,” said Frank in a Stars and Stripes article. The unit’s commander, Jack Shields, worked for more than 10 years to have Silver Stars awarded to the four men. The Silver Star is the third highest military valor decoration.
10
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Known for his work as an actor, musician and veterans advocate, Gary Sinise was honored with the 2,606th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 17, reported UPI. Sinise is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner and co-founder of the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Sinise has been heavily involved with Vietnam veterans causes since seeing a 1980 performance in Los Angeles of Tracers, a play about the war with a cast of Vietnam vets. Sinise’s famous portrayal of Lt. Dan Taylor in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump increased I_IZMVM[[WN\PMLQЅK]T\QM[\PI\LQ[abled veterans face. His Lt. Dan Band has performed for the USO, and Sinise has been a strong supporter of the Disabled American Veterans organization.
TOP LEFT: COURTESY PHOTO; BELOW REX FEATURES VIA AP IMAGES
Gary Sinise Receives Star on Walk of Fame
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Hollywood Stars Sign on to Pentagon Papers Movie
Steven Spie
lberg
Steven Spielberg will direct Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in a Hollywood drama about the 1971 Pentagon Papers controversy, reported Deadline Hollywood. The movie, titled The Post, will focus on The Washington Post’s decision to publish the Pentagon Papers and show how Executive Editor Ben Bradlee, portrayed by Hanks, and Publisher Katharine Graham, played by Streep, fought the government’s attempt to stop them.
12
VIETNAM
A study published in December 2016 found that women who served in the Vietnam War were happier and better WЄ\PIV\PW[MQV\PMOMVMZITXWX]TItion, according to a Forbes article. The study, led by a Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health researcher, surveyed 1,285 American women who served in military and civilian roles during the war. Women who served in Vietnam were less likely than women in the general population to have married or have had children. Career military women reported the least severe symptoms from post-traumatic stress disorder, less overall stress while serving in Vietnam, higher levels of community support and the lowest exposure to sexual harassment. When asked about their experiences during deployment, 96 percent responded positively. Many said they were given more responsibility and experience than they got at home and in local volunteer activities. The study’s authors speculate that service in the war could have allowed women to break out of traditional gender roles of the time, leading to more PIXXQVM[[IVLLQЄMZMV\TQNMKPWQKM[ Even taking into account negative experiences, such as sexual harassment, IUQTQ\IZaKIZMMZJMVMÅ\ML\PM_WUMV _PWKPW[MQ\IKKWZLQVO\W\PMÅVLQVO[
TOP LEFT: GETTY IMAGES; INSET: DPA PICTURE ALLIANCE/ALAMY; BELOW: GETTY IMAGES
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Next for Streep and Hanks Washington Post leaders Katharine Graham and Ben Bradlee are in good spirits on June 21, 1971, after a U.S. District Court judge rules in their favor in the Pentagon Papers case.
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Shown smaller than actual size 13” wide x 9 ¾” high. Glass-covered case displays your collection on a tabletop or wall. Mounting hardware included.
FREE booklet outlines the challenge coins and their significance in U.S. Navy history and includes official images and facts about the United States Navy PLEASE RESPOND PROMPTLY
Edition One, “Continental Navy 1775” The U.S.S. Columbus was the first ship of the U.S. Continental Navy
The reverse of each coin
Celebrate United States Navy History
Symbols of acceptance, military challenge coins bespeak your membership among an elite fleet. This all-new collection is created to honor the history, traditions, and values of the U.S. Navy. Each substantial, two-inch diameter coin is handsomely crafted of real metal, plated with 22K gold and accented with hand-applied enamels. Each coin comes sealed in a crystal-clear collector capsule, which can be removed to show them off. A custom glasscovered display case—a $100 value—is yours for the same low price as a single edition.
A Collector’s First in Limited Editions—Order Now!
Strong demand is expected for this first-ever commemorative collection, limited to only 5,000 complete collections. Act now to acquire each of the thirteen editions (twelve coins and display) at $19.99*, due before shipment. Your purchase is backed by our 365-day money-back guarantee. You’ll receive one edition about every other month. Cancel at any time by notifying us. Send no money now; just mail the attached coupon today! Neither the Department of the Navy nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed or authorized this product.
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MEMORIAL DEDICATED AT OREGON VETERANS MEDICAL CENTER A group of 240 veterans and community members gathMZMLQVNZWV\WN\PM:W[MJ]ZO>M\MZIV[)ЄIQZ[5MLQKIT Center in southern Oregon on March 5 to watch Chapter WN\PM>QM\VIU>M\MZIV[WN)UMZQKI]V^MQTQ\[.ITTMV ;WTLQMZ*I\\TM+ZW[[UMUWZQIT QM\VIU ,W]OTI[8I`\WV\PMUMLQKITKMV\MZ¼[LQZMK\WZ[IQLQ\Q[ QUXWZ\IV\\WPI^M\PMUMUWZQITI\\PM>)IXTIKM_PMZM ^M\MZIV[ÅVLKIUIZILMZQMThe News-Review in RoseJ]ZOZMXWZ\MLQM\VIU^M\MZIV[_PW_MZMVW\_MTKWUMLPWUM IN\MZUISQVO[IKZQÅKM[[MZ^QVO\PMQZKW]V\Za
VIETNAM WAR MUSEUM IN VIRGINIA ADDS EXHIBIT SPACE QM\VIU?IZ.W]VLI\QWV5][M]UQ[ILLQVOI ̆[Y]IZM̆NWW\_QVO\WQ\[ ̆[Y]IZM̆NWW\NIKQTQ\aQV KMV\ZIT>QZOQVQIQM\VIUM[MIZUa\PM>QM\+WVOIVL\PM >QM\VIUM[MXMWXTMIKKWZLQVO\WIXZM[[ZMTMI[M QM\VIUIVL_IV\ML\W\MIKP[KPWWTKPQTLZMVIJW]\\PM_IZ1\VW_PI[WVMWN\PMTIZOM[\KWTTMK\QWV[WN >QM\VIŬMZIIZ\QNIK\[QV\PM=VQ\ML;\I\M[U][M]UWЅKQIT[[IaQM\VIU?IZM`XMZQMVKMQVKT]LQVO\PMLZIN\VW\QKMJI[QK\ZIQVQVO LMXTWaUMV\IVLJI\\TM>Q[Q\WZ[IZMIJTM\W\W]KPNMMTIVL[Q\QV^IZQW][Q\MU[WN\MVO]QLMLJaI>QM\VIU^M\
VIETNAM
TOP: VVA UMPQUA VALLEY CHAPTER 805; BELOW: VIETNAM WAR FOUNDATION MUSEUM
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There was no tactical, operational way to win the war, given the constraints
16
VIETNAM
0W_LQL\PM>QM\VIUM`XMZQMVKMIЄMK\aW]IVLW\PMZ high-ranking Gulf War commanders who had served in a war that was a long slog and didn’t end well? My KWUUIVL[MZOMIV\UIRWZ_I[I>QM\VIU^M\MZIV5a KPQMNWN[\IЄ_I[*W\PI[[Q[\IV\LQ^Q[QWVKWUUIVLMZ[ were. Just before the Gulf War starts—we’re going to [\IZ\\PI\M^MVQVOI\L][S¸1PIL\PMÅVITUMM\QVOWN\PM command group in my expandable van. The ADCs, the KPQMNWN[\IЄ\PMKWUUIVL[MZOMIV\UIRWZIVL1IZM [\IVLQVOQVIKQZKTM1\PW]OP\_M_MZMOWQVO\W\ISMTQOP\ KI[]IT\QM[UMIVQVOSQTTMLIVL_W]VLMLIVL there was a possibility I’d be among them. I tell them in VWZUITTQOP\PMIZ\MLQVNIV\ZaP]UWZ"¹?MTTOWWLT]KS\W all of you. I guess this is the last time we’ll all be together ITQ^Mº)VL*ZQO/MVQM\VIUº1[IQLSQTTMLIVL _W]VLMLQVUaLQ^Q[QWV?MPILMQOP\SQTTMLIVL wounded. Terry Scott retired as a three-star general. ?PI\LQLaW]ZOMVMZI\QWVWNWЅKMZ[[MMI[\PMXZWJlem with U.S. leaders during the Vietnam War? They had lost their way. There was a tremendous animosity among the captains and sergeants in the Army and Marines against the media, against the political leadership and against the generals. [William] Westmoreland [the
DAN WILLIAMS
When U.S. forces crushed Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army in the 1991 Gulf War, many of the \WXKWUUIVLMZ[PILJMMVaW]VOWЅKMZ[QV Vietnam and applied what they had learned there—learned not to do. They included Colin Powell, chairman of the 2WQV\+PQMN[WN;\IЄ#6WZUIV;KP_IZbSWXN \PM\WXJI\\TMÅMTLKWUUIVLMZ#IVL*IZZa 5K+IЄZMaIUIRWZOMVMZIT_PWKWUUIVLML \PM \P1VNIV\Za,Q^Q[QWV5K+IЄZMaTML=; \ZWWX[WVILZIUI\QK¹TMN\PWWSº[_MMXIZW]VL 1ZIYQ]VQ\[\WK]\\PMUWЄNZWU\PMQZ[]XXTQM[ IVLIVM[KIXMZW]\M1\_I[IY]QKSLMKQ[Q^M victory with limited casualties, the exact opposite of Vietnam. 5K+IЄZMaLQL\_W\W]Z[QV>QM\VIUI[I captain—in 1964-65, advising South Vietnam’s airborne division, and in Born: Nov. 17, 1942, Taunton, 1968-69, commanding Massachusetts a 1st Cavalry Division Residence: Seattle Education: U.S. Military company. Academy, 1964; American After the Gulf War, University, master’s in American government, 1970 5K+IЄZMa[MZ^MLI[I Military service: 1964-1996, special assistant to Joint including platoon leader with the 82nd Airborne Division +PQMN[+PIQZUIV8W_MTT# during the 1965 intervention the director of strategic in the Dominican Republic during a time of unrest there; plans and policy for the commander of the 24th Infantry 2WQV\+PQMN[#IVL\PM Division (Mechanized) in the 1991 Gulf War; retired in 1996 four-star commander of In Vietnam: 1966-67, adviser the U.S. Southern Comto the Vietnamese Airborne mand (Central and South Division; 1968-69, commander of B Company, 2nd Battalion, America) from February 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st 1994 to February 1996, Cavalry Division (Airmobile) Government: Director, White when he left to become House Office of National Drug 8ZM[QLMV\*QTT+TQV\WV¼[ Control Policy, 1996-2001 Academia: International LQZMK\WZWN6I\QWVIT,Z]O securities studies professor, Control Policy. U.S. Military Academy, 2001-10 Today: President, BR 5K+IЄZMaKWV\ZI[\ML McCaffrey Associates LLC, the Vietnam and Gulf a consulting business in Alexandria, Virginia; national wars in an interview with security and terrorism analyst VietnamUIOIbQVM-LQ\WZ for NBC News; member, +P]KS;XZQVO[\WV Council on Foreign Relations
Salute Our Soldiers
ARMY VALUES Masterpiece Stein
Dramatic metal medallion centerpiece with U.S. Army symbol
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Impressive 11½ inches high
Hand-crafted Heirloom Porcelain® stein with golden embellishments that echo rank insignia
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Metal topper with 22K gold accents and sculpted bald eagle hand-painted with a stars and stripes design Reverse features the famed slogan “This We’ll Defend” Shown smaller than actual size of about 11½ inches high By federal law, licensing fees paid to the U.S. Army for the use of its trademarks provide support for the Army Trademark Licensing Program, and net licensing revenue is devoted to U.S. Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs. U.S. Army name, trademarks and logos are protected under federal law and used under license by The Bradford Exchange. ©2016 BGE 01-23468-001-BI
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In-country
;W_PI\KW]TLPI^MJMMVLWVMQV>QM\VIU' There were several options. One of which was, declare the war won IVL_Q\PLZI_)VW\PMZWVM_I[LMKTIZM\PM_IZQV\PM hands of the South Vietnamese, the Vietnamization [policy], but continue to give them the money, munitions and the technology to defend themselves. That’s what we didn’t do. The day—I totally believe this—that the U.S. +WVOZM[[\]ZVMLWЄ\PMÆW_WNKI[P\W\PM>QM\VIUM[M government and armed forces was the end of the war. ;WUMIZO]ML\PI\Q\_W]TLR][\JMXW]ZQVOUWZMUWVMa QV\WITW[QVOKI][M I think that had we continued to provide air and sea backup to the South Vietnamese armed forces, the North Vietnamese would have fought for some period of time and given up. But who knows, right? 5IVa^M\MZIV[JMTQM^M\PMaKW]TLPI^M_WV\PM_IZQN KWV[\ZIQV\[PILVW\JMMVX]\WV\PMUQTQ\IZa We could have told the North Vietnamese, “Stop this or we’re going to invade the country with an air, sea, land campaign and destroy your political leadership and your armed forces.” Would the Chinese have intervened? Korea changed the politics of ground warfare against the Chinese. We weren’t OWQVO\WÅOP\IOZW]VL_IZ_Q\P+PQVI?M_W]TLPI^M had to say to the Chinese privately, “If you come in, we’re going to go to nuclear weapons if required.” Was all of that worth Vietnam and the domino theory? The answer is probably no. They were stuck with us taking a thousand killed and wounded a week. ?PI\KPIVOMLJM\_MMV>QM\VIUIVL\PM/]TN?IZ \PI\TML\WIJM\\MZW]\KWUM' We ground up the Marine +WZX[IVL\PM)ZUaNWZ[M^MVaMIZ[\WVWI^IQT;WÅZ[\ 18
VIETNAM
of all we spent 15 years rebuilding the armed forces. [Ronald] Reagan was the turning point in the country and the armed forces. Suddenly we had technology, manXW_MZKWVÅLMVKM\PM[]XXWZ\WN\PM)UMZQKIVXMWXTM QM\VIUIVL\PW[MQV\PM /]TN?IZ' In Vietnam, the soldiers were teenagers or in their very early 20s. They [soldiers under his command] were nearly all draftees. They were absolutely []XMZJ[WTLQMZ[6W_ÆI[PNWZ_IZL\W,M[MZ\;\WZU They were older, married, had children. In Vietnam, we were emaciated, we were sick, we had scabs on us. The soldiers of Desert Storm were physically healthy and had incredible medical care, preventative care, nutrition. )VL\PMV\PMZM_I[\PM\MKPVWTWOa_M_MZMMUXTWaing. During Desert Storm, in our M1 tank or M2 Bradley ÅOP\QVO^MPQKTM[_M_MZMUW^QVOI\UQTM[IVPW]ZIVL SQTTQVOXMWXTMI\IZIVOMWNUM\MZ[QV\PMLIZS_Q\P a 120 mm main tank gun. We could target a tank behind a sand berm because we could see the heat signature of \PM\IVS¼[IV\MVVI?M¼LÅZMIZW]VL\PI\_W]TLOW through the sand berm, bust the front slope of the tank and exit through the rear. For my company in Vietnam, it was bunker complexes, *IVOITWZM\WZXMLWM[W]\WN?WZTL?IZ115 ZQÆM[IVL hand grenades and crawling in the mud with sweat pouring down your face and people getting their eyes shot out by a machine gun 15 feet away. So it was about as dramatQKITTaLQЄMZMV\I_IZI[aW]KIVQUIOQVMV
COURTESY BARRY R. MCCAFFREY
commander of all U.S. combat Barry McCaffrey, who forces in South Vietnam] was an led an an airmobile outstanding man, but was widely infantry company in Vietnam, and others derided by the career profession- of his generation als. Now that didn’t apply to the vowed, “Never again.” two-star general commanding the [\+I^,Q^Q[QWV5IR/MV/MWZOM1.WZ[a\PMIVQVKZMLible combat leader who had commanded an infantry platoon at the Normandy landings in World War II. But the political leadership had gotten us into this _IZ)VI[\]\MWJ[MZ^MZ_W]TLJMMUXI\PM\QK\W\PM country’s leaders. They didn’t want to go to war with China, with Russia. They didn’t want to use any nuclear weapons. They didn’t want to invade North Vietnam. We had a tactical and operational military plan to kill 6WZ\P>QM\VIUM[M)ZUa[WTLQMZ[\W\PMXWQV\_PMZM\PMa said: “OK, we give up. We’re not going to try and unify the country by force.” But it was clear that you couldn’t ever SQTTMVW]OP6WZ\P>QM\VIUM[M)ZUa[WTLQMZ[QV;W]\P Vietnam to get them to stop trying to reunite the country. We weren’t even close to killing more each year than they could produce each year. There was no tactical, operational way to win the war, given the constraints. Lyndon Baines Johnson was politically afraid to say this isn’t _WZSQVO1Y]Q\)UMZQKIPILVM^MZLWVM\PI\
www.MilitaryVideo.com The Vietnam War As Filmed By The Unseen Warriors 6HHDQGKHDUWKHVWRULHVDQGLPDJHVRIWKHVROGLHUVZKRIRXJKWLQ 9LHWQDPUHFRUGHGE\WKH$UP\&RPEDW&DPHUDPHQZKRZLWQHVVHG WKHP7KLV4-hour, 2-DVDGRFXPHQWDU\PDNHVDJUHDWJLIWIRUDQ\$UP\ YHWHUDQ³8QVHHQ:DUULRUV´UHYHDOVQHYHUEHIRUHVHHQILOPIRRWDJHDQG SKRWRJUDSKVDORQJZLWK¿UVWKDQGVWRULHVE\FDPHUDPHQZKRZHUH WKHUH&DPHUDPHQZHUHWKHUHDWWKHEDWWOHRIWKH<%ULGJHGXULQJ7(7LQ 6DLJRQ DQGWKH\ZHUHWKHUHZLWKWKHDUWLOOHU\PHQRIWKHVW$LUERUQH LQWKH$VKDX9DOOH\DW)LUH6XSSRUW%DVH5LSFRUG1RZ$UP\YHWHUDQV FDQVHHWKHVHLPDJHVDJDLQPrice is $49.90LQFOXGLQJVKLSSLQJ7RVHH ¿OPFOLSVYLVLWPLOLWDU\YLGHRFRPDQGFOLFNRQUnseen WarriorsRQWKH KRPHSDJH
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Some DVDs are narrated, some are not. 0ost are in color, some are in black and white. Each one is different! Call 760-765-1283 or visit the website for details.
www.MilitaryVideo.com Sammy Davis Jr. Tour Of Vietnam
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July 23 One of the deadliest ZQW\[QV=;PQ[\WZaJMOQV[_PMV ,M\ZWQ\XWTQKMIZZM[\XIZ\QMZ[QV IZIQLWVIV]VTQKMV[MLJIZQVI JTIKSVMQOPJWZPWWLIVL[WUMWVM\PZW_[IJZQKSI\IXWTQKM KIZ[\IZ\QVOUI[[TWW\QVO IVLIZ[WV?PMVKITUZM\]ZVML WV2]Ta\PMZM_MZM LMIL IVL !QVR]ZML:IKMZQW\[ WKK]ZZML\PZW]OPW]\\PM KW]V\ZaQV2]TaIVL)]O][\
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1967
July 24 Don January wins the PGA Championship at Columbine Country Club in Colorado after beating Don Massengale QVIV ̆PWTMXTIaWЄ2IKS 6QKSTI][IVL,IV;QSM[ \QMLNWZ\PQZL Aug. 5 *ZQ\Q[PJIVL8QVS.TWaL ZMTMI[M[Q\[ÅZ[\ITJ]UThe Piper at the Gates of DawnKWV[QLMZML WVMWN\PMUIRWZKWV\ZQJ]\QWV[\W ¹X[aKPMLMTQKZWKSºU][QK_ZQ\\MV IVLXMZNWZUML\WMKPW\PMMЄMK\[ WNLZ]O[[]KPI[4;,
Aug. 13 Bonnie and Clyde premiers with Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty as the notorious Texas outlaws. The ÅTU¼[[PWKSQVOTaZMITQ[\QK LMXQK\QWVWNJTWWL̆[XTI\\MZML ^QWTMVKMM[XMKQITTaQV\PMÅVIT LMI\P[KMVMQV\ZWL]KMLIVM_ MZIQVÅTUUISQVO 20
VIETNAM
Aug. 26 Bobbie Gentry’s Ode to Billy Joe, which was released July 10, becomes the \WX[QVOTMWV\PM Billboard charts and stays there four weeks. The 5Q[[Q[[QXXQJITTIL had mysterious lyrics about the morning “Billie Joe McAllister R]UXMLWЄ\PM Tallahatchie Bridge.”
July 2-14 1V7XMZI\QWV*]ЄITW]VQ\[WN \PMZLIVL!\P5IZQVMZMOQUMV\[[]XXWZ\MLJa\P5IZQVM[IZ\QTTMZaJI\\TM 6WZ\P>QM\VIUM[M)ZUa]VQ\[\PI\PIL moved into the area around Con Thien VMIZ\PM[W]\PMZVXIZ\WN\PM,MUQTQ\IZQbMLBWVM)LMI\P[_MZMM[\QUI\ML I\\W July 6
Aug. 29 The hit ABC series The Fugitive ends its four-year run following a wrongly convicted wife murderer, Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen), as he hunts for the true killer.
Aug. 30
July 9-Aug. 26 <_W;W]\P3WZMIV LQ^Q[QWV[KWVL]K\7XMZI\QWV0WVO 3QT,WVOQV<]a0WIQVKMV\ZIT;W]\P >QM\VIU3WZMIV[WTLQMZ[QV\PMQZ TIZOM[\WXMZI\QWVWN\PM_IZSQTT 6>)IVL>QM\+WVOÅOP\MZ[_PQTM []ЄMZQVO SQTTML July 15 +WI[\/]IZLK]\\MZPoint OrientIVIZUMLXI\ZWTJWI\WXMZI\QVOW]\WN,I6IVOI[XIZ\WN,Q^Q[QWV ;Y]ILZWVKIX\]ZM[IVMVMUa \ZI_TMZ\ZIV[XWZ\QVO[]XXTQM[IVL U]VQ\QWV[ July 29 )[KIZZQMZ=;;.WZZM[\IT XZMXIZM[\WTI]VKPQ\[[MKWVLIQZ[\ZQSMWN\PMLIaIZWKSM\IKKQLMV\ITTa M`XTWLM[[\IZ\QVOIKPIQVZMIK\QWV WNWZLVIVKMLM\WVI\QWV[\PI\QOVQ\M ILMILTaÅZMQM\VIUKIX\]ZMLIVL\WZ\]ZML J]\UIVIOM[\WM[KIXM)N\MZVMIZTa ZMIKPQVO=;NWZKM[,Ia_I[ZMKIX\]ZMLIVLMVL]ZML[I^IOMTaJZ]\IT \ZMI\UMV\I[IXZQ[WVMZ]V\QT5IZKP ! 0M_I[I_IZLML\PM5MLITWN 0WVWZIVL\PM)QZ.WZKM+ZW[[NWZPQ[ KW]ZIOMIVLMVL]ZIVKM JULY 23: AP PHOT0; JULY 24: IRA GAY SEALY, THE DENVER POST VIA GETTY IMAGES; AUG. 5: CHRIS WALTER/WIREIMAGE; AUG. 13: PHOTOFEST; AUG. 26: HISTORYNET ARCHIVES; AUG. 29: ABC VIA GETTY IMAGES; AUG. 30: AP PHOTO/CHARLES TASNADI
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21
*M\\MZWLL[ 0MI^aÅZMXW_MZ The track’s M2 .50-caliber machine gun was protected by a steel plate.
M113 crewmen and other troops preferred to risk enemy gunfire rather than being caught inside their aluminum box if it suffered an explosion from a mine or rocket-propelled grenade.
)LLMLÅZMXW_MZ Many units mounted a shielded M60 7.62 mm machine gun on each side.
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+IUXXZW\MK\QWV
A hydraulic rear ramp (not shown) could be lowered to get the troops out quickly.
Chain-link fencing was carried to enhance protection in bivouac.
)Z\Q[\QK\W]KP Troops painted cartoons on the side or front of the M113.
;\IJQTQbMZ A trim vane (plywood plate) kept the nose from dipping under the water and maintained the vehicle’s balance during river crossings.
M113A1 PERSONNEL CARRIER A group of troops atop an M113 is one of the iconic images of the Vietnam War. The M113 IZUWZMLXMZ[WVVMTKIZZQMZ[MKWVLWVTa\W\PM=0̆1ZWY]WQ[¹0]MaºPMTQKWX\MZQVJI\\TMÅMTL importance, entered production in April 1960. Developed by FMC, the aluminum-hulled M113, intended to be amphibious and air transportable, was considerably lighter than its predecessor, the M59. Unfortunately, its limited freeboard (distance from the water line to the roof) of 14 inches precluded use in amphibious operations. But the M113 could cross rivers with slow currents, relying on its hydraulically tensioned tracks for propulsion. Initially propelled by a 260 horsepower Chrysler 75M V-8 gasoline engine, the M113 was soon eclipsed by the diesel-powered M113A1, introduced in April 1963. By July 1, 1968, many M113s in Vietnam were diesel-powered.
VIETNAM
+ZM_"2 7\PMZ\ZWWX["11 -VOQVM"Detroit Diesel 212 shaft horsepower, V-6 ?MQOP\"24,080 pounds 4MVO\P"15 feet, 11½ inches 0MQOP\"8 feet, 2¼ inches
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MORE THAN JUST A PROP The versatile Skyraider flew missions that no jet could By Don Hollway
24
VIETNAM
Ready for takeoff An AD-1H Skyraider from attack squadron VA 25 on carrier USS Coral Sea in the Gulf of Tonkin gets the launch signal for a new mission, in this undated photo. BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES
AUGUST 2017
25
Bomb run An A-1E Skyraider in the 1st Air Commando Squadron attacks the Viet Cong with napalm bombs in 1966.
The aerial acrobatics of a kill Lt. j.g.. Charlie Hartman, in camouflage, and mission leader Lt. Cmdr. Edwin Greathouse describe to Rear Adm. William Bringle, seated, the downing of a MiG on June 20,1965. Second from right is Lt. Clinton Johnson. 26
VIETNAM
Fire away An Air Force Skyraider drops napalm bombs.
T OPPOSITE: TOP: U.S. AIR FORCE (2); BOTTOM: U.S. NAVY; THIS PAGE: BOTTOM LEFT: U.S. NAVY; RIGHT: U.S. AIR FORCE
PZMMIVLIPITNUWV\P[IN\MZ\PMÅZ[\)UMZQKIVKWUJI\\ZWWX[\_WJI\\ITQWV[WN5IZQVM[_ILML ashore without resistance at Da Nang, U.S. Air Force jet pilots learned they wouldn’t have it so MI[a7V2]VM! I5K,WVVMTT.̆ +8PIV\WU11_I[PQ\JaI5QSWaIV̆/]ZM^QKP5Q/̆ VMIZ QM\VIUIVLJMKIUM\PMÅZ[\8PIV\WU[PW\LW_VQV\PM_IZQM\VIUM[M![\.QOP\MZ:MOQUMV\\PW]OP\INWZKMWN)UMZica’s most advanced combat aircraft would arrive to rescue the downed plane’s crew. Instead, they met ghosts out of the past: four gleaming white, straight-winged, single-seated propeller planes, ,W]OTI[)̆0;SaZIQLMZ[WN=;6I^aI\\IKS[Y]ILZWV>)̆ ¹
“At 12,000 feet and 170 knots we looked like Tweety bird to Sylvester the Cat,” remembered Lt. Clinton B. Johnson, who was leading the second pair of Skyraiders when they spotted the enemy jets. “Our only hope was to get down low and try to out turn the MiGs.” Following Johnson into the weeds to escape, wingman Lt. j.g. Charlie Hartman worried, “The familiar story of \PM6W UIVJMQVO\PMÅZ[\\WJMLW_VMLZIKML\PZW]OP my mind.” At the rear of the formation, he was defenseless against a tail attack. “A silver MiG-17 with red marking on wings and tail streaked by Charlie and me,” Johnson stated. “Tracers from behind and a jet intake growing larger in my mirror were a signal to start pulling and turning….[The second MiG] was unable to stay inside our turn and overshot.”
QVINIZUÅMTLº
On target An Air Force A-1E Skyraider carrying 500-pound bombs flies toward a target in South Vietnam in October 1967.
27
minute with an ordnance load. But speed was a relative thing and had lost all its importance in the sort of war we would be in.” Agility, not speed, would be the Skyraider’s best defense over Vietnam. In September 1960 the Eisenhower administration saw the A-1 as the ideal combat aircraft—front-line, but no longer state-of-the-art—to bolster South Vietnam’s ÆMLOQVOIQZNWZKMQM\VIUM[MIQZ force Skyraiders helped put down an attempted coup. In February 1963, however, two mutinous A-1 pilots bombed and strafed the presidential palace in Saigon. The future South Vietnamese prime minister and vice president, Nguyen Cao Ky, began his rise to power as a ÆIUJWaIV\;XILXQTW\¹6M^MZPIL1ÆW_V[]KPIXW_MZN]T IQZKZIN\ ºPMZMUMUJMZMLWNPQ[ÅZ[\ÆQOP\QV! ¹)[1 raced down the runway the Skyraider was a tiger leaping into the sky....It took all the strength of both arms and both legs to establish control. By the time I had stabilized aircraft altitude, I was at 12,000 feet….The next time I \WWSWЄQVIV)̆1_W]TLKIZZaIN]TTTWILWNJWUJ[\W drop on the enemy.” When the U.S. Navy joined the war, Skyraiders led the _Ia7V)]O ! KIZZQMZ[Ticonderoga and ConstellatioVTI]VKPML\PMÅZ[\IQZZIQL[QV\W6WZ\P>QM\VIU during Operation Pierce Arrow, in retaliation for reported torpedo boat attacks on U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. Lt. j.g. Richard Sather was in an A-1H, making his third pass against patrol boats of the North Vietnamese 28
VIETNAM
VI^a_PMVPM_I[PQ\JaIV\Q̆IQZKZIN\ÅZMIVLKZI[PMLQV the shallows of Loc Chou Harbor. Sather, who had recently _ZQ\\MVPWUM\PI\PM_W]TL¹OWQV\WJI\\TMJMKI][M\PQ[ was the thing to do, the thing I’ve been trained for,” was VI^ITI^QI\QWV¼[ÅZ[\KI[]IT\aQV>QM\VIU )[\PMÅOP\QVOQV\MV[QÅML\PM=;)QZ.WZKMVMMLML Spads to deliver the slow, accurate, close air support its ÆMM\QVORM\[KW]TLVW\XZW^QLM)\ÅZ[\J][P̆PI\\ML=; air commando advisers shared cockpits with Vietnamese XQTW\[QV\_W̆[MI\¹NI\NIKMº)̆-;SaZIQLMZ[_Q\P;W]\P Vietnamese air force insignia. Richard Foreman, a U.S. )QZ.WZKMÅZ[\TQM]\MVIV\I\\PM\QUMPQ\KPMLIZQLM_Q\P a Vietnamese pilot from Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon \W6PIQM\VIUM[M_Q\P\PMQZJMTWVOQVO[QVKT]LQVOI few chickens.” In February 1965, responding to Viet Cong attacks on American bases, U.S. and South Vietnamese Spads crossed the Demilitarized Zone to hit North Vietnamese Army bases near Don Hoi. Ky, by then an air vice marshal, led his A-1s against anti-aircraft emplacements. ¹
TOP LEFT: BILL RAY/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: GETTY IMAGES
Launch time Crewmen head to their Skyraiders on the Bon Homme Richard in 1965.
Key pilot As a South Vietnamese air force pilot, future prime minister Nguyen Cao Ky led Skyraiders in attacks on North Vietnamese bases.
CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER RIGHT: U.S. AIR FORCE; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE; U.S. AIR FORCE (2)
forced to bail out into the sea.” Less than two weeks later Ky and his A-1s proved decisive in stopping yet another coup attempt when he threatened to bomb rebels in the capital. The coup plotters decided to VMOW\QI\M¹1IOZMMLJ]\TI]VKPML\_WÆQOP\[ of Skyraiders—eight aircraft carrying 32 \WV[WNZWKSM\[¸\WÆaW^MZ;IQOWVº3aZMmembered. “Those planes could remain aloft NWZNW]ZWZÅ^MPW]Z[?Q\P\PQ[UW^M1JW\P controlled the air over the capital and would be able to quash further hostile troop moveUMV\[QV\W\PMKQ\aº3a¼[;XIL[ÆM_KW^MZ as loyalist troops and tanks retook control. 0M[WWVJMKIUMXZQUMUQVQ[\MZ\PIVS[QV no small part to the Skyraider. ?PMV3aOW\_QVLWN\PM6I^a;XIL[¼IMZQIT^QK\WZaW^MZ)̆ WЄ=;; Hancock. They chose routes with minimal threats of
anti-aircraft artillery. The standard combat load was four high-intensity parachute ÆIZM[ ZW]VL[WNUUIUU]VQ\QWV two 19-shot 2.75-inch rocket packs and a mix of four 250- and 500-pound bombs. But \PM;SaZIQLMZ[PILVWWVJWIZLZILIZQVNZIred or night-vision aids. ¹?M_MZMTQUQ\ML\WW]Z»5IZS7VM¼MaMballs [naked eyes] for searching and trackQVOº[IQL+IZT\WV_PWTI\MZJMKIUMI6I^a KIX\IQV¹1\_I[ILQЅK]T\KI\IVLUW][M OIUMI\JM[\NWZI\\PMÅZ[\QVLQKI\QWVWNW]Z XZM[MVKM\PM\Z]KS[K]\\PMQZTQOP\[IVL headed for cover in ditches and under \ZMM[°?MRWSQVOTaZMNMZZML\W\PM[MUQ[sions as making tooth picks the hard way.” 1V5IZKP! UWZM\PIV\ZWWX[WN \PM6>)! \P:MOQUMV\ \P,Q^Q[QWVKIUM down the trail to besiege a platoon of Green Berets and several hundred South VietnamM[MQV\PM);PI]>ITTMaVMIZ\PM4IW\QIVJWZLMZ,Q^QVOQV\W\PMUW]V\IQV[[]ZZW]VLQVO \PMJI[MWVMXQTW\[IQL¹_I[TQSMÆaQVOQV[QLM Yankee Stadium with the people in the bleachMZ[ÅZQVOI\aW]_Q\PUIKPQVMO]V[º,]ZQVO I5IZKPI\\IKSWV\PM6>);SaZIQLMZXQTW\ 5IR,IЄWZL?¹2]UXº5aMZ[WN\PM VL .QOP\MZ;Y]ILZWV+WUUIVLWZILQWML¹1¼^M been hit and hit hard.” He crash-landed his JTIbQVO;XILWV\PMJI[MIQZ[\ZQX?Q\PMVMUa
Rescue under fire Maj. Bernard Fisher rescued a downed colleague in a dramatic landing with his Skyaider, shown below at the Air Force museum in Ohio.
Lining up for a mission Skyraiders in the 1st Air Commando Squadron taxi down the runway at the Pleiku air base in South Vietnam during 1966.
Into the jungle A U.S. Air Force A-1E Skyraider flies over dense forest in Vietnam. AUGUST 2017
29
The winning plane Patton was flying this plane when he battled a MiG in a dogfight near Hanoi on Oct. 9, 1966.
troops within 20 yards of Myers’ position and the nearest rescue chopper 30 minutes out, Maj. Bernard F. “Bernie” Fisher, an A-1E pilot of the 1st Air Commando Squadron out of Pleiku, told everyone, “I’m going in.” The runway was so littered with battle trash that .Q[PMZPIL\WIJWZ\PQ[ÅZ[\IXXZWIKP7VPQ[[MKWVL\Za he stopped at the end of the strip and rolled back to 5aMZ[XMXXMZML_Q\P[UITT̆IZU[ÅZMITT\PM_Ia¹)̆ ÆM_NZWU=;;Intrepid to provide cover for the rescue attempt. Four MiG-17s intervened. In the MV[]QVOLWOÅOP\\PMTMIL;XIL[[KWZMLWVM5Q/LIUaged and another probable.
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XZWX̆LZQ^MVÅOP\MZW^MZIRM\8I\\WV_I[I_IZLML\PM Silver Star for his actions that day. In the end it wasn’t enemy MiGs but American jets that put an end to the Skyraider’s days as an attack aircraft. An expanding inventory of turbine-powered JQZL[QVKT]LQVO\PM/Z]UUIV)̆ 1V\Z]LMZIVL4<>)̆ Corsair II—both intended to replace the Spad—meant U.S. carriers needed tanks just for kerosene-based jet fuel and no longer had capacity for the aviation gasoline burned by the Skyraider. 7V.MJ! 4\RO)̆ ÆM_\PM Navy’s last A-1 attack mission, in support of U.S. Marines JM[QMOMLI\3PM;IVP1V)XZQT0QTTÆM_\PI\;XILNZWU Naval Air Station Lemoore in California to the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, where it resides today. The Navy handed the rest of its Skyraiders over to the U.S. and South Vietnamese air forces. 5MIV_PQTMQV)]O][\! \PM=;)QZ.WZKMZMLM[ignated its air commando Skyraider units as special opMZI\QWV[[Y]ILZWV["\PM[\;7;KITT[QOV"0WJW# VL ;7;.QZMÆa#IVL\PMVL;7;BWZZW\PM)QZ.WZKM¼[ TI[\)̆]VQ\QM\VIUI[O]IZLQIVIVOMT[7VMWN\PMUW[\ZMI[suring sounds a downed American pilot could hear, besides the throb of a Sikorsky HH-3E “Jolly Green Giant” rescue chopper, was the radio call sign “Sandy” from an M[KWZ\WN_MIXWV[̆TILMVTWVŎTWQ\MZQVO;SaZIQLMZ[ÆaQVO ZM[K]MKWUJI\IQZXI\ZWTWZ:-;+)8)TT;SaZIQLMZXQTW\[_MZMLM[QOVI\ML¹;IVLaº_PMVKW^MZQVOZM[K]M[ +IX\2WPV.TQVVWN\PM[\;7;LMKTIZML¹
U.S. NAVY
Victory talk Lt. j.g. Tom Patton recounts his shootdown of a MiG-17 in October 1966.
ILLUSTRATION BY DON HOLLWAY
Skyraider pilots took a lot of ribbing from their fast-jet compatriots. A Spad jockey, it was said, could be recognized by his right leg, overdeveloped from standing on the rudder pedal against all that engine torque, and he had a greater chance of dying from slipping in an oil puddle than from an enemy bullet— but as one F-105 Thunderchief jock put it, “If a Sandy pilot walked into the bar, he would have a hard time paying for a drink.”
A-1H Skyraider Crew: 1 Engine: Wright R-335026WA radial engine, 2,700 horsepower Wingspan: 50 ft. Length: 38 ft., 10 in. Height: 15 ft., 8 in. Weight: 11,968 lbs. empty, 18,106 lbs. loaded, 25,000 lbs. max. takeoff Max. speed: 322 mph Cruising speed: 198 mph Max. range: 1,316 miles Max. altitude: 28,500 ft. Armament: Four 20 mm cannon, plus up to 8,000 lbs. of bombs, torpedoes, mine dispensers, unguided rockets and gun pods on 15 underwing hardpoints
On Sept. 1, 1968, the 602nd’s Lt. Col. William A. Jones III took charge of a rescue at Dong Hoi on the North Vietnamese coast. The downed Phantom’s back-seater had already been captured. The aircraft of the rescue force were seeking the injured pilot in the wrong place. Jones found him 8 miles away, covered Ja MVMUa UU ÆIS [Q\M[¹)PILKZW[[ML\PM,5BQVLQ^Q[QWV[\ZMVO\PPMILMLNWZ a bridge over the Thach Han River to invade South Vietnam. Each Skyraider carried 12 500-pound bombs. Shooting up the tank columns and blowing the bridge, they
forced the invaders to seek another crossing further inland. Over the course of the next week, Lanh was credited with knocking out 17 North Vietnamese tanks. )T\PW]OP;SaZIQLMZXQTW\[VMIZ\PM,5B were having some success, they were far removed from their headquarters in Saigon and didn’t “know the whole story on how bad \PM_IZ_I[OWQVONWZ][ºZMKITTML5IR0W Van Hien of the 514th Fighter Squadron. On I ̆UQTMÆQOP\NZWU8PIV:IVO)QZ*I[M southwest to the capital, his Spad hauled UWZMZMN]OMM[\PIVJWUJ[¹1ÆM_JIKS\W Bien Hoa [Air Base outside Saigon] with 25 people in the back of my A-1E,” he said. )[\PMÅOP\QVOKTW[MLQV\PM \P_Q\Pdrew from Bien Hoa across the city to Tan Son Nhut and, when that became untenable, to Bien Thuy in the far south. “Columns of smoke were rising up from various parts of Saigon following indiscriminate NVA mortar attacks,” noted Lt. IV_PWÆM_I Spad in South Vietnam’s last stand on April 29. “We spent quite a long time over the target area, working with ARVN troops that were trying to hold their positions against a considerably larger NVA force that was advancing on Saigon. We spent all the remaining bombs and cannon rounds before heading back to Bien Thuy.” Like many other South Vietnamese pilots, Hien escaped to U-Tapao, Thailand, with another two dozen ZMN]OMM[[\]ЄMLQV\W\PM)̆-¹?M_MZMLQ[IXXWQV\ML\W see American soldiers with their guns leveled meeting us on the ramp,” he recalled. The Americans quickly applied U.S. insignia on the Skyraiders to cover South Vietnamese air force markings. “They took our weapons and ITTWNW]ZÆaQVOOMIZº0QMV[IQL¹?M_MZMLM^I[\I\MLº 5WZM\PIV aMIZ[TI\MZIV)̆XIQV\MLQVI[MUblance of U.S. Air Force colors is on display at the War :MUVIV\[5][M]UQV0W+PQ5QVP+Q\aIVL\_WW\PMZ[ are at a military history museum in Hanoi. In all, 144 Skyraider pilots and 266 planes were lost in Vietnam, most NZWUOZW]VLÅZMJ]\Å^M_MZMLW_VMLJa[]ZNIKM̆\W̆IQZ missiles and three fell in air-to-air combat, including two [\Z]KSJa5Q/[
Don Hollway, an author and historian, wrote about the attacks on Thanh Hoa Bridge in our October 2015 issue.
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HELL ON EARTH
During the spring 1972 Battle of An Loc, South Vietnamese troops were nearly overwhelmed in one of the most intense engagements of the war By James H. Willbanks
Cambodia
Battle of An Loc April 13 June 18, 1972
Loc Ninh Quan Loi
An Loc
South Vietnam
13
Chon Thanh
Lai Khe
Saigon
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A city in ruins The devastation of An Loc, seen on June 14, 1972, surrounds a statue of a South Vietnamese soldier that somehow survived the fighting.
I AP PHOTO/KOICHIRO MORITA; UPPER RIGHT: AP PHOTO
n the early morning hours of Good Friday, March 30, 1972, a massive barrage from four North Vietnamese Army artillery regiments slammed into the newly formed 3rd Infantry Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in South Vietnam’s northernmost province. Under cover of \PM[MÅZM[\_W6>)LQ^Q[QWV[XW]ZMLIKZW[[\PM,MUQTQ\Irized Zone toward the town of Quang Tri. At the same time, another NVA division attacked from the west toward Hue, Vietnam’s ancient imperial capital. The Good Friday attack was the opening of North Vietnam’s Nguyen Hue Campaign (named for an emperor in the 1700s who united the northern and southern parts of what became Vietnam), also commonly known as the Spring OfNMV[Q^MWN! WZ\PM-I[\MZ7ЄMV[Q^MQM\VIUQVIVMЄWZ\\W[\ZQSMISVWKSW]\JTW_ against the South Vietnamese government and ARVN. A total of 14 NVA divisions and 26 separate regiments, totaling 125,000 troops and approximately 1,200 tanks and other armored ^MPQKTM[XIZ\QKQXI\MLQV\PMWЄMV[Q^MQM\VIUM[MIT[W QV\ZWL]KML_MIXWVZaVW\][MLQVMIZTQMZ+WUU]VQ[\WЄMV[Q^M[QV South Vietnam, such as T-54 tanks, ZSU 57-2 tracked anti-aircraft O]V[IVL;)̆ ;\ZMTI[PW]TLMZ̆ÅZMLPMI\̆[MMSQVOIV\Q̆IQZKZIN\UQ[siles. The NVA’s combined arms assaults—featuring coordinated masses of infantry, tanks and artillery—were more like the Red Army’s attacks in the latter stages of World War II than the previous battles in Vietnam. 1VLMML=;)ZUa+IX\0IZWTL5WЄM\\IVIL^Q[MZ_WZSQVO_Q\P South Vietnam’s 3rd Ranger Group, described the scene in the especially hard-hit southern city of An Loc as “looking like Berlin at the end of World War II.”
Trouble on the horizon In the midst of the Communist offensive that began March 30, 1972, South Vietnamese soldiers watch airstrikes on April 12 hit North Vietnamese troops who attacked forces on their way to help defend the threatened city of An Loc.
According to captured documents and NVA sources, the North Vietnamese hoped to destroy much of the ARVN and occupy key cities, which would put the Communist forces in a posture to threaten Saigon and President Nguyen Van Thieu’s government. Soon after the initial thrust in South Vietnam’s northern region, another NVA force attacked Kontum in the Central Highlands with \PZMMLQ^Q[QWV[7V)XZQT \PM6>)WXMVML\PMWЄMV[Q^MWV\PQ[NZWV\ _Q\PIUI[[Q^MIZ\QTTMZaIVLZWKSM\JIZZIOMWN):>6ÅZMJI[M[ITWVO Rocket Ridge, northwest of Kontum City. Meanwhile, to the south three more NVA divisions advanced in the Saigon region, focusing on Binh Long province, north of Saigon and bordering Cambodia. One of the primary targets was the provincial capital, An Loc, a city of 15,000 surrounded by vast rubber plantations totaling 75,000 acres. Only 65 miles north of Saigon, An Loc was in a dangerous spot astride Highway 13, a paved road that could take Communist forces
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Reason to cheer South Vietnamese troops, who had not seen enemy tanks before the 1972 offensive, gather on a knocked-out North Vietnamese T-54 tank and light a flare to celebrate the arrival of airlifted reinforcements on July 3.
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OPPOSITE: AP PHOTO; TOP: BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: AP PHOTO/NICK UT
Advising U.S. adviser Maj. Gen. James F. Hollingsworth worked with Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Minh on a plan to save An Loc.
directly from the Cambodian border to the South Vietnamese capital. The coordinated Communist thrusts, characterized by a ferocity never before experienced by South Vietnam’s forces, were initially successful. In some of the UW[\JQ\\MZÅOP\QVOWN\PM_IZ\PM;W]\P>QM\VIUM[M defenders reeled under the NVA assaults. *a\PQ[\QUMQV\PM_IZUW[\=;OZW]VLKWUJI\ forces had been withdrawn, and Americans on the OZW]VLQVKWUJI\ZWTM[_MZMXZQUIZQTaIL^Q[MZ[_PW [MZ^ML_Q\P):>6NWZKM[QV\PMÅMTL8ZM[QLMV\:QKPIZL Nixon had instituted in 1969 his “Vietnamization” proOZIU"IOZIL]IT\ZIV[NMZWNKWUJI\WXMZI\QWV[\W\PM South Vietnamese so that all American troops could be M^MV\]ITTa_Q\PLZI_VQM\VIUM[MIZUaIVLJWT[\MZ QM\VIU¼[+WUU]VQ[\[ In one of the critical aspects of the Vietnamization XZWOZIU5QTQ\IZa)[[Q[\IVKM+WUUIVL>QM\VIUWZ 5)+>\PM[MVQWZ=;UQTQ\IZaPMILY]IZ\MZ[QV̆KW]V\Za increased the number of advisers to help improve the Y]ITQ\aWN\PM):>6NWZKM=;IL^Q[MZ[PILJMMV[MZ^QVO with South Vietnamese units since 1955, but they took on added importance as the number of American combat units dwindled. QM\VIUM[MXZW^QVKMIVLLQ[\ZQK\PMILY]IZ\MZ[6LMNMV[MIOIQV[\\PM 6WZ\P>QM\VIUM[MQV^I[QWVQV[XZQVO!
ary. The Tay Ninh attack, supported by \IVS[ZWKSM\[IVLPMI^aUWZ\IZÅZM[MMUML \WKWVÅZUMIZTQMZQV\MTTQOMVKM\PI\\PMUIQV 6WZ\P>QM\VIUM[MMЄWZ\QV\PMZMOQWV_W]TL \ISMXTIKMQV\PI\XZW^QVKMIT\PW]OP\PM South Vietnamese were surprised at the ÅMZKMVM[[WN\PMI\\IKS[IVL\PM][MWN\IVS[ For three days after the Tay Ninh attacks, *QVP4WVO_I[ZMTI\Q^MTaY]QM\IV0]VO;MVQWZ=;IL^Q[MZ[_Q\P the division picked up indications of increased enemy activity in the area, but 5)+>IVITa[\[QV;IQOWVQV[Q[\ML\PI\\PM main attack would come in Tay Ninh. The IVITa[\[_W]TL[WWVJMXZW^ML_ZWVO )JW]\ " IUWV)XZQT \PMMVMUaIZZQ^MLQV*QVP4WVOXZW^QVKM_Q\PIKWWZLQVI\MLI\\IKSWV4WK6QVPI\W_VWV0QOP_Ia 13 about halfway between An Loc and the Cambodian border. The North Vietnamese I\\IKSMZ[ZMTMV\TM[[TaMUXTWaML\IVS[IVLTIZOM^WT]UM[ WNIZ\QTTMZaUWZ\IZIVLZWKSM\ÅZMIOIQV[\\PM[UITT):>6 NWZKMWNIJW]\\ZWWX[UW[\TaNZWU\PM!\P:MOQUMV\ WN\PM \P):>6,Q^Q[QWVIVL\PMTWKITUQTQ\QIOIZZQ[WV and their seven American advisers. 4\/MV6O]aMV>IV5QVPKWUUIVLMZWN\PMUQTQ\IZa ZMOQWV []ZZW]VLQVO ;IQOWV IVL 5IR /MV 2IUM[ . 0WTTQVO[_WZ\PPQ[)UMZQKIVIL^Q[MZI\\PMZMOQWV¼[PMILY]IZ\MZ[QV*QMV0WIR][\W]\[QLM;IQOWVZMITQbML\PI\ *QVP4WVOVW\
Advancing U.S. adviser Lt. Col. Burr M. Willey and a South Vietnamese unit on Route 13 head toward An Loc on May 19. Burr was killed on June 19 in fighting along Route 13.
On April 2,\PMWЄMV[Q^MQV\PM;IQOWVZMOQWVJMOIV_PMV \PM \PIVL [\6>)ZMOQUMV\[I\\IKSML \P):>6 ,Q^Q[QWVÅZMJI[M[ITWVO\PMJWZLMZ_Q\P+IUJWLQIQV
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defenders. The ARVN positions fell in late afternoon on April 7. While some ARVN soldiers and one of the advisers escaped, the others were killed or captured. As the battle unfolded in Loc Ninh, the NVA also attacked an 18th ARVN Division regimental-size task force, designated TF-52, under the operational control of the 5th ARVN Division commander. The task force had JMMVKWVL]K\QVOWXMZI\QWV[NZWU\_W[UITTÅZMJI[M[ west of Highway 13 between Loc Ninh and An Loc. The NVA overran the ARVN positions and forced the task force’s survivors to withdraw into An Loc. During that process, the three advisers with the task force were wounded and evacuated. The North Vietnamese planned to hit An Loc with three Viet Cong divisions and supporting forces. By this stage of the war, although some Communist formations still carried the traditional Viet Cong designations, the three divisions were organized and equipped as mainforce NVA units manned primarily by North Vietnamese soldiers who had come down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. These divisions ranged from 7,000 to 9,000 soldiers. An additional 10,000 NVA troops in various support units would also participate in the battle for An Loc. The 9th VC Division, considered one of the elite NVA divisions, was sent against An Loc itself, while the 7th NVA Division was ordered to cut Highway 13 between Chon Thanh and Lai Khe to stop supplies and reinforce-
QUANG TRI HUE
Demilitarized Zone
DA NANG
L AOS
QUANG NGAI DAK TO TAM QUAN HOAI NHON
KONTUM
HOAI AN
PLEIKU QUY NHOM
CAMBODIA SOUTH VIETNAM LOC NINH
AN LOC TAY NINH SAIGON 0
50
100
M IL E S R ACH GIA
Three-pronged assault The spring 1972 Communist offensive hit towns across South Vietnam but focused on Quang Tri in the north, Kontum in the central region and An Loc in the south.
AP PHOTO
Big threat no more A silenced North Vietnamese T-54 lies abandoned in the rubble of An Loc on June 14.
DONG HA
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ments moving north from Saigon. And the 5th VC Division, which had initiated the Binh Long campaign at Loc Ninh, was to join the 9th VC Division in its assault on An Loc after securing Loc Ninh.
South Vietnamese soldiers lived underground with the unfortunate civilians who had been unable to leave. Moving around above ground invited nearcertain death.
Shortly after the fall of Loc Ninh, the 9th VC Division made its opening move against An Loc by seizing the airstrip at Quan Loi, just 2 miles northeast of the city. Meanwhile, south of the city, the 1st ARVN Airborne Brigade, which had been shifted from Saigon to Binh Long, was directed to move up from Lai Khe to reinforce the An Loc garrison. The airborne forces, traveling north on Highway 13, immediately ran into heavy contact with elements of the 7th NVA Division, by then entrenched in blocking positions across the highway. With the loss of the Quan Loi airstrip and the imposition of roadblocks on 0QOP_Ia)V4WK_I[[]ZZW]VLMLIVLK]\WЄNZWU\PM outside, a siege that would last for more than two months. A brief lull occurred as the NVA prepared for the main attack on the city itself. By the afternoon of April 12, ARVN forces in and immediately around An Loc had grown to nine infantry battalions, consisting of regular infantrymen from elements of the 5th and 18th divisions, rangers and local militia forces. General Hung, the 5th ARVN Division commander, was given operational control of all South Vietnamese units in the city, about 3,500 soldiers—grossly outnumbered by the NVA forces surrounding An Loc. Preparations for a direct assault on An Loc began in the early morning of April 13, when the North Vietnamese brought a wide range of guns, rockets and mortars to bear on the city. Shortly after dawn, the NVA forces began a coordinated tank and infantry attack from the northeast. Soviet-made T-54 and PT-76 tanks stormed down the main north-south street into An Loc. Many of the ARVN defenders had never encountered tanks before and panicked. Several units broke and ran. The situation stabilized somewhat when an ARVN soldier knocked out one of the lead tanks with an M72 light anti-tank weapon, KWVÅZUQVO\PI\):>6QVNIV\ZaUMVKW]TL[\WX\IVS[ The battle raged for three days as the NVA advanced house-to-house. Casualties were heavy on both sides. The NVA had lost 23 tanks but had forced ARVN defenders in the southern part of the city into a small redoubt, measuring just 1,000-by-1,600 yards. The NVA held the northern part of the city; in many cases the opposing forces there were separated only by the width of a city street. Meanwhile, other NVA forces completely surrounded the city. The battle seesawed back and forth. On several occasions, the attackers almost succeeded in taking Hung’s command bunker. )N\MZ\PZMMLIa[\PMQV\MV[Q\aWN\PMÅOP\QVOIJI\ML somewhat as the North Vietnamese momentum was slowed by continual pounding from the air. U.S. advisers coordinated airstrikes with ARVN units engaging the NVA on the ground. Air Force, Navy and Marine attack
aircraft, AC-130 gunships and Army Cobra attack helicopters hit the NVA inside An Loc, while General Hollingsworth directed B-52 bomber strikes against North Vietnamese staging areas in the rubber plantations around the city. This air support saved the ARVN from almost certain defeat and set the pattern for U.S. and South Vietnamese actions during the next two months. Even though the airstrikes hampered NVA movement, the Communist forces were still able to tighten their stranglehold on An Loc while shelling the city heavily. They had hit An Loc with 25,000 artillery ZW]VL[IVLZWKSM\[L]ZQVO\PMÅZ[\\PZMM LIa[WN\PMI\\IKSIVLKWV\QV]ML\WÅZM 1,200 to 2,000 rounds per day into the city for the next week as they regrouped for a renewed assault. On April 16, General Minh directed the 1st Airborne Brigade to send troops by helicopter to the high ground southeast of An Loc to reinforce the city. That same day he received operational control of the 21st ARVN Division, which had been in the Mekong Delta, and ordered the division to Lai Khe for an attack up Highway 13 to relieve An Loc. NVA commanders, who had hoped to occupy An Loc no later than April 20, revised the attack plan and repositioned their forces for an assault from the east. The 9th VC Division would make the main attack against the city, while elements of the 5th VC and 7th NVA divisions attacked the 1st Airborne Brigade positions southeast of An Loc. To counter American air support, the NVA moved up additional anti-aircraft weapons, including ;W^QM\̆UILM[PW]TLMZ̆ÅZML;\ZMTI[ The second major attempt to take An Loc began in the pre-dawn hours of April 19 with a massive artillery bombardment of both the city and the 1st Airborne Brigade positions. The North Vietnamese overran one airborne battalion and drove the two other battalions out of their positions and into the city. Inside the city, the ARVN deNMVLMZ[IVL\PMQZIL^Q[MZ[NW]OP\WЄZMXMI\ML_I^M[WN I\\IKSQVO6>)\ZWWX[[]XXWZ\MLJa\IVS[IVLÅVITTaJMI\ them back with the help of unrelenting air support. The North Vietnamese attacks had abated somewhat by April 20. However, conditions inside the city continued to deteriorate drastically. The NVA was still pouring a withering amount of tank, rocket, mortar and artillery ÅZMQV\W\PMKQ\aQM\VIUM[M[WTLQMZ[TQ^ML]Vderground with the unfortunate civilians who had been unable to leave before the NVA attacked. Moving around above ground invited near-certain death. Most of An Loc’s buildings had been destroyed in the repeated ground attacks, shelling and airstrikes. The city was strewn with mounds of rubble, shattered trees, garbage and dead domestic animals.
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Arriving South Vietnamese reinforcements move up Route 13 to An Loc on April 8.
Vietnamese soldier later remembered the agonizing screams of the wounded and dying and “the bodies and body parts blown around the area, even hanging from tree limbs or laying on the roofs of houses.” The smell of death permeated the air. Innumerable diseases, including KPWTMZI[WWVZIVZIUXIV\
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Firepower on the way South Vietnamese M41 tanks take Route 13 to An Loc on April 9.
Having been stopped twice, the NVA again changed its plans. The 9th VC Division commander was reprimanded for failing to accomplish his mission after two attempts, and the new mission was given to the 5th VC Division commander. The plan called for the 5th to make the main attack, supported by elements of the 7th NVA and 9th VC divisions. The attack began at 5 a.m. on May 11 with an opening artillery barrage. During the next 12 hours, An Loc was struck by ZW]VL[WNIZ\QTTMZaÅZM=VLMZ\PQ[ bombardment cover, the NVA attacked with seven regiments from the north and northwest. The attacks, supported by tanks, were successful in forging two salients in the ARVN lines, almost bisecting the defensive XMZQUM\MZQM\nam, broke the NVA attack, enabling the ARVN forces to stabilize their lines and eventually push back the enemy. =VNWZ\]VI\MTaNWZ\PM)V4WKZMTQMNMЄWZ\\PMJI\\TM along Highway 13 was not going as well. The 21st ARVN Division had fought its way up the road almost inch by inch, sustaining heavy casualties. But the ARVN attacks were not coordinated and failed to dislodge the entrenched North Vietnamese forces along the road. Although the 21st Division wasn’t able to link up with the An Loc forces, it had tied down most of one NVA division, which thus was unavailable for the battle in the city. That was a major contribution by the South Vietnamese unit
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: AP PHOTO; AP PHOTO/KOICHIRO MORITA; AP PHOTO
Departing A helicopter over R0ute 13 evacuates wounded on June 25.
AP PHOTO/NICK UT
Leaving An Loc behind Against a backdrop of U.S. and South Vietnamese airstrikes, refugees fleeing An Loc stop to rest in a ditch about 8 miles south of the city on June 2.
because one more NVA division in the direct assault on An Loc would almost certainly have tipped the scales in the attackers’ favor. *a\PMMVLWN5IaIT\PW]OP\PMÅOP\QVO_I[VW\W^MZ the tide had turned in favor of the defenders. Aroundthe-clock airstrikes took a horrendous toll on the NVA forces. ARVN intelligence estimated that the Communist forces sustained 10,000 casualties in An Loc during April and May. In early June, General Minh was able to get reinforcements into An Loc and withdraw the much battered 5th ARVN Division. On June 18, Thieu declared the siege of An Loc broken. Even then, enemy artillery and mortar rounds continued to fall on An Loc. The shelling, estimated at more than 78,000 rounds during the two-month period, had reduced the city almost to ruins. The ARVN defenders had sustained 5,400 casualties, including 2,300 dead or missing. Many of the advisers had been wounded at least once. As Maj. John Howard, an adviser with the 1st Airborne Brigade, described it, “The graves, burned out vehicles, and the rubble were mute testimony to the intensity of the battle that had been fought there.” Despite the costs, the defenders and their advisers, with the help of American air power, had decisively deNMI\ML\PZMMWN\PM6>)¼[ÅVM[\LQ^Q[QWV[IVLPMTL)V4WK against overwhelming odds. The NVA attacks in the central and northern regions
of South Vietnam were eventually thwarted as well. In late May, the ARVN defenders at Kontum, supported by massive U.S. airstrikes and missile-equipped anti-tank PMTQKWX\MZ[ZMJ]ЄML\PM6>)I\\IKS[9]IVOQM\VIUIN\MZIJZQMNKMI[M̆ÅZMIVLZML]KML=;IQLPIL an impact on South Vietnam’s combat capabilities. When \PM6WZ\P>QM\VIUM[MTI]VKPMLIVWЄMV[Q^MQVMIZTa 1975, South Vietnamese forces, without the U.S. advisers and air support that had been crucial in 1972, were deNMI\MLQV LIa[
James H. Willbanks, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, was an adviser with a South Vietnamese regiment at the Battle of An Loc. He was wounded at An Loc on July 9, 1972. Willbanks is the General of the Army George C. Marshall Chair of Military History at the Army’s ComUIVLIVL/MVMZIT;\IЄ+WTTMOMI\.WZ\4MI^MV_WZ\P Kansas, and the author or editor of 14 books including The Battle of An Loc (Indiana University Press, 2005).
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Hot seller A wounded Green Beret wrote and sang the only popular promilitary song of the Vietam War. 40
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WAR’S SONG How Barry Sadler’s “The Ballad of the Green Berets” became the No. 1 single of 1966
GUY ACETO COLLECTION
By Marc Leepson A little more than 50 years ago, on May 7, 1967, a 26-year-old Green *MZM\[\IЄ[MZOMIV\TM\PQ[\MZUWNMVTQ[\UMV\M`XQZMIVL\WWS his honorable discharge at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He had [MZ^MLÅ^MaMIZ[QVKT]LQVOI\W]ZWNL]\aL]ZQVO! ̆ as an A Team medic in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. He TMN\\PM[MZ^QKMPM[IQL\WX]Z[]MIKIZMMZQVU][QKIVL movies. ;\IЄ;O\*IZZa;ILTMZPILIOWWL[\IZ\WV\PM U][QKXIZ\0Q[[WVO¹QM\VIU?IZ^M\MZIV0M[IVO¹ZILQWIVLQV̆XMZ[WVM^MV\[4QNM magabQVMTI]LMLPQUQVIJQOXPW\W[XZMIL 0W_LQL\PQ[]VSVW_V]VPMZITLML]V\ZIQVML U][QKQIVKWUM]X_Q\PI[WVO\PI\[\Z]KSIUWV]UMV\ITKPWZLQV\PMVI\QWVITKWV[KQW][VM[[QV! ' ;ILTMZJWZVWV6W^! QV+IZT[JIL6M_5M`QKW PILXTIaML\PMÆ]\MPIZUWVQKILZ]U[IVLO]Q\IZI[IJWa¸ IT\PW]OPPMVM^MZ\WWSITM[[WVIVLKW]TLVW\ZMILU][QK0M XQKSML]X\PMO]Q\IZIOIQVQV\PM)QZ.WZKMIVLJMKIUMXIZ\WNI [PWZ\̆TQ^ML\ZQWIN\MZPQ[LQ[KPIZOM;ILTMZMVTQ[\MLQV\PM)ZUaQV )]O][\! IVLKWUXTM\MLR]UX[KPWWTI\.WZ\*MVVQVO/MWZOQIQV 2IV]IZa! :MKMQ^QVOPQ[R]UX_QVO[_I[[]KPIJQOLMIT\PI\PM ¹JMOIV\W\PQVSIJW]\_ZQ\QVOI[WVOQV^WT^QVO\PMIQZJWZVMº;ILTMZ _ZW\MQVPQ[! I]\WJQWOZIXPa1¼U)4]KSa7VM¹1PILVWQLMI_PI\ Q\_W]TLJMJ]\1_IV\MLQ\\WQVKT]LM\PMTQVM»[QT^MZ_QVO[]XWV\PMQZ chests.’” ?PMVPM\WWS;XMKQIT.WZKM[UMLQK\ZIQVQVOI\;IV)V\WVQW¼[.WZ\ ;IU0W][\WVQV5IZKP! ;ILTMZPILIO]Q\IZ_Q\PPQUIVL JMOIV_ZQ\QVO\PM[WVO7^MZ\PMaMIZ[PMOI^M[M^MZIT^MZ[QWV[WN \PM_ZQ\QVOXZWKM[[;WUM\QUM[;ILTMZ[IQLPM_ZW\M\PM[WVO_PQTM LZQVSQVOIVLKIZW][QVOQVI5M`QKIVJZW\PMTR][\W^MZ\PMJWZLMZ#
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At Green Berets HQ After landing in Vietnam on Dec. 29, 1964, Sadler, third from the right in the second row, served with a headquarters unit on South Vietnam’s coast and was then sent to the Central Highlands.
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In the field In the Central Highlands, Sadler went on patrols with militiamen from local Montagnard tribes. He was severely wounded in late May 1965, ending his tour in Vietnam.
TOP: MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES; BOTTOM UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO LIBRARY, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT (2)
“Git-tar” man Barry Sadler, shown here in February 1966, worked on his ballad at Army bases in 1963 and 1964.
Adapted from Ballad of the Green Beret; The Life and Wars of Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler, by Marc Leepson, Stackpole Books, published May 1, 2017.
other times he said it came to him while drinking tequila in a San Antonio bar. “Few people realize,” he told Soldier of Fortune magazine in 1988, “that ‘The Ballad of the Green Berets’ was written in a whorehouse in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, while I was on leave from SF medical training in Fort Sam Houston, Texas.” He wrote in his autobiography that one night while he was drinking tequila in “a San Antonio night spot,” a fellow trainee asked: “Why don’t you write a song about us?” So Sadler picked up his guitar, according to the autobiography, “and in a quarter of an hour or so came up with the original version of ‘The Ballad of the Green Berets.’ I started the chorus with the line about which I had been thinking, ‘Silver wings upon their chests.’” Then he continued with “These are men, America’s best. One hundred men will test today, but only three win the green beret.’” Sometimes Sadler said he began working WV\PM[WVOL]ZQVOWЄPW]Z[QV\PMJIZZIKS[ at Fort Sam Houston. “I’d been sitting on the steps of my barracks” in 1963, he told a reporter, “when one of my friends said, ‘Sadler, why don’t you write a song about the Special Forces?’ I felt that it was a good idea and that we needed a song. It was probably about an hour later that I had the rough form of the song done.” Sadler “wrote songs for friends in the barracks—just for fun,” he told another reporter around that same time. “The guys would throw bottles at me, and that’s fun.” The true version Which version is true? It helps to keep in mind that Sadler “liked to put people on,” journalist and author Robert M. Powers, who wrote three magazine articles about Sadler in the early 1970s, said in an interview. “He’d tell them what he thought they wanted to hear. He had a habit of stretching the truth. He told a good story.” In the Life magazine interview, Sadler told Powers he did just that. “I said I composed the ‘Ballad’ outside a Nuevo Laredo whorehouse,” he told his friend. “But that’s not exactly the \Z]\P0MTT1LQLV¼\_IV\\WKWUMWЄI[[WUM Boy Scout who accidentally wrote a song. I was a veteran airborne medic and I wanted people to know it. Actually, I revised the song in several places, including Vietnam.” 1V QV\MZ^QM_[ _Q\P Å^M NWZUMZ /ZMMV Beret medics Sadler trained with, all agreed that he did, in fact, revise the song many times. They say Sadler spent hours and hours working on the song inside the barracks at Fort Sam Houston and later at Fort
Bragg, on the barracks’ front steps and even QV\PMTI\ZQVM)[;ILTMZZMÅVML\PM_WZL[ he constantly asked the other trainees for suggestions. “He’d sit in the barracks and play his guitar,” fellow trainee Larry Emons said. “I always kid people, saying I helped write that song, because he’d do verses and ask us what we thought. We’d say, ‘That sounds good,’ or ‘no, the other one was better.’ He worked on it quite a while.” Sadler went through the song “many times trying to get the words together,” another training buddy said. “He’d grab his guitar and he’d sit out on the back steps, or even the front steps. I remember him even discussing ‘back at home a young wife waits.’ Once in a while he would say, ‘What do you think, guys?’” Sadler wrote the “The Ballad,” medic school friend Steve Bruno said, “in bits and pieces. It was a collaboration. It wasn’t him alone. I don’t want to take anything away from the man, but we were all putting words in. Everybody added their two cents. But he did the actual putting it together and singing it.” Getting it published “With no previous experience in the music J][QVM[[1ZMKWOVQbML\PMÅVIVKQITXW\MV\QIT and public relations value of a ballad by an unknown soldier. I coordinated, through military chain of command, Army acceptance of the ballad. [I] researched public reaction to the ballad, polished the initial product and marketed the song and the writer, Sadler, to a contract with a music publisher and R.C.A. Victor. This eventually proved to be a several million-dollar business venture.” That’s how Gerald Gitell, a 23-year-old second lieutenant who headed the 3rd Special .WZKM[/ZW]X¼[8]JTQK1VNWZUI\QWV7ЅKMI\ Fort Bragg, explained in his post-military resume the unlikely story of how he came to help Sadler sign a songwriter’s contract in the summer of 1964. And how he would come \W[PIZMQV\PM[M^MV̆ÅO]ZMZWaIT\QM[NZWU sales of “The Ballad of the Green Berets.” Gitell had a willing accomplice in his PR[I^^aKWUUIVLQVOWЅKMZ/MV?QTTQIU8 Yarborough, commander of the Special Warfare Center. Yarborough had recently picked a song called “The Green Beret March” as the WЅKQIT;XMKQIT.WZKM[UIZKP/Q\MTT_ITSML QV\W\PMOMVMZIT¼[WЅKMWVMLIaIVLUILMI case that Sadler’s “Ballad” should be the ofÅKQIT;XMKQIT.WZKM[[WVOAIZJWZW]OPQUUMdiately agreed. The young lieutenant scrounged up recording equipment on the base, found a room at the Special Warfare
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New responsibilities Sadler, whose record became a hit shortly after its January 1966 release, talks with wounded soldier Thomas McTurk in Boulder, Colorado, in October 1966.
Celebrity sergeant During his October 1966 trip to Colorado, Sadler gives an autograph to Aurora Mayor Norma Walker at a United Way event.
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TOP: DUANE HOWELL/THE DENVER POST VIA GETTY IMAGES: BOTTOM BILL PETERS/THE DENVER POST VIA GETTY IMAGES:
The So, I loaned him $140 for a new one.” Center suitable for recording and had Sadler Getting that pawnshop guitar in Sadler’s make a rough demo, titled “The Ballad of the following hands was not all that Moore did. In return Green Beret.” day, Nov. for half an interest in the song, Moore Gitell then wrote letters to record com24, 1965, “wrote a new third verse, added his name, panies and music publishers pitching the and agreed to do all he could to sell it,” song. And he talked the Special Forces Gierlach Sadler said. brass into approving a road trip so he and called Gierlach saw a big marketing opportuSadler could go to New York and Boston to Sadler at VQ\a_Q\P5WWZM¼[KWV\ZQJ]\QWV¹?MX]\\PM promote it. Nothing came of that excursion, Fort Bragg, author of the book, Robin Moore, on the balbut Gitell had better luck after he mailed lad,” Gierlach said. “He did, in fact, contribcopies of two demo tapes to Chester Giertelling him ute a couple of verses. Our feeling was that lach, a longtime songwriter and record prothe good with this kind of limelight coming up, the ducer in New York, on June 17, 1964. One news: RCA X]JTQKQ\aQV^WT^ML_W]TLJMVMÅ\M^MZaWVMº tape had Sadler singing “The Ballad;” the wanted to Gierlach also helped Sadler get an apother contained his song, “Trooper’s Fall,” pearance on The Barry Gray Show, a lateabout an airborne ranger whose parachute sign him to fails to open. night New York City radio talk show, in late a recording Gierlach was intrigued. “I wasn’t imJuly 1965. Then in early August came a contract pressed with the quality of his voice on the two-hour sit-down with another of Gierdemonstration tape, but I wanted to hear lach’s friends, the popular syndicated coland cut an more songs,” he told a reporter after “The umnist Bob Considine, also a pal of Moore’s. album as Ballad” became a big hit. On July 15, 1964, Considine’s “On the Line” commentary apsoon as Sadler and Gitell signed a Uniform Popular peared in newspapers across the country. possible. Songwriters Contract with Gierlach’s comHe wrote two columns on Sadler, ending pany, Music Music Music. one with a big plug for the song. The “ser“I was greatly encouraged,” Sadler wrote. geant,” he wrote, “has put his convalescent He also was so grateful to Gitell for his help that Sadler \QUM\WOWWL][M»QM\VIU¼[I_IZ_Q\PW]\I gave him 25 percent of the royalties of “The Ballad.” [WVO¼ PM [IQL _Q\P I OZQV \PI\ _QXML aMIZ[ WЄ PQ[ seamed face. ‘Now it’s got one: ‘The Ballad of the Green Robin Moore’s contribution Beret.’ I wrote it for the git-tar.” There wasn’t exactly a big demand for “The Ballad” in ;ILTMZ[QOVMLIKWV\ZIK\_Q\P\PM?QTTQIU5WZZQ[ the summer of 1964. There would be no recording con- Agency, the top entertainment talent agency in the natract until December 1965 after Sadler had served a tion, with help from Moore who put in a good word for Å^M̆UWV\P\W]ZWNL]\aQV\PM>QM\VIU?IZ1\_I[K]\ PQU*]\?QTTQIU5WZZQ[VM^MZOW\;ILTMZIZMKWZLQVO short after a punji stick wound in his knee became in- contract. Moore’s own entertainment connections, howfected and he was medevaced to the Philippines and M^MZXIQLWЄQV6W^MUJMZ! IN\MZPM\WTLPQ[NZQMVL then home. Clancy Isaac, a colorful, savvy marketing man (and Gierlach happened to be a friend of Robin Moore, au- ?WZTL?IZ11^M\MZIVIJW]\;ILTMZ¼[[WVO1[IIKX]\QV thor of the best-selling novel, The Green Berets, pub- IKITT\W:+)>QK\WZ:MKWZL[[M\\QVO]XIUMM\QVO_Q\P lished in May 1965, around the time Sadler was the company’s license manager who agreed to listen to wounded. According to Sadler, in the fall of 1965 Moore the demos. After Isaac heard them, he told the RCA suggested to Gierlach that he change the title of the song higher-ups “that this was the right tune, right place, to “The Ballad of the Green Berets” (making the last word and right man with the right song,” as Sadler put it in plural) to tie the song to Moore’s book in the public’s his book. ¹1\WWSQ\\W:+)>QK\WZIVLM^MZaWVMÆQXXMLW^MZPQ[ mind. Gierlach did so. Not long afterward, Gierlach had a little-known North voice,” Gierlach said. “It was the fastest signing of talent Carolina singing group, The Hunters, cut a demo, which you ever saw.” The following day, Nov. 24, 1965, Gierlach called he sold at cost to Moore’s paperback publisher, Avon Books. Avon sent the demo to booksellers as part of its Sadler at Fort Bragg, telling him the good news: RCA promotion for the paperback edition. That’s how Sadler’s wanted to sign him to a recording contract and cut an picture made its way onto the cover of the soon-to-be- album as soon as possible. ;ILTMZOW\I[PWZ\TMI^MÆM_\W6M_AWZSIVL[QOVML huge-selling paperback, published in November 1965 while the hardcover book was still on the best- _Q\P:+)WV,MKQK\WZ+I\ITIINZQMVLWN?Q[_MTT¼[0M\PMVÆM_ PI^MPQ[O]Q\IZ_Q\PPQU1\_I[_W]VLMLQV>QM\VIU JIKS\W6WZ\P+IZWTQVI_PMZMPM_ZW\MÅ^MUWZM[WVO[ AUGUST 2017
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Poster boy The Army sent Sadler around the country as a live-action recruiting poster. In his last appearance, April 12, 1967, Sadler was in Washington, D.C., touting U.S. savings bonds.
The golden boy After Sadler sang on the variety show Hollywood Palace on April 2, 1966, host Martha Raye presented him with gold records he had earned for his song and the album.
The movie version Sadler’s ballad was the title song for John Wayne’s 1968 movie, but it was performed by a choral group.
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OPPOSITE PAGE TOP LEFT: ABC PHOTO ARCHIVES/ABC VIA GETTY IMAGES; TOP RIGHT: LAKE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, COLORADO MOUNTAIN HISTORY COLLECTION; BOTTOM: HISTORYNET ARCHIVES; THIS PAGE: HISTORYNET ARCHIVEDS
A dozen songs in one day Sadler returned to New York early on Saturday morning, Dec. 18, ready to record 16 songs. RCA only wanted a dozen for the album. Around 8 a.m., he walked into Studio A at the RCA Building on East 24th Street, wearing his uniform. Veteran songwriter arranger and conductor Sid Bass— who had worked with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Paul Anka and Connie Francis, among many others—had a 15piece orchestra and a male chorus ready \WOW;ILTMZLWЄMLPQ[RIKSM\TWW[MVML his tie and in the next 2½ hours recorded four songs—“Lullaby,” “Letter from Vietnam,” “I’m Watching the Raindrops Fall” and “Badge of Courage.” Then everyone broke for lunch. After lunch, he recorded “The Ballad.” There “was a stir among the musicians and also among the RCA executives outside the glass” as he launched into it, Sadler said in his book. Then came “Bamiba,” “Saigon” and “Salute to the Nurses” before everyone SVWKSMLWЄNWZLQVVMZI\ XU)N\MZMI\ing at a nearby Italian restaurant, the group reconvened in the studio and recorded the other songs that would go on the album: “I’m a Lucky One,” “The Soldier Has Come Home,” “Trooper’s Lament” and “Garet Trooper.” The long day ended at 11 that night. “During that nine-hour recording session,” a friend of Gierlach wrote, “Gierlach PQU[MTN TW[\ Å^M XW]VL[ 0M M[\QUI\M[ Sadler did about that.”
Second act Sadler, as his music career stalled, wrote 22 books about an eternal Roman mercenary named Casca.
Fleeting fame RCA released the single on Jan. 11, 1966. The album, titled Ballads of the Green Berets, hit record stores on Jan. 20. Sadler’s song caused a national sensation within weeks. But the fame was ÆMM\QVO
ship with Bellamy’s former girlfriend. Sadler hired the top criminal defense lawyer in Nashville, Joe Binkley Jr., who arranged a plea bargain. Sadler pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and ini\QITTaZMKMQ^MLINW]Z̆\WÅ^M̆aMIZ[MV\MVKM _PQKP\PMR]LOMZML]KML\WLIa[QVI minimum-security workhouse. In January 1984, Sadler went into a kind of exile, moving to a small ranch out[QLM/]I\MUITI+Q\a:]UWZ[ÆM_\PI\PM was running a mercenary operation, training anti-communist Nicaraguan guerrilla ÅOP\MZ[\PM+WV\ZI[IVLKWVL]K\QVOQVternational arms deals. But he was mainly churning out potboilers, quickly spending the advances, drinking and carousing. On Sept. 7, 1988, Sadler took a bullet to the head in a taxi cab in Guatemala City after a day and night of drinking. Details of the shooting are murky. The authorities said he shot himself in a drunken accident. Others claimed it was a robbery or an attempted assassination by communist guerrillas or personal enemies. .ZQMVL[ÆM_PQU\W\PM=VQ\ML;\I\M[WV IZMV\ML4MIZRM\0M[]Z^Q^MLI[M^MV̆PW]Z brain operation at the Nashville Veterans Administration hospital and spent the next 16 months as a brain-damaged paraplegic in three VA hospitals. Barry Sadler died at the Alvin York VA Medical Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on Nov. 5, 1989, four days after his 49th birthday.
Alive today “The Ballad of the Green Berets” is very much alive today, more than 50 years after its sensational birth. It’s the theme [WVONWZ\PM=;)ZUa;XMKQIT.WZKM[Q[ played for Special Forces trainees at Fort Bragg and is heard at every Special Forces reunion and at more than one Green Beret’s funeral. “The Ballad” also was the only notable and popular pro-military song to come out of the entire Vietnam War. It made Sadler one of the most famous Americans who served in that controversial war. And yet “The Ballad of the Green Berets” all but destroyed the man who created it. “In many ways the success of that song was the worst thing that ever happened to him,” said Jim Morris, a writer and a former Green Beret who edited Sadler’s last two books. ¹1_Q[Pº;ILTMZ\WTL8W_MZ[PQ[RW]ZVITQ[\NZQMVLQV 1971, “that I’d never, ever written that stupid song.” V
5IZK4MMX[WV_PW[MZ^MLQV>QM\VIU_Q\P\PM=; )ZUaQV! ̆ Q[IRW]ZVITQ[\IVLPQ[\WZQIV
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The War in Paint The words Army and Art may seem like an odd pairing, but the military’s use of combat artists stretches back to early days of the U.S. Army, including the Mexican War and the Civil War, and continues through the world wars and >QM\VIUQV\W\WLIa¼[KWVÆQK\[)Z\Q[\[_MZMQVQ\QITTa][ML\W[QUXTaZMKWZLJI\\TM[\ZWWXUW^MUMV\[WZNWZ\QÅKI\QWV[ but soon turned to artistic documentation of war. In Vietnam, the Army Arts and Crafts Program recruited soldiers and civilians for Combat Artist Teams. Military artists spent 60 days in Vietnam, traveling extensively, participating in patrols and sketching their experiences. +Q^QTQIVIZ\Q[\[PIL̆LIa\W]Z[*W\P[WTLQMZ[IVLKQ^QTQIV[\PMVPIL[\]LQW\QUMIN\MZJMQVOLMXTWaML\WÅVQ[P\PM artwork before releasing it to the Army. QM\VIU^IZQML[\ZQSQVOTaNZWUIZ\QVXZM^QW][_IZ[:MÆMK\QVO IVMZIÅTTML_Q\PVM_UMLQ]U[IZ\XZWOZM[[MLJMaWVLR][\WQT[IVL_I\MZKWTWZ[QV\WIKZaTQK[KWTTIOM[\PZMM̆LQUMVsional materials and multimedia. The soldiers portrayed show deep emotions and struggles framed within the pic\]ZM[Y]M>QM\VIUM[MKW]V\Za[QLM
By Deborah Stadtler
Cheeta Gets a Bath David M. Lavender, 1966 Acrylic and pencil on board 48
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ALL ART COURTESY U.S. ARMY CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY
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Point Man Burdell Moody, 1967 Oil on canvas
Apprehended Ronald A. Wilson, 1967 Acrylic on masonite 50
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Beat Augustine G. Acuña, 1966 Graphite on illustration board
Firefight at Dak To David N. Fairrington, 1968 Acrylic on board
Leaving for Patrol Robert T. Myers, 1967 Watercolor on paper
Jolly Green Giant Dennis O. McGee, 1967 Acrylic on board
Choppers John D. Kurtz, 1968 Graphite on paper
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Smoke Break Robert T. Coleman, 1968 Acrylic on canvas A Soldier Victory Von Reynolds, 1969 Watercolor on paper Landing Zone John O. Wehrle, 1966 Oil on canvas
Firefly Mission Burdell Moody, 1967 Oil on canvas
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MESS HALL ANTICS Life as an Army cook in the Vietnam era
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By Mark Mathosian
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On the Job in Washington )N\MZINM__MMS[_Q\PNIUQTa1ÆM_\W?I[PQVO\WV[\I\M IVLTIVLMLI\;MĬ
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Chaos in the Kitchen 38[\IVL[NWZSQ\KPMVXWTQKMWZSQ\KPMVXI\ZWT
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY MARK MATHOSIAN
“First cook” Author Mark Mathosian takes a break from the kitchen behind the officers’ club in Göppingen, Germany.
throughout the day. These trainees monitored the eating area as dining room orderlies, scrubbed pots and pans, peeled potatoes on the back patio, and did whatever else was needed to get us through a meal. I showed them kindness. They were already having a tough time during basic training, and I didn’t want to add to their woes. I was determined to make the mess hall a friendly place. KPs had to work hard, but they were treated with respect. I wanted them to know that Army life wasn’t that bad once they got away from their demanding drill instructors. There was much to do and little time to do it when
preparing a meal for hundreds of people rushing through a chow line. Cooks and KPs worked in tight quarters, and we had to be careful not to get in each other’s way. Mistakes and false moves led to LQ[I[\MZ[)ZUaSQ\KPMV[IZMÅTTML_Q\P tools and equipment like sharp knives, hot ovens and griddles, boiling water, and LMMXNI\NZaMZ[ÅTTML_Q\P[QbbTQVOOZMI[M As cooks we learned to maneuver carefully and respect each other’s space and the dangerous equipment. We moved cautiously over frequently mopped wet and [TQXXMZaKWVKZM\MÆWWZ[38[_MZMVW\MVtirely aware of the dangers lurking in the kitchen. Most had never been in a hectic commercial kitchen before. We did our best to brief them, but words only go so far. One day we were preparing lunch at about 11a.m. I was cutting sandwich meats and cheeses, and another cook was working over the deep fat fryer preparing french fries. KPs were milling around doing other tasks. They normally were not allowed to touch knives or hot pots, but they could get food cans from the storage room and items NZWUZMNZQOMZI\WZ[IVLNZMMbMZ[
AUGUST 2017
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The work and other displaced people. In 1949, the U.S. One morning I was manning a griddle making fried eggs, bacon and pancakes. Trainees crew in our Army’s European Command changed the name to honor Charles H. Cooke Jr., a captain were on line in front of me, and when they kitchen in the 32nd Field Artillery Battalion who was reached my post I asked them how they wanted their eggs: sunny side up, scrambled seemed like posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal for his actions when the unit landed at Gela, or over easy. To keep the griddle lubricated I it was had a bowl of thick coagulated grease on the designed by Sicily, on July 11, 1943. to Göppingen by train and took a counter to my left. I dipped my spatula into the United taxiI traveled to the 4th Armored Division headquarthe grease bowl and spread the grease across Nations. ters, where I reported to the company comthe griddle before cracking eggs onto it. I did UIVLMZ0M][PMZMLUMWЄ\WIVITUW[\MUX\a this quickly to keep the line moving. This day We often to await orders. Two days after arI went to dip my spatula in the bowl of grease, used sign barracks riving I met with Lt. George Chapdelaine, who and it was gone. What the heck? language asked many questions about my temperament I looked around, and it was nowhere to be more than and cooking skills. I soon found out why. found. I decided to do a quick investigation. I A day after the interview I was ordered to walked into the dining room and spotted my anything XIKSUaL]ЄMTJIO7]\[QLM_IQ\QVONWZUMQV bowl of grease next to the tray of a trainee eatelse. a Jeep was Chapdelaine. He was in charge of ing eggs. “What are you going to do with that?” \PMWЅKMZ[¼KT]JIVLKPW[MUM\W_WZS\PMZM I asked. The trainee looked up, surprised to see me standing there and responded, “Eat it.” “Do you
VIETNAM
gether. Nick appeared to have an attitude of superiority because he was Greek, and he liked to boss the Spaniard IZW]VLM^MV\PW]OPPM_I[V¼\WЅKQITTaQVKPIZOMWNPQU WQKM[_MZMZQ[QVOIVLQ\JMKIUM WJ^QW][\PMa_MZMPI^QVOILQ[IOZMMUMV\
5IZS5I\PW[QIV_PW_I[I[XMKQITQ[\ QV\PM)ZUa Q[IZM\QZMLÅVIVKQITNZI]L[QV^M[\QOI\WZI_ZQ\MZIVLI X]JTQK[XMISMZ0MTQ^M[QV)L^IVKM6WZ\P+IZWTQVI
Guiding hand Chef Urban shows an Army cook how to make hors d’oeuvres for a 1970 Christmas banquet at the Cooke Barracks Officers’ Club.
Under new ownership The Cooke Barracks Officers’ Club with its fine kitchen was housed in a former Nazi Luftwaffe officers’ facility.
Not fun An Army cook’s chores might include cleaning slop pails used for discarded food provided to pig farmers. AUGUST 2017
57
Losing Binh Dinh: QM\VIUQbI\QWV 1969-1971 By Kevin M. Boylan, University Press of Kansas, 2016
Hotbed of insurgents American soldiers use trees for cover on a search-and-destroy mission in Binh Dinh province.
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Whether the Vietnam War was ultimately winnable has long divided historians. “Revisionists,” unlike their “orthodox” counterparts, insist the war was indeed winnable, and some claim that the war had been won by the early 1970s, only to be squandered by feckless politicians in Washington. Losing Binh Dinh, written by former Defense Department analyst Kevin M. Boylan, challenges the lost victory thesis in this compelling account of the war in a strategically vital South Vietnamese province. Boylan’s thoughtful study examines \PMKWVÆQK\QV*QVP,QVPXZW^QVKMXZQmarily through the prism of Operation Washington Green. The fertile, riceproducing province, which abutted the South China Sea and extended west to the rugged Central Highlands, was re-
garded as the heartland of the Communist insurgency in that region. The U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade initiated Washington Green in the restive provQVKMQV)XZQT! !\WXZWUW\M¹XIKQÅKItion” (a program to push out the Viet Cong through economic development efforts and enhanced security) and to advance President Richard Nixon’s Vietnamization policy of transferring more combat responsibility to South Vietnamese forces. Dispensing with the large, multibattalion sweeps that had characterized the 1st Cavalry Division’s search-anddestroy operations in Binh Dinh, the 173rd Airborne dispersed across the northern districts of the province in small detachments to improve security and train struggling local militia forces.
GETTY IMAGES
A NEW LOOK AT THE ‘WINNABLE WAR’ DEBATE
4 days. 65 hours. 58,318 names.
35th Anniversary of The Wall The Reading of the Names The Reading of the Names will begin at The Wall on November 7th. For 65 hours over a four-day period, each of the 58,318 names on The Wall will be read aloud by volunteers. Join VVMF for this monumental event, as a reader or as a spectator, in honor of their sacrifice. To learn more about the 35th anniversary of The Wall, go to: www.thewall35.org
IN A DIFFERENT 1990...
CASTRO JOINS WORLD WAR 1990
With their military facing defeat in Europe and the Pacific, the Politburo looks for victory everywhere... In Nicaragua, Sandinista and Cuban troops roll across the border against Contra bases in Honduras... In Angola, fighting begins anew between Cuban forces and units of the South African defense force... In Washington, the Neocons organize a daring invasion of Cuba... It’s World War 1990: Castro’s Folly
WORLD WAR 1990 CASTRO’S FOLLY
By William Stroock Available on
Washington Green’s planners hoped that with more training, local forces would be able to assume responsibility for village and hamlet security, freeing South Vietnamese regulars to take on the North Vietnamese Army. This, in turn, would allow American troops to stand down and gradually withdraw from the country. Reluctantly, the wary Sky Soldiers of the 173rd partnered with the militias and pushed into dozens of Communist-dominated hamlets. Within months, the security situation in Binh Dinh’s four northern districts had improved. By the end of the year, 90 percent of the population in the 173rd’s area of operations was living under allied military control. The Nixon administration would tout Washington Green as a successful example of Vietnamization. The militia forces, however, were ineptly led and dependent on American logistical support. They performed unevenly alongside the Sky Soldiers and in some respects had grown more reliant on American assistance and initiative. Absent the prodding and cajoling of their U.S. advisers, the poorly motivated militiamen appeared unable or unwilling to act. Similar charges were leveled against the province’s civil administration. Washington Green, Boylan astutely observes, was failing—despite the 173rd )QZJWZVM¼[JM[\MЄWZ\[ Nevertheless, Boylan occasionally overreaches. He writes that despite “the growing volume of supplies shipped down the Ho Chi Minh Trail or by sea through the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, Communist regular military units operating in South Vietnam remained highly dependent on food collected by the [Viet Cong] and transported by civilian porters.” Although it is true that Communist regulars in South Vietnam in the early 1960s relied heavily on the civilian population’s support, the logistical situation had changed in 1965-1966. Thereafter, a number of Communist main force units depended on North Vietnam for their logistical survival. In the fall of 1969, the North Vietnamese Army returned to Binh Dinh, prompting the ZL\WX]TT[WUMJI\\ITQWV[WЄXIKQÅKI\QWV duty to counter the new threat. Almost immediately, the Viet Cong challenged the hard-won security gains in the northern districts. That trend continued into 1970. While an argument can be made for a more charitable interpretation of the war nationwide, Boylan demonstrates that the war had not been won by December ! _PMV7XMZI\QWV?I[PQVO\WV/ZMMVWЅcially concluded. Considerable in scope, Losing Binh Dinh provides additional intellectual grist to the ongoing Revisionist-Orthodox debate. —Warren Wilkins
My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness by Howard Jones Howard Jones’ narrative of the most notorious American incident of the war— and the failure of U.S. leadership at all levels—is based on archival and original research that included the accounts of both soldiers and victims who witVM[[ML\PQ[PWZZQÅK war crime.
A Corpsman’s Legacy by Stephanie Hanson Caisse Adopted as a baby, Stephanie Hanson Caisse searched for her biological parents, eventually learning that her father had been killed in the Vietnam War before her birth. On her journey to learn more about her father, a Navy corpsman assigned to the Marines as a helicopter crewman, Caisse discovered not only his legacy but also that of thousands of Vietnam veterans.
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With the Dragon’s Children “A lanky, idealistic Minnesota farm boy and ex-Peace Corps Volunteer, Dave Garms joined the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 1967. He soon found himself immersed in a nasty rural insurgency in Vietnam. Read With the Dragon’s Children, and be proud of your country again.” - Bruce Kinsey, Former Foreign Service Officer With the Dragon’s Children is a second edition, non-fiction account of the author’s experience in Go Cong province, Vietnam. The assignment was with the amnesty program for the Vietcong. The book is seamless, fascinating, informative and entertaining. Further, the book draws on declassified information that was not available when the book was first published. The book is about the Vietnamese with whom the author connected and the stories beneath the stories. The book offers a reliable retrospective on the Vietnam War – understanding and appreciating Vietnam’s rich culture, traditions and history. With the Dragon’s Children is a gentle and fascinating book that provides insight into a time and place that is far too often overlooked and clichéd. Book is available in hardback ($31.99) and paperback ($17.99). To order go to www.DavidGarms.com or call 703-262-0577.
Join us for 50th Anniversaries 2017 2018 2019
UR Y! YO A K D O TO BO UR TO
Return to the places you served. We can take you there.
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Golden 50th Anniversary Tours
It has been over 50 years since the 173rd Airborne and the US Marines began combat operations in Vietnam. Return with us to historic battlefields, villages and famous cities where you spent part of your youth. Bring your family, your friends and buddies. Consider a reunion in Vietnam! We have a variety of tour programs to suit your interests. Check them out on our website today!
Vietnam History and Culture Tours III Corps and Central Highlands
October 2017 led by Butch Sincock
I Corps: Khe Sanh to Quy Nhon IV Corps: The Mekong Delta Panorama of Vietnam: The Best All-Country Tour Your places & your dates for individuals, families, buddies or groups
WWII TOURS IN EUROPE FOR LEGACY GROUPS & FAMILIES Our second decade of exceptional tours! Vietnam Veteran Owned and Operated
MEET ME IN VIETNAM JOHN BLACK
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CLASSIFIEDS SPECIAL EVENTS 7/13TH ARTILLERY (VIETNAM) REUNION ALL RED DRAGON BATTERIES. Embassy Suites, Savannah, Georgia. September 24th, 2017 through September 28th, 2017. Call Robert Adams: (859) 8065199 or Jon Taylor: (603) 6776570.
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Combat Trauma: The Spousal Response To PTSD Combat Trauma: The Spousal Response to PTSD is about the residual effects of war--a malady that enslaves the warrior and sabotages relationships between warrior, spouse, and family members. Then it takes one more step --it presents ways to survive, to build trust, and a future.
Combat Trauma: A Personal Look At Long- Term Consequences
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800.649.9800 [email protected]
Much has been written of the short-term experience of combat trauma. Almost nothing has been documented about how that trauma impacts individuals years after their first conflict experiences and into later life. Here, Johnson relates the stories of fifteen of his combat brothers to share with the world what their terror of four decades ago has done to them and how it affects them to this day.
Available on Amazon.com
Most decorated enlisted sailor in Navy history By Doug Sterner
In the history of the U.S. Navy only seven men have earned all of the “Big Three” valor awards: Medal of Honor, Navy Cross and Silver Star Medal. Six were ?WZTL?IZ11WЅKMZ[QVKT]LQVOWVMI^QI\WZIVLNW]Z []JUIZQVMKWUUIVLMZ[QM\VIU\W KWUUIVL8I\ZWT*WI\:Q^MZ QM\ +WVONZWU][QVO\PMU\W\ZIV[XWZ\\ZWWX[IVL[]XXTQM[ 64
VIETNAM
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U.S. NAVY
WILLY WILLIAMS
7V2]Ta?QTTQIU[TMLIXI\ZWT\PI\KIUM]VLMZ ÅZMNZWUI>QM\+WVO[IUXIV0Q[LMN\UIVM]^MZ[IVL IKK]ZI\MÅZMSQTTMLÅ^M>+IVLZM[]T\MLQVKIX\]ZMWN \PMMVMUaJWI\MIZVQVO?QTTQIU[I*ZWVbM;\IZ5MLIT _Q\PI¹>ºNWZ^ITWZ<_MV\ă\_WLIa[TI\MZ\PMKIX\]ZM WNIVW\PMZ[IUXIVJZW]OP\?QTTQIU[I[MKWVL*ZWVbM ;\IZNWZ^ITWZ4M[[\PIVIUWV\PTI\MZPMZMKMQ^MLI ;QT^MZ;\IZIVLPQ[ÅZ[\8]ZXTM0MIZ\ 7V0ITTW_MMV7K\! ?QTTQIU[_I[KWUUIVLQVOI\_W̆JWI\XI\ZWTWV\PM5MSWVO:Q^MZ_PMV PM_I[ÅZMLWVJa\_W[IUXIV[0MIVLPQ[KZM_SQTTML \PMWKK]XIV\[WNWVMIVL\PMV_MV\IN\MZ\PMW\PMZ +[\IOQVOIZMI KWV\IQVQVO\_WR]VS[IVLMQOP\[IUXIV[[]XXWZ\MLJa UIKPQVMO]V[WV\PMZQ^MZJIVS[?QTTQIU[KITTMLNWZ PMTQKWX\MZO]V[PQX[]XXWZ\_PQTMPWTLQVO\PMMVMUa I\JIa,]ZQVO\PQ[UW^MUMV\PMLQ[KW^MZMLIVM^MV TIZOMZNWZKM6W\_IQ\QVONWZ\PMIZUMLPMTQKWX\MZ[ ?QTTQIU[I\\IKSML5IVM]^MZQVO\PZW]OPLM^I[\I\QVO ÅZMNZWUMVMUaJWI\[IVL\PM[PWZMPQ[\_W̆JWI\ XI\ZWTNW]OP\I\PZMM̆PW]ZJI\\TM\PI\LM[\ZWaMLWZ LIUIOML >+JWI\[IVLMTQUQVI\ML[WUM +WUU]VQ[\\ZWWX[.WZPQ[IK\QWV[?QTTQIU[ was nominated for the Medal of Honor. On Jan. 9, 1967, the Navy dredge 2IUIQKI Bay_I[JTW_V]XJaUQVM[QV\PM5MSWVO ,MT\IIVL8*:̆ IZZQ^ML\WXQKS]X[M^MVWN \PM[]Z^Q^WZ[)VW\PMZUIV_I[\ZIXXMLQV\PM ZIXQLTa[QVSQVOLZMLOM?QTTQIU[LW^MQV\W\PM _I\MZIVL_Q\PIZWXMI\\IKPML\WIVMIZJa \]OX]TTMLKTMIZIVWJ[\Z]K\QWV\PMV[_IU \PZW]OPIPI\KP\WZMKW^MZ\PM[IQTWZ ;Q`LIa[TI\MZ?QTTQIU[_I[_W]VLML_PQTM TMILQVOI\PZMM̆JWI\XI\ZWT\PI\QV\MZLQK\MLI KZW[[QVOI\\MUX\Ja\PZMM>+PMI^ă_MIXWV[ KWUXIVQM[WN ÅOP\MZ[0MIVLPQ[ JWI\[IKKW]V\MLNWZ >+SQTTML _W]VLMLIVL\PMLM[\Z]K\QWVWNVQVM [IUXIV[IVLR]VS[?QTTQIU[_I[I_IZLML the Navy Cross. ?PMV?QTTQIU[ZM\]ZVMLPWUMQV[XZQVO! PM PILITQ[\WNI_IZL[]VUI\KPMLJaIVaMVTQ[\MLUIVQV 6I^aPQ[\WZa0MZM\QZMLIN\MZaMIZ[WN[MZ^QKMIVL JMOIVIKIZMMZQV\PM=;5IZ[PIT[;MZ^QKM 7V5Ia ! 8ZM[QLMV\4aVLWV*2WPV[WV XZM[MV\ML?QTTQIU[_Q\P\PM5MLITWN0WVWZ.WZPQ[ TQNM[I^QVOIK\QWV[I\\PM[QVSQVO2IUIQKI*Ia, he was I_IZLML\PM6I^aIVL5IZQVM+WZX[5MLITWN\MV KITTML¹\PMVWVKWUJI\UMLITWNPWVWZº ,]ZQVOPQ[TI[\[M^MVUWV\P[QV\PM6I^a?QTTQIU[ ZMKMQ^MLM^MZa[MĬ[MZ^QKMI_IZLNWZPMZWQ[UQVKT]LQVO the Legion of Merit with “V,” two Navy Commendation 5MLIT[NWZ^ITWZIVL\PZMM8]ZXTM0MIZ\[ ?QTTQIU[LQMLWV7K\!!!IVLQVPQ[ _QLW_-TIQVM_I\KPML\PMTI]VKPQVOWN\PM)ZTMQOP *]ZSMKTI[[LM[\ZWaMZ=;;James E. Williams. V
Steel of Approval At $49, this blade of Damascus steel is a real steal amascus steel is legendary. Tales of its unmatched strength, sharpness and D durability ring through the ages. There are stories of gun rifles being sliced in two by Damascus steel swords and individual strands of hair being sliced in half, even if they gently floated down on to the edge of the blade. Now, you can be a part of the legend. The Legend Knife boasts nearly 4” of famed Damascus steel with it’s signature, wavy pattern. Damascus steel blade knives can cost thousands. So, at $49, the price itself is almost legendary. Cast Damascus steel, known as wootz, was popular in the East and it’s an exacting process that’s part metalwork, part chemistry. It's produced by melting pieces of iron and steel with charcoal in a low oxygen environment. During the process, the metals absorb carbon from the charcoal and the resulting alloy is cooled at a very slow rate. The outcome is a beautiful one-of-a-kind pattern of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water. Once a lost art, we sought out a knifemaker who has resurrected the craftsmanship of Damascus steel to create the Legend Knife. The genuine Damascus steel blade folds into a tri-colored pakkawood handle that’s prepared to resist the ravages of the great outdoors. When not in use or on display, The Legend Knife stays protected in the included genuine leather sheath. “If you have a Damascus steel blade knife, you have a knife blade with unique beauty. With its historical reputation as the metal used for the best swords over hundreds of years, and its distinctive wavy design, Damascus steel is a beauty to behold.” –– knifeart.com With our limited edition Legend Knife What customers are saying you’re getting the best blade money can buy. about Stauer knives... What you won’t get is the inflated price tag. We know a thing or two about the hunt–– like how to seek out and capture an out- “Good value. Great looking. standing, collector’s-quality knife that won’t Sufficiently sharp. Overall cut into your bank account. Priced at an an "A" purchase and amazing $49, we can’t guarantee this knife I ordered three.” will stick around for long. So call today! — B. of Maryland Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Feel the knife in your hands, wear it on your hip, inspect the craftsmanship. If you don’t feel like we cut you a fair deal, send it back within 60 days for a complete refund of the item price. But we believe that once you wrap your TAKE 67 % fingers around the Legend’s handle and experience O F F IN S TANTLY! the beauty of its Damascus steel blade, you’ll be ready to carve out your own legend. When you use your
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hen Vietnam Veterans pass into eternity they don’t just fade away, they depart with sound and fury! And they leave a huge hole in the heart of the Vietnam Community. The fine art print, “The Offering” by military artist Britt Taylor Collins is a farewell tribute to a Vietnam Veteran. Proudly displaying the American flag to a passing formation of Hueys, the old soldier never suspects they are angels on a mission to escort him home.
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