Photos US Forces

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Corporal Donald M. Ward, a tank driver with C Company, 1st Tank Battalion, scans the muddy road while providing security for a convoy near Da Nang, 1967.

(USMC)

 

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A Sky Trooper from the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) keeps track of the time he has left on his "short time" helmet, while participating in Operation Pershing, near Bong Son in 1968.

Photo: National Archives

 

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Marines attempt to smoke out Viet Cong, 1965.

(USMC)

 

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Drenched in foam and mud, Corporals Larry F. Mayle, left, (Tunnelton, W. Va.) and Walter R. Thompson (Pittsburgh, Pa.) signal for more pressure in the hose as a fuel fire rages uncontrollably in the background.

(LCpl. Ian Macrae/USMC)

 

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Two members of Underwater Demolition Team Eleven watch an airstrike against the Viet Cong from the deck of the USS OGDEN (LPD-5). June 1967. National Archive

 

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From our readers: SP5 Stan Neckermann (left) and SP5 Jake Gronnert (right) at the Ben Het Special Forces camp in the Central Highlands, November 1969. Both were flight crew from the 179th ASHC, Camp Holloway, Pleiku, South Vietnam. Thank you, Stan Neckermann, for sharing this photo with us!

 

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Divers work underwater alongside the USS BOLSTER anchored off the coast of Vietnam, July 1969. Photo by L.W. Coleman. National Archives.

 

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Camouflaged Navy SEALS go ashore after wading chest-deep in mud on a combat operation in South Vietnam, May 1970. Man in center carries a MK23 5.56mm machine gun (Stoner M 63). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

 

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Blade Folding Crew, circa 1964 Sgt Gerald L Creque pulls blade tapered bolt and retracts rotation pin so blade can be dropped and folded to the tail.

Original descriptions and photographs sourced by: The Warren Smith Collection (COLL/5713) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division

 

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"4 August 1968: Stars and Stripes: Marine Lance Corporal Coy L. Hester, Jr. (Oneonta New York) raises the American flag with the help of a Vietnamese soldier at a small Marine outpost 36 miles north of the Marine Air Base, Chu Lai. Coy, attached to the 1st Combined Action Group, is one of 14 Marines that help train home guards to defend their villages. The flag was donated by a woman's club in the states (official photo by 1st Lieutenant Joe Collins)."

From the Jonathan F. Abel Collection (COLL/3611) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division (OFFICIAL USMC PHOTOGRAPH)

 

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Private First Class Kevin Stevens, 18 (Long Island, New York), a grenadier with G Company, 2d Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment [2/1], displays the flag donated to his unit by the Feustel-Kurdt American Legion Post No. 1120 of Lindenhurst, New York. The flag will hang in the battalion mess hall and be returned to the American Legion post at the end of the War (official USMC photo by Staff Sergeant Bob Bowen).

 

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Lance Corporal Charles O. Seiler, 20 (Alamogordo, New Mexico), carries one of eight 122mm rockets which were captured by G Company, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines [G/2/1]. Seven of the rockets had warheads. They were uncovered in a hedgerow about 10 miles south of Da Nang, just outside the Da Nang rocket belt, 1968 (official USMC photo by Staff Sergeant Bob Bowen).

 

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Private First Class Joseph Big Medicine, Jr., 19 (Watonga, Oklahoma), takes five and writes a letter home. Private First Class Big Medicine and the Marines of Golf Company, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines [G/2/1] are conducted search and clear operations five miles southeast of An Hoa Combat Base in Vietnam (official USMC photo by Corporal Gentry).

 

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CH-47 at LZ Robin", Vietnam, 1968
From the Douglas A. Yeager Collection (COLL/5039) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division

 

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Jump training for 1st Force Recon Company and 1st Recon Battalion at Red Beach north of DaNang. Snipers would fire at the jumpers on the way down, so we jumped from CH-46 helicopters at 1350 feet to give them a more fleeting target. No one was ever hit.

From the Frederick J. Vogel Collection (COLL/5577) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division

 

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2d Lieutenant Ronald C. Thieves (Winona, Minnesota) wades a stream during Operation Taylor Common, southwest of An Hoa. Thieves is a member of the 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division (official USMC photo by Lance Corporal C. E. Woodruff).

Original description and photograph sourced from: The Jonathan Abel Collection (COLL/3611), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections.

 

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Leathernecks of the 5th Marines near An Hoa inspect a cache of enemy ammunition and documents they found on a river crossing during Operation Taylor Common. The rain-swollen river washed away the protective covering of the cache and sharp-eyed Marines spotted the ammunition (official USMC photo by Private W. L. Cummings)."

Original description and photo sourced from: the Jonathan Abel Collection (COLL/3611), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections.

 

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Private First Class Gary W. Hartman (Glen Burnie, Maryland), a member of K Company, 3d Battalion, 3d Marines [K/3/3] returns to Fire Support Base Halo with an enemy rifle slung over his shoulder he captured while on a patrol. Hartman participated in Operation Taylor Common, 15 miles southwest of Da Nang (official USMC photo by Lance Corporal C. E. Woodruff)."

Original photograph and description sourced by: The Jonathan Abel Collection (COLL/3611), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections.

 

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January 30, 1966 1st Cavalry Division medic Thomas Cole, with one of his eyes bandaged, continues to treat wounded Staff Seargent Harrison Pell, during a firefight at An Thi in central highlands.

 

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South Vietnam, September, 1967: A soldier from the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry pauses during a 25th Infantry Division, 1st Brigade helicopter assault just south of the Ho Bo Woods. Three companies swept north from the landing zone to clear the area and assess bomb damage from a B-52 raid earlier in the day. One of the companies, trailing as a reaction force, was ambushed and engaged in a 45-minute fire fight.
By John Dittmann for ©Stars and Stripes

© Credit image Stars and Stripes
©Color By Johnny Sirlande for historic photo restored in color