Photos US Forces

[guest0001]

Marines of the 12th Marine Regiment move a 105mm M101A1 howitzer into position high atop a fire support base near An Hoa. The Leathernecks and howitzer are supporting Operation Taylor Common, 22 miles southwest of Da Nang. 1968

 

[guest0001]

Napalm air strikes raise clouds into gray monsoon skies as houseboats glide down the Perfume River toward Hue in Vietnam on February 28, 1963, where a battle for control of the old Imperial City ended with a Communist defeat. Firebombs were directed against a village on the outskirts of Hue.

 

[guest0001]

 

[guest0001]

Soldiers rappel from a helicopter into a landing zone site being cleared by leathernecks of the Third Maine Regiment. They are participating in a multi-battalion search-and-clear operation, Taylor Common, southwest of Da Nang.

 

[guest0001]

South Vietnam, September, 1967: A soldier displays a confident message during a helicopter assault by the 25th Infantry Division just south of the Ho Bo Woods.

 

[guest0001]

M113 Mine Sweeper of the 919th Engineers Company, 11th ACR, Long Giao, November 1968

 

[guest0001]

Sky Crane: Two 1,000 MPH rotary blades. Had some down blast, I think this one turned over one of the shitters. Didn't know they had the same rotors, The Sky Crane was funny looking. Always had Cobras for defense around them. I think this was one is at FSB Bastogne, they were bringing in a 155. Photo by Paul Dave Shaffer, 101st ABD, 1970 and repaired by Dan Fox. Erick W. Miller sez: Darn Chinooks could tear up our poncho hutches too. Same rotors, same speed. A Chinook could carry 30 grunts with ruck sacks and the crew manning the bird. When they were available, they'd be used to haul Arty pieces to abandoned Fire Bases for Artillery Raids. The Sky Cranes carried more weight due to smaller crew and obvious lack of bulky fuselage. Grunts went in first to secure those abandoned Fire Bases. Combat Infantryman! Follow Me! Yeah, we did the dirty work but the girls thought every man in uniform was a hero. I beat up on REMF's unmercifully in my book Toll of War/Vietnam. They deserved it. This link takes you to the Authorhouse book store.

 

[guest0001]

 

[guest0001]

Capt R.E. Bacon on the cover of Life Magazine when an Advisor in the Delta in 1964 and later was Bn CO with the Americal Div during 1969 before becoming, Senior Advisor, 51st ARVN Regt in late 1969 and RTUSA during SEP/OCT 70. Photo by Bernie McGurgan, R.I.P.

 

[guest0001]

 

[guest0001]

 

[guest0001]

 

[guest0001]

"My Dearest son, it's almost June.I hope this letter catches up with you and finds you well
It's been dry,but they're callin' for rain and everything's the same old same in Johnsonville,your stubborn old daddy ain't said too much,but I'm sure you know he sends his love."

And she goes on, in a letter from home.I hold it up and show my buddies,like we ain't scared and our boots ain't muddy and they all laugh like there's something funny 'bout the way I talk, when I say,"Mamma sends her best, y'all"

I fold it up and put it in my shirt.Pick up my gun and get back to work.

"My dearest love, it's almost dawn.I've been lyin' here all night long wonderin' where you might be.I saw your mamma
and I showed her the ring.Man on the television said something so I couldn't sleep.But I'll be alright,I'm just missin' you and this is me kissin' you X's and O's."

I hold it up and show my buddies and they all laugh 'Cause she calls me honey,but they take it hard 'Cause I don't read the good parts.

I fold it up and put it in my shirt.Pick up my gun and get back to work and it keeps me drivin' on waitin' on letters from home.

"Dear son, I know I ain't written,I'm Sittin' here tonight alone in the kitchen it occurs to me,I might not have said it
So I'll say it now.Son, You make me proud."

I hold it up and show my buddies.But no one laughs.'Cause there's ain't nothin' funny when a soldier cries.

I just wipe my eyes.I fold it up and put it in my shirt.Pick up my gun and get back to work and it keeps me drivin' on waitin' on letters from home.

--- Tony Mac Lane

(75th Army Rangers "L" Company 101st Airborne Division.)

 

[guest0001]

Corporal Roland R. Tancrede, 19 (Manchester, New Hampshire), walks at the head of a column of Marines from the 7th Marine Regiment during Operation Meade River, 13 miles southwest of Da Nang."

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

 

[guest0001]

Private First Class Ricardo King, 19 (Savannah, Georgia), of the 81mm mortar platoon, 3d Battalion, 1st Marines [3/1], carefully cleans his M-16 aboard the helicopter assault ship USS Valley Forge (LPH-8) while part of the Special Landing Force along the coast of Vietnam (official USMC photo by Corporal M. J. Coates)."

Original description and photo sourced from: The Jonathan F. Abel Collection (COLL/3611) at the Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division

 

[guest0001]

"8/15/1968-Vietnam: Photo shows a Hovercraft during patrol at canal zone at Tan My about 15 miles east of Hutz.:

 

[guest0001]

 

[guest0001]

“30 Jan 1967, Vietnam --A long line of wounded US Marines heads for a helocopter standing by to evacuate them. An 11-day fight for this triangle of high ground less than 10 miles from North Vietnam, has taken a total of 118 Marines. They are sown walking or being carried off of a field.”

 

[guest0001]

“Fall of Saigon - Xe tăng Bắc VN bị bắn cháy tại khu vực Lăng Cha Cả
30 Apr 1975, Saigon, South Vietnam --- South Vietnamese [sic] tank in flames as North Vietnamese forces enter Saigon. --- Image by © Jacques Pavlovsky/Sygma/CORBIS”

 

[guest0001]

“Fire in Saigon 1971 - Cháy Chợ Cầu Muối
24 Jan 1971, Saigon, Vietnam -- Spectacular blaze looms in background as a Vietnamese woman is comforted by a companion and a youth (background) hastily stacks wicker baskets for removal. The blaze, the cause of which was not determined, erupted 1/24 in huge market area of fruit stands and vegetable stalls along the Saigon River. Fires are much feared here, as many of the houses and buildings are built close together and are constructed of straw, paper, light wood and other materials which have a propensity for burning quickly and easily. Filed 2/3/1971. --- Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS Less”