Photos US Forces

[BravoZulu]

Specialist 4 Richard Champion, squad leader, Company B, 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry, 11th Light Infantry Brigade, shouts instructions to his squad after receiving sniper fire while on patrol on Hill 56, 70 miles southeast of Chu Lai. January 19, 1971

21st Nov 1967-Dak To, South Vietnam

Wounded soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade sit together in this densely wooded area as they await evacuation from Hill 875 as the fighting continues, November 21. Here, soldiers sit with their rifles, and one soldier in the background smokes a cigarette.

 

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U.S. Army soldiers looking at the boots of fallen comrades some time after the bloody Battle of Dak To; South Vietnam 1967. (Photo from LIFE Magazine) [1280 x 827]

 

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June 1968, Saigon, Vietnam --- American Stronghold During Second Offensive on Saigon

 

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A "Chow line" in the jungle during an operation. 4th infantry division vietnam | dotPhoto Album - RickParkerPhoto - Vietnam, Military, 4th

 

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04 Apr 1968, Near Khe Sanh, South Vietnam --- Near Khe South Vietnam: 1st Cavalry men many with head wounds- wait to be evacuated from hilltop along route #9 during advance toward Khe Sanh.

 

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1st Cavalry Division artillery position in an LZ somewhere in III Corps, 1969, from FIRST TEAM magazine Summer 1969 Enhanced by erikthehistorian (erik villard)

 

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Melvin "Topper" Wooley, India 3/7 (1968). The concrete structures built by the French served out their usefulness and became battle worn remnants to take a break under. We littered . . . leaving empty cans and cardboard scraps for the locals to scavenge. Somehow they used our trash to forge weapons against us. We learned to not touch anything.
myvietnamexperience1968.com

 

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US Navy SEALs in Vietnam.

 

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Ahhhhhh, memories. We arrived around midnight, caught a few winks, then had chow and loaded up in buses that had heavy chain link all across the windows........so the locals couldn't toss a grenade in the bus! Welcome to the 'Nam!
Transient Barracks Travis AFB 1968 - In October 1968 the beginning of our one year guided tour of beautiful southeast Asia. Photo Credit Lance Nix

 

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Jan 28, 1966 - PFC Jimmie R. Joyce (Kingsport, Tennessee) PFC Jack A. Wait (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) and SP4 J.D. Stallings (Maywood, Illinois), "C" Btry, 2nd Bn, 32nd Arty, 23rd Group, stack ammo at artillery battery near Cu Chi, Photographer: SFC Peter P. Ruplenas.

 

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1968, Khe Sanh – US Marines M50 Ontos in action during the battle of Khe Sanh.

 

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April 11, 1968 the battle of Good Friday north of Dau Tieng, 3rd Bn. 22nd Inf. 25th Division. At approximately 0230 hours the perimeter recieved light probing fire from the west. Between 0330 and 0400 hours, the enemy launched a heavy and accurate mortar attack on the perimeter using 61 and 82 millimeter mortars. Approximately 125 rounds landed inside the perimeter. The mortar barrage reached peak intensity at about 0405 hours and a massive ground attack followed.

Charlie Company held the right flank and Delta thr left. Using small arms, automatic weapons, 90 mm recoilless rifles, hand grenades and bayonets, the infantry repulsed the enemy as fast as they came on. As the attack grew more intense, LTC Flint called for artillery support and it arrived quickly.

The crossfire caught the enemy in a vice between Delta and Charlie Companies as reinforced by Bravo Company fought it's way back to the main bunker line.
127 enemy died in the perimeter. All contact was broken by 0730 hours. The enemy left behind 153 bodies along with a substantial amount of equipment.
16 US Soldiers were killed in action and 47 wounded.

 

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Photo credit: Melvin "Topper" Wooley, India 3/7 (1968).
Heat exhaustion/Stoke could happen anywhere, staying hydrated wasn't always a simple thing. Water wasn't always available.

Friday, July 5, 1968

The sun’s heat was relentless and combined with the high humidity we were all “out of gas.” Any little effort would cause us to sweat. There were no weather or temperature instruments, and Doc’s glass mercury thermometers were maxed out at 108 degrees in the shade.
A truck pulled into the Kilo compound, coming from the direction of Hill 52. The driver yelled, “Heat Casualties,” and we carefully unloaded 14 Marines. Most of them couldn’t walk, and two were unconscious.
The medical tent was now full, and Doc Furman made a quick assessment of each patient. We had all hands on deck in the med tent, and we tried to cool the Marines by fanning them and giving them sips of water to re-hydrate.
I was working on one of the unconscious Marines and noted to Furman, “his skin is dry and too hot to touch.” Also, his breathing was labored. Doc said, “Carry the cot to the river and cool him off SLOWLY.” At the river we set the cot down and splashed water on him. The canvas cot became saturated and acted like a desert water bag, cooling by evaporation. Returning to the med tent to get him out of the sun, the Marine went into convulsions; he was cramping and his stomach was rigid.
Captain Cavagnol came into the tent and announced, “Medevac is ten minutes out, everyone on your feet.” Twelve Marines stood up and walked out toward the LZ. As we carried the two cots out, Cavagnol ordered the others back into the med tent . . . there was only room for two, and the walking casualties would have to wait.
As the Chinook helicopter landed, a crewman exited and said, “NO COTS.” I lifted the Marine up and over my shoulders (we had trained for this, but I never thought it would happen). Running up the ramp of the helicopter, the Crew Chief was using hand signals, urging me to carry the Marine forward. The deck was covered with wounded and some poncho-wrapped dead Marines. I tried my best not to step on the ponchos, but it was impossible. I laid my casualty down as the Crew Chief was yelling, “GET OUT, GET OUT!”
I literally ran over the dead Marines on my way out and was free from the helicopter as it took off. As I was walking back to the med tent, Captain Cavagnol put his hand on my shoulder and said, “Good job, now go to the river and cool off.”
At the beach I took off my boots and waded into the water with my trousers on and sat down. Someone tapped my arm (it was Trinh) and said, “I wash” pointing to my pants. I took them off under water, and after they had been cleaned, she laid them next to my boots as I sat in the river.
The river was now thrashing with naked Marines (the heat casualties), and I got dressed and retreated to my hooch recliner. Someone had issued the noon C-rats, and I got “Beans and Frankfurters.” I ate the peach halves and laid down in my fighting hole and cried. I was bothered by walking on the dead Marines . . . we never trained for that scenario.

myvietnamexperience1968.com

 

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M110, "Bad News" Gun 3, B Battery 7/15th Artillery, LZ Uplift, 8 inch hill IFFV, 1968

 

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Thursday, July 4, 1968

Kilo battery was not getting fire missions. Our primary assignment was “general support” for 3rd Battalion 7th Marines, but they weren’t operating within our range of fire. Although their job was to keep Route 4 secure, there were no convoys.
Boredom was killing us, and our only relief was to cool off in the river. During the day everyone went shirtless. It was so hot the mosquitoes would only appear after sunset when we put on our shirts for protection.
None of us wore underwear . . . it just wasn’t practical. We needed more ventilation to reduce moisture. We never used the term “going Commando,” but I did hear references to “free-balling.” Either way we adjusted to the conditions, and it appeared that the Vietnamese did likewise.
Just after sunset, Captain Cavagnol yelled, “Fire Mission.” The coordinates made no sense because we would be firing toward the mountainous jungle to the west. To further complicate things, the altitude was at a high angle, and all the gun tubes we’re pointing skyward. The ammo was WP with a timed fuse. Oh I get it . . . Fireworks!
The guns fired on Cavagnol’s command, and a few seconds later the rounds detonated (3000 feet above). Twilight backlit the white phosphorus, giving us a view of scattered puffs of smoke. It wasn’t the most impressive fireworks display I’d ever seen, but it made us laugh.
The radios crackled with activity as the Marines on Hill 52 wanted to know what was going on. Corporal Diaz, our radio operator said, “Amigo . . . Es Cuatro de Julio.”
myvietnamexperience1968.com

 

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Khe Sanh - a C130 that got caught on the strip by incoming

 

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[BravoZulu]

Major Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. in Vietnam

Operation Meade River was a US Marine Corps cordon and search operation that took place south of Danang, lasting from 20 November to 9 December 1968.

Operation Meade River concluded on 9 December 1968, the Marines had suffered 108 dead and 510 wounded and the PAVN/Vietcong 1023 killed and 123 captured. The Marines destroyed more than 360 bunkers during the operation. Despite their losses intelligence showed that by late December the Vietcong and PAVN had returned to Dodge City.

 

[BravoZulu]

My Tho River, Republic of Vietnam: Soldiers from the 9th Infantry Division’s “Riverines” assault a heavily wooded area. The Soldiers were brought to the beach head by an Armored Troop Carrier landing craft. 26th September 1967

 

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