Photos US Forces

A U.S. Navy Douglas A-1H Skyraider (BuNo 139713) of Attack Squadron 25 (VA-25) FIST OF THE FLEET is readied for launching from the USS Coral Sea circa 1966
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81mm mortar crew aboard USCGC Point Comfort (WPB-82317) firing 81mm mortar during bombardment of suspected Viet Cong staging area one mile behind An Thoi, August 1965
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A soldier of the 4th Infantry Division Ivy points an M-16 rifle from atop Dragon Mountain in early 1968.
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US Navy SEALS show off the Viet Cong flag they captured
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Hue City, NVA troops occupying the buildings in the background fired upon the Marines and the M67 Zippo Patton gave a warm response sending a stream of flames over the gate.
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Taken on Oct. 14, 1965 by Lt JG Al Zink, flying in an RF-8A from VFP-63 the pictures in this post show the ejection of Lt. Jack Terhune from his Vought F-8D Crusader (BuNo 147899) belonging to VF-154 Black Knights over the Gulf of Tonkin after being hit by ground fire over North Vietnam.

The F-8 was hit during a ZUNI rocket strike mission. Terhune was forced to eject and he is seen in his ‘ejection seat with it drogue chute deployed, just after ejecting “feet wet” from his crippled aircraft. Seconds after these shots were taken, Terhune’s main chute opened and he floated safely to the water. Uninjured, he was picked by a rescue helicopter and returned back to USS Coral Sea (CVA-43). The abandoned Crusader is seen diving for the bottom of South China Sea.

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US Army Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) Members L to R; Manuel Moya, Roger Bumgardner, Bruce Baugh, Raymond Hill & Reed Cundiff of the 173rd Airborne during Operation Junction City in the Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam - February 1967

Manuel Moya passed away in a car accident some 40 years ago, the rest are still alive

LIFE Magazine Archives - Co Rentmeester Photographer

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Reed Cundiff (LRRP) of the 173rd Airborne during Operation Junction City in the Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam - February 1967

LIFE Magazine Archives - Co Rentmeester Photographer
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Manuel Moya (LRRP) of the 173rd Airborne during Operation Junction City in the Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam - February 1967

Manuel Moya passed away in a car accident some 40 years ago

LIFE Magazine Archives - Co Rentmeester Photographer


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U.S. Air Force Douglas A-1E Skyraider drops a white phosphorus bomb on a Viet Cong postion in South Vietnam in 1966.
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Republic F-105D-30-RE Thunderchief 62-4234 with a full bomb load. (U.S. Air Force)
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This aircraft was shot down on 24 December 1968 over Laos while being assigned to the Wing Headquarters, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, Takhli RTAFB. Major Charles R. “Dick” Brownlee was the pilot of the lead aircraft (s/n 62-4234, call sign “Panda 01”) in a flight of four. The flight was conducting an afternoon strike mission against Route 911, between the Ban Karai Pass and the city of Ban Phaphilang, Khammouane Province, Laos. At 15:47h the aircraft attacked a truck moving along Route 911. 62-4234 was hit by anti-aircraft fire and caught fire. Major Brownlee’s aircraft exploded at roughly the same time he ejected from his aircraft. The next day a rescue attempt of heavily injured or dead Brownlee failed, but a member of the rescue team, CMS Charles D. King, was captured, too. Both men are listed as missing in action. The location was on the northern edge of a large valley and just east of Route 911, approximately 16 km southwest of Ban Thapachon (location 170600N 1055600E).
 
2 Silver Stars, 10 Bronze Stars...
Army Ranger Patrick Gavin Tadina is pictured here in an undated photo wearing North Vietnamese Army fatigues and carrying an AK-47. A 30-year Army veteran who was the longest continuously serving Ranger in Vietnam and one of the war's most decorated enlisted soldier.
Patrick Gavin Tadina served in Vietnam for over five years straight between 1965 and 1970, leading long range reconnaissance patrols deep into enemy territory -- often dressed in black pajamas and sandals, and carrying an AK-47.
A native of Hawaii, Tadina earned two Silver Stars, 10 Bronze Stars -- seven with valor -- three Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry, four Army Commendation Medals, including two for valor, and three Purple Hearts.
His small stature and dark complexion helped him pass for a Viet Cong soldier on patrols deep into the Central Highlands, during which he preferred to be in the point position. His citations describe him walking to within feet of enemies he knew to be lying in wait for him and leading a pursuing enemy patrol into an ambush set by his team.
In Vietnam he served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, 74th Infantry Detachment Long Range Patrol and Company N (Ranger), 75th Infantry. Tadina joined the Army in 1962 and served in the Dominican Republic before going to Southeast Asia. He also served with the 82nd Airborne Division in Grenada during Operation Urgent Fury in 1983 and with the 1st Infantry Division during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
A 1995 inductee into the Ranger Hall of Fame, he served with "extreme valor," never losing a man during his years as a team leader in Vietnam, a hall of fame profile at Fort Benning said.
Some 200 men had served under him without "so much as a scratch," said a newspaper clipping his daughter shared, published while Tadina was serving at Landing Zone English in Vietnam's Binh Dinh province, likely in 1969. Tadina himself was shot three times and his only brother was also killed in combat in Vietnam, Stars and Stripes later reported.
The last time he was shot was during an enemy ambush in which he earned his second Silver Star, and the wounds nearly forced him to be evacuated from the country, the LZ English story said.
As the point man, Tadina was already inside the kill zone when he sensed something was wrong, but the enemy did not fire on him, apparently confused about who he was, the article stated. After spotting the enemy, Tadina opened fire and called out the ambush to his teammates before falling to the ground and being shot in both calves.
He refused medical aid and continued to command until the enemy retreated, stated another clipping, quoting from his Silver Star citation. "When you're out there in the deep stuff, there's an unspoken understanding," he told Tate in 1985. "It's caring about troops."
After retiring from the Army in 1992, he continued working security jobs until 2013, Poeschl said, including stints in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Giant Killer page celebrates the histories of these unique warriors. To learn more please check out the book, The Giant Killer available as a Paperback, eBook, & Audiobook on Amazon and other major retailers.
Story Source Military .com

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Lieutenant Commander Donald D. Sheppard, of Coronado, California, aims a flaming arrow at a bamboo hut concealing a fortified Viet Cong bunker on the banks of the Bassac River, Vietnam, on December 8, 1967.

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1967. A low flying US Navy UH-1 Iroquois from HA(L)-3, (Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) 3): 'The Seawolves', flies near a PBR.
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