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Long Days Journey: Army Truckers in Vietnam

U.S. TROUPES
Ann-Margret, other
celebs visit Vietnam

From
Ia Drang
to 9-11
The Extraordinary
Heroism of
Rick Rescorla

Uphill Battle
The struggles of a
counterinsurgency
Bridge Showdown
OCTOBER 2016 One Marine against
an NVA tank battalion
HistoryNet.com
How to Be Cut Off From Civilization
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October 2016 On the Cover:
Lieutenant Rick Rescorla
moves carefully through
underbrush at Landing Zone
X-Ray on Nov. 16, 1965.
PHOTO: AP PHOTO/PETER ARNETT,
COLOR ENHANCEMENT BY BRIAN
WALKER; INSET: PHOTOSHOT/
GETTY IMAGES

22
HEAD FOR
THE STORM
On the 15-year anniversary of
9/11, a fellow 7th Cavalryman
remembers Lieutenant Rick
Rescorla, who led his platoon
at Ia Drang but lost his life
helping others escape
the World Trade Center
attack in New York.
By Robert Bateman

2 VIETNAM
6 Feedback 18 Homefront September-October 1966
8 Today In the News 20 Arsenal The Aussies Soldier Proof Gun
14 Voices Richard Armitage 56 Media Digest
16 Then & Now 64 Rewind Rocker Doug Gray

36
ITS SHOWTIME,
VIETNAM STYLE
Photographs of some of
the biggest stars who
traveled to Vietnam to
entertain the troops.

28
SOMEHOW BLOW THE BRIDGE
U.S. Marine advisers at Dong Ha undertake a
herculean task to stem the onrushing tide of the
North Vietnamese in April 1972. By David Sears

42 50
A SQUANDERED
OPPORTUNITY
Looking back, a former
-VYLPNU:LY]PJLVJLY
shares his insights on
the breakdown of South
Vietnams strategic hamlet
program. By Frank Scotton

TWO MILLION MILES


OF BAD ROAD
The perils of long-haul trucking on Vietnams
treacherous Highway 19. By John Horvath
OCTOBER 2016 3
JOIN THE
DISCUSSION
AT VIETNAM
MAG.COM MICHAEL A. REINSTEIN CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER
DAVID STEINHAFEL ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

OCTOBER 2016 VOL. 29, NO. 3

CHUCK SPRINGSTON EDITOR


DEBRA NEWBOLD MANAGING EDITOR
JERRY MORELOCK SENIOR EDITOR
ELIZABETH HOWARD COPY EDITOR
JON GUTTMAN RESEARCH DIRECTOR
DAVID T. ZABECKI EDITOR EMERITUS
HARRY SUMMERS JR. FOUNDING EDITOR

STEPHEN KAMIFUJI CREATIVE DIRECTOR


BRIAN WALKER GROUP ART DIRECTOR
PAUL FISHER ART DIRECTOR
LORI FLEMMING PHOTO EDITOR

ADVISORY BOARD
JOE GALLOWAY, ROBERT H. LARSON, BARRY MCCAFFREY, JAMES R. RECKNER,
CARL O. SCHUSTER, EARL H. TILFORD JR., SPENCER C. TUCKER,
ERIK VILLARD, JAMES H. WILLBANKS

CORPORATE
ROB WILKINS Director of Partnership Marketing
MICHAEL ZATULOV Finance

DIGITAL
JOSH SCIORTINO Associate Editor

THE FIRST BIG BATTLE ADVERTISING


COURTNEY FORTUNE Advertising Services cfortune@historynet.com
The Battle of Ia Drang in November
TERRY JENKINS Regional Sales Manager tjenkins@historynet.com
1965 was the first clash between RICK GOWER Regional Sales Manager rick@rickgower.com
large-scale units of the U.S. and RICHARD VINCENT Regional Sales Manager rvincent@historynet.com
North Vietnamese armies. One of JOSH SCIORTINO Web Sales jsciortino@historynet.com
the most honored soldiers of that
battle was Rick Rescorla, featured in DIRECT RESPONSE ADVERTISING
this issue. To read more about the Ia RUSSELL JOHNS ASSOCIATES 800-649-9800 VIET@russelljohns.com
Drang battle, visit Historynet.com
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fought in one of Americas most 1600 Tysons Blvd., Suite 1140, Tysons, VA 22102-4883; 703-771-9400
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4 VIETNAM
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The Mort Knstler Vietnam War Tribute Pistol is issued in a limited edition of only 500 Tributes, WHO SERVED IN VIETNAM. In front of the hammer
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MiG destroyer
In the air war with
North
Vietnam, U.S. Air
Brilliant But Not Colonel Robin Ol
Force
Unbeatable in the Air ds
KV^UMV\Y4P.N shot
O[LYZ
Thanks to Carl O. Schuster for the de-
tailed and informative articles on the air
war in Vietnam (June and August 2016).
I believe that the United States and its
allies could have won after Tet 1968, in
spite of our mistakes. Schusters brief but
QVNWZUI\Q^MXI[[IOM[IJW]\\PMLQK]T-
ties faced by North Vietnams leader, Le
Duan, coupled with the famous Wall
Street Journal article by General Vo
Nguyen Giaps former military secre-
Colin Powell
tary, Colonel Bui Tin, tend to prove my -SH^LKNLULYHS
assertion. Second, as on the ground, the or preeminent
North Vietnamese fought a brilliantly integrated SLHKLY&
campaign in the air, but the United States could
have eventually overwhelmed them if its political
leadership had not been so dense. I also found it
interesting that North Vietnam produced eight
OP\MZIKM[\W)UMZQKI[\_W<PMaUW[\I[[]ZMLTa
performed better in their air war than the Chinese
and North Koreans did in Korea, where the Rus-
sians were the only air component to really chal-
lenge the United Nations air elements.
Wayne E. Long, Chester, Md.

Powell Strikes a Nerve treaty. Count me as a former havoc on Americans and the
In his interview with General ILUQZMZWN\PQ[I_MLOMVMZIT Vietnamese before we extricated
Colin Powell, Chuck Springston Edward J. Green ourselves from the blunder.
appeared to ask the correct ques- Mobile, Ala. Fred (Ted) Raymond
tions, and the generals responses El Mirage, Ariz.
appeared to be spot-on, but in- Thanks for two great pieces in
formed readers might see the August issue. Colin Powells Air America Incognito
through the ruse. Powell sup- Vietnam established even more In Then and Now (August
ported President Barack Obama ZUTa\PMOMVMZIT[XTIKMI[WVM aW]ZKIX\QWVQLMV\QM[\PM
in both 2008 and 2012, even after of the preeminent leaders and helicopter framed by the cathe-
Obamas domestic and foreign statesmen of our time. In the dral as being Marine. I believe it
policy failures were apparent. magazines excerpt from David was one of Air Americas.
The truth is that Powell has re- Greenways book Foreign Corre- Dan Holdredge
jected everything he may have spondent, Greenways takes on Liverpool, N.Y.
learned during his years as a mili- what happened in Vietnam are
tary and civilian leader, and the forthright, knowledgeable and EDITORS NOTE: Good eye. Weve
term statesman simply does not well-reasoned. It shouldnt have discovered that the original
apply. The general claims, We taken anybody with a sense of the Associated Press caption that
didnt win in Vietnam. Of course culture and history of Vietnam accompanied the 1975 photo
TOP: U.S. AIR FORCE; POWELL: AP PHOTO

we won. But anyone who was con- ^MZaTWVOQVKW]V\Za\WO]ZMW]\ mislabeled the helicopter.
scious in 1975 knows that our that through our governments
military victory was overturned political misreads and missteps Send letters and email:
by a committee of 535. Congress regarding Vietnam, we were in Vietnam Editor
relied on its unconstitutional War the wrong place at the wrong 1600 Tysons Blvd., Suite 1140
Powers Resolution of 1973 to ab- time. It was unfortunate that it Tysons, VA 22102-4833; or
rogate enforcement of a formal took us 20 years of wreaking Vietnam@historynet.com

6 VIETNAM
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Meeting and greeting
President Barack Obama and
Vietnamese President Tran Dai
Quang mingle with performers
at a state luncheon in Hanoi.
Below, Obama is introduced to
head abbot Thich Minh Thong
while touring the Jade Emperor
Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City.

OBAMA ENDS ARMS


EMBARGO DURING
VIETNAM VISIT
Crowds lined the streets of Hanoi as President Barack consideration in arms sales and noted that several
Obamas motorcade left Air Force Ones landing site and activists who had been invited to meet with him earlier
made its way across the city at the start of a historic visit in the day were prevented from attending, according to
to a former adversary. Obama announced on May 23 that USA Today. Although there has been some modest
the United States was lifting the current, partial XZWOZM[[PM[IQL\PMZMIZM[\QTTNWTS[_PWVLQ\^MZa
American embargo on arms sales to Vietnam, which had LQK]T\\WI[[MUJTMIVLWZOIVQbMXMIKMN]TTaIZW]VL
been in place since 1984. issues that they care deeply about.
The move, Obama said, was not prompted by Chinas Vietnam doesnt deserve the closer ties that the United
maneuvers to expand its presence in the region but came ;\I\M[Q[WMZQVO[IQL2WPV;QN\WVWN0]UIV:QOP\[
as the United States and Vietnam entered a new Watch, in the USA Today report. Detaining or preventing
moment taking them toward a normalization of ties. civil society from meeting President Obama is not just an
Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang said at a state insult to the president, its also a human rights abuse
luncheon that he was grateful for the American peoples in itself.
MWZ\[\WX]\IVMVL\WIV]VPIXXaKPIX\MZQV\PM\_W During meetings and events in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
WHITE HOUSE PHOTO/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (2)

countries history, according to the online version of The City, the president discussed the importance of approving
National, a newspaper in the United Arab Emirates. \PM <ZIV[8IKQK 8IZ\VMZ[PQX IV IOZMMUMV\ \PI\
Human rights activists, however, fear that lifting the reduces trade barriers among 11 countries on both sides
arms embargo has taken away an incentive the United WN\PM8IKQK
States could have used to push for more political freedom Obama spent two days meeting Vietnamese people,
and civil liberties in Vietnam. Obama addressed that civil society groups and young entrepreneurs. He even
issue at a speech at Hanois National Convention Center. dined with CNN personality Anthony Bourdain in a tiny
He said Vietnams human rights record would be a Vietnamese restaurant where the meal cost $6.

8 VIETNAM
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Peace Corps Goes to Vietnam
The Peace Corps and the
Vietnamese govern-
ment announced that
\PM IOMVKa _PQKP
sends volunteers
overseas to work in a
variety of assistance
XZWOZIU[_QTTWXMZI\M
in Vietnam for the first
VIETNAM
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gain entry into the country. RECEIVES
This new partnership will further strengthen and deepen our
MEDAL OF
HONOR
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_QTTTMIZV\PMZQKP\ZILQ\QWV[K]T\]ZMIVLPQ[\WZaWN\PQ[OZMI\
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TOP RIGHT: WWW.KVUE.COM; LEFT: FREDERICK M. BROWN/STRINGER VIA GETTY IMAGES; BOTTOM LEFT: PHOTO BY WILLIAM B. PLOWMAN/NBC NEWSWIRE VIA GETTY IMAGES
General Named to \PZMMQOP\[WNPMTQKWX\MZ[QV\W
hostile territory to help an air-
Advisory Board borne infantry unit ambushed
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dent Joe Galloway and retired four- in the Song Tra Cau riverbed.
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have joined Vietnam magazines QOP\3M\\TM[_I[\WTL\PI\
advisory board. eight soldiers were still on
/ITTW_IaI=81RW]ZVITQ[\NWZ the ground.
aMIZ[KW^MZML>QM\VIUI\^IZQW][\QUM[ ?Q\PW]\PM[Q\I\QVOPMZM\]ZVML
Galloway from the introduction of combat troops in WVPQ[W_V_Q\PVWW\PMZ[]XXWZ\
1965 to the fall of South Vietnam in 1975. to rescue the men. His actions that
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Drang was the basis of a book he co- well as four crew members from the
authored with retired Lt. Gen. Harold \P)^QI\QWV+WUXIVaIN\MZ\PMQZ
5WWZMWe Were Soldiers Onceand PMTQKWX\MZ_I[LM[\ZWaML3M\\TM[
Young. Galloway also wrote about the 1991 aMIZ[WTLI\\PM\QUMZMKMQ^ML
Gulf War for =;6M_[?WZTL:MXWZ\. the Distinguished Service Cross for
5K+IZMaI?M[\8WQV\OZIL]I\M_PW PQ[PMZWQ[UJ]\TI_UISMZ[QV5QKP-
[XMV\aMIZ[QV\PM)ZUa[MZ^ML\_W igan pushed for an upgrade of his
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>QM\VIUM[M)QZJWZVM,Q^Q[QWVIVL\PM Honor recipient from the Vietnam
W\PMZ_Q\P\PM=;[\+I^ITZa,Q^Q[QWV ?IZIVL\PM\PTQ^QVOZMKQXQMV\
)QZUWJQTM0MKWUUIVLML\PM\P according to the Congressional
1VNIV\Za,Q^Q[QWVL]ZQVO\PM!!/]TN Medal of Honor Society.
?IZIVLTI\MZPMILML\PM=;;W]\PMZV For more information about his
+WUUIVL5K+IZMa_I[LQZMK\WZWN\PM !UQ[[QWV^Q[Q\___IZUaUQT
4J*HYL` ?PQ\M0W][M7KMWN6I\QWVIT,Z]O+WV- UMLITWNPWVWZSM\\TM[
trol Policy for President Bill Clinton.

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2016 rstSTREET for Boomers and Beyond, Inc.
8I\ZQW\QK8ZWL]K\QWV[I6MJZI[SIVWVXZW\NW]VLML
by Bill and Evonne Williams to honor veterans through
a variety of programs, raised $450,000 from 550 indi-
vidual and corporate donors to pay for the trip.
When the planes carrying the Nebraskans arrived
I\:MIOIV6I\QWVIT)QZXWZ\ZM\Z]KS[[IT]\ML\PMU
with water cannons, and the West Point Alumni Glee
Club greeted them with songs.
The veterans were met at the The Wall by former
Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, who served in Vietnam as
a sergeant in the 9th Infantry Division and was secre-
tary of defense from 2013 to 2015.
In addition to seeing the Vietnam memorial, the Ne-
braska veterans toured the Korean War, World War II,
Iwo Jima and Air Force memorials. The group also
attended the changing of the guard ceremony at the
Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

NEBRASKA VETS VISIT


When the veterans returned to Omahas Eppley In-
\MZVI\QWVIT)QZXWZ\\PI\VQOP\\PMa[I_IIO_I^QVO
THE WALL IN A BIG WAY crowd of about 5,000 people.
Airport police chief Tim Monahan said it was by
About 500 Vietnam veterans from Nebraska traveled far the largest welcome home for military groups,
to Washington and gathered at the Vietnam Veterans including the Honor Flights of World War II veterans
Memorial on June 6the largest group of Vietnam who visited their memorial in Washington, the Omaha
vets from a single state to ever visit The Wall, accord- World-Herald reported.
ing to the trips organizers. Rob Wilkins

Michael Herr, author of the highly


Boxing legend and larger-than-life acclaimed Vietnam War memoir
personality Muhammad Ali died Morley Safer, the long-serving Dispatches, died on June 23. He was
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: WWW.PATRIOTICPRODUCTIONS.ORG; DOCSONLINE.TV; EVERETT
on June 3, from complications of correspondent of the CBS news- 76. The material for Herrs book,
Parkinsons disease. He was 74. He magazine 60 Minutes , died May published in 1977, was gathered
started boxing at age 12 and won 19 at age 84, just days after his re- during 1967-68, when he served
the 1960 Olympic Gold Medal in the tirement. During the Vietnam War, as a war correspondent for Esquire
COLLECTION INC/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; MARKA/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

light heavyweight division at 18. Ali, Safer opened the CBS Saigon bureau magazine. Herr frequently traveled
who changed his name from Cassius IVL_I[WVMWN\PMZ[\<>RW]ZVIT- with combat units, and Dispatches
Clay in 1964, refused induction into ists permanently assigned to the has been praised for its realistic ac-
the U.S. Army in 1967 during the war. This is what the war in Viet- counts of warfare, although parts
Vietnam War and was immediately nam is all about, Safer said when _MZMK\QWVITQbML0Q[_WZSWV\PM
stripped of his heavyweight title. He bringing a report into Americas book was interrupted for years by
was convicted of draft evasion, sen- living rooms. His August 1965 piece an emotional breakdown and de-
\MVKML\WXZQ[WVVMLIVLJIVVML showing Marines burning villagers pression. Herr also was a writer on
from the sport for more than three thatched huts in the hamlet of Cam the screenplays for Vietnam War
years. Ali finished his career with Ne was cited by New York Univer- movies Apocalypse Now, released
56 wins, including 37 by knockout, sity as one of the 20th centurys top in 1979, and Full Metal Jacket, re-
IOIQV[\R][\^MLMNMI\[ 100 pieces of American journalism. leased in 1987.

12 VIETNAM
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Born: April 26,1945,
Boston; grew up in
Georgia
Residence: Vienna,
Virginia
Education: U.S. Naval
Academy
In Vietnam: October
1967-April 1968, ofcer
aboard the destroyer USS

RICHARD
Buck; April 1969-April
1970, adviser, South
Vietnamese Navy

ARMITAGE
Coastal Group 35; May
1971-March 1972, adviser,
South Vietnamese River
Patrol Division 54; June
If they were willing to 1972-February 1973,
adviser, South Vietnamese
struggle for their own Coastal Group 21; 1973,
resigned commission, as a
independence, I was willing lieutenant
to do my part to help them Today: President,
Armitage International,
Arlington, Virginia, provides
analysis and advice to
Richard Armitage, a Navy adviser clients in international
business ventures
assisting South Vietnamese units
during the war and later a State
,MXIZ\UMV\WKQIT_WZSQVO
with Colin Powell, experienced
something in Vietnam that
few other combat
veterans did. Most GIs
left in 73, but I got to see
the real end, he says.
Armitage was a leader in
the evacuation of Vietnamese
refugees after the fall of Saigon on
April 30, 1975. Sent to Vietnam to
oversee the destruction or removal
of South Vietnamese naval vessels, he
LMKQLML_Q\PW]\[MMSQVOWKQITI]\PWZQbI-
tionto expand his mission. He would use some of
those vessels as well as the destroyer USS 3QZS to Were you rebuked by ofcials in Washington when
transport not only military personnel but also as many they found out you had taken it upon yourself to use
civilians as possible to the Philippines, where they the U.S. Navy to conduct a civilian evacuation with-
would board other vessels for a refugee camp in Guam. out their approval? Well, they were caught in a bind
)ZUQ\IOMTI\MZPMTLXW[Q\QWV[QV\PM7KMWN\PM because my job was to deny those assets to the enemy,
Secretary of Defense in Ronald Reagans administra- to the North Vietnamese, and I chose to deny it in the
tion. During George H.W. Bushs presidency, he negoti- way I denied it. The government didnt abuse me. They
ated international agreements and directed the U.S. ignored me. And they ignored me until the year 2001,
IQLXZWOZIUNWZKW]V\ZQM[\PI\JZWSMI_IaNZWU\PM when Secretary of Defense Bill Cohen invited me to come
Soviet Union. From 2001 to 2005, Armitage was \W\PM8MV\IOWVWVPQ[TI[\LIaQVWKMIVLXZM[MV\ML
Powells deputy secretary of state. me with the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding
Armitage shared his perspective on the war with Public Service.
Vietnam-LQ\WZ+P]KS;XZQVO[\WV
You resigned from the Navy after the 1973 peace
The South Vietnamese evacuation that you led is agreement with North Vietnam because you didnt
regarded as one of the great humanitarian missions like the terms of the deal. What in the agreement
of the U.S. military. How does that rank among the upset you that much? It was the notion of leading the
accomplishments in your life? 1LWV\TWWSI\Q\I[IV Vietnamese down a certain path for so long and then all
IKKWUXTQ[PUMV\1TWWSI\Q\I[\PM]VPIXXaKWUXTM\QWV of a sudden leaving them. It was quite clear to anyone
of a mission. Those things I consider accomplishments
DAN WILLIAMS

_PWTWWSMLI\\PMIOZMMUMV\IVL\PMXWTQ\QKIT[Q\]I\QWV
are related to my family, my children. The other things \PI\\PQ[_I[R][\\W][M.ZIVS;VMXX[JWWS\Q\TMILM-
were missions, duty. KMV\QV\MZ^ITJMNWZM_M_ITSMLW]\

14 VIETNAM
What were your feelings about the war itself? stand the jargon thats used. And very often the military
I questioned the wisdom of U.S. ground troop involve- does not understand the subtleties of diplomacy.
ment. I volunteered as an adviser because I did buy the
proposition that if they [the South Vietnamese] were will- When should our military be used to help people
ing to struggle for their own independence, I was willing who want freedom from a dictatorship but are unable
to do my part to help them. I was very much for advisers, to achieve that goal on their own? For us to assist peo-
air support, combat support. But it was soon obvious to ple yearning to be free, its not enough for them simply
UM\PI\_MPILTW[\\PMIMK\QWVWN\PM=;XMWXTMIVL to be the enemy of my enemy. They have to also embrace
once youve done that there is no way to prevail. our values, and our assistance has to be something that
You lose support for a war when you lie, and we got UISM[ILQMZMVKM1V[WUMKI[M[\PMaLWV\PI^M\PM
into it by a lie [about the extent of North Vietnamese infrastructure to support democracy. The government in
attacks on U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964]. I waiting has to be capable enough to deliver to the height-
think Secretary of Defense [Robert] McNamara bears a ened expectations of the people. In Libya, in Egypt, you
huge responsibility. As we know now from his papers, he ZQXXML\PM[KIJWIVLaW]LWV\PI^MIVQLMI_PI\[
LQLSVW_MIZTaWV\PI\\PQ[_I[VW\I_QVVIJTMKWVQK\ going to replace it. Its not necessarily the case that any-
and we kept sending young GIs over. things better than the government that exists today.

Could anything have been done differently in Viet- What music did you listen to in the 1960s and
nam that would have changed the outcome? The only 70s? Marvin Gaye. Temptations. Gladys Knight. Hank
way to change the outcome of the war would have been to Ballard & The Mighty Midnighters. I grew up in the
change the government in Saigon. The Army counterin- South, and if you grew up in the South, you had two
surgency, under General [Creighton] Abrams [who became choices of music: What was called then hillbillyand
the head of U.S. combat forces in June 1968], was going now is called countryor blues, R&B.
quite well, but there was a riddle we couldnt solve. We can
train the Vietnamesejust as we can train Afghans and Were there any clothing styles you wore then that
Iraqisbut how do you make them willing to die for their you would be embarrassed to wear today? When I was
government? The government in Saigon was not worthy an adult, I had two modes, a suit and workout gear. When
WN\PM[IKZQKMWN\PM[MUMVIVL_WUMVQV>QM\VIU I was a teenager, it was Bass Weejuns, no socks and ma-
dras shirts. If you grew up in the South, thats what you
What are the lessons of the Vietnam War? The most wore. And I wouldnt be embarrassed to wear that today.
obvious one is that wars are easy to get into and hard to 1VM^MZOW\QV\WJMTTJW\\WU[IVLITT\PI\[\]
get out of. The other lessons are that popular support at
PWUMQ[I\TMI[\I[QUXWZ\IV\I[[]KKM[[WV\PMJI\\TMMTL You and Powell met at the Pentagon in January
and duplicating what Secretary [of State] Powell says, 1981 during the transition from the Carter to Rea-
Im a big decisive-force guy. If youre going to do it, do it. gan administrations. In his memoir, Powell says you
two connected immediately. What made that in-
Could decisive force have been applied in Vietnam stant connection? We both were combat veterans. We
to win the war? The North Vietnamese died and sac- both were intent on working well for [incoming Defense]
ZQKMLI\PQOPTM^MT[<PMa_MZM_QTTQVO\WKWV\QV]M\PQ[ Secretary [Caspar] Weinberger, who was intent on re-
6W=;KWUUIVLMZ_W]TLJMITTW_ML\W[]MZIVa_PMZM vitalizing the U.S. military in the malaise after Vietnam.
near the casualties they endured on a regular basis. We And were both relatively irreverent to each other but
valued the individual soldiers life. They valued a na- respectful of authority. V
tional dream. We bombed the hell out of both South and
North Vietnam, but I dont think we could have bombed
them into the Stone Age. We could have extended things.
I dont think ultimately we would have prevailed.

During a war, what should be the role of the mili-


tary leadership compared with the role of civilian
leaders? Once objectives have been established and the
military leaders tell you how theyre going to do it, let
them be. In Vietnam, it was the opposite. The president
[Lyndon B. Johnson] and his colleagues were actually
picking the bombing targets. In the Bush
ILUQVQ[\ZI\QWVQ\_I[PIVL[W<PI\
COURTESY RICHARD ARMITAGE

In-country
didnt work out too well, either. In recent Richard Armitage
years, because so few veterans are in the in Vietnam in 1969,
when he served as an
senior [civilian] positions, the civilians
adviser to the South
dont know the right questions to ask the Vietnamese navy.
military in many cases and dont under-
BOARD BUDDIES
Four former Marines who served
together in Vietnam reunited at a
Florida beach near St. Augustine on
April 23 to re-create a photograph
taken 50 years ago, in May 1966,
on a beach near the Marine Corps
Camp Pendleton in San Diego, re-
ported the Naples Daily News. Soon
after the 1966 photo, the young
men, ages 19 to 21, would be on
their way to the war. From left are
Dennis Puleo, Tom Hanks, Bob De-
Venezia (squatting) and Bob Falk. V

NAPLES (FLORIDA) DAILY NEWS, PHOTO BY LUKE FRANKE

16 VIETNAM
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Sept. 29 Chevrolet introduces its rst Camaro, for
the 1967 model year, at dealerships nationwide.
The Camaros appealing styling and affordable price
made it one of Americas most popular sports sedans.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
1966
Sept. 8 The
rst episode of
Star Trek,
featuring
William
Shatner as
Captain James
T. Kirk and
Leonard
Nimoy as
Sept. 5 The rst Jerry Lewis Commander
Labor Day telethon for the Spock, is
Muscular Dystrophy Association shown on NBC.
goes on the air, but only in the (A Canadian
New York City area. The telethon network had
raised more than $1 million broadcast the
and by the 1970s was seen premiere two Oct. 9 The Baltimore Orioles
nationwide. days earlier.) win the World Series, beating
the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 in
/IUM7ZQWTM[W]\MTLMZ.ZIVS
Robinson, who hit two homers
in the series, was named most
valuable player.

18 VIETNAM
Oct. 10 <PM5WVSMM[ZMTMI[M Sept. 5 Flying a MiG-17 jet, Nguyen
their debut album, <PM5WVSMM[, Van Bay becomes North Vietnams
_PQKPQVKT]LM[\PMPQ\4I[\<ZIQV Z[\OP\MZIKM_PMVPM[PWW\[
\W+TIZS[^QTTM<PMOZW]X_I[X]\ LW_VPQ[N\P)UMZQKIVIQZKZIN\I
together to create a TV series about Navy F-8 Crusader. The U.S. pilot,
+IX\IQV?QTNZML3)JJW\\MRMK\MLIVL
IZWKSJIVL<PM[PW_LMJ]\ML
[XMV\[Q`aMIZ[I[IXZQ[WVMZWN_IZ
;MX\
Sept. 8<PM\P)ZUWZML+I^ITZa
Oct. 15 Huey P. Newton *TIKSPWZ[M:MOQUMV\IZZQ^M[QV
and Bobby Seale found Vietnam and begins operations in
the Black Panther Party the Saigon area. The regiments
in Oakland, California, NWZUQLIJTMIZUIUMV\QVKT]LML
\IVS[ [MTNXZWXMTTMLPW_Q\bMZ[
and send armed patrols
48 helicopters and more than 300
into black neighborhoods
armored personnel carriers.
to counter police brutality.
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Oct. 10 The Oct. 28 The U. S. Coast Guard begins
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of the James I[a[\MUWN^MTWVOZIVOMVI^QOI\QWV
Michener novel [\I\QWV[\WNWZUIVMTMK\ZWVQKOZQL
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the big screen [\I\QWV[MVIJTML[PQX[IVLIQZKZIN\\W
with scenes Oct. 15 President Lyndon B. ZMKMQ^MIKK]ZI\MITT_MI\PMZXW[Q\QWV-
of exotic Johnson signs the National QVOLI\INWZVI^QOI\QWVI[[Q[\IVKM
paradise and Historic Preservation Act, creating
performances the National Register of Historic Oct. 316I^a*WI\[_IQV[5I\M
by Julie [\+TI[[2IUM[-?QTTa?QTTQIU[
Places, which today lists more
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Richard Harris, Mount Vernon. I\PZMMPW]ZJI\\TMWV\PM5MSWVO
Max von :Q^MZIOIQV[\V]UMZW][PMI^QTa
Sydow and armed Viet Cong sampans and
other stars. O]MZZQTTI[0MZMKMQ^ML\PM5MLITWN
0WVWZNWZPQ[IK\QWV[

CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE TOP LEFT: MOVIESTORE COLLECTION LTD/


ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; CHEVROLET; AF ARCHIVE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO;
MOVIESTORE COLLECTION LTD/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; AP PHOTO/BOB
DAUGHERTY; EVERETT COLLECTION HISTORICAL/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO;
WWW.MOUNTVERNON.ORG; AF ARCHIVE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; PHOTOS
12/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

7+<7*-: 19
Hand
protection
The swivel
Tilted sight bracket allowed
Because of the the shooter to
top-mounted use the sling
magazine, the to protect his
xed sight was hand from barrel
offset to the left. heat and rounds
The rear sight ejected during
could be folded ring.
Gravity-assisted loading down for a more
Putting the magazine on comfortable Compact
top reduced spring strain, carry. The butt detached
maintenance and jamming. to reduce length
when necessary.

Production savings
The F1 had the same
Safety bracket Bottom ejection pistol grip, butt plate and
This feature prevented the The spent cartridges bayonet attachment as
shooters hand from blocking ejected down. Australias L1A1 rie.
the ejection port.

THE AUSSIES
SOLDIER PROOF GUN
*a+IZT7;KP][\MZ

Australias F1 submachine gun is one of the most recognizable and yet least known of the F1 Submachine Gun
weapons used in the Vietnam War. Selected to replace the popular World War IIera Owen Round: !`!UU
[]JUIKPQVMO]VIN\MZMTL\M[\QVOQV!\PM.[PIZML[WUMWN\PM7_MV[KPIZIK\MZ- Parabellum
Q[\QK["1\PILI[QUXTMJTW_JIKSLM[QOVIVLZMLW^MZIVWXMVJWT\_Q\PI`MLZQVOXQV Magazine:ZW]VL
<PM.IT[WMUXTWaMLQ\[XZMLMKM[[WZ[K]Z^MLLM\IKPIJTM\WXTWILQVOZW]VLUIOIbQVM top loading
<PMUIOIbQVM[TWKI\QWVNIKQTQ\I\MLZQVONZWU\PMXZWVMXW[Q\QWVZML]KMLRIUUQVOIVL Weight:! TJ
MV[]ZMLUWZMZIXQLTWILQVOJ]\Q\IT[WVMKM[[Q\I\MLI[TQOP\TaW[M\TMIN[QOP\\PI\NWTLML TWILML_Q\P`ML
LW_VQV\W\PMZMKMQ^MZIVLIVW[M\`MLNWZM[QOP\<PM.[MRMK\QWVXWZ\Q[LQZMK\Ta]VLMZ bayonet
\PMUIOIbQVM[\ZMIUTQVQVO\PMZQVOIVLMRMK\QWVXZWKM[[*]\IV]V_IZa[PWW\MZKW]TL Length:  QVKPM[
[]MZIXIQVN]TJQ\MQNPQ[PIVL_IVLMZMLJIKS\W\PMXWZ\_PQTM[PWW\QVO Rate of re:
;INM\aNMI\]ZM[QVKT]LMLIJZIKSM\\PI\XZM^MV\ML\PM[PWW\MZ[PIVLNZWUUW^QVOQV\W ZW]VL[
KWV\IK\_Q\P\PMJIZZMT_PQTMZQVO<PM[INM\aKI\KP_I[IJW^M\PM\ZQOOMZIVLKW]TLJM per minute
operated easily by the thumb. The weapon had a two-stage trigger pullhalfway back for Practical RoF:
[MUQI]\WUI\QKIVLX]TTIVLPWTLJIKSNWZN]TTI]\WUI\QK<PM.PILILM\IKPIJTM_WWLMV 120-150 rpm
butt and pistol grip. Max. range:
<WZML]KMUIV]NIK\]ZQVOKW[\[\PM.][ML\PM[IUMJ]\\XTI\MIVLXQ[\WTOZQXI[\PM)][- 200 meters
\ZITQIV4)[MTNTWILQVOZQMIVLKW]TLJMILIX\ML\WUW]V\\PM4)[JIaWVM\<PM.[ Effective range:
TMN\UW]V\MLKWKSQVOPIVLTM_I[QV\PM[IUMXW[Q\QWVI[\PMZQM[<PM.PILIKW^MZ\PI\ 150 meters
XZM^MV\MLLQZ\IVLLMJZQ[NZWUMV\MZQVO\PMIK\QWVJ]\QN\PI\WKK]ZZML\PM[PWW\MZKW]TL
latch the cocking handle to the bolt and work it back and forth to clear away any fouling.
+IZZQMLJaQVNIV\Za[Y]IL[)][\ZITQIVIZ\QTTMZaUMVIVLIZUWZMLXMZ[WVVMTKIZZQMZ
KZM_[\PM._I[XW_MZN]TMI[a\WUIQV\IQVIVLITUW[\KWUXTM\MTa[WTLQMZXZWWNQV
Z]OOMLVM[[IVLZMTQIJQTQ\a-^MV\PW]OP\PM._MQOPMLUWZM\PIVIV5ZQM)][\ZITQIV
\ZWWX[NW]VLQ\[KWUXIK\[QbMIVLZMTQIJQTQ\aI^QZ\]MQV\PMLMV[M>QM\VIUM[MR]VOTM_PMZM
GREGORY PROCH

most of their military operations took place.


<PMO]V_PQKP[MZ^ML_Q\PMY]ITLQ[\QVK\QWVQV\PM!!/]TN?IZ_I[ZMXTIKMLJa\PM
)][\ZQIVJ]QT\. +)][\MaZZQMJMOQVVQVOQV!!V

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Head for
the Storm
On the bloody battleeld of Vietnams
Ia Drang Valley and in the burning tower of the World
Trade Center, Rick Rescorla entered the maelstrom
and helped others get out alive

R
By Robert Bateman

ick Rescorla knew his history. 5aZ[\UMUWZaWN+aZQT:QKS:M[KWZTI


The native of England knew how stories of the is at a reunion of Ia Drang veterans in 1996.
past, recent or distant, could move people. Be I was a young captain, commanding a com-
it the English victory at Agincourt in 1415 or pany in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Reg-
the British victory at Rorkes Drift in the Zulu iment, 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood,
War of 1879, his tales of individuals sur- Texas, and being invited to this reunion was
mounting incredible odds could lift people a great honor. Rick was one of the most fa-
\PI\TI[\[UITTJQ\\WSMMXOP\QVO<W[]Z^Q^M mous veterans of our battalion. When re-
<W_QV0M_ZW\MIVL[IVO[WVO[\WX]]X tired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore, who as a lieutenant
morale and calm nerves. We know because colonel commanded the 1st Battalion of the
his singing was captured on a reel-to-reel tape \PI\1I,ZIVO[Ia[IUIVQ[\PMJM[\KWU-
QVIZIU[PIKSTMWKMZ[KT]JI\\PM=;JI[M JI\XTI\WWVTMILMZ1M^MZ[I_\PI\[WZ\WN
at An Khe in 1966. The percussion heard on \PQVOZI\PMZ[\QKS[1VL]K\QWVQV\W\PM7-
the recording was outgoing harassment and KMZ+IVLQLI\M;KPWWT0ITTWN.IUMQ[IVW\PMZ
QV\MZLQK\QWVZM point toward immortality.
It is just over 50 years now since Rick <PM6W^MUJMZ!OP\QVOI\4IVLQVO
showed his courage at Ia Drang, where the Zones X-Ray and Albany in the Ia Drang Val-
=; )ZUa _IOML Q\[ Z[\ JQO JI\\TM _Q\P ley immediately became front-page news
North Vietnamese troops, and exactly 15 because of the high casualty rate. Both for-
aMIZ[[QVKMPMJZI^ML\PMZMQV6M_AWZS mally and informally, the battles profoundly
when the city was hit by the deadliest ter- IMK\ML\PM_Ia[)UMZQKIVNWZKM[_W]TL
rorist attack in history. OP\\PZW]OPW]\\PMZM[\WN\PM_IZ1\^ITQ-
On 9/11 Rick died doing what he did best: LI\ML\PMKWVKMX\WNIQZI[[I]T\\ZIV[XWZ\-
rallying the troopsthe employees of Mor- QVO\ZWWX[\W\PMJI\\TMMTLQVPMTQKWX\MZ[
OIV;\IVTMa,MIV?Q\\MZI\\PM?WZTL<ZILM which then became the overarching Ameri-
Center. When Tower Two collapsed around can tactical concept for the use of infantry
PQUI\!"!IUUQV]\M[IN\MZ\PMZ[\ in Vietnam.
XTIVMM_QV\W\PM<_QV<W_MZ[:QKSPMIL The dual battles at Ia Drang were immor-
PHOTO BY ROGER HART/COLUMBUS LEDGER-ENQUIRER/MCT VIA GETTY IMAGES

WN[MK]ZQ\aI\\PMTIZOM[\VIVKQITQV[\Q\]\QWV talized by General Moore and my friend jour-


in the building, had already sped the evacu- nalist Joe Galloway, who was on the ground
ation of more than 2,000 employees. Only from day one, in their 1992 book We Were
three had not safely exited, and he was going ;WTLQMZ[7VKMIVLAW]VO which become a
A soldier once back in to get them. 6M_AWZS<QUM[ bestseller. On the books
A statue in front <PW][IVL[WNKQ^QTQIV[QV6M_AWZSTQ^ML cover is a photo of Rick taken by Associated
of the National because of Rick, just as soldiers in Ia Drang Press journalist Peter Arnett, who also cov-
Infantry Museum lived because of him. Rick was in Vietnam at ered the battle.
at Fort Benning the beginning of combat operations in 1965,
in Georgia honors R][\I[PM_I[QV6M_AWZSI\\PM[\IZ\WN Rescorla, born in Hayle, Cornwall, En-
Rick Rescorla. another war in 2001. The children of those gland, served in the British Army, then
The statue was saved by Rick will pass the story on to their became a member of the Rhodesian paramil-
dedicated on own children, and Ricks memory will be Q\IZaXWTQKMIVLTI\MZRWQVML\PM=;)ZUa\W
April 1, 2006. preserved. PMTXOP\\PM+WUU]VQ[\[QV;W]\PMI[\)[QI

OCTOBER 2016 23
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ZW]VL[QV\W\PMKT]UX[WNJWLQM[VMIZM[\\PMQZPWTM[)\ NIKM<PMJ]OTMKIV[\QTTJM[MMVI\\PMQVNIV\ZaU][M]U
\PMaKWUUMVKMLIUILUQV]\MWNZQVO=T\Q I\.WZ\*MVVQVO
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TMVKMLJI\\TMMTLXWTQKQVO]X\PMIZMI)N\MZ W_V [QbM KWUXIVa KWUUIVLMZ +IX\IQV
PQ[UMVTMN\\PMXMZQUM\MZ\PMaKIUM]VLMZ When 5aZWV,QL]ZaSIXXZWIKPML\PMTQM]\MVIV\
PMI^aUIKPQVMO]VZMIVL:M[KWZTIOI^M Rescorlas men IVLI[SMLPQUVW\\WTLI[SMLQNPM_W]TL
\PMKWUUIVL.Q`JIaWVM\[ )ZVM\\R][\ UQVLQN\PMMV\QZMKWUXIVaILWX\ML\PM
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\ITQWV_PQKPPILIZZQ^MLWVNWW\JMOIVI the command
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JIVaNWZIPMTQKWX\MZXQKS]X7V\PMUIZKP [KZQJM\PMTQNMWN:QKS:M[KWZTI<PMUMV
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:QKS[XTI\WWV_I[IOIQVLMXTWaMLQVZMTQMN:QKS\PM[WTM UW[\TaSVM_PQUNWZWVTaIaMIZIVL\PMVLQLVW\[MM
ZMUIQVQVOWKMZXTI\WWVTMILMZQV*ZI^W+WUXIVaTML PQUNWZLMKILM[<PW[M_PWSVM_PQUTWVOMZWMZIPW[\

OPPOSITE TOP: LAPERRUQUE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; BOTTOM: AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW


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PQ\][_Q\PM^MZa\PQVO\PMaOW\\WVQOP\_MTT_QXM\PMU ^IVKQVO\WKWTWVMTJMNWZMPMZM\QZMLQV!!)TWVO\PM
]X/_QV_ZW\M0Q[[XQZQ\_I[KI\KPQVO<PM\ZWWX[ _Ia:QKSXQKSML]XIUI[\MZ[LMOZMMIVLITI_LMOZMM
_MZMKPMMZQVOI[MIKPTWILKIUMQVIVL_MZMITTaZIQ[ML 1V! PM\WWSIKWZXWZI\M[MK]ZQ\aXW[Q\QWV_Q\P
IZIKSM\<PMMVMUaU][\PI^M\PW]OP\\PI\IVMV\QZM ,MIV?Q\\MZ

24 VIETNAM
Sept. 11, 2001 At the Ia Drang reunion in 96, I had mostly tried to
The South Tower of the keep my mouth shut and let the veterans of combat talk
World Trade Center to each other. But Rick was having none of that. Drawing
(Tower 2), where Rescorla me out, he learned of my own inclinations: history, aca-
worked, crumbles after demia, writing, even acting, all very nontraditional for
the 9/11 terrorist strike. your standard airborne infantry Ranger. As one who
aspired to someday become a historian, I sat and had a
good scotch while he told me his stories, which I was
writing down in an untutored oral-history kind of way.
Later, I asked him to inscribe my copy of We Were Sol-
diers Onceand Young.
Rick ordered a fresh glass of single-malt scotch, took
my book, borrowed my pen and walked over to the other
side of the room where he sat, facing away, seemingly
looking into the distancethough the distance was a
wall just a few feet away.
The secret to Ricks successes, in battle and in life,
was his instinctive ability to be a leader. And like the
best leaders, it was not because of any military rank he
ever wore, in the British Army, the Rhodesian paramil-
itary police or the U.S. Army. He was a leader because
he understood men. He knew, in his bones, what some
who reach far higher ranks never do learn.
What he knew is simple: When things drop in the pot,
when lives are at stake and the danger is real, people
want to believe that the one they are following is some-
thing more than they are themselves. Smarter. Stronger.
Not as afraid as they are at that moment. Rick, adept at
suppressing his own fear when it mattered, inspired
other men to greatness. When he entered the mael-
strom, his people followed.
Rising casualties
A Marine cares
After terrorist hijackersM_IXTIVMQV\W<W_MZ
One of the World Trade Center on 9/11, Rickfor wasa wounded
told by
comrade on Hill
the Port Authority of New York and New881 Jersey, which
North in May
managed the towers, to shelter in place. Rick replied,
1967 after a North
Bugger that! (a very, veryvery impolite term attack.
Vietnamese when
used by a Brit) and initiated an evacuation of his entire
company. In other places chaos reigned, but not where
Rick was in command.
Rick had been training employees for such an attack
since 1993, when a truck bomb exploded in the struc-
tures basement. Even before then, Rick had realized the
buildings allure as a target for terrorists. In 1990, he
PILIZZIVOMLIUMM\QVO_Q\PI[MK]ZQ\aWKQITI\\PM
port authority to discuss the buildings vulnerability, but
the authority didnt take any action, according to a New
Yorker story in 2002.
In the 1993 attack, Rick safely evacuated all of his
companys employees from the building. He immediately
began pushing to beef up security at Dean Witter, which
merged with Morgan Stanley in 1997. He recommended
fail-safe lighting and smoke extractors and made sure
that they were installed in the emergency stairwells.
Marking the
Employees had to go through regular evacuation spot
drills,
Marines lay down
in an orderly and organized way. Rick got that much
smoke to guide
past corporate. airstrikes near Khe
The bad omen Sanh in February
1V:QKS[WKM_I[WV\PM\PWWZ0Q[KWU-
After the 1993 bombing at the World Trade 1967 and then
XIVaPILUWZM\PIVMUXTWaMM[WVWWZ[IVL
Center, Rescorla prepared for another. as always, Rick felt responsible for each onescurry for cover.
of them. Two

OCTOBER 2016 25
Poet and romantic
The warrior shows his soft side
at a sculpture garden near his
home in New Jersey.

2,684 employees saved.


That number doesnt include
the thousands of others
who made it down those stairwells
because Rick coordinated a
militarylike evacuation
of his people.

BRIAN WALKER

26 VIETNAM
by two, just as he had trained them, gave the assembled cadets his wis- I look back on the Ia Drang re-
the employees of Dean Witter Mor- dom about war. These cadets, who ]VQWVWN!!_PMV1Z[\UM\:QKS
gan Stanley exited down the stair- would be lieutenants, then captains, and he autographed my copy of We
wells. then majors, soaked it up. Rick and Were Soldiers Onceand Young. He
Here is a number: 2,684. That was Susan were sitting in the front row. returned the book to me after sev-
the number of employees that Rick I had not realized, until Rick ex- MZITUQV]\M[WNZMMK\QWV#\PM[KW\KP
successfully evacuated. That does plained to me later, that Susan knew he had poured was mostly gone.
not include the thousands of others little of his military story at the Later, discreetly, I looked at the
who made it down those stairwells time. They had met only a few years inscription:
because Rick coordinated a profes- earlier. Both divorcees, they found To: Captain Bob Bateman
sional, disciplined and militarylike something in each other that Old Dogs and Wild Geese
evacuation of his people. Those addi- worked and had married just a year are Fighting
tional numbers will never be known. before. And since Rick had retired Head for the Storm
But Rick knew that three employ- from the Army Reserves in 1990, As you faced it Before
ees were unaccounted for and he there really was no reason for him For where there is the Seventh
went back in for them. Rick was last to say much about that part of his Theres Bound to be Fighting
[MMVWV\PM\PWWZPMILQVO]X past. So he never did. And when theres no Fighting
He would leave nobody behind. He never mentioned the bestsell- Its the Seventh no More
ing book, the Peter Arnett photo, the
The last time I saw Rick was ear- movie. To Susan, her Rick was the Best Regards,
lier in 2001, when I was teaching mil- head of security at a major invest- Rick Rescorla, Hard Corps One-Six
itary history at West Point. General ment thingamabob. He had a soul
Moore had been invited to address with a sense of humor miles deep. A poet, as always. And as always,
the cadets in the military history Soldier? No, that was just something much more. After Ricks death, his
courses, and the department turned he once did sort of casually. memory inspired me to compose an
to me for advice on what to give him Susan wondered why this West ode of my own for him:
as a memento. They knew Moore was Point event was such a big deal. In
writing the introduction to my next addition to the thousand cadets, the So after you read this
book and that he was the honorary faculty had come out in force, and Get your canteen cup
colonel of my regiment. What do you the crowd far exceeded the seating )VLTTQ\_Q\PUMILWZ[KW\KP
give the man who has everything? room of the capacious auditorium. or rotgut
I knew that Rick lived in New Jer- Moore talked about war. Not nice Then pour it right out,
sey and worked in Manhattan, about platitudes, but the dirty bits that we  WV\PMOZW]VLWV\PMWWZ
50 miles from West Point. I also usually dont talk about. How to take For the heart of the Seventh
knew that Rick was a rare attendee normal, decent, young American Rescorlas no more
at the regiments reunions, which boys into hell, and then out of it, Garry Owen
are held every year. alive. Moore never did mince
He came to see friends, but he his words.
was really fairly reluctant to drop At the end of his address, Moore
into the old soldier mode and retell said something that stunned Susan:
stories long rehashed. He had only And now I want to introduce you to
seen Moore a few times since Viet- the best combat leader I ever saw,
nam. I knew this, and I knew Rick Rick Rescorla, Hard Corps One-Six,
PILJMMVOP\QVOKIVKMZ1OW\WV\PM 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry.
phone and invited Rick and his new The foundations shook as the ca-
wife, Susan, to West Point for LM\[IVL\PMWKMZ[IVLM^MZa[QV-
OPPOSITE: COURTESY SUSAN RESCORLA; RIGHT: REX FEATURES VIA AP IMAGES

Moores address to the cadets. gle person who could cram into
When the day arrived, we planned Eisenhower Hall that night leapt to
a small dinner, just 12 people or so, their feet in the sort of applause that
on post at the Hotel Thayer, before makes thunderous an entirely in-
the West Point ceremony. When Rick adequate word. Rick stood up.
and Susan came in, which was a sur- He just gave a short wave and sat
prise to Moore, I watched as confu- down again.
Susan was awestruck. That was
Hometown hero
[QWVZMKWOVQ\QWVIVLRWaI[PMLQV
her Rick. Her goofball. Her poet and
Susan Rescorla next
quick succession across the generals
romantic. Always surprising.
to a memorial to
face. Later, at the ceremony, Moore
Rick in Cornwall,
:WJMZ\*I\MUIV[MZ^MLaMIZ[I[IZMO]TIZ)ZUaQVNIV\ZaWKMZ0M_I[
England.
a professor of history at West Point and at Georgetown and George Mason
universities. Bateman is a longstanding contributor to Vietnam magazine.

OCTOBER 2016 27
Explosive situation
A diorama at the U.S.
Naval Academy
UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY

illustrates the exploits


of Marine Captain
John Ripley, who
placed explosives
under the Dong Ha
Bridge to stop a
North Vietnamese
tank battalion.

28 VIETNAM
Somehow Blow
the Bridge
U.S. Marine advisers undertake a herculean task to stem
the onrushing tide of the North Vietnamese Army
By David Sears

OCTOBER 2016 29
High praise
Corporal Chuck Goggin
called Ripley the best
skipper in the Corps.

One mans mission


When enemy tanks
moved toward the
Dong Ha Bridge on
Easter Sunday 1972,
Ripley was ordered
to take it down.

17TH PARALLEL

NO RTH V IE T NA M
GIO
L AOS

DEMILITARIZED BEN HAI LINH


RIVER
ZONE
CON THIEN CUA VIET
RIVER
DONG HA
BRIDGE
CAM LO DONG HA

9
DONG CAMP CARROLL 1
HA AI TU

SOUTH MAI LOC QUANG TRI


VIETNAM KHE SANH
COMBAT CA LU
BASE
M arine Corporal Chuck Goggin, 1st
Platoon radio operator for Lima Company, was stunned
by the transmission he received on March 2, 1967, from
2nd Platoons reconnaissance patrol: You wouldnt be-
lieve what weve got here.Theres 500 to 1,000 packs
now occupied by South Vietnamese troops from the 3rd
Division, Army of the Republic of Vietnam.
In Mai Loc, a South Vietnamese artillery base south
of Camp Carroll, U.S. Marine Major Tom Gnibus was
looking west at twilight on March 28 when he spotted a
on the ground. Goggin thought, If theres 500 to 1,000 small helicopter that dropped down and deposited four
packs on the ground, where are the 500 to 1,000 enemy people. Gnibus, who was at the base as a co-van (trusted
they belong to? adviser in Vietnamese) to the Vietnamese 12th Marine
Lima Company, of the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Reg- Artillery Battalion, was concerned that the helicopter
iment, 3rd Marine Division, was on a search-and-destroy team might be NVA soldiers. He alerted the tactical op-
mission in South Vietnams Quang Tri province, which erations center at Ai Tu, near Quang Tri. His suspicions
bordered the Demilitarized Zone separating the two _MZMKWVZUML\PMVM`\LIa1PMIZL\PQ[JWWUNZWU
Vietnams. The Marines were operating in territory the west, Gnibus said. I yelled, Incoming! and looked
dubbed Leatherneck Square54 square miles of at my watch. It was 12:15 p.m.
coastal plain and mountainous jungle with the northern By then, longer-range projectiles were hitting Dong
corners at Con Thien and Gio Linh, along the DMZ, and Ha, at the intersection of Route 9, the Cua Viet River and
the southern corners at Dong Ha and Cam Lo, towns on Highway 1, Vietnams primary north-south coastal ar-
east-west Highway 9. tery. The Seabees, Navy construction crews, had built a
The North Vietnamese Army was also in the area, in- two-lane steel and concrete bridge with a wood roadbed
tent on breaking through Leatherneck Square and tak- across the Cua Viet at Dong Ha.
ing Quang Tri City to the south. After the 2nd Platoon <PMJZQLOMO]ZMLXZWUQVMV\TaQV0IVWQ[XTIV[NWZ
recon units transmission, Lima Company Captain John \PMVM_WMV[Q^MQ\_I[TI]VKPQVO\W\ISMKWV\ZWTWN
Ripley left his base camp near Cam Lo with the balance South Vietnam.
of 2nd Platoon and headed to the recon patrols position.
The 2nd Platoon came under attack, but was soon joined March 30. On the Thursday before Easter, two NVA
by 1st Platoon and a squad from 3rd Platoon. divisions supported by Soviet tanks and artillery
Lima Company had trespassed into a regimental base crossed the DMZ at noon in the initial ground thrusts of
camp full of NVA troops. There were over 1,500 of IVWMV[Q^M\PI\_W]TLUW^M\ZWWX[QV\WITTZMOQWV[WN
them200 of us, Goggin estimates. South Vietnam during the coming weeks as part of Op-
In a ferocious battle that extended until nightfall, Rip- eration Nguyen Hue, named to honor the emperor who
leys Marines, helped by airstrikes and artillery from united Vietnam in 1788. The NVA wanted the Dong Ha
nearby Camp Carroll, held their ground, even though Bridge as a conduit for tanks and tracked vehicles on
only a fraction of Limas men ended the day unscarred. their way to take Quang Tri.
)[]Z^MQTTIVKMQOP\\PMVM`\LIaZM^MITMLIV6>)KWT- In the evening of the NVA ground attacks, called the
umn moving north, carrying many wounded. -I[\MZ7MV[Q^MJa)UMZQKIV[\PM;W]\P>QM\VIUM[M
Goggin was impressed by Ripleys command of the marines 3rd Infantry Battalion, Brigade 258, stationed
JI\\TMMTL1_I[ZUTaKWV^QVKML_MPIL\PMJM[\[SQX- 10 miles south of Quang Tri City, was ordered to move
per in the Corps, he said. Ripley, a 28-year-old former VWZ\P\W_IZL,WVO0I<PMZL*I\\ITQWVUIZQVM[Z[\
MVTQ[\ML5IZQVM_PWMIZVMLIVWKMZ[KWUUQ[[QWVI\ rate troopssported shoulder patches identifying them
OPPOSITE TOP: COURTESY RIPLEY FAMILY (2); MAP: BRIAN WALKER

the U.S. Naval Academy, led from the front and was as the Soi Bien, Wolves of the Sea.
right there with usand kept his cool. A newspaper Captain Ripley, now 32, was co-van to Major Le Ba
account of the battle carried the headline, Ripleys Binh, the Soi Biens young but much-decorated battalion
Raiders Rout NVA Force. commander.
The Marines had blocked the NVAs attempt to take The Marine advisers in Vietnam were under the oper-
9]IVO<ZQIVL^MaMIZ[TI\MZ:QXTMa_W]TLJMKITTML ational control of the Marine Advisory Unit. The assis-
upon to do it again. tant senior adviser for the unit, 41-year-old Lt. Col.
Gerald H. Turley, had recently arrived in Vietnam for
March 28-29, 1972. Soviet-made rockets and artil- his second tour. He was paying a courtesy visit to the
lery pounded former Leatherneck Square outposts ARVN 3rd Division headquarters in Ai Tu when a mas-
Alpha 2, near Gio Linh, and Alpha 4, near Con Thien, sive artillery attack hit at noon, he remembered. We

OCTOBER 2016 31
Artillery salvo
A U.S. Army
KZM_ZM[I
UUO]VI\
+IUX+IZZWTTQV
June 1967.

The aftermath
;W]\P>QM\VIUM[M
\ZWWX[KPMKSW]\
,WVO0I[LIUIOM
NZWUMVMUaIZ\QTTMZa
QV)XZQT!

Spoils of war
;W]\P>QM\VIUM[MUIZQVM[[PW_
WI6WZ\P>QM\VIUM[MIO\ISMV
I\,WVO0IWV)XZQT

Defensive maneuvers
;W]\P>QM\VIUM[M\IVS[IVL
IZ\QTTMZaIZMXW[Q\QWVMLVMIZ
,WVO0IWV)XZQT

32 V 1I -
> E<T6
N)A5
M
were completely surprised. arranged a medevac, but it came too late. Doc William-
Turley learned that the North son handed me Bruggermans tags, Eisenstein said.
Vietnamese bombardment had About 7 p.m., Colonel Murdoch again approached Tur-
caught two ARVN regiments, TMa5]ZLWKPIVLPQ[M`MK]\Q^MWKMZ_MZMTMI^QVONWZ
the 56th and 2nd, out in the Quang Tri City, where the ARVN 3rd Division com-
open. The regiments were si- mander was relocating his headquarters to get out of
multaneouslyand inexplica- NVA artillery range. Turley was to take charge at Ai Tu.
blyswapping positions at Putting an open cigarette pack in Turleys hand, Mur-
frontline bases: Firebase Charlie doch said, Good luck.
2 (north of Cam Lo) and Camp
Carroll (south of Cam Lo.) The April 2, Easter Sunday. At 8:54 a.m., Turley learned
two regiments became entan- that enemy tanks had been sighted at Alpha 2. But good
gled on a two-lane highway, and news arrived when Vietnamese Marine Brigade 258
both were badly mauled before commander Colonel Ngo Van Dinh, who was in the oper-
the 2nd Regiment reached ations center, committed Major Binhs 3rd Battalion Soi
Charlie 2 and the 56th got to Bien marines to hold Dong Ha. Binhs infantry would join
Camp Carroll. with the ARVN 20th Tank Battalion, now rumbling to-
ward Dong Ha.
March 31, Good Friday. Early Then, at 10:15 a.m., Ripley radioed the Ai Tu opera-
in the evening Colonel Fred Mur- \QWV[KMV\MZ4WWSQVOW]\NZWUIPQTTR][\W:W]\M!\PM
doch, Army Advisory Team Marine captain and Army Major James Smock, the co-
commander and chief adviser for the ARVN 3rd Division, van for the 20th Tank Battalion, saw 20 NVA tanks
X]TTML<]ZTMaI[QLMIVLKWVLML\PI\\PM)ZUaKWTWVMT heading for Dong Ha Bridge.
[MZ^QVOI[\PM[\IWKMZNWZWXMZI\QWV[_PWPILVM^MZ I ordered Ripley to go forward and somehow blow the
been in combat, has declared himself combat fatigued bridge, Turley said.
and is being evacuated. A 45-minute NVA pre-assault artillery bombard-
5]ZLWKP\WTL<]ZTMa\W\ISMW^MZ\PMWXMZI\QWV[W- mentin Ripleys estimation easily the most destruc-
cer position for a couple of hours and assured him, Ill tive attack I had witnessedpounded Dong Ha. As the
have somebody relieve you. dust settled, rumors spread that NVA tanks were al-
ready across the bridge. Retreating ARVN soldiers and
CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE TOP LEFT: UNDERWOOD ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES; AP PHOTO/JACQUES TONNAIRE; AP PHOTO/KOICHIRO MORITA; AP PHOTO/JACQUES TONNAIRE

April 1, Holy Saturday. During the predawn hours, civilians mobbed Highway 1.
MQOP\ZMJI[M[ITWVO\PMW]\MZUW[\KZM[KMV\WNVWZ\PMZV Coordinating with Lieutenant Eisenstein in the Ai Tu
Quang Tris defenses wobbled or fell. The plight of one, operations center, Ripley called for continuous danger
Alpha 2 near Gio Linh, was Turleys pressing concern. KTW[MVI^ITO]VZMWV\PMNIZ[QLMWN\PM+]I>QM\:Q^MZ
The base, close to Highway 1 and directly north of Dong <PMVI[\PM):>6JI\\ITQWV[\IVS[ZMLKZW[[ZQ^MZI\
Ha, came under siege around noon on Friday and was the NVA tanks and Soi Bien marines lined the southern
\MM\MZQVO)^MUIV=;5IZQVMNWZ_IZLWJ[MZ^MZ\MIU bank, Ripley and Smock pushed their way through the
from the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, MMQVO\QLMWN):>6\ZWWX[IVLKQ^QTQIV[\WZMIKP\PM
ANGLICO for short, was trapped at Alpha 2. Dong Ha Bridge.
At 11:30 a.m., Marine 1st Lt. Joel Eisenstein, sta- When they got to the bridges abutment, they found
tioned at the Ai Tu operations center, appealed to Turley ARVN engineers there. The engineers had positioned
for permission to evacuate the ANGLICO Marines. You 500 pounds of TNT and plastic explosives and had even
can have a helicopter, Turley said, and you can go. begun placing charges along the steel I-beam girders.
,]ZQVOITM\]XQV\PMZMI\)Q<]IV)ZUaPMTQKWX\MZ But Ripley noticed that the work had been done incor-
came in, followed by Cobra helicopter gunships that would rectly. The explosives needed to be reset so the bridge
serve as escorts. En route Eisenstein radioed 1st Lt. span would warp and crumble with the blast. The ARVN
David Bruggerman, the ANGLICO leader at Alpha 2, to MVOQVMMZ[PW_M^MZPILML[PWZ\TaIN\MZ:QXTMaIVL
alert him, and simultaneously arranged supporting gun- Smock arrived. The two Americans would have to reset
ZMNZWU\_W6I^aLM[\ZWaMZ[W[PWZM)[\PMPMTQKWX\MZ[ the explosives themselves.
got close to Alpha 2 and became visible to the enemy, NVA A high chain-link fence topped by razor tape blocked
NWZKM[WXMVMLZMIVL\PM+WJZI[JMOIV[\ZIVO\PMU the bridge undercarriage. Ripley shouldered C4 plastic
As his helicopter touched down, Eisenstein raced to explosives and cleared the fence to reach the I-beam
the ANGLICO team. Bruggerman was woundeda girders. He sliced his back and legs as he skimmed his
round to the back of the head, he said. Three enlisted lean frame past the razor tape. Meanwhile, Smock
men from the team were accounted for, but a fourth was hoisted crates of TNT over the fence. After placing the
missing. Eisenstein conducted a frantic, fruitless search C4, Ripley grabbed a crate and shoved it along the chan-
and then went back to the helicopter. nel between a pair of girders.
As the helicopter rose, I held onto Bruggerman with Bleeding now, he began hand-walking out over the
one hand, the helo with the other. Blood all over, Eisen- ZQ^MZKTQVOQVOJaPQ[VOMZ[\W\PMOQZLMZIVOM[0M
stein recalled. Back at Ai Tu, corpsman Tom Williamson dangled in plain view of the NVA, but remarkably, in-

OCTOBER 2016 33
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I_Ia3VW_QVO\PMN][M[UQOP\[X]\\MZW]\:QXTMaZM IVL*ZW_V_W]TLPI^MNW]VLVW[INMPI^MV<PM\ZWWX[
\]ZVML\W\PMJZQLOM]VLMZKIZZQIOM0MQV[\ITTML\PM \PMZM/VQJ][[IQLPIL[PW\W]\ITT\PMIUU]VQ\QWV
MTMK\ZWVQKKIX[IVLKWVVMK\ML\PMQZTMIL[\WIKWUU] IVLKW]TLV\JZQVOQVIVaUWZM/VQJ][\PMW\PMZKW
VQKI\QWV[_QZM:QXTMaIVL;UWKS\PMVZIKMLNWZKW^MZ ^IV[IVL\PMJI\\MZMLZMUVIV\[WN5IQ4WK[>QM\VIU
I[*QVP[;WQ*QMVTIQLLW_VXZW\MK\Q^MNQZM;PW]\[ M[MUIZQVMJI\\ITQWV[XTW\\MLIJZMISW]\MI[\NZWU\PM
XZWXMTTML\PMU\PZW]OPIPIQTWNJ]TTM\[",IQ]a,IQ KZI\MZMLTIVL[KIXM
]aLMMLI]LMMLI] +IX\IQVKIX\IQVUW^MaW]Z 1ZWVQKITTa5IQ4WK[QUUQVMV\LW_VNITTKWV\ZQJ]\ML
I[[Z]VZ]V \W\PMZM[K]MWN+IUXMZIVL*ZW_V)V)ZUa+0
+PQVWWSZM[]XXTaPMTQKWX\MZJW]VLNWZ5IQ4WK_I[
As Ripley, SmockIVL\PM;WQ*QMVLMMLLMI\PI\ [MV\WV\W+IUX+IZZWTTJa<]ZTMa[[\II\)Q<]
,WVO0I\W[\WX\PMMVMUaIL^IVKM4\+WT8PIU>IV +IUXMZZILQWML+0XQTW\+IX\IQV0IZZa4<PIQV
,QVPKWUUIVLMZWN\PMLMKQUI\MLIVLLMUWZITQbML ?MZMR][\W]\[QLM\PMXMZQUM\MZJa\PMPMTQKWX\MZXIL
\P:MOQUMV\I\+IUX+IZZWTT_I[[MKZM\TaZILQWQVO <PM+0MUMZOMLW^MZI[UITTPQTTIVL\_W+WJZIM[
\PM6>)\WVMOW\QI\M[]ZZMVLMZ,QVPIXXZWIKPMLPQ[ KWZ\[[QTMVKML\PMMVMUaZMI[\PM\_W):>6ZILQW
)ZUaKW^IV[4\+WT?QTTQIU+IUXMZIVL5IRWZ2WM WXMZI\WZ[IVL*ZW_VKTQUJMLIJWIZL+IUXMZUMIV
*ZW_VI\XU\WJZMIS\PMVM_[ _PQTM\PZM_W):>6LM[MZ\MZ[\ZaQVO\WOM\IZQLMW]\
+IUXMZ_I[[PWKSML"1\WTL,QVP2WMIVL1IZMV\ 1SQVLWN_MV\JMZ[MZSPM[IQL<PMJQO+PQVWWSTQN\ML
[]ZZMVLMZQVO,QVPWNNMZML\_WIT\MZVI\Q^M[\W\PM W\QT\MLIVLM[KIXMLMI[\
)UMZQKIV[?MKW]TLPQLMQV\PMOZI[[IVLKZI_TW]\
IN\MZ \PM []ZZMVLMZWZ _M KW]TL KWUUQ\ []QKQLM Ripley and Smock_MZMP]LLTMLQVI[UITTJ]VSMZ
+IUXMZZMUMUJMZML1\PW]OP\1_W]TLR][\SQTTPQU [M\JIKSNZWU\PMJZQLOM:QXTMaPIL[\ZQXXMLQV[]TI
\PMV*]\1KW]TLV\LW\PI\ \QWV NZWU \PM MVL WN \PM KWUU]VQKI\QWV[ TQVM IVL

Its their tank now


)6WZ\P>QM\VIUM[M<
\IVSQ[LZQ^MVJa;W]\P
>QM\VIUM[M\ZWWX[
_PWKIX\]ZMLQ\

Enemy casualty
)6WZ\P>QM\VIUM[M
[WTLQMZ_PW[M]VQ\UW^ML
QV\W,WVO0ITQM[LMILI[I
;W]\P>QM\VIUM[M[WTLQMZ
_ITS[JaWV)XZQT!

34 VIETNAM
The bridge drops
Fires spread across
the Dong Ha Bridge
after Ripleys well-
placed TNT exploded.

needed a power source to trigger the blast. He spotted questioning his authority for the decisions he had made,
an upended jeep near the crest of a hill. Flames licked including demolition of the bridge. Turley produced
around its engine, but they werent yet close to the gas documentation of the authorizations received from Mur-
tank. The jeeps key was in the ignition, set in the on dochand proof of what had been accomplishedand
position, and the front seat was knocked forward, ex- then returned to Ai Tu.
posing the battery. As the Dong Ha Bridge exploded, Camper and Brown
Dropping to all fours, Ripley made his way over to the were most likely farther south on Highway 1. The CH-47
jeep. The surrounding heat was intense, but he managed ZM[K]MPMTWQ\[PaLZI]TQK[LIUIOMLJa[UITTIZU[ZM
to wrap the communication lines copper wire around had deposited them there, leaving the Army co-vans to
the batterys positive terminal. Bracing himself, Ripley OP\\PMQZ_IaW]\WNIVIUJ][P\WZMIKP)Q<]
carefully touched the silver wire to the negative termi- Gnibus, at Mai Loc, too far away to hear the blast, was
nal. Nothing happened. He scraped rust and sodium busy preparing for the breakout. At 6 p.m. the garrison
crust from the battery terminals, reattached the copper began a grueling 24-hour forced march to Ai Tu through
wire and touched the silver wire again. I tried a second, rain-soaked, pitch-black jungle.
third time, he said later. I switched the wires, scraped
OPPOSITE FAR LEFT AND LEFT: AP PHOTO/KOICHIRO MORITA; AP PHOTO/RICHARD BLYSTONE; TOP: AP PHOTO

the terminalsstill nothing. The co-vans Easter stand in Quang Tri blunted but
-`KMX\NWZ[UITTIZU[ZMIVL\PMWKKI[QWVITM`XTW- could not block the tide of Operation Nguyen Hue. The
sion of an artillery round, Dong Ha went eerily quiet. destruction of Dong Ha Bridge forced the NVAs tanks
Across the river NVA tanks throttled to life. When west to a bridge near Cam Lo. This bought time and, with
heavier artillery resumed, they would cross the bridge. improving weather, the chance to bring massive Amer-
<PMJTI[\[[PWKS_I^MKIUMZ[\ ican airpower to bear. It also allowed an ordered U.S.
When the noise arrived, it grew ever louder in a series withdrawal from Ai Tu to Quang Tri City on April 30 and
of explosions. Debris chunks rose hundreds of feet be- thence to Hue and a mid-May stalemate.
fore thudding onto streets and clattering against tin Years later Ripley, who died in 2008, shared his
roofs. The slow-burning fuses had done their job after thoughts of that Easter Sunday with sons Steve and Tom,
all. The bridges near span had fallen, leaving a 100-foot JW\P5IZQVMWKMZ[:MMK\QVOWVPQ[UQVL[M\]VLMZ\PM
gap between the south bank and the rest of the bridge. Dong Ha Bridge, Ripley might have been speaking for all
Along the south bank, Major Binhs Soi Bien waved the Army and Marine front-line advisers, when he told
their helmets as though the war were over. Ripley called PQ[[WV["1O]ZML1_I[V\OWQVO\W[]Z^Q^M:MITQbQVO
the Ai Tu operations center: The bridge is down. I say \PI\1QV[\IV\TaJMKIUMUWZMMMK\Q^MV
again, the bridge is down. They wont cross at Dong Ha.
Colonel Turley was at Ai Tu when the Dong Ha Bridge David Sears is a Vietnam veteran who has written for
NMTTI\"XU<PMVM`\LIaPMM_\W;IQOWV_PMZM Vietnam magazine and HistoryNet publications MHQ,
Army, Navy and Marine brass called him on the carpet, World War II and Aviation History.

OCTOBER 2016 35
Singing their song
Ann-Margret entertains
troops at Da Nang on
March 13, 1966.

ITS SHOWTIME,
VIETNAM STYLE
They were some of the biggest names in
movies and music in the 1960s and 70s.
And they went to Vietnam to entertain
Americas armed forces. Many were in Bob
Hopes Christmas shows. Some sang and
LIVKML_Q\PW\PMZ=;7\W]Z[I\LQMZMV\
\QUM[WN\PMaMIZ<PM=;7WMZMLUWZM
than 5,000 performances during the war.
<PMMMK\WN\PW[M[PW_[WV\PM\ZWWX[Q[
shown in a letter posted on Ann-Margrets
website. A sailor who saw her perform on
the USS Kitty Hawk in 1966 wrote: You
made us all feel appreciated and your
warmth and real concern is remembered
as a high point of that cruise. V

In the spotlight
At a nighttime
performance on
March 14, 1966,
Ann-Margret sings
a softer tune.

PHOTOQUEST/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT: BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES OCTOBER 2016 37


Seeing stars
Clockwise from top: Roy Rogers and Dale Evans in
1966, Sammy Davis Jr. in 1972, Phyllis Diller in
1967, Connie Stevens in 1969, Nancy Sinatra in 1967,
Martha Raye in 1967, John Wayne in 1966

38 VIETNAM
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: PHOTOQUEST/GETTY IMAGES; USO PHOTO;
AP PHOTO; AP PHOTO/HORST FAAS; BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES (3)
40 VIETNAM
Crowd pleasers
Clockwise from left: Raquel Welch in 1967, twins Terrie
and Jennie Frankel with Sara Sue in 1968, Lola Falana in
1970, Mary Martin in 1965, Anita Bryant in 1965,
Kathleen Nolan in 1965

CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE TOP LEFT: BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES; TWINS OF SEDONA;


BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES (3); INTERIM ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES
Hauling it
A truck convoy of the
64th Transportation
Company thunders
through the Central
Highlands of South
Vietnam.
42 VIETNAM
Two Million
Miles of
Bad Road
Long-haul trucking on Vietnams treacherous Highway 19

By John Horvath

In the spring of 1966 my U.S. Army transportation truck


company learned that our tractors and trailers would be
leaving Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and going to Vietnam for
long-haul trucking duties. We knew, of course, that we could
run into the enemy, but we never imagined that we would be
driving pothole-strewn roads shared with wild Vietnamese
drivers. I saw accidents of all kinds when I was organizing
convoys as an Army captain commanding the 64th Transpor-
tation Company. In one especially tragic incident, an Army
truck driver was zigzagging left and right across the road
to miss potholes, and coming in the opposite direction, also
zigzagging to avoid potholes, was a fast-moving small Viet-
namese bus. The head-on collision killed eight passengers. In
COURTESY JOHN HORVATH

another accident, one of our drivers was crushed between


two vehicles in a trailer-transfer point and killed. And threats
of ambush added to the dangers that convoys had to face.
Bumper to bumper
Besides the daily
runs on Highway
19, truck convoys
traveled many
other bad roads,
including this one
near Hue in 1969.
The 64th Transportation Company departed for \WWV[MZOMIV\_W]TLJMQVIVW\PMZIZUMLRMMXI[UaI[-
Vietnam in July 1966. We moved out with our 60 5-ton [Q[\IV\KWV^WaKWUUIVLMZ)\aXQKITKWV^WaPILIJW]\
tractors, 120 12-ton trailers, 20 headquarters vehicles  _PMMTMZ[NZWUUaKWUXIVaIVLIJW]\NZWU
IVL WKMZ[IVLUMV<PMIL^IVKMXIZ\a_MV\Ja MIKPWN\PM\_WW\PMZ\Z]KSKWUXIVQM[QVW]ZJI\\ITQWV
air. Vehicles were shipped via the port of Charleston, 1ZMXWZ\MLI\\W\PMJI\\ITQWVWXMZI\QWV[\MV\
;W]\P+IZWTQVI7]ZUIQVJWLaM_JaIQZKPIZ\MZNZWU _PMZM\PM[MZOMIV\OI^MUMW]Z\ZIQTMZXQKS]XTWKI-
Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina to McCord Air \QWV[<PMLZQ^MZ[_WSM]XI\IVLI\MJZMISNI[\I\
.WZKM*I[MVMIZ;MI\\TM?M_MZM\PMV\ISMVJaJ][\W 0400 in our company mess hall. (Drivers were issued C
<IKWUI?I[PQVO\WV_PMZM_MJWIZLML\PM\ZWWX[PQX ZI\QWV[NWZ\PMVWWVUMIT)\1IVVW]VKML_PQKP
USNS General John Pope for 19 days at sea. drivers had to pick up trailers at various supply depots,
;WWVIN\MZ_MTMIZVML_M_MZMOWQVO\W>QM\VIU_M the Qui Nhon port or the local trailer-transfer point. We
_MZM\WTL\PI\W]Z\Z]KS\ZIK\WZ[_MZMV\OWQVO_Q\P][ _MZMV\IJTM\WX]\I[[Q[\IV\LZQ^MZ[WV\PM\Z]KS[JM-
[W_MX]\\PMQZJM[\\QZM[WVW]ZLMXTWaQVO\ZIQTMZ[2][\ KI][MUMV_MZMVMMLMLNWZO]IZL_WZSIVLW\PMZL]\QM[
I[_MVQ[PML\ZILQVO\PM\QZM[<IVS)]\WUW\Q^M+WU- )\W]Z\Z]KS\ZIK\WZLZQ^MZ[_Q\PTWILML\ZIQTMZ[
UIVL\WTL][\PI\_M_MZMOWQVO\W\ISMW]Z\ZIK\WZ[ I[[MUJTMLITWVO\PMZQOP\[QLMWN0QOP_Ia!IJW]\
_Q\P][AW]O]M[[MLQ\"?MZM\]ZVML\PMJM[\\QZM[\W UQTM[_M[\WN9]Q6PWVQV\PM+PI:IVO>ITTMa1OI^M
those tractors. W]ZW]\JW]VLJZQMVOI\IVL_MLMXIZ\MLI\
<PMGeneral John PopeLWKSMLI\9]Q6PWVIJW]\ <PMKWV^Wa[TMILLZQ^MZ_I[[WUMWVM_PW_W]TL
UQTM[[W]\PWN\PM,MUQTQ\IZQbMLBWVMJM\_MMV6WZ\P SMMXIZMI[WVIJTMXIKM)\\PM\IQTWN\PMKWV^Wa_I[I
IVL;W]\P>QM\VIUQV)]O][\\PMJMOQVVQVOWNW]Z UMKPIVQKLZQ^QVOI\Z]KS\ZIK\WZ_Q\PW]\I\ZIQTMZJ]\
UWV\P[QVKW]V\Za?M_MZMOZMM\MLJaUMUJMZ[WNW]Z KIZZaQVO[]XXTQM[NWZJZMISLW_V[0M_I[IKKWUXIVQML
IL^IVKMXIZ\aIVLJ][M[\WWS][\WW]ZKWUXIVaIZMI JaI[MKWVL\ZIK\WZZ]VVQVO_Q\PW]\I\ZIQTMZNWZ][MQV
IJW]\UQTM[QVTIVLWV0QOP_IaVMIZ\PM^QTTIOM X]TTQVOLW_VML^MPQKTM[
WN8P]<IQ?M_MZMI[[QOVML\W\PM\P<ZIV[XWZ\I- <PMI[[Q[\IV\KWV^WaKWUUIVLMZIVL1_MZMQVW]Z
tion Battalion, where we jeeps as our jeep drivers
joined two other tractor- The unbelievably potholed roads, wild maneuvered us up and
trailer companies, a 2- civilian trafc, high mileage, oppressive down the convoy, with
\WVKIZOW\Z]KSKWUXIVa one of us always at the
and a fuel tanker com-
heat, engine noise, choking dust, miserable \ZIQTQVOMVL7]ZKWV^Wa
pany. rain, treacherous mud and creeping fatigue procedures also called
Our primary convoy caused frequent accidents for 100 yards of space
route ran west from Qui JM\_MMV^MPQKTM[
6PWVWV0QOP_Ia!NWZUQTM[\W8TMQS]1V\PM By 0915 we would arrive at An Khe, home of the 1st
8TMQS]IZMI_MLZWXXMLWTWIL[I\\PM\P1VNIV\Za +I^ITZa,Q^Q[QWV)QZUWJQTM?Q\P\PM[TW_Z[\OMIZ
,Q^Q[QWVJI[MKIUXI\IV)QZ.WZKMJI[MIVLI\UIVa OZQVL]X\PM[\MMX_QVLQVO)V3PMXI[[IVLTI\MZIV-
LMXW\[?MPI]TMLI\JML\ZIQTMZ[TWILML_Q\PXZIK\Q- W\PMZOZQVL]X5IVOAIVOXI[[Q\][]ITTa\WWSIVPW]Z
KITTaIVa\PQVO\PI\KW]TLJMPMTLLW_VJa[\MMTJIVL[ for a convoy to reach the top of each pass.
QVKT]LQVOIUU]VQ\QWVKWV[\Z]K\QWVUI\MZQITKWUJI\ ?M_W]TLTQVM]X\PM\Z]KS[R][\JMaWVL)V3PM\W
rations and pallets of other items needed for U.S. forces T\MZW]\[\ZIa\ZIK[]KPI[KQ^QTQIVWZ;W]\P>QM\VIU-
WXMZI\QVOQV\PMUQLLTMWN>QM\VIU?MUILM\PM M[MIZUa^MPQKTM[\PI\PILOW\\MVUQ`MLQV_Q\P][W^MZ
UQTMZW]VL\ZQX\W8TMQS]IVLJIKSM^MZaLIa \PM\ZI^MTUQTM[NZWU9]Q6PWV<PM5QTQ\IZa8WTQKM
held the convoys there to create 15-minute intervals
I shared the daily convoy commander duties with JM\_MMVMIKPKWV^WaMVW]OPLQ[\IVKM\WXZM^MV\\_W
\PMKWUXIVa[WZQOQVIT\PZMMXTI\WWVTMILMZ[TI\MZ\_W KWV^Wa[NZWUJMQVOKI]OP\QV\PM[IUMIUJ][P
and then one. My commanders vehicle on the convoy <PMZM_MZM\MUXWZIZaWVM_Ia[\MMTJZQLOM[WV
_I[IV5RMMX_Q\PUW]V\MLO]VIVLIZILQW[M\1V \PMZW]\M<PMTWILMLW]\JW]VLKWV^Wa[PILXZQWZQ\aI\
\PMNITTWN!I[IXZMKI]\QWVQVKI[M_M_MZMPQ\Ja MIKPJZQLOM)\IJW]\!_M_MZMZMTMI[MLNZWU\PM
[UITTIZU[ZM1IZZIVOMLNWZ\PMQV[\ITTI\QWVWNNIK\WZa An Khe checkpoint.
Q[[]MLIZUWZXTI\QVOWVUaZILQWO]VRMMXUISQVOQ\\PM )\IJW]\_MPILLZQ^MVJMaWVL\PM5IVOAIVO
Z[\IZUWZMLM[KWZ\RMMXQV\PMIZMI XI[[IVLWV\W\PM+MV\ZIT0QOPTIVL[XTI\MI]IVLIZZQ^ML
We were allowed to name our vehicles on the armor I\ \PM 8TMQS] UIZ[PITQVO IZMI 7]Z LZQ^MZ[ _W]TL
XTI\M5aRMMXJMKIUM\PM 8I\UWJQTM, in honor of my LQ[XMZ[M\W\PMQZLM[QOVI\ML\ZIQTMZLZWXTWKI\QWV[-IKP
_QNM8I\ZQKQI_PW_Q\PW]ZaW]VOLI]OP\MZ_I[[\Ia- would release his loaded trailer, pick up an empty trailer
QVOI\PMZXIZMV\[PWUMQV+TM^MTIVL<ZIK\WZ[_MZM IVLZM\]ZV\W\PMUIZ[PITQVOIZMI
OPPOSITE: AP PHOTO/RICK MERRON

VIUMLJa\PMQZLZQ^MZ[Beautiful Dreamer and <PM<MV- *a_MLMXIZ\MLNZWU8TMQS]WVW]ZZM\]ZVZ]V1N


nessean are two names that stick in my mind. _MLMTIaMLJMaWVL\PI\\QUM\PM5QTQ\IZa8WTQKMPMTL\PM
A typical day on convoy duty started in the middle of KWV^WaW^MZVQOP\JMKI][M\PMJZQLOM[KTW[MLR][\JMNWZM
\PMVQOP\1_WSM]XI\IVL_MV\\W\PMKWUXIVa L][SIVL\Z]KS[WV\PMZWILI\VQOP\_MZMXIZ\QK]TIZTa
WXMZI\QWV[\MV\\WTMIZVPW_UIVa\ZIK\WZ[_W]TLJMQV [][KMX\QJTM\WIUJ][PM[
\PMKWV^WaIVL_PQKPXTI\WWV[MZOMIV\WZI[[Q[\IV\XTI- ?MLQLV\NIKMU]KPLIVOMZNZWUIUJ][PM[L]ZQVO

OCTOBER 2016 45
Mountain view
Trucks on Highway 19 nance section worked in 12-hour shifts, a night crew
head toward and a day crew. Tractors that our crews could not repair
the An Khe Pass. were turned over to the Ordnance Battalion in Qui Nhon
for repairs.
<PM]VJMTQM^IJTaXW\PWTMLZWIL[_QTLKQ^QTQIV\ZIK
high mileage, oppressive heat, engine noise, choking
dust, miserable rain, treacherous mud and creeping fa-
tigue caused frequent accidents. Both the An Khe and
the Mang Yang passes were a series of zigzagging steep
climbing turns. A severe switchback in the An Khe pass
became known as the Devils Hairpin.
my deployment. But later a convoy ambush During one slow, hot and dusty climb up An Khe Pass,
on Sept. 2, 1967, killed nine soldiers, wounded 19, de- I spotted one of my men driving while frozensound
stroyed 12 vehicles and damaged 18. Other ambushes asleep behind the wheel of his truck. His transmission
followed. was in the lowest of the 10 manual gears, and he had the
Pleiku, a provincial capital, was of serious interest to dashboard engine-throttle handle pulled wide open. His
the enemy. Not too many miles away is the Ia Drang PIVL[_ZQ[\IVLIZU[_MZM[\QaTWKSMLQV\WXTIKM1
Valley, scene of the November 1965 1st Air Cavalry TWW[MVMLUaKIV\MMVNZWUUaJMT\\WTLUaRMMXLZQ^MZ
,Q^Q[QWV[JI\\TM\PI\_I[\PMZ[\UIRWZKWVNZWV\I\QWV _PI\1_I[IJW]\\WLWIVLOW\W]\WN\PMRMMX1ZIV
between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnamese Army. JM\_MMV\PMRMMXIVL\PM\ZIK\WZIVL\PMVR]UXMLWV\W
Street Without Joy,RW]ZVITQ[\*MZVIZL.ITT[NIUW][ the running board. I grabbed the steering wheel and
JWWSWV.ZIVKM[NIQTML_IZQV1VLWKPQVIL]ZQVO\PM splashed water into the face of the driver, astonished
1950s, was about Highway 1, the coastal road, but but now wide-awake.
.ITTQVKT]LMLIKPIX\MZIJW]\0QOP_Ia!JM\_MMV\PM Thanksgiving Day 1966 became known as Black
5IVOAIVO8I[[IVL8TMQS]7VMLIaIN\MZUaO]VRMMX Thursday after three tractors were wrecked in acci-
driver and I stopped to provide security for a tractor dents. In response, I contacted the Ohio State Highway
_Q\PII\\QZM1KIUMIKZW[[I[UITTUWV]UMV\\PI\ Patrol by mail and purchased an excellent color movie

COURTESY JOHN HORVATH; OPPOSITE RIGHT: AP PHOTO/FAAS; OPPOSITE FAR RIGHT, TOP TO BOTTOM: US ARMY PHOTO; PHYSICS IN COLLISION SYMPOSIUM; COURTESY JOHN HORVATH (2)
UMUWZQITQbML\PM2]VM!IUJ][PWN.ZMVKP5W- of its big-truck safety program. I also asked our main-
bile Group 100, which suffered hundreds of deaths \MVIVKM[MK\QWV\WUW]V\I[UI[PMLRMMXVW\WVMWN
QV\PMTI[\UIRWZ JI\\TM WN \PM .QZ[\ 1VLWKPQVI ?IZ ours!) onto the top of a steel Conex container at the
company front gate as a reminder of the potential con-
During our entire year in Vietnam, there was only sequences of unsafe driving.
one day when we did not make a run to Pleiku. That The biggest cause of trouble, however, was the road
was the day a tracked vehicle retriever, with its towed itself. Every day the potholes sent the tractors bounc-
tank, tried to cross one of the bridges. The two tracked ing high over the road, punishing vehicles and drivers.
vehicles wound up as a huge V shape in the middle of Many of the holes were so wide and so deep that the
the broken bridge. That night the engineers put in a trucks had to leave the road, make a bumpy dirt bypass
bypassa temporary gravel ramp down to the gulley and then get back on the road. We began our tour in Au-
and another back up to the roadwayand we were on gust 1966 with 60 tractors, but by December 1967 the
our way the next morning. company was down to 36. Most of the losses resulted
We generally rolled back into Phu Tai by 1830 and from cracked frames caused by road conditions.
LZWXXML\PM\ZIQTMZ[WI\\PM+PI:IVO>ITTMa\ZIV[NMZ .]MTNQT\MZ[_MZMIVW\PMZXZWJTMU<PMLQM[MTN]MT
point. Because I had arranged for my mess hall to oper- came from tanker ships in Qui Nhon harbor and was
ate 24 hours every day, our drivers could eat before or pumped into storage tanks in the quartermaster fuel
after their daily vehicle maintenance. By 2200 drivers depot near the beach. When needed, we picked up fuel
KW]TLMVRWaIJMMZWZI[WN\LZQVSI\W]ZKWUXIVaKT]J at the depot with our own 5,000-gallon tanker trailer.
watch an outdoor movie from a wooden bench, shower The fuel in our tractors eventually acquired a serious
and get ready for the next day on the road. At 0230 IUW]V\WN[IVL\PZW]OP[WUMI_QV\PMY]IZ\MZUI[-
every day the whole operation began again. ter fuel supply operation. I remember the sad sight of
<WPIVLTM\PMLIQTaUIQV\MVIVKM_WZSMKQMV\Ta_M I][MLT\MZ[Q\\QVOWVITIZOMXQMKMWNKIZLJWIZL_Q\P
organized what I called a three-ring circuit mainte- a mixture of raw sand and diesel fuel oozing out of the
nance program. Members of 1st Platoon checked and JW\\WUWNQ\:MXTIKMUMV\T\MZ[_MZMVW\I^IQTIJTM\PQ[
replaced tires for each driver. The 2nd Platoon cleaned MIZTaQV\PM_IZ<PMWVTa`_I[\W][P\PM][MLT\MZ[
\PM\Z]KS[_Q\PIXW_MZ_I[PMZTTMLNZWUI_MTT\PI\ thoroughly in our parts-cleaning machine, which had
we had dug. And 3rd Platoon helped each driver with JMMVTTML_Q\PKTMIVN]MTIVL\PMVX]\\PMUJIKSQV
maintenance work and repairs. If problems could not each tractor.
be resolved by 2130, the tractor was driven to the com-
pany maintenance shop. A maintenance crew of night In our daily runs we passed through two types of
owls then worked to return as many tractors as possible terrain that essentially put us in two climates during
to the platoons for the next days convoy. Our mainte- one trip. Qui Nhon, near the beach, was hotter and

46 VIETNAM
Blocked
An ambushed truck
is being cleared off
Highway 19 at the
An Khe Pass on
April 28, 1972, while
a convoy stacks up
behind it.

The starting point


Army trucks shipped from the United
States dock at Qui Nhon, shown in 1967,
above, and today.

Dogged defense
Captain John Horvath
goes one on one with
company mascot Huntz.

Naming rights
Horvath christened his
commanders jeep the
Patmobile, after his
wife, Patricia.
1954
AMBUSH
OF FRENCH
MOBILE AN KHE
GROUP
14 PASS
1 ENLARGED
AREA

PLEIKU AN KHE SOUTH


MANG VIETNAM
YANG
The long haul PASS DEVILS
Daily truck convoys ran HAIRPIN QUI NHON
110 miles from the port CURVE
city of Qui Nhon to
Pleiku, dropped off
supplies for American
bases and returned to
Qui Nhon for the night.

Waiting to deploy
Truck tractors are parked in
an open eld at Fort Bragg,
the home base of the 64th
Transportation Company.

A HEAVY LOAD
The 64th Transportation Company was one of the 12 truck Ambushes 36
companies in the 8th Transportation Group, headquartered
near Qui Nhon. In his excellent book Gun Trucks, Timothy Mining incidents 65
J. Kutta included 8th Group statistics (at right) on actions Sniper incidents 65
L]ZQVOIV]VLMVMLXMZQWLIN\MZ;MX\!
The dedication and hard work of the long-haul truck driv- Bridges blown 18
COURTESY JOHN HORVATH; MAP BY BRIAN WALKER

MZ[IVLO]V\Z]KSKZM_UMV_MZMWKQITTaZMKWOVQbMLQV!  Other incidents 39


when they were given a special privilege. The U.S. Army, Viet-
VIUPMILY]IZ\MZ[I]\PWZQbML\PM[M[WTLQMZ[\W_MIZ\PM4QVM
U.S. killed in action 58
Haul-RVN shoulder tab on their fatigue uniforms while they U.S. wounded in action 307
were serving in Vietnam. John Horvath
Enemy KIA 104
Enemy WIA 10
Vehicles damaged or destroyed 287

48 VIETNAM
more humid. Pleiku, on the highlands pla- home of Sam Hovey, our maintenance-
teau, was cooler and less humid. Qui Nhon wrecker driver. Huntz lived happily with
seemed to have the monsoon rains for two Our Sam and his family in Fayetteville for many
months when Pleiku was not getting rain. favorite years before dying in 1975.
During another part of the year, Pleiku song was In May, the 64th Transportation Com-
had monsoon rains for two months, and pany began to gradually send drivers to
Qui Nhon was dry. When one of those areas
We Gotta other companies for the rest of their tours
was hot, with choking dust, the other area Get Out and bring in other companies soldiers who
was cooler with drenching monsoon rain. of This had later departure dates so that the 64th
In the dry periods, many drivers used Place, would not have a complete change in per-
disposable surgical masks from clinics to sonnel all at one time in July.
T\MZW]\\PM\PQKSL][\?MIXXTQML[IVL-
by The We had a whole lingo dedicated to return-
JIO[\W\PMLZQ^MZ[QLMKIJWWZ[NWZXZW\MK- Animals ing home. When a soldier had fewer than
tion from land mines and put armor plating 100 days remaining on his one-year tour, he
on the tractor doors to protect them from small-arms was a double digit midget. When he had fewer than
ZM#PW_M^MZ\PMVM_IZUWZMLXTI\QVOKW^MZMLU]KP 10 days, he was a single digit midget. With less than
of the doors window opening, except for a small cutout a week remaining, he was into the no-mores, as in no
window, and trapped even more heat in the cab. Add in more Sundays, no more Mondays. Our favorite song was
\PMPMI^a[\MMTPMTUM\[IVL\PMPMI^aPW\ISRIKSM\[ We Gotta Get Out of This Place, by The Animals.
that convoy crews wore, and you get a long, miserable, Near the end of my tour in May, I noticed that my
exhausting day. 5ZILQWO]VRMMXPILTWOOMLKWV^WaM[KWZ\
In the monsoon period, the huge raindrops would fall UQTM[1V\PMZ[\VQVMUWV\P[WN\Z]KSWXMZI\QWV[W]Z
hard and fast. The rain produced a red mud that left a KWUXIVaZMXWZ\[[PW_MLIK]U]TI\Q^MUQTTQWVTWVO
deep stain on everything. Before our truck company left haul task miles. We immediately named this total mile-
Fort Bragg, we had been issued rubber galoshes, which age our Two Million Miles of Bad Road.
were an item of wonder for us, but in Vietnam we found A 64th Transportation Company platoon leader re-
that they were invaluable in the thick monsoon mud. ceived a posthumous Silver Star Medal for actions on
We were also grateful for the arctic sleeping bags wed 2IV! ,I^QL:?QT[WVIZ[\TQM]\MVIV\WN\PM
been given, putting them to good use during some cold <ZIV[XWZ\I\QWV+WZX[_I[ZQLQVOQVIZILQWO]VRMMXI[I
nights in the highlands. convoy commander on a PleikutoQui Nhon run, when
Coming in from long road hauls and pulling mainte- the 30-vehicle group was ambushed. Parts of the convoy
nance duty each night, the drivers did not get much time traveled safely through the ambush zone, but Wilson real-
to sleep. They napped in their truck cabs while waiting ized that the rear section had become trapped in the kill
in the lineup area near Qui Nhon or in the marshal- zone. The lieutenant and his driver turned around and
ing area in Pleiku. If the depot crew could not unload [XMLJIKSQV\WQV\MV[MO]VZM\WLW_PI\M^MZ\PMaKW]TL
a trailer on time, the driver had to remain overnight to rescue the stranded truck drivers. An enemy mortar
in Pleiku and return with another convoy the following ZW]VLTIVLMLVMIZ\PMRMMXIVL?QT[WV_I[SQTTML
day. The stranded driver had to sleep in his cab, and eat 1VIVW\PMZNI\ITQVKQLMV\WV7K\ !!\PMNW]Z
C-ration meals. man crew of the 64th Transportation gun truck Mighty
At one Pleiku depot, the crew frequently delayed the Minnie died in a helicopter crash near Kontum in Pleiku
unloading of our trailers full of 55-gallon drums of tar. province. Gun truck crews and helicopter crews devel-
I tried to reason with them, but they didnt respond, oped a strong bond since both were charged with end-
forcing our drivers to stay overnight. I decided to try less hours of security duty in protecting the convoys.
something more dramatic to change the depot crews This helicopter crew was giving the gun-truck crew a
behavior. I cut the tie-down bands that secured the bar- familiarization ride when the helicopter failed to gain
rels to the trailers and told the drivers to make quick IQZ[XMMLL]ZQVO\ISMWIVLLQLV\ZQ[MPQOPMVW]OP\W
tight circles, which scattered the loose barrels across clear the barbed-wire fence at the perimeter of a camp.
the storage yard. After that, the depot crew sped up its All aboard were killed.
]VTWILQVOXZWKML]ZM[IVLW]ZLZQ^MZ[_MZMIJTM\WRWQV Our 64th Transportation Company lost seven soldiers
their own convoy returning to Qui Nhon. NZWUKWV\IK\_Q\P\PMMVMUaIVL[]MZML^MVWVKWU-
JI\LMI\P[L]ZQVO\PM^MaMIZ[QV>QM\VIUJMNWZM\PM
When my truck company went to Vietnam, we company was inactivated in April 1975. V
were able to take along our mascot, a German shep-
herd mix named Huntz. We had given him dog tags, 2WPV50WZ^I\P[MZ^MLQV\PM=;)ZUaNWZaMIZ[
shots, company orders and a wooden kennel for the retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He served two tours in
8IKQK^WaIOM0]V\b_I[INZQMVLTaNMTTW_IXIZ\WN Vietnam, 1966-67 as a Transportation Corps company
home, beloved by all in our base camp near Qui Nhon. commander and 1969-70 as a Transportation Corps
In April 1967, as our Vietnam tour was ending, we JI\\ITQWVM`MK]\Q^MWKMZ);]XMZ TUWNPQ[\Z]KS
took up a collection to pay for Huntzs airfare on a company tour can be found online by searching two
commercial flight from Saigon to the North Carolina million miles of bad road.

OCTOBER 2016 49
Forest walk
Frank Scotton in
Thu Thua district
in May 1965.
Below, the author
with cadre in Qui
Nhon, February
1966.

Frank Scotton
was a recently
appointed foreign
[MZ^QKMWKMZQV
the U.S. Informa-
tion Service when
he and his wife
arrived in Saigon
in January 1962.
Scotton reported
to Everett Ev
Bumgardner,
head of the USIS
>QM\VIUMTLWX-
MZI\QWV[WKM
who would coor-
dinate the trainee
phase of Scottons
assignment. This
included stints
in each section of
USIS before Scot-
\WV[VITI\\IKP-
ment to one for the
remainder of his
tour. From 1962
to 1975, Scotton
spent at least part
of every year in
Vietnam.
A Squandered Opportunity
A young Foreign Service ofcer, working with U.S. advisers and
the South Vietnamese military in the early 1960s, shows how
Americans lost sight of the factors critical to victory in Vietnam

E
By Frank Scotton

v placed me in Qui Nhon, within the South Vietnamese army that


a city in Binh Dinh province, and my mis- every military move had political conse-
sion was to travel throughout the east quences. Thus, the political, or psychologi-
coast provinces of Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai cal, as he called it, must be planned.
Phu Yen and, when I could, Kontum and Tuy believed PsyOps should do more than
Pleiku, farther west. With the South Viet- encourage the enemy to surrender or publi-
namese armys 9th and the 25th infantry cize government programs. To counter the
divisions recently raised and trained in influence of the Communists, he wanted
Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai, security in the to promote political development, rural
region had generally improved. Ev did not self-sufficiency and administrative inde-
M`XMK\LQK]T\a_Q\P\ZI^MTWVUIRWZPQOP- pendence through local elections. I told Tuy
ways, and in Qui Nhon I would have a USIS that his vision was dynamic but somewhat
field representative, Le Quang Tuyen, as ahead of government policy. Tuy said that
my assistant. the government did not entirely understand
Perceive, engage, report, was Evs di- what needed to be done.
rective. Learn everything possible; no piece
of information lacked value. He said I could My rst long drive out of Qui Nhon was
take measured risks and urged me to con- to Pleiku. My USIS assistant, Tuyen, in-
tinue speaking Vietnamese. formed me that all the roads were danger-
In January 1962 I met with U.S. Army ous, and that the two worst were Route 19
Captain Howard Walters in Phu Thanh, the to Pleiku and Highway 1 to Quang Ngai. I
training area southwest of Qui Nhon where decided to check with Cau Dan, my landlord,
OPPOSITE: FRANK SCOTTON COLLECTION, COURTESY TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY PRESS

the 9th Division maintained headquarters. who often drove roads in the region as he
Walters, who had an advanced degree in bought and sold livestock at markets and
psychology and had studied psychological knew where the usual risk points were.
warfare, advised the 4th Psychological Op- I was ready to get on the road right away,
erations Company. He told me that the 4ths but Ev was bringing Ken Bunce, the U.S. In-
commander, Cap- formation Agencys assistant director for
Excerpted from tain Nguyen Tuy, East Asia, and David Sheppard, the USIS
Uphill Battle: Reec- had received special deputy director, to Qui Nhon for a look at our
tions on Viet Nam operations training TW_J]LOM\WVMUIVMTLXW[\IVL\W^Q[Q\I
Counterinsurgency, at Fort Bragg, North hamlet in the countryside.
by Frank Scotton, Carolina. Tuy ran Tuyen arranged a meeting in Qui Nhon
copyright 2014, pro- the company like a with the Vietnamese Information Service
vided with permis- special operations chief, a Mr. Tram, to coordinate our visit
sion by Texas Tech force. He wanted to \WIPIUTM\)N\MZ_IZL\PM^MWN][LZW^M
University Press. spread the message IJW]\UQTM[\WI[\ZI\MOQKWZNWZ\QML

OCTOBER 2016 51
Historic tension
Following the death of 11 in Hue from
a scuffle between Buddhist activists
and the Diem government on May 8, in the South Vietnamese army. Herboldt told
1963, thousands assemble in Hue to me that, from what he had seen, VIS seemed
attend services at a pagoda. like a weak link and the government as a
whole excelled at obstruction.

The VIS in Kontum was working to get


information about government policy to
tribal communities. The VIS chief had de-
veloped a tribal language primer and had
interesting ideas. He told me that collecting
\ZQJM[QV`MLTWKI\QWV[IVL\ZIQVQVO\PMU
to operate from Special Forces camps was
a mistake. In the long run, tribal societies
would not be comfortable there, while the
mobile Communist forces would always
know where the camps were and could
easily avoid them. The VIS chief also spec-
ulated that Communist propaganda would
portray camps as a scheme to concentrate
tribal people so that their land would be
available for use by others.
A few days later in Phu Yen province, I
crossed the Song Ba in a small boat and ar-
PIUTM\KWUXTM\ML[Q`UWV\P[MIZTQMZ<ZIU[IQL_M_W]TLVLW]Z ZQ^MLI\8P],]KLQ[\ZQK\ITWVMTaW]\XW[\
USIS publications and the VIS posters in the hamlets reading room. The U.S. Operations Mission had provided
Instead we found the room empty, not only of publications and some cement and other durables, and a
posters but of benches as well. I saw a couple of discarded papers small market was being built. A nearby
in a rear corner. They were leaflets from a Viet Cong unit. Now cluster of tribal huts was clean, but it had
it was obvious what had happened to the benches and reading obviously been recently moved, and the
material. district chief said these people had been
We noticed that the fencing along the far sides and rear of the brought closer to the river for safety. They
hamlet had disappeared. A husky, middle-aged man in dark purple did not look happy. It felt as if everything
farmers clothing accosted us on the way back to our vehicles and QV8P],]K_I[UILMWN\Q[[]MXIXMZIVLI
belligerently asked who we were and what we wanted. Tram stam- JZQ[S_QVL_W]TLQVOQ\I_Ia
UMZML\PI\PM_I[IXZW^QVKMWKQITJZQVOQVO)UMZQKIV Home again in Qui Nhon,
guests to visit the hamlet. The man, virtually snorting To counter the I decided that I ought to take
distaste, snarled, Khach My! [American guests!] You Communists, two or three forest walks. Cau
should take them back to Qui Nhon before there is a ,IVIOZMML\WLZQ^MUM\WUa
problem.
South starting point, along Route 19,
I told Ev that it was an important revelation of the Vietnams and from there I would be on my
real situation as opposed to the one portrayed by the PsyOps W_V7V\PMZ[\M`K]Z[QWVUa
OW^MZVUMV\1[PW_ML*]VKMIVL;PMXXIZL\PMTMIM\[ wanted to plan was to go southeast about
I had found and expressed my feeling that in some areas 9 to 12 miles toward the Special
strategic hamlets were not keeping Communists out; promote Forces camp at Plei Ta Nang Le,
they were already Communist-controlled or Commu- political but not so close as to risk being
nists were ascendant there. I was beginning to focus on development shot at by friendly forces.
AP PHOTO; OPPOSITE RIGHT: AP PHOTO/LE MINH; OPPOSITE FAR RIGHT: AP PHOTO

PIUTM\[I[\PMKZQ\QKITTM^MTWNKWVQK\ Captain Tuy had urged me to


A couple of days later I headed toward the highlands.
and UW^MW\ZIQTI[U]KPI[XW[[Q-
The district chief reassured me about security on Route independence ble. Slow and quiet, not quick
19 from An Khe to Pleiku and advised traveling between through local and loud. When in doubt, stop,
10 a.m. and 4 p.m. He suggested checking with the Brit- elections even for an hour. On any trail,
ish advisory team because it had twice made the drive. I or approaching a trail, I was to
was surprised. British advisory team? The district chief said I could stop oftenand listen.
VL\PMUR][\W]\[QLM\W_VQV\PMWTLZWILKWV[\Z]K\QWVKWUXW]VL 7\ZIQT_I[MI[aL]ZQVO\PMZ[\[M^MZIT
<PM\_W*ZQ\Q[PWKMZ[,QKS6WWVMIVL6WZUIV0MZJWTL\_MZM hours. Late in the afternoon, I found a dense
with the British Military Advisory Mission and their service was being thicket and crawled into it. I ate two rice balls,
made available to the South Vietnamese government because they and as darkness crept across the landscape
had experience with Communist terrorists in Malaya. I explained that I pulled some mosquito netting over myself
our connection within the provinces was the VIS, but Ev expected to and went to sleep.
reach beyond the obvious. I was accordingly developing friendships Before noon the next day, while moving

52 VIETNAM
Deadly blast
A SAMs warhead is I learned, dont
detonated as it
toward
nears an the Ba River,
F-105D and I paused, taking cover build anything over the less accessible west bank and hin-
in a thicket.
throws fragmentsNot far before me a narrower unless youre terland. The messages described better
that
trailstrike the plane
crossed the one that I was paralleling. living conditions in strategic hamlets and
(trailing smoke). The
There was a rustle of foliage, then footsteps.
helping emphasized the benefits of returning to
pilot was killed.
About 30 yards to my right, a man ap- people with families, escaping Communist control and
peared, walking briskly northwest. I froze. what theyve cruel discipline and having the chance to
A small cloth bag slung casually over his already begun. build a good life in a society where citizens
left shoulder appeared to be his only pos- have choices. The 4th PsyOps conducted
session. I had not expected to see another I learned, a night patrols on the valleys west bank
person. Now I was apprehensive. I waited good unit is one ridgelines using ground speakers directed
about an hour and then headed back to toward the trails running west to the base
Route 19, where I caught a small bus back
led by someone areas. By early April 1963, Van Trung and
to Qui Nhon. who shows Van Tin were about 70 percent complete as
Once into the woods was not enough. care for both strategic hamlets.
I shuff led my collection of Service Geo- Tuy was trying to tailor what he learned
soldiers and
graphique de LIndochine maps and found at Fort Bragg to Vietnam. He emphasized
another overnight possibility. Cau Dan the civilian helping hamlet residents with any chore or
dropped me off again and I successfully population. project that could be done simply and im-
navigated my way around. mediately. Rather than building a school,
he thought, better to repair the old one. Dont build
One day in Qui Nhon, Captains Walters and Tuy in- anything unless you are helping people with what they
vited me to join the 4th PsyOps Operations Company for have already begun. That way, if Communists return
a few days while it was wrapping up an operation in the and tear it down, they are destroying what belongs to
An Lao Valley. Tuys unit was supporting the 1st Battal- the people, not to the government.
ion of the 47th Regiment to clear and hold the west bank Loudspeaker broadcasts at night suggested that
of the Song An Lao. Walters thought applying combined people wanting to return home should escape toward
South Vietnamese and American resources for psycho- f lare rounds that provided illumination. The f lare-
logical (political) effect might produce a model that supported loudspeaker missions drew results. One young
could be applied elsewhere. man, a Viet Cong from Tan Xuan, turned himself in to a
In late February 1963, the battalion was assigned to relative. His brother had wanted to come with him, but
the valley, and the commander combined aggressive pa- had been caught and killed. Another returnee, impressed
trolling with Tuys psychological and civic action, suc- as a laborer, had information about a relay station that
cessfully displacing a Viet Cong unit west of the Van supported returnees from the north. They all reported
Trung and Van Tin hamlets. The withdrawing Commu- that Communist political themes stressed continuing the
nists took 149 young people with them. By mid-March OP\IOIQV[\KWTWVQITQ[UIVLKIXQ\ITQ[U<PM>QM\+WVO
Van Trung and Van Tin were being reorganized as stra- asserted that anyone who left the front would be caught
tegic hamlets, but Viet Cong guerrillas continued to ha- and executed by the Saigon government.
rass and enter other communities on An Laos west bank. Casual conversation with people in west bank ham-
)QZJWZVMTW]L[XMISMZIVLTMIM\UQ[[QWV[_MZMW_V lets provided information about Communist taxation.

Government face
South Vietnam
President Ngo
Dinh Diem attends
Basilica services
with Saigons
Archbishop Paul
Nguyen Van Binh
in April 1962, and
greets Henry Cabot
Lodge, U.S.
ambassador to
South Vietnam, in
August 1963.
Diem out
In Saigon, South Viet-
namese smash win-
dows after a military 47th Regiment in Binh Dinh and Phu Yen,
coup that toppled with the new 25th Division in Quang Ngai,
Diems government on tilted the military balance in favor of the
Nov. 1, 1963. South Vietnamese government. Responsi-
ble administration would be possible if the
correct measures were adopted.
All was about to change.

On May 8, 1963, an incident in Hue, the


former imperial capitaland the irresponsi-
ble and futile response to it from President
Ngo Dinh Diems administrationwould
have devastating impact on the First Re-
public, a government established in October
1955 by Diem and his family, with assis-
\IVKMNZWU)UMZQKIV[1VI[K]MJM\_MMV
Buddhist activists and government security
forces, several people were killed.
The tension between Buddhist and Cath-
olic adherents was exacerbated by govern-
ment favoritism for Catholics in assignment
and promotion.
On June 11, a monk in Saigon, Thich
Quang Duc, burned himself to death. Some
believed that unless President Diem made
IVIXXZWXZQI\M[MTM[[ZM[XWV[M\PMKZQ[Q[
would persist and deepen.
I reported to Ev that we were in the eye
of a political storm. My immediate concern
Post coup was that South Vietnams army seemed to
be retracting.

TOP AND OPPOSITE RIGHT: EVERETT COLLECTION HISTORICAL/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; BOTTOM: AP PHOTO; OPPOSITE FAR RIGHT: THE MILITARY ENGINEER, NOV-DEC 1963
An armored
vehicle, In a bold but intemperate stroke to be-
ying the head the Buddhist movement, the gov-
yellow-and- ernment on August 21 raided pagodas
red-striped throughout the country, especially at Hue
national and Saigon. Also in August, the government
ag of decided to shift the 9th Division to the Me-
South Viet- kong Delta, stealing it from a zone where
nam, stands \PMZM_I[ITZMILa[QOVQKIV\[]XXWZ\NWZ
outside the the Viet Cong and producing a dangerous
presiden- weakness right in the middle of the country.
tial palace Ev transferred me from Qui Nhon to
on Nov. 3, Dalat, farther south in the Central High-
1963. lands. In my several months working out-
ward from Qui Nhon, I had learned that it
is easier to displace the Viet Cong than to
X][PQ\W]\JaOP\QVO\PI\IOWWL]VQ\Q[
Taxes were described as contributions and were higher than gov- one led by someone who demonstrates care
ernment taxes. If anyone complained, the amount assessed would be for both soldiers and civilians and that a re-
increased, because complaining proved you opposed the revolution. KW^MZaMWZ\Q[VM^MZLWVM
Back in Qui Nhon after the An Loa operation, Captain Walters I spent September on the road, but
and I drafted our joint report. We discussed the mix of participating Ev wanted me back in Dalat in mid-
South Vietnamese and American civil and military elements. Tuy October. When I arrived he revealed that an
joined us for one long night discussion. In our report, Walters sum- attempt to tip over the government was
marized, If we can get all the Vietnamese and American agencies likely. For weeks, Ev explained, plans for a
to just work together, thats already a giant step. military seizure of power had been made,
We didnt think of ourselves as optimists in late April 1963, but ZMIZZIVOML[P]MLTMISMLZM[MITMLLQ[-
we werent pessimistic about South Vietnams potential to organize guised from Americans, then shared with
NWZMMK\Q^MOW^MZVIVKM?M_MZM[]ZM\PMN]TKZ]UNWZKPIVOM_I[ Americans until an air of confusion perme-
at the hamlet level. We thought that having the 9th Division and ated Saigon. One of the constants was that

54 VIETNAM
the recently arrived U.S. ambassador, Henry Cabot Ev asked me to organize a survey of hamlet attitudes.
Lodge, personally favored a change of government. <PMPIUTM\[QV\PMZ[\XPI[MWN\PM[]Z^Ma_MZM
On October 26 I had the opportunity to speak with only a few miles from the provinces capital, and yet all
Lodge while he was in Dalat. Diem had invited the am- but one lacked a government presence. Primary schools
bassador to accompany him on an inspection in Phuoc were closed, and medical stations destroyed or vacant.
Long province on Vietnams National Day. I met Lodge The Viet Cong was a daring presence by day and often
and his wife when they arrived. He courteously inquired right in the hamlets at night. People told us that much
about my understanding of popular feeling in the prov- of the deterioration had taken place since the overthrow
inces. I told him that the survival of the government of the Diem government, although it had really begun
depended on whether the president seized this moment earlier in the summer.
for a new direction. I was pretty blunt about the transfer There were frequent complaints about government
of the 9th Division from Binh Dinh to the Mekong Delta misbehavior (theft, abusive language, accosting women)
being a serious mistake. A vacuum was developing, and when hamlets were visited for tax collection or inspec-
\PM+WUU]VQ[\[_MZMTTQVOQ\4WLOMZM[XWVLML\PI\\PM tion. When we asked what might attract people away
decision had been based on the critical- from the Viet Cong, the answer was
ity of the provinces south of Saigon. I We would have to always some variation on fairness and
replied that there wouldnt be much left help people see that social justice.
north of Saigon if everything between I asked myself what the Long An
Pleiku and Qui Nhon were lost.
they were part of project revealed. I had learned that a
1[I\ITWVMJMNWZMUaZMXTIKMIN\MZ something more than government presence had completely
Lodges departure for Diems guest- themselves collapsed in the hamlets. To win in the
house. Our ambassador was the guest of countryside, we would have to displace
a president who was about to be deposed. Communists the Viet Cong by inserting our own teams into rural com-
organized and maneuvered in the countryside. Every- munities, prove ourselves trustworthy through personal
thing, I mean everything, seemed very loose to me. leadership and help the people see that they were part
of something greater than themselves.
A few days after the November 1 coup and murder of I was beginning to feel that the Washington perspec-
President Diem and Ngo Dinh Nhu, his younger brother \Q^MWV\PMKWVQK\[MMUMLKTW]LML_Q\PLW]J\[[MKWVL
and political adviser, I drove to Saigon to consult with guessing, scarcely any knowledge of the Vietnamese
Ev. He and a number of other Americans had been so we supported and no knowledge at all of the national
frustrated with the Diem administration that now they Communist party. Almost every American falsely thought
seemed exhilarated by the change and potential for of the Communists as an intrusion by North Vietnam into
improvement. When Diem was assassinated, the First South Vietnam. Looking back, the failure to recognize
Republic died with him. (The Second Republic was not that the party was national in character and generally
in place until 1967, following adoption of a new consti- central Vietnamese in leadership was inexcusable.
tution and elections for a bicameral assembly, president As the war increased in scale in 1964 and 1965, the
and vice president.) South Vietnamese and American reaction was to think
Ambassador Lodge expressed dismay about the re- in terms of battalion engagements, districts lost or held
ported collapse of a government presence in the Me- and territory/population control percentages. So dis-
kong Delta. He was particularly concerned about Long tracted, our side lost sight of the most critical long-term
An province, which he called the gateway to Saigon. factors, the people and their attitude. V

Strategic hamlet
An aerial view shows the
surrounding walls built to
protect villagers from night
attacks by Viet Cong. Far
right: A moat, embedded
with deep stakes and
surrounded by barbed
wire, protects a village.
Air support
Choppers of the 17th Air
Cavalry Regiment return
to Khe Sanh after dropping
VH:V\[O=PL[UHTLZL\UP[
at a site in Laos during
February 1971.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning, Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore
:WJMZ\,]^ITTKWUUIVLMZWN\PMK\QWVIT[\*I\\ITQWV!\P)QZ+I^ITZa
:MOQUMV\NIUW][TaZMUIZS[QV.ZIVKQ[.WZL+WXXWTI[!!TU )XWKI-
lypse NowIVL\PI\^Q[]ITTa[\]VVQVO[KMVMPI[JMKWUMNWZUW[\)UMZQKIV[
the iconic image of Vietnam War helicopter combat. Those of us who were
there, however, know that the movie version doesnt even begin to tell the
real story of the dominant role helicopters played in Vietnam. The truth,
inevitably, is more compelling, more complicatedand extremely more dan-
gerousthan any movie image can evoke.
For U.S. ground combat infantry and artillery units in Vietnam, helicop-
ters were overwhelmingly our only means of transport, resupply, close
The Helicopter War IMZQITZM[]XXWZ\IVLUMLM^IKW]ZTQNMTQVM[\WIVa[][\MVIVKM[]XXWZ\
and Its Effect on Crews and succor. Helicopter crews were our beloved brothers in arms, even if we
Who Fought It WVTaSVM_\PMUNZWUMM\QVOOTQUX[M[WN\PMXQTW\[IVLKZM_[\PMQZNIKM[
covered by helmets and visors, and through short, crisp, businesslike radio
The Price They Paid: Enduring \ZIV[UQ[[QWV[I[\PMaZQ[SML\PMQZTQ^M[NWZ][)[IOZW]VLKWUJI\^M\1
Wounds of War thank Michael Putzel for bringing these heroes and their stories to life in
by Michael Putzel, Trysail his riveting new book, The Price They Paid.
Publishing, 2015 Veteran journalist Putzel has written one of the best books yet published
on soldiers total Vietnam experienceintense combat in-country and
then dealing with its aftermath once they returned home. Putzels book
NWK][M[WV)ZUaPMTQKWX\MZXQTW\5IRWZ2IUM[<6M_UIVKWUUIVLQVO
AP PHOTO

WKMZWN+<ZWWXVL;Y]ILZWV\P)QZ+I^ITZa:MOQUMV\[\)QZ-
JWZVM,Q^Q[QWVWXMZI\QVOQVVWZ\PMZV;W]\P>QM\VIUQV!3VW_V

56 VIETNAM
by his radio call sign, Condor Six, Troop soldier forced to deal with the
Newman is described by the author WN\MVLMJQTQ\I\QVOIN\MZMMK\[WNQV-
as a dynamic combat leader who led tense combat:
from the front and possessed an
innate understanding of what was The war changed them all. Some
demanded of him as a commander. self-destructed as soon as they
But Condor Six hardly looked John got home; others enjoyed suc-
Wayne-esque, Putzel notes: cessful careers, marriages, chil-
dren, then crashed many years
Physically and on paper he later. I found only a couple who
seemed an unlikely candidate soldiered on and never looked
for the role. Short in stature and back. There was not one pattern
uneducated, [Newman] walked or one course they followed.
with a limp he couldnt hide and But they all grappled with their
spoke with diction and profan- experience one way or another.
ity that instantly exposed his Many still do.
humble upbringing in the rural
South. He was neither profound Although the story of Newman
nor particularly curious, yet his and his family is the common thread
superiors listened to him as a in the books narrative, it is not the
_Q[MUIVIVLPQ[WKMZ[IVL only story Putzel relates in his rivet-
men idolized him. He was eerily ing account of Vietnam combat and You Dont Lose Til You Quit
calm in a crisis and brave to the its aftermath. He skillfully recounts Trying: Lessons on Adversity
point of foolhardiness. \PMM`XMZQMVKM[WNWKMZ[_IZ- and Victory from a Vietnam
ZIV\WKMZ[IVL[WTLQMZ[QV\PM]VQ\ Veteran and Medal of Honor
This emphasizes the important One of those immediately grabbed Recipient
truth that the common denomina- this reviewers attention: C Troops by Sammy Lee Davis with Caroline
tors of outstanding combat com- aero-rif le platoon leader, 1st Lt. Lambert, Berkley Caliber, 2015
manders are unrelated to their Ed Kersey, my West Point Class of
physical appearance or the source 1969 classmate. The books second A lot of people would argue that
of their commission. Those vital chapter is the dramatic account of the American war in Vietnam was
attributes are courage (moral and Kerseys abrupt introductiononly not exactly a heroic one. But that
physical), competence, commit- days after the young lieutenant had doesnt mean that Americans who
ment and a talent for inspiring sol- arrived in-countryto incredibly fought in that war did not perform
diers to accomplish tasks they never intense, life-or-death combat with heroic acts on virtually a daily
dreamed possible. Newman exhib- his platoon while outnumbered basis. Take Army artilleryman
ited all of those attributes and in ^M\WWVMJa[M^MZIT[]ZZW]VLQVO Sammy Lee Davis, for example. On
return received unquestioning loy- North Vietnamese Army battalions. Nov. 18, 1968, west of Cai Lay in
alty from his troops. Condor Putzels harrowing account the Mekong Delta, Davis showed
Six forged the men of C shows how the aero- the courage and tenacity of a dozen
Troop into fierce and ZQMXTI\WWVVIZZW_Ta UMVI[PMPMTXMLNMVLWP]UIV
skillful warriors in the survived a three-day wave attacks while seriously
crucible of battle. struggle against seem- wounded, and then saved at least
Yet, as Putzel dis- ingly impossible odds three comrades from certain death
covered, Newman re- through the soldiers by paddling a leaky air mattress
turned from Vietnam courage, sacrif ice across a river through a hail of
a d i f fe r e n t p e r s o n . and enduranceand bullets and pulling them to safety.
He walked out on his Kerseys superb bat- Davis actions that day deservedly
family, entered into \TMMTLTMILMZ[PQXIVL brought him the Medal of Honor.
another miserable mar- resourcefulness. Davis, with the help of writer
riage and committed a se- Putzels compelling, skill- Caroline Lambert, tells his life
ries of inexplicable transgressions fully written book is a must read story exceedingly well in You Dont
that doomed any chance he had to that eloquently and in-depth deliv- Lose. Disregard the trendy and un-
achieve high military rank. Viet- ers on the promise of its title and wieldy Lessons subtitle; this book
nam changed him, was all that subtitlethe price soldiers paid for is 99 percent the story of Davis life
Newmans estranged family could their Vietnam combat and how they before, during and after his event-
say to explain his dramatic postwar endured the physical and emotional ful Vietnam tour of duty. There are
transformation. Putzel found that wounds of the war. a few lessons in the book, but its
Condor Six was far from the only C Jerry D. Morelock focus is on the life of an uncommon

OCTOBER 2016 57
man who performed an uncommon tory. He and Lambert sketch those
act of valor in Vietnam. in-country scenes very well. And
Davis, a country boy who grew up then there is the remarkable story
mostly in the rural Midwest, joined of how he was able to persuade the
the Army in May 1966 when he was )ZUa_Q\P\PMPMTXWN/MVMZIT
!IVLIJW]\\WVQ[PPQOP[KPWWT William Westmoreland, whom Davis
and with the draft breathing down met at the hospital while recovering
his neck. He wanted to join the NZWUPQ[UIVa_W]VL[\WITTW_
Marine Corps, but that line at the him to return to his unit when he
recruiting station in Indianapolis was in severe pain and on crutches.
was too long, so Davis opted for the After coming home, Davis, like
shorter one at the Armys spot. many other servicemen, put up
After basic training at Fort Jack- with harassment and insults from
son, South Carolina, and artillery ]V\PQVSQVOIV\Q_IZXZW\M[\MZ[
advanced training at Fort Sill, and from older, pro-war veterans.
Oklahoma, Davis volunteered to I lost count of how many times I
go to Vietnam. He arrived there in was poked in the chest by a World
March 1967. After a few months War II or World War I or Korean
as an artillery pad guard at Long veteran keen to educate me about A Shau Valor: American Combat
Binh, near Saigon, Davis spent the the real war, he writes. The iso- Operations in the Valley of
rest of his tour with Battery C, 2nd lation and shame [for all Vietnam Death, 1963-1971
Battalion, 4th Artillery Regiment, veterans] were crushing. Wed by Thomas R. Yarborough,
9th Infantry Division, in Long An fought for our country, and our Casemate Publishers, 2016
province in the Mekong Delta. country had turned its back on us.
The sections that describe in Davis has spoken to countless The A Shau Valley, surrounded by
detail the daily life of an artillery- groups about his war experiences. steep, jungle-covered mountains
man in the thick of things at the He believes, in retrospect, that in northern South Vietnam near
height of the Vietnam War are a it was a poor political decision to the Laotian border, witnessed
highlight of the book. Few passages go to war in Vietnam. Somewhere [WUMWN\PMMZKM[\OP\QVOQV
in the vast number of Vietnam War along the line, he says, Americas Vietnam. Retired Air Force Colonel
memoirs Ive read present a more purpose in Vietnam got muddled Thomas Yarborough, in his book
evocative look at artillerymen en- and lost. But my reasons for going A Shau Valor: American Combat

ARCHIVE IMAGE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO


meshed in seemingly nonstop com- to war were pure, and I am proud Operations in the Valley of Death,
bat for weeks at a time. to have served in Vietnam.I had 1963-1971, examines the bitter
Davis faced more than his share a job to do and I did it the best way nine-year struggle for control of
of combat and attendant horrors I knew how. Freedom is always the valley.
I\PQ[ZMJI[MIVL_PMVPMLZW^M _WZ\POP\QVONWZ<PMZM[\Q[XWTQ- The proximity to Laos, notori-
a 2-ton M35 cargo truck on doz- tics and is of little concern to me. W][TaKSTM_MI\PMZIVLZMTI\Q^M
ens of runs through enemy terri- 5IZK4MMX[WV QVIKKM[[QJQTQ\aWVTa\PZMMXI[[IJTM

Through the valley


A Huey from the 227th Assault
/LSPJVW[LY*VTWHU`PLZV]LY
the A Shau Valley in 1968.

58 VIETNAM
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and waited for the Americans to leave. Subsequent allied of-
Tours fensives produced similar results.
It has been over 50 years since the 173rd ;ML]KMLJaQVI\MLJWLaKW]V\[IVLW^MZTaWX\QUQ[\QK
Airborne and the USMarines began com- after-action reports, MACV leaders believed that covert re-
bat operations in Vietnam. Return with connaissance missions and short-lived, search-and-destroy
us to historic battlefields, villages and fa- WXMZI\QWV[_MZM[]KQMV\\WY]MTT\PMZM[\Q^M^ITTMa-^MV\[
mous cities where you spent part of your unfortunately, proved otherwise.
youth. Bring your family, your friends ,M[XQ\M)UMZQKI[MVWZUW][M`XMVLQ\]ZMWNZMXW_MZIVL
and buddies. Consider a reunion in Viet- men, Yarborough explained, MACVs strategy for winning in
nam! We have a variety of tour programs the A Shau was neither realistic nor focused enough to ensure
to suit your interests. Check them out on a successful outcome.
our website today! Yarborough argues persuasively that the American failure
to take and hold territory in the A Shau guaranteed that the
Vietnam History and valley would ultimately remain in enemy hands. Time and
Culture Tours again, the North Vietnamese would withdraw from an area,
III Corps and Central Highlands only to return in force once the Americans had left. Yarbor-
April 2016 - accepting reservations ough, though, does not address whether MACV possessed the
I Corps: Khe Sanh to Quy Nhon strength or the authority necessary to pacify the country-
IV Corps: The Mekong Delta side, clear and hold territory and train the South Vietnamese
Panorama of Vietnam: The Best army, as outlined by Westmoreland in his proposed strategy
All-Country Tour
Your places & your dates for for winning the war.
A Shau ValorIZO]IJTa\PMZ[\N]TTTMVO\PIKKW]V\WN)UMZ-
individuals, families, buddies or groups
Our second decade of exceptional tours! ican combat operations in the valley, stands as a sterling tes-
Vietnam Veteran Owned and Operated tament to the extraordinary courageno less than 15 Medals
of Honor were awarded for actions in and around the valley
displayed by men who fought and died there.
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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
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TITLE: BLUE WATER _MZM\_W5IKPOP\MZ["\PM
RED BLOOD, AUTHOR: 5K,WVVMTT.8PIV\WU11IVL
JED MAITLAND-CARTER. \PM5QSWaIV/]ZM^QKP5Q/
Description: Duty, Honor, As with the earlier entry on the
Courage. Available on Amazon. Phantom in Ospreys Air Vanguard series, Mikoyan-Gurevich
99 cent download. 5Q/ devotes a generous portion of the planes operational
history to the Vietnamese use, but author Alexander Mlad-
SPECIAL EVENTS enov, based in Bulgaria, extends that appraisal to clashes
L]ZQVO\PM)ZIJ1[ZIMTQKWVQK\[IVL1ZIY[UQ[IL^MV\]ZM[
7/13TH ARTILLERY IOIQV[\1ZIVIVL\PM=VQ\ML;\I\M[IUWVOW\PMZ[
(VIETNAM) REUNION ALL Mladenov shows a spotty record of operational success for
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Jon Guttman

OCTOBER 2016 63
VETERAN ROCKER
Doug Gray started singing in a rock n roll band with
a group of friends while in high school in Spartanburg,
South Carolina, in the mid-1960s. More than four decades
later, at 68, Gray fronts one of the most popular rock groups of all
time, The Marshall Tucker Band, formed in 1972. The band members
came up with the name at a rehearsal hall in Spartanburg when they
saw that the tag on the key to the hall said Marshall Tucker (a
piano tuner who previously rented the space). The groups Cant You
See, released in 1973, has been called the greatest Southern rock
song ever. The band has recorded 25 albums and performs scores of
concerts every year. Gray, who served in Vietnam during 1968-69,
has been the lead singer since 1980 and is the only original member
remaining. Under his leadership, Marshall Tucker has performed
UIVaJMVM\KWVKMZ\[NWZ\PMVM_M[\OMVMZI\QWVWN^M\MZIV[

Serving in the Vietnam War: Basic was at Fort Jackson


[South Carolina], and I was in the Fat Boy Platoon. All the fat
boys had to jump around a lot, and they didnt get to eat as
much. A few weeks after arriving in Vietnam, we lost a lot of
people, and I got my acting orders to be sergeant. We were at
4WVO*QVPTTQVO]X\PM\IVS[\WOWW]\\W\PMMTL_PMV<M\
 C\PM+WUU]VQ[\WMV[Q^MEPIXXMVML1LQLITW\WNW\PMZ
duties, guarding prisoners and carried my share of weapons. I
was in Phu Bai, Can Tho, places like that. I served 19 months,
four days, six hours, 18 minutes and 16 seconds.

Coming home: Toy had kept the band going. He had already
gotten back from Vietnam. We all made a pact that we would
get together. I got back at the end of 69. My mom and dad
[IQL?PI\[\PMZ[\\PQVOaW]_IV\\WLW_PMV_MXQKSaW]
up at the airport? I said, I just want to go home and sleep in
my own bed. They said, Before we do that, lets get something
to eat. We walked into this club, and the whole band was there.
How he got into music: In 1955, my So I sang some songs and got drunk. The next morning I was so happy
mother would take me to places that had to be back in my own bednothing could compare to that.
music, like county fairs. I heard this mu-
sic and started copying it, regardless of The lingering effects of war: Within a week we were on the way to do a
what it was. I loved rhythm and blues. show in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. There was a railroad track we
There was a group in Spartanburg called were getting ready to go across. I heard this train whistle and jumped out
Joe Bennett and the Sparkletones. Their of the car and into a ditch. I got back in the car, and we did the show.
single Black Slacks was a smash. They
played on The Ed Sullivan Show [Nov. 3, Iraq in 2011: We went to Iraq and played for the troops. It was fun. We
1957]. That was bigger than The Beatles didnt go over there to showboat. We went to pay respect.
[as an inspiration] for us.
Helping fellow veterans: We work with Wounded Warriors. We do a lot
The beginning of the band: 5a Z[\ WN JMVM\ [PW_[ IVL \PM UWVMa Q[ LWVI\ML \W W\PMZ[ _PW _WZS _Q\P
band was called The New Generation. We those who have been wounded, mentally and physically. If were going to
all wore orange suit coats. We would play put people in harms way, the military and the government should be
in talent shows. I went from The New taking care of them.
TOP: COURTESY DOUG GRAY

Generation to The Toy Factory, with Toy


Caldwell, during high school. When we Forty-ve years after his service: I can still get back into my uniform.
graduated, Toy joined the Marines. I I dropped 20 pounds since I saw the buttons look like they were ready to
graduated in 67 and was immediately XWX6W_\PMXIV\[\PI\[ILQMZMV\[\WZa
drafted into the Army. Interview by Marc Leepson

64 VIETNAM
...like Teddy Roosevelt, Sitting Bull or Julius Caesar
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HONORING VIETNAM VETERANS AND PURPLE HEART RECIPIENTS

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