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

Long Day’s 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 When it’s you against nature, there’s only one tool you need: the stainless steel River Canyon Bowie Knife—now ONLY $49!

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Today’s release features the coveted “fi rst issue” minting class, designating these coins as the fi rst ever struck in the world. We honor our wartime Allies by joining forces with one of the world’s most established government mints— Australia’s prestigious Perth Mint—to create this fi rst in coin history. The iconic attack is vividly brought to life with three intricately engraved U.S. Navy ships set against a backdrop of Pacifi c waves and Hawaii’s famous landscape, while two Imperial Japanese Zero fi ghter aircraft fl y overhead. The coin’s legal tender status is bolstered by an of fi cial portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the front.

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VAULT CODE: VT20-29 USMONEYRESERVE.COM/PEARLHARBOR Prices may be more or less based on current market conditions. The markets for coins are unregulated. Prices can rise or fall and carry some risks. The company is not affi liated with the U.S. Government and the U.S. Mint. Past performance of the coin or the market cannot predict future performance. Price not valid for precious metals dealers. All calls recorded for quality assurance. Offer void where prohibited. Coins enlarged to show detail. ©2016 U.S. Money Reserve. This solicitation is being conducted by U.S. Money Reserve, Inc. (“USMR”), a Delaware corporation, with its principal offi ce in Austin, Texas, and its shipping address P.O. Box 170339, Austin Texas 78717, a commercial co-venturer with U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation (“USNMF”), with its principal offi ce at 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 123, Washington, DC 20004, (202) 737-2300. For every 75th Anniversary Pearl Harbor coin purchased, $5 will be donated by USMR to USNMF. All of the contributions raised by the solicitation will be utilized for the production and installation of the USNMF Lone Sailor Statue expected to be installed at a location to be determined at Pearl Harbor, HI. The advertising campaign for the Pearl Harbor Coins will terminate on or about February 28, 2021. USMR and USNMF are not affi liated with the U.S. Navy or any unit of the U.S. Government. All spokespeople appearing in USMR’s advertisements and all USMR representatives are compensated for their efforts. INFORMATION FILED WITH THE NEW JERSEY ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION AND THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTRIBU- TIONS RECEIVED BY THE CHARITY DURING THE LAST REPORTING PERIOD THAT WERE DEDICATED TO THE CHARITABLE PURPOSE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING 973-504-6215 AND IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/charfrm.htm. REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT. 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 Aussie’s ‘Soldier Proof’ Gun 14 Voices Richard Armitage 56 Media Digest 16 Then & Now 64 Rewind Rocker Doug Gray

36 IT’S 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 50 42 A SQUANDERED OPPORTUNITY Looking back, a former -VYLPNU:LY]PJLVɉJLY shares his insights on the breakdown of South Vietnam’s strategic hamlet program. By Frank Scotton

TWO MILLION MILES OF BAD ROAD The perils of long-haul trucking on Vietnam’s treacherous Highway 19. By John Horvath OCTOBER 2016 3 JOIN THE DISCUSSION AT VIETNAM MICHAEL A. REINSTEIN CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER MAG.COM 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 The Battle of Ia Drang in November COURTNEY FORTUNE Advertising Services [email protected] TERRY JENKINS Regional Sales Manager [email protected] 1965 was the first clash between RICK GOWER Regional Sales Manager [email protected] large-scale units of the U.S. and RICHARD VINCENT Regional Sales Manager [email protected] North Vietnamese armies. One of JOSH SCIORTINO Web Sales [email protected] 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 [email protected] Drang battle, visit Historynet.com and search “Ia Drang.” SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION 800-435-0715 or SHOP.HISTORYNET.com. Yearly subscriptions in U.S.: $39.95. List Rental Inquiries: Belkys Reyes, Lake Group Media, Inc. 914-925-2406;

iTunes or at Zinio.com AP PHOTO/RICK MERRON

4 VIETNAM AMERICA REMEMBERS® PRESENTS The Mort Künstler Vietnam War Tribute Pistol Honoring All Those Who Served in Vietnam

hey came from all over the country, from all walks of life, to answer Tthe call of duty. They left home and fought for freedom in an unknown country, on the other side of the world. They served with courage, honor and commitment against an elusive enemy. In the dense jungles, rice paddies, and acres of swampy grasslands, danger lurked with every step, on every patrol, within cities and inside every remote village. Few generations have faced a more daunting challenge. Few are more deserving of our gratitude and respect. America’s involvement in Vietnam spanned three decades. It’s estimated that more than 2,500,000 Americans served.More than 58,000 lost their lives, and another 365,000 were wounded. All those who served with valor and bravery in Vietnam deserve their honored place in American history. From the Mekong Delta to the bustling capital of Saigon, from the Central Highlands to the DMZ, America’s rank and file service members fought with courage and loyalty. The left side of Now, it’s time to salute them. the pistol features American ground Honoring All Those Who Served in Vietnam forces firing into the America Remembers is proud to announce the Mort Künstler Vietnam War Tribute chaotic blaze of battle, Pistol. This historic Tribute is issued on a working Colt® Government Model® .45 pistol, featuring causing enemy forces artwork based on six Vietnam War paintings by acclaimed American artist, Mort Künstler. to flee. To the right of the No firearm in history can boast a more impressive record of American military service than the center image, you’ll find a Colt .45. It was a trusted firearm for those who served in Vietnam, especially with the unpredictable combat scene depicting a terrain in an unknown country divided by decades of bitter history. The jungles were brutally hot and battle in the thick elephant humid, the days long and tedious and filled with uncertainty and danger. This stunning presentation grass, which can grow as firearm is a lasting tribute to those who served bravely in Vietnam. tall as seven feet in Vietnam. Each pistol is decorated by craftsmen commissioned specifically for this edition by America To the far left, three Americans Remembers. Both sides of the slide are polished and decorated in lustrous 24-karat gold and fire from—and jump from— a gleaming nickel with blackened patinaed highlights to accentuate the details of the artwork. The helicopter flying close to a hammer, slide stop, thumb safety, barrel bushing, grip screws, and magazine release are all also swampy marsh, capturing a decorated in 24-karat gold. tense moment in battle. At the muzzle end, you’ll find the An Exclusive Offer banner, HONORING ALL THOSE The Mort Künstler Vietnam War Tribute Pistol is issued in a limited edition of only 500 Tributes, WHO SERVED IN VIETNAM. In front of the hammer and is available exclusively from America Remembers. With millions of Americans so personally is a map of Vietnam with bamboo in the background. connected to the Vietnam War, we expect demand for this Tribute to be strong. We will arrange delivery of your working Colt .45 pistol through a licensed firearms dealer of your choice. And, The right side of the pistol features Americans in a patrol boat guarding as always, your Tribute will come with our 30-day guarantee of satisfaction. If you are not fully and defending against an attack from the shore. To the right of the center satisfied with your purchase, you may return it in original unfired condition within thirty days for image, you’ll find a marshy bank of high grass where heroic medics a complete and courteous refund. Reserve yours today to ensure that you are among the limited attend to wounded men injured during combat. Next, you’ll find LEST number of collectors who will be able to welcome this exclusive issue into their collection. WE FORGET, NONE COULD HAVE DONE IT BETTER scrolled inside Nothing was easy about the Vietnam War. Even if you weren’t there, you remember a banner. Behind this background is the bamboo and elephant grass that the constant coverage on the nightly news, and you remember the sacrifice of those brave were part of the everyday landscape for soldiers. To the far left is the Americans who served. Perhaps your brother or father served. Or maybe another family painting Indiana Rangers, which represents members of the Company D, member, friend, neighbor, or co-worker is your connection to Vietnam. You may know someone 151st Infantry division, one of the Guard units deployed to Vietnam, on who lost their life in Vietnam serving our country. Let us never forget their sacrifice. duty in the jungle. Mort Künstler’s signature symbolizes his approval of Reserve your Mort Künstler Vietnam War Tribute Pistol today, and pass down this Tribute in this honorable Tribute to our veterans. remembrance for generations to come.

I wish to reserve ___ of the “The Mort Künstler Vietnam War Tribute Pistol”, a working Colt .45 pistol, at the current issue Name ______price of $1,995.* My deposit of $195 per pistol is enclosed. I wish to pay the balance at the rate of $100 per month, no interest or Address ______carrying charges. Certificate of Authenticity included. Thirty-day *All orders are subject to acceptance and credit verification prior to return privilege. shipment.Shipping and handling will be added to each order. Virginia City/State/Zip ______TCheck enclosed for $______. residents please add sales tax. TCharge payment of $ ______to: Daytime Telephone No. ( ______) ______T VISA T MasterCard T AMEX T Discover ® Display Case Available No. ______Exp. ______America Remembers An optional luxuriously-lined, Display Case TI wish to reserve the optional, luxuriously 10226 Timber Ridge Drive + Ashland, Virginia 23005 custom-built, wooden display lined, custom-made display case with locking glass lid. www.americaremembers.com case is available for purchase. My payment of $149* is enclosed or add to credit card. To place your reservation toll-free call 1-800-682-2291 MiG destroyer In the air war with North Vietnam, U.S. Air Force Brilliant But Not Colonel Robin Olds shot Unbeatable in the Air KVÛMV\Y4P.ÄNO[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. Schuster’s brief but QVNWZUI\Q^MXI[[IOM[IJW]\\PMLQЅK]T- ties faced by North Vietnam’s leader, Le Duan, coupled with the famous Wall Street Journal article by General Vo Nguyen Giap’s former military secre- Colin Powell tary, Colonel Bui Tin, tend to prove my ¸-SH^LKNLULYHS¹ assertion. Second, as on the ground, the or “preeminent North Vietnamese fought a brilliantly integrated SLHKLY¹& 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 ÅOP\MZIKM[\W)UMZQKI¼[\_W

Powell Strikes a Nerve treaty. Count me as a former havoc on Americans and the In his interview with General ILUQZMZWN\PQ[ÆI_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 general’s 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 Powell’s Air America Incognito through the ruse. Powell sup- Vietnam” established even more In “Then and Now” (August ported President Barack Obama ÅZUTa\PMOMVMZIT¼[XTIKMI[WVM aW]ZKIX\QWVQLMV\QÅM[\PM in both 2008 and 2012, even after of the preeminent leaders and helicopter framed by the cathe- Obama’s domestic and foreign statesmen of our time. In the dral as being Marine. I believe it policy failures were apparent. magazine’s excerpt from David was one of Air America’s. The truth is that Powell has re- Greenway’s book Foreign Corre- Dan Holdredge jected everything he may have spondent, Greenway’s 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 EDITOR’S NOTE: Good eye. We’ve term “statesman” simply does not well-reasoned. It shouldn’t have discovered that the original apply. The general claims, “We taken anybody with a sense of the Associated Press caption that didn’t win” in Vietnam. Of course culture and history of Vietnam accompanied the 1975 photo we won. But anyone who was con- ^MZaTWVOQV̆KW]V\Za\WÅO]ZMW]\ mislabeled the helicopter. scious in 1975 knows that our that through our government’s 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 [email protected] TOP: U.S. AIR FORCE; POWELL: AP PHOTO

6 VIETNAM Exclusive Urban Blue Watch Limited to the first 1900 responders to this ad only!

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OBAMA ENDS ARMS EMBARGO DURING VIETNAM VISIT Crowds lined the streets of Hanoi as President Barack consideration in arms sales and noted that several Obama’s motorcade left Air Force One’s 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[[ºPM[IQL¹\PMZMIZM[\QTTNWTS[_PWÅVLQ\^MZa American embargo on arms sales to Vietnam, which had LQЅK]T\\WI[[MUJTMIVLWZOIVQbMXMIKMN]TTaIZW]VL been in place since 1984. issues that they care deeply about.” The move, Obama said, was not prompted by China’s Vietnam doesn’t deserve the closer ties that the United maneuvers to expand its presence in the region but came ;\I\M[Q[WЄMZQVO[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, it’s also a human rights abuse luncheon that he was grateful for the American people’s in itself.” MЄWZ\[\WX]\IVMVL\W¹IV]VPIXXaKPIX\MZQV\PM\_W During meetings and events in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh 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

He said Vietnam’s human rights record would be a Vietnamese restaurant where the meal cost $6. (2) PHOTO STOCK PHOTO/ALAMY WHITE HOUSE

8 VIETNAM SHOWSHOW YOU’REYOU’RE PROUD AND FREE IN CLASSIC STYLE

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9345 Milwaukee Avenue · Niles, IL 60714-1393 Address Yes! Please reserve the “American Pride” Leather Aviator Jacket for me as City State Zip described in this announcement. I’ve indicated my size below. Offer Limited... Respond Promptly Email (optional) T T E39571 Medium (38-40) 01-22361-011 XL (46-48) 01-22361-013 *Plus a total of $17.99 shipping and service. Please allow 2-4 weeks after initial payment for TLarge (42-44) 01-22361-012 TXXL (50-52) 01-22361-014 shipment. All sales are subject to product availability and order acceptance. Peace Corps Goes to Vietnam The Peace Corps and the Vietnamese government announced that \PM IOMVKa _PQKP sends volunteers overseas to work in a variety of assistance XZWOZIU[_QTTWXMZI\M in Vietnam for the first VIETNAM \QUMQM\VIUK]TUQVI\MLIaMIZ[TWVOMЄWZ\Ja\PM8MIKM+WZX[\W gain entry into the country. RECEIVES “This new partnership will further strengthen and deepen our \_WKW]V\ZQM[¼XMWXTM̆\W̆XMWXTMMVOIOMUMV\[IVL\PM^WT]V\MMZ[ MEDAL OF _QTTTMIZV\PMZQKP\ZILQ\QWV[K]T\]ZMIVLPQ[\WZaWN\PQ[OZMI\ HONOR VI\QWVº[IQL8MIKM+WZX[,QZMK\WZ+IZZQM0M[[TMZ̆:ILMTM\_PW [QOVML\PMIOZMMUMV\QV>QM\VIUWV5Ia :M\QZML)ZUa4\+WT+PIZTM[ )\IVM_[KWVNMZMVKMITWVO[QLM>QM\VIUM[M8ZM[QLMV\QM\VIUM[M)ZUa IMAGES GETTY VIA IRE dent Joe Galloway and retired four- in the Song Tra Cau riverbed. [\IZOMVMZIT*IZZa5K+IЄZMaI Shortly after leaving the KWUXIVaKWUUIVLMZQV>QM\VIU TIVLQVObWVMWV\PMÅVIT have joined Vietnam magazine’s ÆQOP\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 0Q[ZMXWZ\QVOWV\PM!JI\\TMWN1I LIa[I^ML\PMTQ^M[WN[WTLQMZ[I[ 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 Once…and 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+IЄZMaI?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 \W]Z[QV>QM\VIUWVMI[IVIL^Q[MZ\W\PM I_IZL3M\\TM[Q[\PM\P5MLITWN >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+IЄZMa_I[LQZMK\WZWN\PM ! UQ[[QWV^Q[Q\___IZUaUQT 4J*HɈYL` ?PQ\M0W][M7ЅKMWN6I\QWVIT,Z]O+WV- UMLITWNPWVWZSM\\TM[

trol Policy for President Bill Clinton. NEWSW PLOWMAN/NBC WILLIAM B. BY PHOTO LEFT: BOTTOM IMAGES; GETTY VIA BROWN/STRINGER M. FREDERICK LEFT: WWW.KVUE.COM; RIGHT: TOP

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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 on June 3, from complications of correspondent of the CBS news- 76. The material for Herr’s book, Parkinson’s 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 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\PMÅZ[\<>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 _MZMÅK\QWVITQbML0Q[_WZSWV\PM stripped of his heavyweight title. He bringing a report into America’s 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[WVÅVMLIVLJIVVML 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 century’s top in 1979, and Full Metal Jacket, re-

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VersoShock® U.S Patent #US8,555,526 B2. This product has not been evaluated by the FDA. Not intended to treat, cure or prevent any disease. Shoes must be returned within 30 days in like-new condition for full refund or exchange. Credit card authorization required. See website for complete details. Born: April 26,1945, Boston; grew up in Georgia Residence: Vienna, Virginia Education: U.S. Naval Academy In Vietnam: October 1967-April 1968, ofﬁcer aboard the destroyer USS Buck; April 1969-April 1970, adviser, South Vietnamese Navy RICHARD Coastal Group 35; May 1971-March 1972, adviser, ARMITAGE 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 Today: President, to do my part to help them’ Armitage International, Arlington, Virginia, provides analysis and advice to clients in international Richard Armitage, a Navy adviser business ventures assisting South Vietnamese units during the war and later a State ,MXIZ\UMV\WЅKQIT_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]\[MMSQVOWЅKQITI]\PWZQbI- tion—to expand his mission. He would use some of those vessels as well as the destroyer USS 3QZS to Were you rebuked by ofﬁcials in Washington when transport not only military personnel but also as many they found out you had taken it upon yourself to use civilians as possible to the Philippines, where they the U.S. Navy to conduct a civilian evacuation with- would board other vessels for a refugee camp in Guam. out their approval? Well, they were caught in a bind )ZUQ\IOMTI\MZPMTLXW[Q\QWV[QV\PM7ЅKMWN\PM because my job was to deny those assets to the enemy, Secretary of Defense in Ronald Reagan’s administra- to the North Vietnamese, and I chose to deny it in the tion. During George H.W. Bush’s presidency, he negoti- way I denied it. The government didn’t abuse me. They ated international agreements and directed the U.S. ignored me. And they ignored me until the year 2001, IQLXZWOZIUNWZKW]V\ZQM[\PI\JZWSMI_IaNZWU\PM when Secretary of Defense Bill Cohen invited me to come Soviet Union. From 2001 to 2005, Armitage was \W\PM8MV\IOWVWVPQ[TI[\LIaQVWЅKMIVLXZM[MV\ML Powell’s deputy secretary of state. me with the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Armitage shared his perspective on the war with Public Service. Vietnam-LQ\WZ+P]KS;XZQVO[\WV You resigned from the Navy after the 1973 peace The South Vietnamese evacuation that you led is agreement with North Vietnam because you didn’t regarded as one of the great humanitarian missions like the terms of the deal. What in the agreement of the U.S. military. How does that rank among the upset you that much? It was the notion of leading the accomplishments in your life? 1LWV¼\TWWSI\Q\I[IV Vietnamese down a certain path for so long and then all IKKWUXTQ[PUMV\1TWWSI\Q\I[\PM]VPIXXaKWUXTM\QWV of a sudden leaving them. It was quite clear to anyone of a mission. Those things I consider accomplishments _PWTWWSMLI\\PMIOZMMUMV\IVL\PMXWTQ\QKIT[Q\]I\QWV are related to my family, my children. The other things \PI\\PQ[_I[R][\\W][M.ZIVS;VMXX¼[JWWS\Q\TMI¹LM-

were missions, duty. KMV\QV\MZ^ITºJMNWZM_M_ITSMLW]\ DAN WILLIAMS

14 VIETNAM What were your feelings about the war itself? stand the jargon that’s 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, it’s not enough for them simply UM\PI\_MPILTW[\\PMIЄMK\QWVWN\PM=;XMWXTMIVL to be the enemy of my enemy. They have to also embrace once you’ve 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[ILQЄMZMVKM1V[WUMKI[M[\PMaLWV¼\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[KIJWЄIVLaW]LWV¼\PI^MIVQLMI_PI\¼[ LQLSVW_MIZTaWV\PI\\PQ[_I[VW\I_QVVIJTMKWVÆQK\ going to replace it. It’s not necessarily the case that any- and we kept sending young GIs over. thing’s 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 hillbilly—and the head of U.S. combat forces in June 1968], was going now is called country—or blues, R&B. quite well, but there was a riddle we couldn’t solve. We can train the Vietnamese—just as we can train Afghans and Were there any clothing styles you wore then that Iraqis—but 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[IKZQÅKMWN\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, that’s what you What are the lessons of the Vietnam War? The most wore. And I wouldn’t be embarrassed to wear that today. obvious one is that wars are easy to get into and hard to 1VM^MZOW\QV\WJMTT̆JW\\WU[IVLITT\PI\[\]Є get out of. The other lessons are that popular support at PWUMQ[I\TMI[\I[QUXWZ\IV\I[[]KKM[[WV\PMJI\\TMÅMTL 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- I’m a big decisive-force guy. If you’re 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] ZQÅKMLI\PQOPTM^MT[

During a war, what should be the role of the military leadership compared with the role of civilian leaders? Once objectives have been established and the military leaders tell you how they’re 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[̆WЄ

COURTESY RICHARD ARMITAGE military in many cases and don’t 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, reported 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 , PHOTO BY LUKE FRANKE DAILY NEWS (FLORIDA) NAPLES

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SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1966

Sept. 8 The ﬁrst episode of Star Trek, featuring William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Sept. 5 The ﬁrst 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]\ÅMTLMZ.ZIVS Robinson, who hit two homers in the series, was named most valuable player.

18 VIETNAM Oct. 10 QM\+WVO programs to improve O]VVMZ[_Q\P UUZMKWQTTM[[ZQÆM[ economic conditions. IUJ][P\_WUQVM[_MMXMZ[PQ\\QVOWVM QV\PMXQTW\PW][M+ZM_UIV:WVITL) 0MQV\b_I[SQTTML#_MZM_W]VLML

Oct. 26)ÅZMJZMIS[W]\QV\PMÆIZM ZWWUWNIQZKZIN\KIZZQMZ=;;7ZQ[SIVa QV\PM/]TNWN

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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 ﬁxed sight was hand from barrel offset to the left. heat and rounds The rear sight ejected during could be folded ﬁring. 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 shooter’s hand from blocking ejected down. Australia’s L1A1 riﬂe. the ejection port.

THE AUSSIE’S ‘SOLDIER PROOF’ GUN *a+IZT7;KP][\MZ

Australia’s 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 II–era Owen Round: !`!UU []JUIKPQVMO]VIN\MZÅMTL\M[\QVOQV!\PM.[PIZML[WUMWN\PM7_MV¼[KPIZIK\MZ- Parabellum Q[\QK["1\PILI[QUXTMJTW_JIKSLM[QOVIVLÅZMLW^MZIVWXMVJWT\_Q\PIÅ`MLÅZQVOXQV Magazine:̆ZW]VL QM\VIUM[MR]VOTM_PMZM most of their military operations took place.

)][\ZQIV̆J]QT\. +)][\MaZZQÆMJMOQVVQVOQV!!V GREGORY PROCH

20 VIETNAM “My friends all hate their ContractsNo

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‘Head for the Storm’ On the bloody battleﬁeld of Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley and in the burning tower of the World Trade Center, Rick Rescorla entered the maelstrom and helped others get out alive By Robert Bateman

ick Rescorla knew his history. 5aÅZ[\UMUWZaWN+aZQT¹:QKSº:M[KWZTI RThe 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 Rorke’s 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\\WSMMXÅOP\QVO

PHOTO BY ROGER HART/C ROGER BY PHOTO April 1, 2006. preserved. PMTXÅOP\\PM+WUU]VQ[\[QV;W]\PMI[\)[QI

OCTOBER 2016 23 )N\MZ7ЅKMZ+IVLQLI\M;KPWWTPM_I[I[[QOVML\W\PM JI\\ITQWV_I[KWUQVO\WPMTX][JMKI][MWNITTW]Z \P+IÎTZa:MOQUMV\IVLTML\PMUMVWN[\8TI\WWV [KZMIUQVOIVLaMTTQVOº*]\Q\_I[R][\:M[KWZTIIVLI *ZI^W+WUXIVaVL*I\\ITQWV NM_WNPQ[UMV 7V6W^!5WWZM¼[[\*I\\ITQWV \P+IÎTZa ,WbMV[WN_W]VLML)UMZQKIV[TIaI\)TJIVaI_IQ\QVO IQZ̆I[[I]T\MLQV\W\PMZMUW\M1I,ZIVO>ITTMaTM[[\PIV UMLMÎK[\PZW]OPW]\\PMVQOP\*ZI^MI^QI\WZ[ZQ[SML UQTM[NZWU\PM+IUJWLQIVJWZLMZQM\VIUM[M)ZUa QV?M?MZM;WTLQMZ[7VKM°IVLAW]VO¹)J]OTM_I[VW\\Z]M1\_I[ XZQUML)I[[I]T\MLNW]Z\QUM[I\\IKSQVOQV :QKS_PWNW]VL\PI\J]OTMWVILaQVOMVMUa[WTLQMZNWZ̆ P]UIV_I^M[1V\PMÅZ[\Z][PIVI\\IKSJaI[UIVaI[ _IZLWNPQ[TQVM[L]ZQVOI[_MMXI\4B)TJIVa 6>)_I[[\WXXMLKWTL ¹?MZM\]ZVML\WC+IUXE0WTTW_IaIVLNWZI_PQTM_M )ZW]VL\PM6WZ\P>QM\VIUM[MTI]VKPMLI _MZMJ]WaML]X_Q\P\PMNIK\\PI\_MPIL[]Z^Q^MLº:QKS PMI^QMZI\\IKS:M[KWZTIIVLPQ[UMVKWV\QV]ML\WX]UX [IQL¹)TTOTWWUaUMUWZQM[_MZM[PW^MLJMTW_\PM[]Z̆ ZW]VL[QV\W\PMKT]UX[WNJWLQM[VMIZM[\\PMQZPWTM[)\ NIKMº) he gave +WZX[7VM̆;Q`ºWV\PMKWUXIVaIVLJI\\IT̆ 7V6W^MUJMZ \PMZM[\WN\PMVL*I\̆ the command QWVVM\_WZS[ \ITQWV_PQKPPILIZZQ^MLWVNWW\JMOIVI \IK\QKITUIZKP\WIVM_TIVLQVObWVM)T̆ ‘Fix bayonets!’ There is noMI[aWZ[QUXTM_Ia\WLM̆ JIVaNWZIPMTQKWX\MZXQKS]X7V\PMUIZKP [KZQJM\PMTQNMWN:QKS:M[KWZTI)I\\IKSIVL _PWSVM_\PM̆aMIZ̆WTL[MKWVLTQM]\MVIV\QV>QM\VIU :QKS¼[XTI\WWV_I[IOIQVLMXTWaMLQVZMTQMN:QKS\PM[WTM UW[\TaSVM_PQUNWZWVTaIaMIZIVL\PMVLQLVW\[MM ZMUIQVQVOWЅKMZXTI\WWVTMILMZQV*ZI^W+WUXIVaTML PQUNWZLMKILM[QM\VIU:M[KWZTI[XMV\IaMIZ _Q\PI[UQTMWVPQ[NIKMIV5̆ !WVPQ[[PW]TLMZPQ[ \MIKPQVOI\.WZ\*MVVQVOQV/MWZOQIIVL\PMVOW\W]\WN 5̆QVWVMPIVL[IaQVO"»/WWLOWWLOWWL 1PWXM\PMa \PM)ZUa¸[WZ\WN0MRWQVML\PM)ZUa:M[MZ^MIL̆ PQ\][_Q\PM^MZa\PQVO\PMaOW\\WVQOP\¸_M¼TT_QXM\PMU ÎVKQVO\WKWTWVMTJMNWZMPMZM\QZMLQV!!)TWVO\PM ]X¼º/_QV_ZW\M¹0Q[[XQZQ\_I[KI\KPQVO

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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 Once…and 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 distance…though the distance was a wall just a few feet away. The secret to Rick’s 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 something 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 maelstrom, his people followed. Rising casualties After terrorist hijackersÆM_IXTIVMQV\W

OCTOBER 2016 25 26 home in New Jersey. at a sculpturegarden near his The warrior shows hissoftside Poet and romantic VIETNAM who made itdownthose stairwells That number doesn’t include That include numberdoesn’t because Rick coordinated a because Rickcoordinated a 2,684 employees saved. militarylike evacuation the thousands ofothers of his people. of hispeople.

BRIAN WALKER 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!!_PMV1ÅZ[\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 Once…and 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[WNZMÆMK\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 There’s Bound to be Fighting [MMVWV\PM\PÆWWZPMILQVO]X past. So he never did. And when there’s no Fighting He would leave nobody behind. He never mentioned the bestsell- It’s 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 Rick’s 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 )VLÅTTQ\_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\PMÆWWZ 50 miles from West Point. I also usually don’t talk about. How to take For the heart of the Seventh knew that Rick was a rare attendee normal, decent, young American Rescorla’s no more at the regiment’s 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, PILJMMVÅOP\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\PMWЅKMZ[IVLM^MZa[QV- Moore’s 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. Hometown hero [QWVZMKWOVQ\QWVIVLRWaÆI[PMLQV Susan was awestruck. That was Susan Rescorla next quick succession across the general’s her Rick. Her goofball. Her poet and to a memorial to face. Later, at the ceremony, Moore romantic. Always surprising. Rick in Cornwall, England. :WJMZ\*I\MUIV[MZ^MLaMIZ[I[IZMO]TIZ)ZUaQVNIV\ZaWЅKMZ0M_I[ a professor of history at West Point and at Georgetown and George Mason

OPPOSITE: COURTESY SUSAN RESCORLA; RIGHT: REX FEATURES VIA AP IMAGES AP VIA FEATURES REX RIGHT: RESCORLA; SUSAN COURTESY OPPOSITE: universities. Bateman is a longstanding contributor to Vietnam magazine.

OCTOBER 2016 27 Explosive situation A diorama at the U.S. Naval Academy illustrates the exploits of Marine Captain John Ripley, who placed explosives under the Dong Ha Bridge to stop a

North Vietnamese ACADEMY NAVAL UNITED STATES 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 man’s mission When enemy tanks moved toward the Dong Ha Bridge on Easter Sunday 1972, Ripley was ordered to take it down.

17TH PARALLEL NORTH VIETNAM

GIO DEMILITARIZED BEN HAI LINH ZONE RIVER CON THIEN CUA VIET RIVER LAOS 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 arine Corporal Chuck Goggin, 1st now occupied by South Vietnamese troops from the 3rd MPlatoon radio operator for Lima Company, was stunned Division, Army of the Republic of Vietnam. by the transmission he received on March 2, 1967, from In Mai Loc, a South Vietnamese artillery base south 2nd Platoon’s reconnaissance patrol: “You wouldn’t be- of Camp Carroll, U.S. Marine Major Tom Gnibus was lieve what we’ve got here….There’s 500 to 1,000 packs looking west at twilight on March 28 when he spotted a on the ground.” Goggin thought, If there’s 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 Vietnam’s Quang Tri province, which erations center at Ai Tu, near Quang Tri. His suspicions bordered the Demilitarized Zone separating the two _MZMKWVÅZUML\PMVM`\LIa¹1PMIZL\PQ[JWWUNZWU Vietnams. The Marines were operating in territory the west,” Gnibus said. “I yelled, ‘Incoming!’ and looked dubbed “Leatherneck Square”—54 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, Vietnam’s 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 )KWT- In the evening of the NVA ground attacks, called the umn moving north, carrying many wounded. -I[\MZ7ЄMV[Q^MJa)UMZQKIV[\PM;W]\P>QM\VIUM[M Goggin was impressed by Ripley’s command of the marines’ 3rd Infantry Battalion, Brigade 258, stationed JI\\TMÅMTL¹1_I[ÅZUTaKWV^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

OPPOSITE TOP: COURTESY RIPLEY FAMILY (2); MAP: BRIAN WALKER (2); MAP: BRIAN FAMILY RIPLEY COURTESY TOP: OPPOSITE 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_ÅZM[I UUO]VI\ +IUX+IZZWTTQV June 1967.

The aftermath ;W]\P>QM\VIUM[M \ZWWX[KPMKSW]\ ,WVO0I¼[LIUIOM NZWUMVMUaIZ\QTTMZa QV)XZQT!

Spoils of war ;W]\P>QM\VIUM[MUIZQVM[[PW_ WЄI6WZ\P>QM\VIUM[MÆIO\ISMV I\,WVO0IWV)XZQT

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

32 >1-<6)5VIETNAM were completely surprised.” arranged a medevac, but it came too late. “Doc William- Turley learned that the North son handed me Bruggerman’s tags,” Eisenstein said. Vietnamese bombardment had About 7 p.m., Colonel Murdoch again approached Tur- caught two ARVN regiments, TMa5]ZLWKPIVLPQ[M`MK]\Q^MWЅKMZ_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 multaneously—and inexplica- NVA artillery range. Turley was to take charge at Ai Tu. bly—swapping positions at Putting an open cigarette pack in Turley’s 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 Binh’s 3rd Battalion Soi Charlie 2 and the 56th got to Bien marines to hold Dong Ha. Binh’s infantry would join Camp Carroll. with the ARVN 20th Tank Battalion, now rumbling toward 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][\WЄ: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[QLMIVLKWVÅLML\PI\\PM)ZUaKWTWVMT heading for Dong Ha Bridge. [MZ^QVOI[\PM[\IЄWЅKMZNWZWXMZI\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[WЅ- ment—in Ripley’s estimation “easily the most destruc- cer position “for a couple of hours” and assured him, “I’ll tive attack I had witnessed”—pounded Dong Ha. As the have somebody relieve you.” dust settled, rumors spread that NVA tanks were already across the bridge. Retreating ARVN soldiers and April 1, Holy Saturday. During the predawn hours, civilians mobbed Highway 1. MQOP\ÅZMJI[M[ITWVO\PMW]\MZUW[\KZM[KMV\WNVWZ\PMZV Coordinating with Lieutenant Eisenstein in the Ai Tu Quang Tri’s defenses wobbled or fell. The plight of one, operations center, Ripley called for continuous “danger O/JACQUES TONNAIRE O/JACQUES Alpha 2 near Gio Linh, was Turley’s pressing concern. KTW[MºVI^ITO]VÅZMWV\PMNIZ[QLMWN\PM+]I>QM\:Q^MZ The base, close to Highway 1 and directly north of Dong 6JI\\ITQWV¼[\IVS[ÅZMLKZW[[̆ZQ^MZI\ Ha, came under siege around noon on Friday and was the NVA tanks and Soi Bien marines lined the southern \MM\MZQVO)Å^M̆UIV=;5IZQVMNWZ_IZLWJ[MZ^MZ\MIU bank, Ripley and Smock pushed their way through the from the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, ÆMMQVO\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 bridge’s 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\PMÅZMI\)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^MZPILÆML[PWZ\TaIN\MZ:QXTMaIVL alert him, and simultaneously arranged supporting gun- Smock arrived. The two Americans would have to reset ÅZMNZWU\_W6I^aLM[\ZWaMZ[WЄ[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[WXMVMLÅZMIVL\PM+WJZI[JMOIV[\ZIÅVO\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 wounded—a 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[ÅVOMZ[\W\PMOQZLMZÆIVOM[0M

CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE TOP LEFT: UNDERWOOD ARCHIVES/GETTY IMAGES; AP PHOTO/JACQUES TONNAIRE; AP PHOTO/KOICHIRO MORITA; AP PHOT AP MORITA; PHOTO/KOICHIRO AP TONNAIRE; PHOTO/JACQUES AP IMAGES; ARCHIVES/GETTY UNDERWOOD LEFT: TOP OPPOSITE FROM CLOCKWISE stein recalled. Back at Ai Tu, corpsman Tom Williamson dangled in plain view of the NVA, but remarkably, in-

OCTOBER 2016 33 [\MILWNÅZQVO¹\PMMVMUa_I\KPML_Q\P°P]UWZIVL 1V[\MILI[LQ[KZMM\TaI[XW[[QJTM+IUXMZITMZ\ML\PM IUIbMUMV\º:QXTMa[IQL WXMZI\QWV[KMV\MZ)[PMZMKITTMLTI\MZ"¹1LQLV¼\_IV\ QM\VIUM[M WZLMZQVO\PM,WVO0I*ZQLOMLM[\ZWaML)\IVS[QUUMLQI\MTa :QOOQVO\PMJZQLOM\WWSIJW]\\_WPW]Z[1\TMN\:QXTMa )JW]\"XU+IUX+IZZWTT¼[\P:MOQUMV\[\IKSML IVL;UWKSM`PI][\ML¸IVL[\QTT_Q\PW]\I_Ia\W[INMTa Q\[_MIXWV[+IUXMZIVL*ZW_VIN\MZÅVITTa[MK]ZQVO \ZQOOMZ\PMJTI[\:QXTMa[M\\TMLWVIXWWZ[]J[\Q\]\M" <]ZTMa¼[XMZUQ[[QWV\WMÎK]I\MZQOOML\PMQZJ]VSMZ_Q\P TMVO\P[WNN][M\PI\PIL\WJM¹RI_JWVMKZQUXMLº\WLM\̆ QVKMVLQIZaOZMVILM[XW]ZMLI\ZIQTWNSMZW[MVMQOVQ\ML WVI\WZ[-IKPKZQUXZQ[SMLM`XTWLQVO:QXTMa¼[RI_J]\ Q\IVLTMN\)[\PMJ]VSMZM`XTWLMLJMPQVL\PMU\PM\_W PM[]KKMMLMLIVL[WWVZM[]UMLPIVL̆_ITSQVO\PM KW̆ÎV[ZIVNWZ+IUX+IZZWTT¼[[W]\PMI[\XMZQUM\MZ JZQLOM\WQV[MZ\LM\WVI\WZ[QV\W\PMKPIZOM[6ZILQWWXMZĬ \PMTWVON][M[ \WZ[?Q\PQVUQV]\M[\PMaZIVINW]TWNIKWUXIVă[QbM )]VQ\,M[XMZI\MNWZPMTX+IUXMZZILQWML)Q<] QM\VIŬ I[*QVP¼[;WQ*QMVTIQLLW_VXZW\MK\Q^MNQZM;PW]\[ M[MUIZQVMJI\\ITQWV[XTW\\MLIJZMISW]\MI[\NZWU\PM XZWXMTTML\PMU\PZW]OPIPIQTWNJ]TTM\["¹,IQ]a,IQ KZI\MZMLTIVL[KIXM ]aLMMLI]LMMLI] º¸¹+IX\IQVKIX\IQVUW^MaW]Z 1ZWVQKITTa5IQ4WK¼[QUUQVMV\LW_VNITTKWV\ZQJ]\ML I[[Z]VZ]V º \W\PMZM[K]MWN+IUXMZIVL*ZW_V)V)ZUa+0̆ +PQVWWSZM[]XXTaPMTQKWX\MZJW]VLNWZ5IQ4WK_I[ As Ripley, SmockIVL\PM;WQ*QMVLMÅMLLMI\PI\ [MV\WV\W+IUX+IZZWTTJa<]ZTMa¼[[\IЄI\)Q<] ,WVO0I\W[\WX\PMMVMUaILÎVKM4\+WT8PIU>IV +IUXMZZILQWML+0̆ XQTW\+IX\IQV0IZZa4)\WVMOW\QI\M[]ZZMVLMZ,QVPIXXZWIKPMLPQ[ KWZ\[[QTMVKML\PMMVMUaÅZMI[\PM\_W):>6ZILQW )ZUaKW̆ÎV[4\+WT?QTTQIU+IUXMZIVL5IRWZ2WM WXMZI\WZ[IVL*ZW_VKTQUJMLIJWIZL+IUXMZUMIV̆ *ZW_VI\XU\WJZMIS\PMVM_[ _PQTM\PZM_WЄ):>6LM[MZ\MZ[\ZaQVO\WOM\IZQLMW]\ +IUXMZ_I[[PWKSML"¹1\WTL,QVP»2WMIVL1IZMV¼\ ¹1SQVLWN_MV\JMZ[MZSºPM[IQL

It’s 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 Ripley’s 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 weren’t yet close to the gas documentation of the authorizations received from Mur- tank. The jeep’s key was in the ignition, set in the on doch—and proof of what had been accomplished—and 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[UITT̆IZU[ÅZM to wrap the communication line’s copper wire around had deposited them there, leaving the Army co-vans to the battery’s positive terminal. Bracing himself, Ripley ÅOP\\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 the terminals—still nothing.” The co-vans’ Easter stand in Quang Tri blunted but -`KMX\NWZ[UITT̆IZU[ÅZMIVL\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 NVA’s 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-

OPPOSITE FAR LEFT AND LEFT: AP PHOTO/KOICHIRO MORITA; AP PHOTO/RICHARD BLYSTONE; TOP: AP PHOTO AP TOP: BLYSTONE; PHOTO/RICHARD AP MORITA; PHOTO/KOICHIRO AP AND LEFT: LEFT FAR OPPOSITE 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. IT’S 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 America’s armed forces. Many were in Bob Hope’s Christmas shows. Some sang and LIVKML_Q\PW\PMZ=;7\W]Z[I\LQЄMZMV\ \QUM[WN\PMaMIZ

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 COURTESY JOHN HORVATH I of ambush addedtothedangers thatconvoys hadtoface. two vehicles in atrailer-transfer pointandkilled.Andthreats betweenanother accident, oneofourdrivers wascrushed namese bus.Thehead-on collisionkilledeightpassengers. In zigzagging toavoid potholes, wasafast-moving smallViet- to misspotholes,andcominginthe oppositedirection,also andrightacrosstheroad drivertruck waszigzaggingleft tation Company. In oneespecially tragicincident,anArmy conv drivers. driving pothole-strewnroadsshared withwildVietnamese into theenemy,run butwe never imaginedthatwe wouldbe duties.Welong-haul trucking knew, ofcourse,thatwe could leaving Bragg, North Fort Carolina,andgoingtoVietnamfor company thatourtractorsandtrailers wouldbe learned n thespringof1966 my U.S. truck Army transportation ‘Two Million Long-haul trucking on Long-haul trucking Vietnam’s treacherous Highway 19 oys as anArmy captaincommandingthe 64thTranspor- Bad Road’ I saw accidentsofallkindswhenIwasorganizing Miles of By John Horvath 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 WЅKMZ[IVLUMVQM\VIU_M the Qui Nhon port or the local trailer-transfer point. We _MZM\WTL\PI\W]Z\Z]KS\ZIK\WZ[_MZMV¼\OWQVO_Q\P][ _MZMV¼\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[_MÅVQ[PML\ZILQVO\PM\QZM[ITTMa1OI^M those tractors. W]ZW]\JW]VLJZQMÅVOI\IVL_MLMXIZ\MLI\ QM\VIUQV)]O][\\PMJMOQVVQVOWNW]Z UMKPIVQKLZQ^QVOI\Z]KS\ZIK\WZ_Q\PW]\I\ZIQTMZJ]\ UWV\P[QV̆KW]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]QM\VIU- WXMZI\QVOQV\PMUQLLTMWN>QM\VIU?MUILM\PM̆ M[MIZUa^MPQKTM[\PI\PILOW\\MVUQ`MLQV_Q\P][W^MZ UQTMZW]VL\ZQX\W8TMQS]IVLJIKSM^MZaLIa \PM\ZI^MTUQTM[NZWU9]Q6PWV

OPPOSITE: AP PHOTO/RICK MERRON PHOTO/RICK AP OPPOSITE: \PMKWV^WaIVL_PQKPXTI\WWV[MZOMIV\WZI[[Q[\IV\XTI- ?MLQLV¼\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. 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\PIÆI\\QZM1KIUMIKZW[[I[UITTUWV]UMV\\PI\ Patrol by mail and purchased an excellent color movie 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[\UIRWZJI\\TMWN\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. (2) JOHN HORVATH COURTESY MPOSIUM; 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 bypass—a 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 roadway—and 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[WЄI\\PM+PI:IVO>ITTMa\ZIV[NMZ .]MTNQT\MZ[_MZMIVW\PMZXZWJTMU

to the platoons for the next day’s convoy. Our mainte- one trip. Qui Nhon, near the beach, was hotter and SY IN COLLISION PHYSICS PHOTO; ARMY US BOTTOM: TO TOP RIGHT, FAR OPPOSITE PHOTO/FAAS; AP RIGHT: OPPOSITE JOHN HORVATH; COURTESY

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 commander’s jeep the Patmobile, after his wife, Patricia. 1954 AMBUSH OF FRENCH MOBILE AN KHE 14 GROUP PASS 1 ENLARGED AREA

PLEIKU AN KHE SOUTH MANG VIETNAM YANG The long haul PASS DEVIL’S 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 ﬁeld 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]VLMÅVMLXMZQWLIN\MZ;MX\! The dedication and hard work of the long-haul truck driv- Bridges blown 18 MZ[IVLO]V\Z]KSKZM_UMV_MZMWЅKQITTaZMKWOVQbMLQV! Other incidents 39 when they were given a special privilege. The U.S. Army, Viet- U.S. killed in action 58 VIUPMILY]IZ\MZ[I]\PWZQbML\PM[M[WTLQMZ[\W_MIZ\PM4QVM 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 COURTESY JOHN HORVATH; MAP BY BRIAN WALKER BRIAN BY MAP JOHN HORVATH; COURTESY

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 “We Gotta pany began to gradually send drivers to Qui Nhon was dry. When one of those areas 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 by The sonnel all at one time in July. ÅT\MZW]\\PM\PQKSL][\?MIXXTQML[IVL- We had a whole lingo dedicated to return- JIO[\W\PMLZQ^MZ̆[QLMKIJÆWWZ[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 ÅZM#PW_M^MZ\PMVM_IZUWZMLXTI\QVOKW^MZMLU]KP 10 days, he was a “single digit midget.” With less than of the door’s 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 \PMPMIâ[\MMTPMTUM\[IVL\PMPMIâPW\ÆISRIKSM\[ “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\PMÅZ[\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^MUQTTQWVTWVŎ 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 we’d 2IV! ,I^QL:?QT[WVIÅZ[\TQM]\MVIV\WN\PM been given, putting them to good use during some cold 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, 2WPV50WZÎ\P[MZ^MLQV\PM=;)ZUaNWZaMIZ[ shots, company orders and a wooden kennel for the retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He served two tours in 8IKQÅK^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^MWЅKMZ);]XMZ ÅTUWNPQ[\Z]KS took up a collection to pay for Huntz’s 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^QKMWЅKMZQV 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\VIUÅMTLWX- MZI\QWV[WЅKM who would coordinate the trainee phase of Scotton’s assignment. This included stints in each section of USIS before Scot- \WV¼[ÅVITI\\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 ofﬁcer, 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

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- Esion 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 army’s 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\LQЅK]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 Ev’s di- what needed to be done. rective. Learn everything possible; no piece of information lacked value. He said I could My ﬁrst 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, 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 4th’s but Ev was bringing Ken Bunce, the U.S. In- commander, Cap- formation Agency’s assistant director for Excerpted from tain Nguyen Tuy, East Asia, and David Sheppard, the USIS Uphill Battle: Reﬂec- had received special deputy director, to Qui Nhon for a look at our tions on Viet Nam operations training TW_̆J]LOM\WVM̆UIVÅMTLXW[\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\PMÅ^MWN][LZW^M

OPPOSITE: FRANK SCOTTON COLLECTION, COURTESY TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY PRESS UNIVERSITY TECH TEXAS COURTESY COLLECTION, SCOTTON FRANK OPPOSITE: University Press. spread the message IJW]\UQTM[\WI¹[\ZI\MOQKºWZNWZ\QÅML

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[QVÅ`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

reach beyond the obvious. I was accordingly developing friendships Before noon the next day, while moving PHOTO AP RIGHT: FAR MINH; OPPOSITE PHOTO/LE AP RIGHT: OPPOSITE PHOTO; AP

52 VIETNAM Deadly blast A SAM’s warhead is I learned, don’t detonated as it nearstoward an theF-105D Ba River,and I paused, taking cover build anything over the less accessible west bank and hin- inthrows a thicket. fragments Not far before me a narrower unless you’re terland. The messages described better trailthat strike crossed the plane the one that I was paralleling. living conditions in strategic hamlets and (trailing smoke). The helping There was a rustle of foliage, then footsteps. 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 they’ve 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 valley’s 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 led by someone toward the trails running west to the base Route 19, where I caught a small bus back 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 shuffled my collection of Service Geo- soldiers and Tuy was trying to tailor what he learned graphique de L’Indochine 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. Don’t 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. Tuy’s 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- flare rounds that provided illumination. The flare- 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 Tuy’s 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 ÅOP\IOIQV[\KWTWVQITQ[UIVLKIXQ\ITQ[UQM\+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 Lao’s west bank. Casual conversation with people in west bank ham- )QZJWZVMTW]L[XMISMZIVLTMIÆM\UQ[[QWV[_MZMÆW_V lets provided information about Communist taxation.

Government face South Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem attends Basilica services with Saigon’s 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, Diem’s 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 capital—and the irresponsi- ble and futile response to it from President Ngo Dinh Diem’s administration—would 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]ІMJM\_MMV Buddhist activists and government security forces, several people were killed. The tension between Buddhist and Cath- olic adherents was exacerbated by government 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[MTÆM[[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 Vietnam’s army seemed to An armored be retracting. vehicle, In a bold but intemperate stroke to be-

ﬂying the head the Buddhist movement, the gov- 1963 NOV-DEC , yellow-and- ernment on August 21 raided pagodas red-striped throughout the country, especially at Hue national and Saigon. Also in August, the government decided to shift the 9th Division to the Me-

ﬂag of ENGINEER THE MILITARY South Viet- kong Delta, stealing it from a zone where nam, stands \PMZM_I[ITZMILa[QOVQÅKIV\[]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]\JaÅOP\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^MZaMЄWZ\Q[VM^MZ¹LWVMº 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, that’s already a giant step.” military seizure of power had been made, We didn’t think of ourselves as optimists in late April 1963, but ZMIZZIVOML[P]ІMLTMISMLZM[MITMLLQ[- we weren’t pessimistic about South Vietnam’s potential to organize guised from Americans, then shared with NWZMЄMK\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 RIGHT: FAR OPPOSITE PHOTO; AP BOTTOM: PHOTO; STOCK HISTORICAL/ALAMY COLLECTION EVERETT RIGHT: AND OPPOSITE TOP

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.

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 VɈH: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\,]ÎTTKWUUIVLMZWN\PMÅK\QWVIT[\*I\\ITQWV!\P)QZ+IÎTZa :MOQUMV\NIUW][TaZMUIZS[QV.ZIVKQ[.WZL+WXXWTI¼[! !ÅTU)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 doesn’t even begin to tell the real story of the dominant role helicopters played in Vietnam. The truth, inevitably, is more compelling, more complicated—and extremely more dangerous—than any movie image can evoke. For U.S. ground combat infantry and artillery units in Vietnam, helicopters were overwhelmingly our only means of transport, resupply, close The Helicopter War IMZQITÅZM[]XXWZ\IVLUMLMÎK¸W]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_\PMUNZWUÆMM\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 experience”—intense combat in-country and then dealing with its aftermath once they returned home. Putzel’s book NWK][M[WV)ZUaPMTQKWX\MZXQTW\5IRWZ2IUM[<6M_UIVKWUUIVLQVO WЅKMZWN+

JWZVM,Q^Q[QWVWXMZI\QVOQVVWZ\PMZV;W]\P>QM\VIUQV! ̆ 3VW_V AP PHOTO

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\MZMЄMK\[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, children, 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 couldn’t 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 book’s narrative, it is not the _Q[MUIVIVLPQ[WЅKMZ[IVL only story Putzel relates in his rivet- men idolized him. He was eerily ing account of Vietnam combat and You Don’t 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[WN WЅKMZ[_IZ- and Victory from a Vietnam ZIV\WЅKMZ[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 reviewer’s attention: C Troop’s by Sammy Lee Davis with Caroline tors of outstanding combat com- aero-rifle 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 book’s 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 Kersey’s abrupt introduction—only not exactly a heroic one. But that physical), competence, commit- days after the young lieutenant had doesn’t mean that Americans who ment and a talent for inspiring sol- arrived in-country—to 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 Å^M̆\W̆WVMJa[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 Putzel’s 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 ZQÆMXTI\WWVVIZZW_Ta UMVI[PMPMTXMLNMVLWЄP]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, sacrifice across a river through a hail of a different person. and endurance—and bullets and pulling them to safety. He walked out on his Kersey’s superb bat- Davis’ actions that day deservedly family, entered into \TMÅMTLTMILMZ[PQXIVL brought him the Medal of Honor. another miserable mar- resourcefulness. Davis, with the help of writer riage and “committed a se- Putzel’s compelling, skill- Caroline Lambert, tells his life ries of inexplicable transgressions” fully written book is a “must read” story exceedingly well in You Don’t 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 subtitle—the price soldiers paid for is 99 percent the story of Davis’ life Newman’s 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]\\WÅVQ[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 Army’s 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. We’d 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\PMÅMZKM[\ÅOP\QVOQV in the vast number of Vietnam War along the line, he says, “America’s Vietnam. Retired Air Force Colonel memoirs I’ve 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 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[ÅZMJI[MIVL_PMVPMLZW^M _WZ\PÅOP\QVONWZ

ens of runs through enemy terri- ¸5IZK4MMX[WV QVIKKM[[QJQTQ\a¸WVTa\PZMMXI[[IJTM ARCHIVE IMAGE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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

58 VIETNAM Videos For Vietnam Veterans SCENES FROM IN-COUNTRY BASES: 'RQJ+D%DVH $LU¿HOGPLQ Some DVDs are narrat- $VVDXOWRQ/RQJ%LQK7HWPLQ 7DNKOL$%PLQ ed, some are not. %LHQ+RD$%PLQ 7X\+RD$%PLQ Most are in color, some 3KDQ5DQJ$%PLQ are in black and white. &X&KLPLQ 3KX%DLPLQ Each one is different! 7DQ6RQ1KXW$%PLQ Call or visit the $Q.KHPLQ /RQJ%LQKPLQ website for details. &KX/DL$%PLQ &DPS(DJOHPLQ 3KX&DW$%PLQ &DP5DQK%D\$%PLQ 'RQJ7DP%DVHPLQ 1DNKRQ3KDQRP$%PLQ 16$'D1DQJ&DPS7LHQ6KDPLQ &DPS(YDQV 2S'HODZDUHPLQ 1KD7UDQJ&DPS0F'HUPRWWPLQ Hard To Find Video Titles! Newer Releases 87DSDR7KDLODQGPLQ VW$LUERUQH'LY6HDUFK'HVWUR\0LVVLRQVPLQ .RUDW$%7KDLODQGPLQ 0DULQH7DQNHUV,Q9LHWQDPPLQ &DPS&DUUROO 5RFN3LOHPLQ 5RDG:DUULRUV7UXFNHUV9LHWQDPPLQ UG$LUERUQH'LY6HDUFK'HVWUR\0LVVLRQVPLQ %DQJNRN7KDLODQG5 5,Q7KHVPLQ %LQK7KX\1DYDO%DVHPLQ $PHULFDQ32:VLQ9LHWQDPPLQ /DL.KH'L$Q 3KX/RLPLQ 860&&DPS5HDVRQHU+LOOUG0$)PLQ 1DWLRQDO5RXWH$-RXUQH\DORQJ5RXWHQHDUWKH'0=PLQ ³5RFNHW&LW\´$WWDFNV2Q'D1DQJ$%PLQ 'D1DQJ$%860&PLQ 'D1DQJ2XWHU/LPLWV'RJ3DWFK'DQDQJPLQ &DPS(QDUL 'UDJRQ0WQ PLQ VW$LU&DY'LY%DWWOH)RU,D'UDQJ9DOOH\PLQ VW$YLDWLRQ%ULJDGH,Q9LHWQDPPLQ 2S3HUVKLQJVW$LU&DY0D\PLQ 8ERQ 8GRUQ7KDLODQGPLQ WK,QI'LY6HDUFK 'HVWUR\0LVVLRQVPLQ 'DX7LHQJ%DVH $LU¿HOGPLQ WK,QIDQWU\'LYLVLRQ6HDUFK 'HVWUR\0LVVLRQVPLQ 'HVWUR\HUV,Q7KH9LHWQDP:DUPLQ WK$UPRUHG&DYDOU\%ODFN+RUVH5HJLPHQWPLQ UG%ULJDGHQG$LUERUQH,Q9LHWQDPPLQ Marines In Vietnam $UP\(QJLQHHUV,Q9LHWQDPPLQ WK6SHFLDO)RUFHV*URXS9LHWQDPPLQ 0DULQHV2SV6WDUOLWH+DUYHVW0RRQPLQ 2SHUDWLRQ3HJDVXV.KH6DQK5HVFXHPLQ $IULFDQ$PHULFDQV,Q9LHWQDPPLQ 0DULQHV2SV0DFRQ+DVWLQJV3UDLULHPLQ $QGHUVHQ$)%*XDPPLQ 2S0DF$UWKXUWK,QI'LYLQWKH%DWWOH2I'DN7RPLQ 0DULQHVZLWK2S,QGHSHQGHQFHPLQ WK,QI'LYLVLRQ6HDUFK 'HVWUR\0LVVLRQVPLQ VW$LU&DYDOU\PLQ 0DULQHV2S%D[WHU*DUGHQVPLQ WK/LJKW,QIDQWU\%ULJDGH9LHWQDPPLQ 6RXWKHUQ0DQ7KH5RDG7R9LHWQDP7UDLQLQJDW)RUWV-DFNVRQ 6DQ'LHJR%RRW&DPSµ PLQ &RPEDW7UDFNHUV 7KHLU'RJVPLQ &DPSEHOO *RUGRQLQWKHVPLQ 3DUULV,VODQG%RRW&DPSVPLQ &RPEDW,QI6ROGLHU/LIH,Q)LHOGPLQ 0DULQH6WDJLQJ%DWWDOLRQ&DPS3HQGOHWRQPLQ 'RJVRIWKH9LHWQDP:DU6FRXW6HQWU\3DWUROPLQ Sammy Davis Jr. .KH6DQK%DVHZLWKVW0DULQHVPLQ UG,QIDQWU\'LY³$PHULFDO´,Q9LHWQDPPLQ &RQ7KLHQ 2S%XIIDORPLQ 19$(DVWHU2IIHQVLYH2IPLQ Tour of Vietnam %DWWOHIRU+XH&LW\PLQ 6SHFLDO)RUFHV:LWK0RQWDJQDUG7UDLQLQJPLQ Were you at Long Binh, 0DULQH$YLDWLRQVW0$:PLQ 6SHFLDO)RUFHVLQ9LHWQDP(DUO\¹8ZWRMK\ local forces and disrupt enemy describes in Delta” teams, consisting of hand- QV\Z]LMZ[ XQKSML)UMZQKIVIVL;W]\P>QM\- Predictably, Communist forces in harrowing detail VIUM[M;XMKQIT.WZKM[\ZWWX[_MZM the area probed and harassed the the difficulties dispatched to gather intelligence, Americans, and on July 6, 1964, of operating in conduct bomb-damage assessments two Viet Cong battalions, armed the enemy- and direct airstrikes against North _Q\P)3̆ I[[I]T\ZQÆM[I\\IKSML >QM\VIUM[M\IZOM\[5MIV_PQTM the camp at Nam Dong, about 15 infested teams of elite American and Viet- UQTM[[W]\PMI[\WN\PM);PI] A Shau namese special operations soldiers >ITTMa tain Roger Donlon, held out until ;\]LQM[IVL7J[MZÎ\QWV[/ZW]X ZMQVNWZKMUMV\[IZZQ^ML,WVTWV¼[ QVÅT\ZI\QWVZW]\M+IUX);PI] conducted top-secret reconnais- actions in the battle made him the was probed repeatedly throughout [IVKMUQ[[QWV[QV[QLM4IW[ ÅZ[\)UMZQKIV\WZMKMQ^M\PM5MLIT \PM_QV\MZWN!̆1V5IZKP Yarborough, who served two WN0WVWZNWZ[MZ^QKMQV>QM\VIU 1966 it was overrun by a North combat tours in Vietnam coor- Abandoning camps in the central Vietnamese regiment, forcing the dinating airstrikes, describes in ÎTTMa\PM;XMKQIT.WZKM[KWV[WT- Americans and their local allies to PIZZW_QVOLM\IQT\PMLQЅK]T\QM[WN QLI\MLIZW]VL+IUX);PI]I ÆMMWVNWW\)[Y]ILZWVWN5IZQVM operating in the enemy-infested PMI^QTaNWZ\QÅMLKWUXW]VLQV\PM Corps H-34 Choctaw helicopters );PI]KWUUIVLMZ/MVMZIT William Westmoreland, concerned \PI\\PMMVMUa¼[]VKPMKSMLQVÅT- \ZI\QWVXW[MLI[QOVQÅKIV\\PZMI\ \W;W]\P>QM\VIU¼[VWZ\PMZVZM- OQWVWZLMZMLIUIRWZ[_MMXQV\W \PMÎTTMa1VQ\QI\MLQV)XZQT! 7XMZI\QWV,MTI_IZMQV^WT^MLMTM- ments of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), the 101st Airborne ,Q^Q[QWVIVL\PM;W]\P>QM\VIUM[M )ZUa¼[[\,Q^Q[QWV

-RKQ+XGDQLVKɂɜɚɧɏɭɞɚɧɢɱ 50TH ANNIVERSARIES – GO WITH THE FIRST & THE BEST! Left: Craig Tesch at Hill 41 this year where he was WIA in 1966.

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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 group’s “Can’t 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 UIVaJMVMÅ\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 didn’t 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*QVPÅTTQVO]X\PM\IVS[\WOWW]\\W\PMÅMTL_PMV

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 [IQL¹?PI\¼[\PMÅZ[\\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, let’s 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 bed—nothing could compare to that. music, like county fairs. I heard this music 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 didn’t 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 ÅZ[\ WN JMVMÅ\ [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 we’re going to all wore orange suit coats. We would play put people in harm’s way, the military and the government should be in talent shows. I went from The New taking care of them. Generation to The Toy Factory, with Toy Caldwell, during high school. When we Forty-ﬁve 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\¼[ILQЄMZMV\[\WZa

drafted into the Army. —Interview by Marc Leepson TOP: COURTESY DOUG GRAY

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YOUR CHOICE OF PERSONAL BIRTHSTONES Birthstones are simulated for clarity and consistency. Names refer to color. CALL TOLL FREE TO ORDER: JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER 1-800-255-3048 GARNET AMETHYST AQUAMARINE ZIRCON EMERALD ALEXANDRITE RUBY PERIDOT SAPPHIRE ROSE ZIRCON GOLDEN SAPPHIRE BLUE ZIRCON Mon -Fri, 9am - 5pm EST. Have Credit Card ready.

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