Central Illinois Vietnam War Stories Oral History Interview: Donald Hyche. Explore the grit, heroism and heart of America’s soldiers and wartime workers, from World War One to the Iraq War. Ehrhart, left, in October 1967 near Quang Tri, Vietnam, and today. Thomas McAndrews, Larry E. Nunn, Lt. Dallas Owens, Ralph S. Ricedorf, William Bruce Thomas, Cliff Veazie, Michael Washburn, Wayne R. Westenberger, Larry Winslow, Jerry Prater {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! MWD: Stories, Photos, Memorial; US Flags: Revolutionary War-Current * Vietnam War Resources * * War Posters and Leaflets * Allied Leaflets; Posters: All USA Wars; Posters: Communists; Viet Cong Leaflets * Vietnam War Timeline * * WW II … He reflects on race relations, combat and his recovery from post-traumatic stress disorder. COMBAT STORIES FROM Vietnam The videos on this page are recommended by our team. // cutting the mustard But Troyer had no illusions that returning soldiers would be greeted as heroes; other than his parents, he wasn't sure anyone would be happy to see him. But their family was broken by Vietnam. An Intimate History of Killing by Joanna Bourke. The Power of the Hand Salute . The lasting effects of the Vietnam War are as potent a part of pop culture in 2020 as the unfolding war was itself in the late 1960s. impending election — people leave their village in our direction — Root — contact — Root killed, Gunsaulas injured — hamlet burned — tank — one killed, the rest get away — I am sent to Language School, The Day Roger Root Was Killed (Aug. 21, 1967), by Jerry Prater, Jerome Church, Wayne Westenberger, and Michael Dyess War Stories - Experience War These stories are told by those who lived it . As Troyer put it, the war "is run by the book and Charlie can't read English so he gets all the breaks and we usually get killed." I have several, but I’ll go with a story from the barracks since that seems to … Washburn — Washburn's daring one-man patrol — his success — Lt. Moore takes over our platoon — the tension between Washburn and Moore — Moore's encounter with a suicide squad — their grisly end — a routine set up in the boonies — fatal shots in the twilight, (February 1, 1968), by Michael Washburn, Tom McAndrews, Jim Battcher, Dallas Owens, Pat Skinner, Jerry Church, Wayne Westenberger, and Bruce Whitish; written by Jerry Prater, the meaning of "friendly fire" — its frequency — the leadership qualities of Michael Washburn — the background of Lt. Wesley Moore — Moore given command of the 1, the meaning of “riding the skids” — the sensation of flying in midair — my first experience — “Sky King” — I ignore the ban on riding the skids — the problem of a hot LZ — how I almost became an “Army of One”, we search for a company moniker — one of our guys gets a dozen homosexual letters at once — he later rapes an 80 year old man — the Marines think up a company nickname for us — rapist returned to the field in the hope that he would be assassinated, taking it easy on LZ Sharon — 75 NVA bodies strung out along the road — lieutenants discuss taking action against me for smoking grass — news that 2, the burden of command for those who rose from the rank of Private — air assault to Thôn Xuân DÆ°Æ¡ng — I appoint Giddings to be the point man — heavy enemy fire: Giddings hit and pinned down — the fire was so heavy that we could not cover Giddings — Giddings shot dead — the pain of losing a long time friend — my feelings of responsibility for his death, I am given command of the guns — the Marines in a fix — air assault to establish LZ Snapper — the Guns of Co Roc — guns miss us — moonscape — B-52s shake the earth — the tragic fate of the 1/5 â€” Operational Report, our position on a spit outside Khe Sanh — enemy probe alarm — two new men flown in — how one of them stayed awake — Medevac, the jungle in I Corps — NVA spotter walks up to our position and is shot — After Action Report, we run into the enemy concealed and dug in — death of Thompson — we return, enemy flees — the face of death — Thompson’s body lost at Đà Nẵng — our FO shells enemy night convoy — After Action Reports, we fly to LZ Sharon only to leave it for the boonies — we set up at an old site — the K-9 dog sets off a booby trap — the death of a young man — the risky way we remedy the situation — we move to another site, my watch is stolen — atmosphere of hostility — I nearly get caught with a bag of grass — mortar attack, a dopey idea — something for us to think about — I fire off a LAW, plan to auto-gyro into A Shâu — commander of the whole division chews me out — we land without incident — tank knocked out, D Company captures a deuce and a half — digging in — walking through a minefield — the living black cloud — crash of the C-130 — a man crushed by an air drop — hit with a pebble while on guard — discipline problems — sergeant has his foot blown off — we steal rear echelon’s rations — a racist move against Lt. Ewing — Operational Report, Mike and I chosen to go to Đà Nẵng — looking for Thompson’s body — “shortosis” — going through Phú Bài — Đà Nẵng is like being “back in the World” — incident with Air Force personnel — the ghoul ambulance driver — we do not find Thompson’s body, emotional wounds of combat veterans — I receive orders to leave Vietnam — Ed House and Larry Nunn are on my flight home — land at Ft. Lewis where we are given new uniforms — hostile protestors at the Seattle airport — prejudicial behavior of the stewardess — arrive at Dallas and run the gauntlet of another hostile crowd — welcomed home — people distanced themselves from combat veterans — my wife's betrayal and our divorce — the price we veterans paid, options for concluding service — I report to 2, The Death of Gerrit John “Doc” Schouwburg, The Firefight of 2 July 1967 at Túy An (1), Michael Washburn’s Friendly Fire Incident, The Lost Platoon — the Tragedy of March 25, The Strength of Line Companies in the 1/8 Cavalry, 6 Nov. 67 - 29 May 68 (with a Graph), South Vietnam, Political and Topographical, Percentage of the Viet Ethnic Group by Province, Indochina, Precipitation & Monsoon Air Flow, Bồng SÆ¡n, the An Lão Valley, and Tam Quan, LZ Sandra, LZ Mustang, and the An Lão Valley, The Encyclopedia of Hočąk (Winnebago) Mythology. Many were brought in piecemeal as replacements within existing units, which made them feel disconnected from the larger group. FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon. Witcher blown to pieces, I am knocked down — Nunn and I have minor shrapnel wounds — Doc Aguirre reaches the scene — I reflect on the fact that if past is prologue, the future looks grim, Sgt. Narration by Liam Neeson. by Jerry Prater and Michael Washburn. We're going to do whatever the government says -- they own me, I got to do it.". googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; No Choice Kindle $9.80 $ 9. This piece was featured in the AVC’s Veterans Day television special, American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes. 80 $9.99 $9.99. Tom McAndrews (Company Commander) and Lt. Jerome Church (Platoon Leader), the nature and purpose of cordon operations — the added dangers of such an operation — preparations the night before — moving in the darkness and its difficulties — getting lost — coordinating the link up of platoons — how I became an enemy target — the role of the National Police and their dangerous practices — completing the mission by rounding up suspects and contraband, (July 4 - Aug. 14, 1967), by Jerry Prater, how I was wounded — I am treated in the field where I remain — as the wounds deteriorate, the field medic shows little concern — Sgt. The show was based upon the events that occurred during the Vietnam War era. Witcher killed — war crime avoided — tanks take the lead, The Death of Root (Aug. 21, 1967), by Richard Dieterle Vietnam War Story (1987) was an interesting made-for-cable series that aired for little over a year on H.B.O. Discover the fascinating story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the groundbreaking cryptanalyst who helped bring down gangsters and break up a Nazi spy ring in South America. Vietnam Vet talking about his brutal war experience - YouTube Some volunteered to go to Vietnam. All continue to be affected by the events of October 1967. (Enter your ZIP code for information on American Experience events and screening in your area.). } Available instantly. Some survived the horror of a deadly ambush in Vietnam. Crouching for cover behind an anthill, Troyer stayed out of the light and watched more exposed comrades get shot. we run into the enemy concealed and dug in — death of Thompson — we return, enemy flees — the face of death — Thompson’s body lost at Đà Nẵng — our FO shells enemy night convoy — After Action Reports. 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); By: Jack Swallows Lt Colonel U.S.M.C. But many of the soldiers who went were drafted into the service, ineligible for a student deferment because they had never been to college. Troyer was lucky; he survived the year until his Date Eligible for Return from Over Seas, or DEROS, and came back to Ohio in one piece. document.documentElement.className += 'js'; Vietnam War Chiến tranh Việt Nam (); Part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War: Clockwise, from top left: U.S. combat operations in Ia Đrăng, ARVN Rangers defending Saigon during the 1968 Tết Offensive, two A-4C Skyhawks after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, ARVN recapture Quảng Trị during the 1972 Easter Offensive, civilians fleeing the 1972 Battle of Quảng Trị, and burial … by George Konaf | Nov 11, 2020. Retired . Marines in Vietnam would often try to recruit locals to help guide them … These Vietnam War photos are a key part of understanding soldiers' experiences during the conflict and provide insight into operational specifics that were unknown to the press. War Stories last updated on 20 March, 2017 06:51. disposition of the squads — an NVA soldier spotted at the bottom of a hole — Gunsaulas and Root enter a building and are shot — Root dies in Westenberger’s arms — tank moves up and blows a body out from beneath the ground — appeared to be an underground medical compound — village burnt — compound bulldozed — the character of Root, Military Times Hall of Valor — Thomas D. Bouchard, Charlie Company 1st Battalion 8th Cavalry, 1968, 8th Cavalry Regiment (United States), Wikipedia, 1st Cavalry Division, America’s First Team, my strict Christian upbringing and family background — my tenure at Abilene Christian College — I graduate from, (Dec. 12, 1966 - Feb. 24, 1967), by Jerry Prater, arrival at Ft. Polk — I decide not to be a conscientious objector — our first day spent processing — the next day: crew cuts and standing at attention — our barracks and drill sergeants — fire watch and KP — how we entered the mess hall and how we had to eat — my 14 day leave — the rigorous exercises inflicted on “fat boys” — I cover for Larry Nunn — I barely qualify on the M-14 — I’m devastated to discover that I’m being assigned to the Infantry — only about a dozen of us board the truck to Tiger Land, AIT at Tiger Land, Ft. Polk — Larry Nunn and Ed House — the Battalion Comander lays out our duties — cadence — qualifying on the M-16 — in rifle training I first experience the sound of bullets coming towards me — other weapons that we trained on — the evasion course — John Heflin, orientation in Oakland — flight to Cam Ranh Bay, stewardesses run the gauntlet — Pleiku — I get assigned to A 1/8 as I had once asked, on leave after AIT, I tell my family that I expect to go to the 4, initiation to a combat unit — the differences between veterans and “cherries” — the ordeal of pulling guard at night — “Hand Grenade” Brown’s trick — a skirmish erupts — Lt. Pape uses me as a guinea pig, a tent in An Khê — the veterans hold a wild war dance — Indian ways — the story of a stunning tragedy, the dangerous inability to identify the enemy — the problem of defending against friendly fire — Schmidt accidently discharges his grenade launcher — Schmidt does this a second time — an incident with a claymore mine — the patrol the next day — we are shot at by our own people while bathing in a pool — we receive H & I fire while out on an OP — the Vietnamese Police fire wildly around a village that we were surrounding on a cordon operation, the importance and consequences of the crash — the flight to LZ Quick (Hill 641) — the terrain of Hill 641 — the first chopper lands without incident — the crash of the second chopper — extensive casualties — the third chopper nearly crashes — Veazy banged up as he is thrown from the chopper — Veazy's further misadventures in the rough descent of the First Platoon down the mountainside — Hoerner's gruesome task — how SSgt. 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