Thank you for your service to our country both back then militarily and now for still being a politically active citizen! Stories like yours are what inspired me to pursue my degree in history. There are so many incredible tales to be told, thank you for sharing yours!

Thank you TMN! Please keep history alive by telling your stories more...

k&r,

-app

TheMasterNemesis.

Have a virtual beer on me

those KIA from the field ops, I did convoy duty as a 'shotgun'...and those of us still dying from Agent Orange complications which is my curse from that goddamn place.

Yet to a fellow vet, I raise a toast to us survivors

Agent Orange is a tough thing, but keep on fighting and don't ever give up. When we were dealing with it, other vets and many dedicated folks at the VA in White River Junction, Vermont kept us going.

~PEACE~

but I think Custer was 7th Cavalry Regiment, not division.

Oh, and Welcome Home.

Will have to investigate. Though it looks like you are correct.

During the Civil War divisions were numbered within the corps, there was no army wide numbering of them as was true in WWI and after. Pretty sure no army or corps ever had 7 divisions of cavalry assigned.

My story is one of extreme personal luck. Even though I was in the war and a close witness to it, I was saved from its most vicious consequences never having to fire my weapon the entire year. Sadly I could not say such thing for my fellow soldiers in my company. I now realize so many years later how truly fortunate I was.

Another soldier had had the job I was put in. He made a huge mistake and lost that job because he screwed up by leaving the company area and base without permission and telling no one in command. I was told by the company clerk training me a couple of months later in confidence. I felt really bad about it. We had been on KP together for 8 days and he never said a word to me about what had just happened to him. He knew I had his job, I am no sure of that. I contacted him on stand down and discussed what happened and told him of my regrets. He told me he knew he made a huge mistake leaving the base. It was all OK. We became close friends. He did not survive the war. It was a tragic real story of changing places.

I rarely share this story but what can you say about what fate awaits you in life?. The loss of that friend was very difficult for me and the circumstances of his loss were really tragic yet he saved several other people's lives.

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER
(A Soldier Died Today)
by A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.

When we tell our stories we fill in and flesh out the history of our country and our times. I'm about to retire at 69 and I feel quite lucky to have lived in such amazingly interesting times. We've seen and experienced more in our lifetimes than anyone in past history. And we still are.

You have a good story and a very interesting one. Thanks again.

I spent my college days knowing that I would have to go in as soon as I graduated (#3 in the draft lottery) but the draft ended my Senior year.
My best friend from 1st grade on didn’t have the grades to get into college and thought the Marines sounded like “fun.” He was killed on the day I was taking my last final exam Freshman year. I have a 32 year old son named for him who is as liberal and anti-war as you can get.
I don’t believe in heaven but seeing him again would be the highlight of the afterlife.

Thank you for your service. I'm glad you made it home.

You were ahead of me just a little. Fifty years ago, on November 7, 1967, I was being inducted into the Army. I got to Viet Nam in July and was very lucky to be involved in supporting the troops rather than actually fighting all the time. I have never supported that war, but I do honor the men and women who put their lives on the line for their fellow soldiers. I'm glad we made it back.

~PEACE~

to going home (remember the term DEROS?). I was there December 66 to December 67, as a secretary/stenographer, MOS71C30. Like you, I had taken typing, but also shorthand, plus I had a Top Secret clearance before I was drafted, having been accepted for employment by the FBI.

I worked directly for a Colonel, who was the Assistant Chief of Staff, G2, for the IFIELDFORCE area of operations, which included the central highlands and therefore the 1st Cavalry Division Airmobile (we weren't allowed to call it Air Cavalry or Air Cav. - everything was very formal at a corps-level headquarters). Anyway, whenever a big shot, such as General Westmoreland, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, or the President of South Vietnam came for a visit, the band from the 1st Cavalry Division Airmobile would be brought in to play for them, invariably beginning with "Around Her Neck She Wore A Yellow Ribbon."

Thank you so much for sharing your story. I'm very glad you made it back safely and have had such an interesting and rewarding life.

As my story reflects I was take OUT of the field about 4 1/2 weeks after I arrived in RVN. I ended up leaving as a Sergeant rather than a specialist. Army would not reclassify you as a clerk if you changed jobs and were infantry. No matter it did not effect me negatively. And actually a sergeant is a slightly higher grade command wise as a specialist even though the pay is the same at grade.

Nha Trang was a good base to be on. I believe a lot of air strikes emanated from Nha Trang there being an AFB there at the time that supported I Corp and perhaps II Corp.

I guess "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" was the Cav theme song. It was really a great Division to be in because of all the helicopters we had being airmobile. The story is that our, my commander, Colonel Runkle 1st Battalion , who died in the war in 1968 was instrumental in the development of the airmobile concept.

I really enjoyed flying in Hueys because with the doors open there was a great view and it really was very much like flying in WWI days with open cockpits. Very gentle ride unless you crashed LOL.

As you know as a clerk in such positions as ours you know just about everything that is going on at your level. You were Radar on steroids so to speak. So i imagine you knew and learned some very interesting things during the war.

I never rode in one; too scared of heights. I don't mind airplanes, but helicopters are a different animal. Yes, Nha Trang was a good place to be stationed. We were right on the beach, working in the Grand Hotel. Our barracks were just behind the hotel. Weather and work permitting, you could go swimming in the South China Sea or bask in the sun any time you wanted to.

Surprisingly, I hardly knew anything that was going on locally. Everything we were involved in was "big picture" stuff regarding intelligence reports (INTSUM: Intelligence Summary) and periodic situation reports (SITREP) along with intelligence briefings for anyone who requested them. Sometimes I'd take 40 pages of shorthand notes and then type them up, double-spaced, to be reviewed by the Colonel and then passed onto the generals, who were just down the hall. Needless to say, no typos or corrections were allowed.

I learned a lot of stuff I didn't want to know, but I got to meet some very great people and make friends with a lot of the nicest guys on the planet, whom I managed to convince that not ALL hillbillies are inbred and ignorant!

I didn't know that about the infantry MOS's. Typical military silliness, but at least you made SGT. I was SP5, which was just fine with me.

This was one, not the only one, of the nightmares my father endured for decades. Children of veterans know the pain of being a child of a parent who is "mentally damaged" by wars without a purpose and their role in it.

Sadly on this coming veterans day I still mourn all my fellow soldiers who were not as fortunate as I.

Hopefully, the VA is treating you right, and thank you for your service.

My husband was at AF school in Colorado, learning electronics. Later he was assigned to Viet Nam, at Bien Hoa, as an underground missile tech. He is gone now, hardly ever spoke about his time there.

I had taken typing in high school and typed all my papers in college, so I had a skill that helped keep me alive. My good fortune was the Army made me a clerk right after basic/AIT and kept me in the States the whole two years. Wasn't exposed to the nasty stuff you were. It was worth all the flack I took from my high school football and baseball teammates for taking the "sissy" typing course over some other elective. It also helped when the need to use computers came along.

He was at Khe Sahn.

A belated thank you. He was worth saving.

I was in the area but did not see the action itself. CBS news was there to report on it. A assume the 1st Brigade of the 1 Air Cavalry Division was inserted in the largest formation of helicopters ever assembled with gunship to boot. At the time I was not aware of how large a formation there was. I assume CBS had film of it, thought is was supposedly on the national news.

FYI a brigade is that could be 2500 troops. Each company has about 110 combat troops. Each battalion has about 5 companies and each brigade has about 5 battalions. So it adds up. Of course I am making an assumption about how many troops were sent in. I have never really known how large the entire force was. Considering each Huey could carry about 7 infantry and Chinooks (which hight have been used carried maybe 25-30 infantry so just imagine how many helicopters were needed. Add 3-4 gunships per company and the sight must have been awesome. The Cav may have been only part of it.

The idea was to insert troops into the high ground areas where the NVA had it artillery and attack those positions with overwhelming force. In the end Pegasus succeeded and Khe Sahn was spared further assault. It appears that the military decided that the base was not defensible and abandoned it shortly after. In the end the operation appears to have been an effort to get the troops out in the end.

Of course, after 50 years my post is pretty much speculation. I was on an LZ called Stud a few miles from Khe Sahn. It was a support and supply base quickly established to support the operation. There were helicopters bringing in and taking out light (105mm)and medium (150) artillery and ammunition all day.

There was an airstrip capable of taking 130'w and smaller aircraft. It was a very active strip. Because I was sent back to An Khe on the 3rd day there I do not know what was going on their after that.

What you did helped. First Air Cav ROCKS.

Imagine being the NVA and seeing helicopters flying in like locusts. Would have been scary. Plus I am sure there were huge airstrikes before the assault.

Both lived. Thank you.

They made that decision to run Operation Pegasus.

My daughter is the result - a proud Alabama Democrat and working hard for victory!