Alpha One Sixteen: A Combat Infantryman's Year in Vietnam

Excellent book and well written.

https://www.amazon.com/Alpha-O...e%2Caps%2C240&sr=8-1

I read a book for a college class way to long ago called NAM,

personal stories as told to the author,



a very good read,



I'm reading a similar book on WWI now, that is basically parts of Soldier's dairies and correspondence ,

My friend and neighbor enlisted in the Army, made it into the 30th SF and then was recruited into the CIA. He worked for the CIA for 40 years and was in Vietnam as a 27 year old operative, along with a 23 yr old SF SSGT named Drew Dix when Tet occurred. Below is an excerpt from "CIA at War" published by the Agency. I can't imagine the huge amount of responsibility at such a young age. Jim still does contract work for the Agency along with Dix training Army SF troops. He hardly knows his 3 grown children because he was always overseas working. Today normal life seems to bore him but he always is up to filling in details of the things that happened in Vietnam and I am always ready to listen.

"MISSION Vietnam
During the Tet Offensive of 1968, communist insurgents and North Vietnamese troops staged surprise attacks against allied forces throughout South Vietnam. Two young men, CIA paramilitary officer Jim Monroe, age 27, and US Army Special Forces S. Sgt. Drew Dix, age 23, served together at the time in the isolated provincial outpost of Chau Phu City, population about 25,000, in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.
Monroe had been assigned “up country” by CIA as the lone Agency paramilitary officer in the district of Chau Doc on the Vietnamese-Cambodian Border. Operating out of a small
compound known as “Embassy House,” his mission was to direct CIA’s rural development and security programs in a region of classic insurgency. Special Forces Staff Sergeant Dix
was assigned to the Military Assistance Command–Vietnam/Combined Studies Division, where he reported to Monroe and led a Provincial Reconnaissance Unit (PRU). This was
a well-armed force of some 135 fighters drawn from ethnically diverse Southeast Asian groups whose mission was to neutralize the infrastructure and leadership of the Viet Cong.
On the night of 30 January 1968, most South Vietnamese forces were on leave taking advantage of a cease-fire to celebrate Tet, Vietnam’s most important holiday. Alerted by
anomalies in recent Viet Cong activity, Dix, accompanied by a US Navy SEAL platoon, was leading his PRU on a nighttime reconnaissance mission along both sides of the Vietnamese/Cambodian border when two Vietcong battalions (about 600 soldiers) infiltrated Chau Phu, seizing the major buildings and trapping a number of US and foreign civilians. Later it was apparent that this operation was part of a larger 70,000-man offensive against 100 cities and provincial capitals.
During the next 56 hours of intense combat in and around Chau Phu, the combined actions of Monroe and Dix turned the tide of the battle in their region—despite the meager resources at their disposal and the overwhelming 30-to-1 odds against them.
In constant contact with each other via radio throughout the battle, their united Mission accomplishments were remarkable. Their alliance and teamwork in this battle embodies the spirit of comradeship, fidelity, and cooperation that CIA officers share with their brothers and sisters in the US military when they serve together in war.

The Distinguished Intelligence Cross is the Agency’s highest award for extraordinary heroism involving the acceptance of existing dangers with conspicuous fortitude and exemplary
courage. In 1970, CIA recognized Jim Monroe’s contribution with one of its highest awards for valor—the Intelligence Star. After a successful career as a paramilitary officer, he retired in 1998. Following the attacks of 11 September 2001, Jim returned to the Agency, continuing to contribute his expertise to unconventional operations in war zones. Nearly
40 years later, after more extensive accounts of his action came to light, the Agency upgraded his Intelligence Star to its highest award for extraordinary heroism—the Distinguished Intelligence Cross. Only 30 Distinguished Intelligence Crosses have been awarded in the Agency’s history, one-quarter of those presented posthumously.

The Medal of Honor is the highest award that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the armed services of the United States in action against an enemy force. It is generally
presented by the President in the name of Congress. Since World War I fewer than 1,000 Medals of Honor have been awarded—246 of those for action during the Vietnam War, 60 percent of which were posthumous. This Medal of Honor has a unique inscription on the back: SST Drew Dix MACV-CSD (Military Assistance Command Vietnam Combined Studies Division). CSD was part of the CIA rural pacification program. Sergeant Dix was the first US Army Special Forces enlisted man to receive the Medal of Honor."

OKCGene
For the past couple of weeks I have been reading the book My War and Welcome To It every night before I hit the hay.

My dad mentioned various aspects or stories periodically when I was growing up.

One story he told was when their armor unit was ambushed and a .51 caliber round ricocheted off the armor and hit one of the soldiers in the groin traveling around one side to the other. He states to this day, it is and was the most gut wrenching screaming and anguish he ever heard.

Another story he tells and laughs about is when he was about three weeks from coming home. He was dismounted and guarding the far side of a bridge that a convoy had to cross. After asking and being told that the Combat Engineers swept the area and everything was clear he waved the convoy across.

My father said he was standing facing the tree line when a deuce and a half drove by and hit a land mine which propelled the truck and my father into the air. My father landed in a mud puddle and was so stunned that he did not realize it was water, and thought he was bleeding out.
After the effects wore off he realized he was one lucky cuss.

My brother was drafted into the Army when I was a young teenager. Basic training was at Fort Gordon , GA. From there he was shipped to the West coast where he departed American soil for Vietnam. He arrived in Vietnam in late November '65 with 1st Infantry Division. Two weeks later he was wounded and sent to Saigon to recover. I remember him calling my mom from Saigon and the connection being very bad. But it was good to hear from him. He served his 13 months and returned to Fort Bragg and then back to civilian life. A few years ago he passed away from liver cancer. Afterwards his daughter gave me a pack of letters he wrote to my older sister while he was in Vietnam. These letters were eye openers for me. He and his fellow soldiers went through more than they ever let on . I also distinctly remember the photo albums of the Vietnamese people and the culture. Unfortunately there was a lot of death recorded in those photos also. Anybody who served in Vietnam deserves our respect , and in our family he's our hero. Thank you to all who served.

I've posted this before my niece put this together after her father passed away.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: got2hav1,

quote:

Originally posted by airbubba:
i was academically suspended in early '69 & the us army was the only place i could fly without a degree.

i lost the 2s deferment, enlisted, after flight school, appointed a wo as an army huey helicopter pilot, in rvn '70-'71 with a cav unit assigned to the 25 inf div.

i parlayed it into 36 years of commercial flying all over the world.

as scary as it was at the time, looking back it was the best thing that could've happened.

Did you mean Air Assault as opposed to Cav? Just asking.

A former neighbor and I became very good friends, so good that we joke still about being each other's "adopted siblings." Her parents were snowbirds, doing the Michigan-Florida route each summer and winter. Her parents would stop by here on their way either direction and spend a few days.

I met her parents on one of their visits. Mr. A was a tall, handsome man, soft spoken, but definitely "mission driven." We chatted a few times, and he was instantly a friend. Mrs. A was an absolute sweetheart (and still is). During one of their visits, I'd rush home after work so I could go next door and talk with Mr. A before dinnertime. I'm a bit of a "car guy," and I learned that he had worked for EDS and General Motors, working his way up the chain over a number of years. In conversations, he tossed out names I had read in magazines. Perot, Iacocca, Lutz, and so on. It was as casual as, "oh, yeah, we had dinner with Bob a few weeks ago." Just as easily as I might tell someone I went to Arby's for lunch.

I loved talking with him -- well, listening, mostly -- and hearing of the things he had done, seen, and dealt with over a career in the industry. I was fascinated that he drove a Chrysler minivan, having spent so much time with GM. I asked about it one day, and why not a GM minivan. His casual but direct answer: "I wouldn't drive one of those pieces of crap!"

I learned in time that he and I had grown up in towns very near one another, though in very different times. Mrs. A told me that Mr. A's family was so poor when he was growing up that his mother asked on particularly cold mornings, "do you want to wear your socks on your hands or on your feet today?" Mr. A had survived a very poor childhood in a teeny-tiny town, and gone on to enlist. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I can't remember now if he enlisted in the Army and went later to the Marines, or the other way around.

What I did not know while talking with Mr. A was that though his retirement looked very comfortable and successful, he was battling cancer. I didn't learn that until much later on. Part of his personal mission during the time that I knew him was research -- research to contact people with whom he had served. His need to do so was driven by his desire to make sure that Mrs. A and the family would be properly taken care of after his passing.

Why? Because Mr. A was one of those men who were dropped off in Vietnam, stripped of their possessions, given their mission, and told, "if you get caught, we don't know you." He spent the last few years of his life trying to find someone who could verify he was there.

In the last year or so of his life, he made contact with a man in Texas, Mr. C. Mr. C was the man who relieved Mr. A on each of his shifts during his time there. Mr. A had spent 38 years looking for Mr. C. Mr. A and Mr. C met in the Philippines in 1961, assigned to same duties and clearances. Then they didn't see each other again until June 1962. Mr. C was the ONE person who could write a letter to the VA to verify that Mr. A had been in Vietnam. As the story goes, Mr. C grabbed his dog and some clothes, hopped in his truck, and drove from Texas to Florida to reunite. In a letter to my "adopted sister," Mr. A wrote: "I only recognized John because of his voice. The human body will contour and be unrecognizable. His voice was the same."

No matter the challenge, Mr. A accepted it, tackled it, and beat it down. Until the cancer beat him down, very likely a result of his service in Vietnam.

A tremendous man he was, and I wish I had gotten to know him earlier. Mr. A died in 2011.

I have friend who began as a coworker. He was a Force Recon Marine out of DaNang 69-71. He gave me a book to read that contained his bronze star citation.

Every once in a while he would tell me stories about the war that made my hair stand on end. Just as hard hear were the stories of post war life.

That war fucked him up for the rest of his life. He has a good life, wife, and kids. But you can tell it caused limitations in his life.

quote:

Originally posted by mrmn50:

quote:

Originally posted by airbubba:
i was academically suspended in early '69 & the us army was the only place i could fly without a degree.

i lost the 2s deferment, enlisted, after flight school, appointed a wo as an army huey helicopter pilot, in rvn '70-'71 with a cav unit assigned to the 25 inf div.

i parlayed it into 36 years of commercial flying all over the world.

as scary as it was at the time, looking back it was the best thing that could've happened.

Did you mean Air Assault as opposed to Cav? Just asking.

d trp was the air assets of 3sq, 4th cav, with slicks, loaches, cobras + rifle platoon.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

we arrived in the Philippines for refuel, then to Guam and new freedom.

We who were born here, have a better country, with contributions made by people with stories like yours. Thank you.

Actually, my story is not that different, although it was two generations back, for me. My grandparents barely made it out of Russia before being imprisoned or killed for the crime of being Jews. Their new American last name (my name, now), as assigned by an immigration clerk at Ellis Island, is a French spelling of the Russian name.

Soooo, your name is Mr. Basque?

And Mr Redneck, I am very close to your age and at 15 years old, our church sponsored a family. Listening to the family talk then and now having found a rather excellent pho place, I really wished, and now wish, I could've learned Vietnamese.

Thanks airbubba. I thought you might have been someone else.

I had a good friend that spent a couple tours in Vietnam. He showed me photos he took while over there, and they showed me another side to all I'd ever heard about it. The most memorable was a tank with spikes welded on it, and VC heads impaled on those spikes.
Vietnam managed to kill him anyway, in 1998. RIP Rick.

Some nice Vietnam stories.I was a USMC 0311 grunt in Vietnam from 6/68 to 7/69 that's all I care to remember about Vietnam.SF.

My story ended before it began. I was at Ft. Polk in Basic when Nixon stopped sending troops. So I got sent to West Germany. Almost everyone that out ranked me had already been to Nam.

quote:

Originally posted by charlie12:
My story ended before it began. I was at Ft. Polk in Basic when Nixon stopped sending troops. So I got sent to West Germany. Almost everyone that out ranked me had already been to Nam.

I hit Ft Polk in Dec 1970. North Fort there was Tigerland, where they did advanced infantry training for those going to Vietnam. We were taken on a "tour" of Tigerland. A few of us got an additional assignment to go up there to unload a shipment of M60's.

When I was an apprentice in the Carpenters Union in Columbus OH, I met and worked with a guy who was a door gunner. He was a very quiet and reserved individual but a heck of a Carpenter especially doing finish work, and come to find out a great story teller.

As we got to know each other, he told me he was shot down 2.5 times during his tours. He didn't count the last one as a full shoot down because they were near base and walked in.

One time working the over night shift I asked him why he choose that job. He told me they asked for volunteers as the soldiers were stepping off the plane when they landed in country. He said he thought he would be slick and get one over on the Army. He said he had it all figured out: He didn't have to hump a ruck, sleep in the mud, and walk miles on end.

With a small laugh and a shake of his head, he stated it didn't work out as planned.

Q, God bless you and your family.

OKCGene, I ordered the book and am having it sent to my 19 year old son to read.

I enjoy reading about Vietnam and have read many books on the subject. I ordered both of the ones suggested here. Thanks for the links fellows.

quote:

Originally posted by Scoutmaster:

quote:

Originally posted by charlie12:
My story ended before it began. I was at Ft. Polk in Basic when Nixon stopped sending troops. So I got sent to West Germany. Almost everyone that out ranked me had already been to Nam.

I hit Ft Polk in Dec 1970. North Fort there was Tigerland, where they did advanced infantry training for those going to Vietnam. We were taken on a "tour" of Tigerland. A few of us got an additional assignment to go up there to unload a shipment of M60's.

ft polk june 25th 1969.

You popped into my head again tonight Ritchie.

I stopped by your grave the last time I was home.

We all miss you.

Semper Fi my brother.

Ritchie