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Vietnam War

Service Reflections of COL Robert DeCubellis, U.S. Air Force (1968-2006)

Service Reflections of COL Robert DeCubellis, U.S. Air Force (1968-2006)

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I had several friends who served in the Air Force, including Dick Berghorn and his K-9 Rommel at Pleiku AB. My uncle Ed served in the Air Corps in England in WW II, and my uncle Art served in the US Navy but didn’t get overseas before VJ Day.
As the Vietnam War began to spool up in the mid-’60s, I knew the draft would be hot on my tail as I was graduating college, so I decided to pick my own destiny versus being drafted. I also came from the baby boomer generation following WW II and knew the value of serving. When my grades slipped in 1966, I got tapped for a pre-induction physical in Minneapolis. It was right out of a scene from Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant,” that’s popular every Thanksgiving….). I actually witnessed the USMC take inductees that day to fill their shortfall in enlistees.

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Condemned Property by “Dusty” Trimmer

Condemned Property by “Dusty” Trimmer

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"Dusty" Trimmer served one year of combat infantry duty with the 25th Infantry Division. In this, his first book, he presents a staggering description that cut to the heart of the combat experience: the fear and belligerence, the quiet insights and raging madness, the lasting friendships and sudden deaths. Yet it is much, much more. It is an account of veterans long after leaving the battlefield as they struggle with physical and emotional damage in a world that seems indifferent to their plight. The book differs from most Vietnam War tomes. It is a collection of interrelated short, seemingly disparate pieces. It jumps around a lot. It does not have a plot. There is no moral to the story. However, what it does more importantly is bear witness to the things men do in war and the things war does to men. Horrible things that scar many, if not all, for the rest of their lives. To dramatize this point, Trimmer personalizes much of it by writing about his experience, observations,...

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The Amazing Story of the USS Kirk

The Amazing Story of the USS Kirk

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Launched in September 1971, the destroyer escort USS Kirk (FF-1087), with a compliment of 18 Officers and 267 Enlisted, sailed the high seas of the Indian Ocean, South America and much of the Pacific Ocean, including the waters off Vietnam. USS Kirk's Unexpected Humanitarian Mission She was a warship in every sense: an efficient, deadly fighting machine with the mission of hunting down, pursuing and destroying her submarine prey. Yet her finest hours were spent tending pregnant women, soothing terrified little children, and saving the lives of tens of thousands. This is the incredible story of a brief episode in the early years of the long life of USS Kirk. Decades of American involvement in South Vietnam came to an end on April 30, 1975 when North Vietnamese troops entered the deserted streets of Saigon on foot, trucks and fighting vehicles. North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates of the presidential palace and soldiers hoisted the yellow and red flag of the Viet Cong. USS...

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Famous Army Unit: Project Delta

Famous Army Unit: Project Delta

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Since the beginning of warfare military leaders knew their greatest chance of winning on the battlefield is to know where the enemy is, how great in strength and what they were planning to do. It was certainly no different with Vietnam commanders. To gain useable and timely intelligence on local enemy forces, Vietnam infantry commanders created "unauthorized" or off the book reconnaissance units to penetrated deep into enemy-held territory. So successful were these forays by these small, well-armed Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRPs) that General William Westmoreland approved the formation of a LRRP unit in each infantry brigade or division. Origins and Mission of Project Delta But there was one reconnaissance unit operating in Vietnam several years before LLRP units existed. It was Project Delta, a clandestine special reconnaissance operations considered the most successful Special Operation units of the Vietnam War, yet few Americans have ever heard of them, or know that this...

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Service Reflections of SMSGT Ronald Radliff, U.S. Air Force (1964-1991)

Service Reflections of SMSGT Ronald Radliff, U.S. Air Force (1964-1991)

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I grew up as an Air Force brat. Our travels took us to Germany shortly after WW-II, France in the mid-50s, and a number of states here and there. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until I was in college that I actually started and completed two consecutive years in the same school.
The college I attended was a junior college. I was studying to be an electronics technician but didn’t graduate as I hadn’t taken all the required courses. I soon found that there was a recession going on and not a job of any kind to be found and the reality of the draft was a very serious part of every young man’s life. Volunteering for the military became the obvious next step, but which one?
I was hoping to get into a technical career field in the military. The Army and Marines seemed like I would have only two chances of a technical field. Slim and None. This left the Navy and Air Force as the obvious choices. I ruled out the Navy as I had no desire to spend any time at sea, let alone extended periods, so the Air Force was my choice.
At that time, my younger brother was out of high school and going nowhere with prospects that looked even less optimistic. I convinced him to go talk to the Air Force recruiter with me. After all the necessary paperwork, the recruiter told us we’d have to come back to take the AFQT (Armed Forces Qualification Test). He scheduled us for the afternoon of November 22, 1963. A historic date indeed. President Kennedy was assassinated that day in Dallas. The recruiters were all gathered around the TV which was playing quite loudly in the next room to where we were taking our tests. The glass partition between the test room and the TV didn’t muffle the sound at all. What a stressful afternoon that was.

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Service Reflections of YN2 George Glover, U.S. Coast Guard (1974-1979)

Service Reflections of YN2 George Glover, U.S. Coast Guard (1974-1979)

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I was 19 years old, and it was the Vietnam Era. I had registered for the draft the previous year while in High School in San Diego, CA. I graduated HS and tried going to college, but it just wasn’t for me. So, after a semester, I left college. Now, what am I going to do? I really had no idea. I was thinking of the Navy because my father had served in the Navy during WWII. He had a career of over 22 years and was a BMC. I was going to join the Navy when a friend of mine mentioned the Coast Guard. That had never occurred to me. I was familiar with the USCG Air Station in San Diego and the cutters at Point Loma, and I liked what the Coast Guard did. Not only did they train for war, but they trained for SAR, law enforcement, pollution control, marine safety, etc. I knew that my father would be spinning in his grave as he had passed away, but I went down to the Coast Guard recruiter in San Diego, talked to them, and signed up. After the physical and paperwork was done, I was offered a guaranteed “A” school, YN. I took it and was off to boot camp in Alameda.

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The Hunt For “Wolfman 44”

The Hunt For “Wolfman 44”

On Dec 19, 1972, an OV-10 Bronco observation plane flew through the scattered clouds over South Vietnam’s northern region west of the South China Sea. At the controls was Air Force pilot Capt. Frank Egan. His aerial observer (AO), a Marine officer known by the call sign, “Wolfman 44”, carefully searched for enemy activity in the rain-soaked jungle and mountains below.

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Service Reflections of AO2 Jack Leach, U.S. Navy (1964-1970)

Service Reflections of AO2 Jack Leach, U.S. Navy (1964-1970)

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Many things. Growing up my father owned the local movie theater where we lived. The top movies in that time were war movies, so I grew up with movies like: “The Fighting Lady” and other such. Audie Murphy was a personal friend of dads as well. Another personal friend of dads was in the Merchant Marine during WWII and his stories were exciting to me when I was a teenager. I also had relatives that served in the Navy during Korea. I guess it was really the relatives that served in the Navy that really made up my mind. Dad got out of the Army as a 1stSgt and he would have liked to see me go into the Army but said he would back me whatever branch I decided on. He went with me to see all the different branches The Navy was the only one who didn’t PROMISE me the moon. They told me it was up to me and my abilities. Dad and I both liked that.
Pictured: L to R, Richard the Merchant Marine, Me, and Dad.

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Service Reflections of Sgt Lenard Bailes, U.S. Marine Corps (1963-1967)

Service Reflections of Sgt Lenard Bailes, U.S. Marine Corps (1963-1967)

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As I approached my 18th birthday, I had always been interested in enlisting in the Marine Corps. I probably read every book and saw every movie about the Marine Corps growing up. I knew I would be a Marine at some point in my life. You could have called me a Marine wanna-be. I don’t believe there was ever a single major influence that I can remember.
Boot Camp had no surprises for me. I anticipated rough treatment, verbal badgering, and the best basic military training in the world. I just kept my mouth shut and did what I was told as quickly as possible. I wasn’t disappointed.

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Service Reflections of ET3 John Warren, U.S. Coast Guard (1970-1974)

Service Reflections of ET3 John Warren, U.S. Coast Guard (1970-1974)

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Like so many young men in the late 1960’s and early 70’s, I found myself with a 1A classification in the draft. When the first draft lottery was drawn, my birthday came up number 23. Growing up on Coastal Maryland, I had always been around the water, although had not spent that much time on boats, enough to know that I would rather rock and roll than sleep in a tent. My Dad knew a couple of people, as did I who had gone into the Coast Guard and really enjoyed their duty. Hoping to find myself on small boats possibly in Ocean City, Maryland or Chincoteague, Virginia, I went into the recruiter’s office. I was immediately informed that there was a long wait to get into the Coast Guard, so being between semesters at college, I went to enroll for the spring semester. A couple of days later, my mother called to let me know that someone had backed out and decided not to go into the Coast Guard and that I could go in the next week.

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Service Reflections of SSGT Robert Floyd Jones, U.S. Air Force (1966-1976)

Service Reflections of SSGT Robert Floyd Jones, U.S. Air Force (1966-1976)

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After one semester in our local “community college” (Edison Junior College), my grades were below the minimum to avoid the draft. Shortly after that, I received a draft notice. Having had relatives in the military, I was resigned to the fact I would have to serve, and I wanted to select a “specialty” that would help me after I had served my country. There was nothing in the Army I wanted to pursue, and I visited my Air Force Recruiter for his input.

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