Category: Vietnam

Memories of Vietnam and Labels of ARVN cigs and rum

Sgt. Grit,

Just wanted to check in and say how much I enjoy the Thursday letter; (it makes my week) and also the pictures. The personal stories and pictures bring back so many memories. I was with 3rd MAR.DIV., Hqs. Bn., Comm. Co., Rad. Rel. Plt. Which meant I was T.A.D. most of the time, so I was located from Quang Tri to Vandergrif ,with the 4th Mar., and 3rd Mar. Regt’s. Back at Dong Ha we were close to the ARVN unit that I think, if I remember right, was called I.T.T., they were the ones that “extracted” info. From the POW’s. read more

Hill 55 and Liberty Road

    1966 / 67, Hill 55 south of DaNang in the background.   We were starting our morning mine sweep.  I was a combat engineer with c/1/26. This 1.5 mile stretch this side of the river (Song Thu Bon River in background) was called Liberty Road.  We swept it every morning to open it up for resupply traffic out to An Hoa.    We had a squad of engineers and a squad of grunts split on each flank and also a tank.   That day I was driving the mule.  We rotated the jobs so you only had to sweep about every third day or so.  On the lower left corner on the mule you can see the mine detector.    The sea bag had our explosives, det cord supplies.   Our platoon HQ was on top of Hill 55 which can be seen in the background.  We would routinely find mines one way or another and also receive sniper fire during the sweep.   I have more photos if anyone is interested.  This is my first posting and am trying to contact some of the guys in my unit during that time.   I can't remember names. read more

Rockpile

Sgt Grit,

I was on the Rockpile as 2531 mos radio operator with 3rd Recon in '67 I remember some of the Marines in this photo they were from an infantry unit stationed on Highway 9 the CO was a major with a Polish last name I can't remember. In the photo on the right the guy with arms raised is Alvarez, the three guys are Wheeler, Renard, and I can't remember the last guy's name? I maybe unloading water in the photo on the left. Doc Soul is not in the photo.   Neither are Pete Pizutt from Brooklyn, NY or, Joe Murphy from Pawtucket, RI, or Roger Brown from Bayou Le Battre, AL of 3rd Recon. Pete and Joe made it home but have since passed away, I don't know about Brown?   Thomas Curran

I volunteered

I enlisted in the Marines in 1968 out of high school on a delayed entry program…arrived in San Diego in October…went through infantry training…set foot in Nam in Arpil ’69…..assigned to Delta Co 1 / 4 3rd Marine Div in I Corp…after a few months our radio man rotated to the world…I volunteered to carry it…..I did not know the life expectancy of a radioman was about 3 seconds…I was given a codebook, map, and compass…. that was my training….having to negotiate the bush by compass and map greatly improved my hunting skills I now use in northern Wisconsin woods. read more

Christmas 1964

Sgt Grit   Here is a copy of our 1964 Christmas Menu. The U.S.S. Lenawee was off Vietnam at the time.   Speaking of Bob Hope.  On Christmas Eve, 1964, Bob Hope and his USO troupe were en route to the Brinks Hotel in Saigon, Vietnam. Cue card man Barney McNulty was late getting the cue cards off the plane. That delay ultimately saved all of their lives when a Viet Cong truck loaded with 300 pounds of TNT exploded at their hotel. Investigation revealed a Viet Cong document indicating that Bob Hope was the target of the attack.   Dale Landon

DaNang Golf Club

In reference to Bill Pakinkis' comment about the DaNang Golf Club, I'd like to confirm that the course is being constructed just a few clix south of Marble Mountain complex off the old beach highway on the way to Hoi An…I had a chance to play the first 18 holes of what will be a 36 hole course and resort, about a year and a half ago…But I have a preference for Montgomerie Links Golf Course, which is the other course just south of DGC, and is a better developed and more challenging golf course (see attached pix)…These are the only two courses in the DaNang are for the moment, but there is another one under construction out in the western mountains near BaNa (just north of the old Happy Valley)…BaNa was once a French mountain resort during the old French Indo-China days, and was part of one of my old unit's (2/3) TAOR (c. 65-66). read more

Was with 1st Lt. Sekardi at LZ Baldy

I was with Wiskey 3/11 on hill 55 in August '69 and moved to Lz Baldy later that year. Lt. Sekardi was right, we did have to "borrow" a few items from the Army as we had nothing.

At one time we were sent to hill 953 which was so far out that we had to use mirrors with another postion two mountain ranges away to site our mortors in. I ended up being a section chief on both the 4-duece and the 155 at the same time. read more

Vietnam Christmas 1965

Sgt Gritt, had one more picture to show you of a greeting we made for all the Marines to see in the DaNang Airbase area where 5th CommBn was living in the great tents and mud. By the way we did sit up the sound system for the Bob Hope Show that year and I do have some old picturs of Jody Heatherton, and a couple others while working behind the scene's. read more