Photo sent courtesy of Brian Martin
Photo sent courtesy of Brian Martin
Lots of links and lots of HONESTY here.. I was unable to read all the
pages at this
site, but have read several of them. The truth is many times painful as
is in this case..
Learning about the "on site" facts of Vietnam, is an emotional and painful
education
for me, most definately not like book learning. However, one that I feel
is needed for
all of us if we are to understand the "after affects" of that war. I at
least can take it
in stages and give myself a chance to regain my emotions. Unlike our soldiers
of that
war that where "in the middle" of it all and yet had to put all emotions
on hold in order
to continue so as to survive. Thank you so much SGT for sharing your pain,
so that
others may have some understanding of just how horrendous situations can
be for our
soldiers.. You and others like yourself, are very, very "special"
people..
Heli-Vets is group of Vietnam Veterans from all services who were pilots
or crewmembers of helicopters during the Vietnam Conflict. We have banded
together
on the Internet to provide information about helicopters and the people
who served
on them.
For those who wish to learn first hand about the Dusters and Quad
50's at Khe Sanh, this is an article written by a Khe Sanh
Vet,
Bruce Geiger . I have reprinted
the article here with permission
from the author, however, to see the pictures, you must visit
the
site Army Air Defense Center's
"ADA Magazine", a new
Online Magazine. This is where the article was published along with many
photos.. I was unable to read the article, till I downloaded
and
changed the background color, so I thought I would post it
here
making it easier for others to be able to read as well...
I have visited ADA Magazine site and it has many interesting
and
good articles written by the ones that have "been there, done that".
Well worth Bookmarking and checking back for new issues..
It
covers Bosnia, Desert Storm, and much, much more....
On to the Article... "Khe Sanh"
Great Site... Loads of going down "music memory lane" at this site.. And do you know what a "Swift Boat" is?? Guess all you sailors do, but I didn't. However, I do now thou.. :) Nope, not gonna tell ya either, you have to go check it out for yourself... GO >>> SWIFT BOAT
While at Andy's HOMEPORT you can jump over and
visit:
** KILO
CO. 3rd Battalion/1stDiv. USMC **
Semper Fi Guys!
WOW .... check this site out!!!! It
opens with an awesome site of being over trees... and if you have a Java
Browser you can attend
their briefings at 0200 every night..
OUTSTANDING!!
Here you can find a whole mess of other listings
of
Vietnam War Helicopter Units..
An association for all Veteran War Dog Handlers.
Excellent Site!!!
Visit this site and learn about the silent Warriors who also
did battle
in Vietnam. They did their jobs well. Many giving their all.
We
remember them and their service, to their fellow comrades
as well
as this country.
* * We sometimes don't even give a second thought to
the "BIG" picture.. Those "behind" the sceanes as it where.. I mean
how many really even knew that "dogs" went to war.. or that, they played
a part in pulling it all together.. The following is a little glimpse of
that part that our "Silent Warriors" played..
It was taken from the above website.. For more in depth K-9
Unit Locations - (South Vietnam )and Troop listings these Warriors where
a part of,
click here..............
The Sentry K9 Team, a handler and his dog, patrolled only at night and were assigned to secure a designated area around the base perimeter. They were the first line of defense and were left on their own to hold off any enemy attacks until back up could be called in. They also patrolled supply and ammo depots and aircraft flight lines and runways.
From 1966 to 1971, twenty-one Army Scout Dog Platoons, eleven Army Combat Tracker Platoons, and two Marine Scout Dog Platoons were deployed throughout South Vietnam.
As shown on the map, the Army's Scouts and Trackers were centered mostly in I Corps and III Corps. The Marines were exclusively in I Corps, mostly around the DMZ.
The map shows the platoon's typical location, however, in most cases these were "rear areas." For example, the 48th Infantry Platoon, Scout Dog (IPSD) is listed as being located at Chu Lai, in I Corps, but the contingent there was very small. The platoon was actually located at LZ Baldy, north of Chu Lai.
Late in the war, the Army's main goal was to stop the North Vietnamese's southern movement, through III Corps, towards Saigon. That might explain the large contingent of Scout and Tracker teams in that area.
The differences between sentry and scout dogs were such that it was difficult
to expect one to be able to do the job of the other. However, both types
of dogs were used to do both types of duty...even though they were not trained
to do so.
.
