http://david.brubakers.us/Vietnam/index.html

This website has great photo's of most of the field gear we used in Vietnam.

http://www.vietnamveteranministers.org/chaplain/veterans.htm

Jack Day was my chaplain in Vietnam.  He held services on several firebases for us.  His Central Highlands Diary brings back many memories of the Highlands.

http://www.vba.va.gov/

The Department of Veteran's Affairs, Veteran's Benefits Administration Page.

http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu:80/fac/Thomas.Pilsch/Vietnam.html

This site at Georgia Tech in Atlanta has a page from Thomas Pilsch, which has some really great links to Vietnam War Resources.

http://www.virtualarchive.vietnam.ttu.edu/

This website at the Texas Tech University, Vietnam Center and Archive, is great.  Do check it out.  It is unfortunately fairly slow loading, because of the high traffic volume, but the wait is well worth it.  If you want some tactical maps of your old AO, they have scanned for download all the 1:50,000 topo maps of Vietnam.  On the Home Page, click these links:

click the button on the left that reads Virtual Vietnam Archive
click the button on the left that reads Search the Vietnam Virtual Archive
click the buttons to select Maps, English, and Limit to Items Available Online
Type in under Collection Title: enter Vietnam Archive Map
At this point, if you click the Start Search button on the top left, you will select all 914 maps for Vietnam.
If you want only those maps for II Corps, enter into the Keyword/Item #: field the words II Corp
This will select from the Vietnam Archive Map collection, only the 137 maps for II Corp.

Be Patient!  Rush the site by going back and forth before the previous transaction has completed may lock your session up.  Please use the End Search Session button when finished.  It too, will take quite awhile to respond, but keeps the server running efficiently for other users.

You may also enter the actual map number, instead of II Corp to get only the map you need.  For instance, if you enter into the Keyword/Item #: field the number 6538-2, you will get the map sheet containing Dak To.

You might want to check out Ray Smith's 1/69th Armor site's map page first.  He has posted maps of most of the area's you want.  http://www.rjsmith.com/index.html 

http://home.comcast.net/~singingman7/TNOTW.htm

50,000 Names on the Wall.....

http://www.vhpa.org/
 

This is a great site about those incredible helicopter pilots, who flew for us in South East Asia.
 

Richard Lysinger, a Grunt with 1/35th, "Cacti", A Co., 3rd Bde, 4th Infantry Division, APR 68 - APR 69,  has made his photo's, letters home, and documents available on these sites...

Letters Home

Vietnam Photo's

Selective Service and Other Documents

http://grambo.us/atav/default.html

Ever wonder how all those bullets and beans got to us???  It was the Transportation Units.  This site is dedicated to those brave souls.

http://1-22infantry.org/pics2/shyabtitle.htm

Some great memory jogging photos here from Charles "Doc" Shyab Company C/1/22 Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, November 20 1967 - April 28 1968

http://www.shakenbakesergeant.com/

Great website about a "Shake-n-Bake", NCO from A/1/8.  His book is a great read and will bring back many memories to those of us who were there.  This link gives a summary and links you to a site where you may obtain his book and read an good article about these so called "Instant NCO's"

http://www.vietnamgear.com/

A great site with outstanding photos of Vietnam era gear.  Check it out! Photos of many of the items we used daily.

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10017.html#extra

If you served in the military from 1957 through 1977, you are credited with $300 in additional Social Security earnings for each calendar quarter in which you received active duty basic pay

http://dean504mp.home.att.net:80/honcong.html

This page is about the 504th Military Police Battalion.  There some good photos of Hong Cong Mountain. I think it may have been some of these guys, who saved my butt, when my jeep broke down going through the Mang Yang Pass.

http://www.womensmemorial.org:80/

Site about the Women In Service to our Country Memorial at Arlington.  Lets give them some support in getting more of their stories preserved.

Some interesting links sent to me by Richard Lysinger...

Social Security retirement benefit "break-even" point.

I guess most, if not all, of our group have ventured into this area already, but this link offers a computer-generated calculator of the SS retirement benefit "break-even" point.

I asked the SS rep how many people wait till "full retirement." Her reply, "I've never had one. I think the clear majority are taking "early" benefits anyway.

http://www.ssa.gov:80/OACT/quickcalc/when2retire.html

Forever Grateful For Our Veterans,

Marnie Mowles     "Honoring Those Who Have Given So Much."

http://www.theveteransvoice.com/Hero.html

Interesting website



SPN Number on Discharge Papers.

www.landscaper.net/discharg.htm

Some of you may already know about this but for those who don't here
goes. Get out your DD214 and look in block 11. You'll see the
letters SPN followed by a number. This is your SPN number. (DUH) This
code gives the reason for separation from the military.
Now, to understand this code go to the link I've provided and there is
a list for all the codes. Some are pretty normal but some
are really out there. Interesting stuff. See what your says.

http://www.themightyninth.org:80/

New site about 2/9th Field Artillery, a 105 howitzer outfit that worked in out AO.  May have bailed us out from time to time.  Just started the site, so they would love to hear from anyone who worked with them.
 

http://groups.msn.com/VietnamGuntrucks

http://grambo.us/atav/default.html

Good pages on Gun Trucks in Vietnam...saved my butt just outside of An Khe.

http://namtour.com/wife.html

Site from a NamVet's wife...poetry that tells it all.  Sounded like my mind felt all those years...hate that the wives had to endure our pain, too.

http://aad.archives.gov/aad/

This link takes you to the National Archives and Records Administration Access to Archival Databases page.  Click the Vietnam War link to get to:  Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam Conflict, documenting the period 6/8/1956 - 1/21/1998. It may help pin down some names, dates and places.

http://www.operationmom.org/ToOurParents.html

This slide show video from the Operation Mom website is a touching tribute to Vets.  It loads incredibly slowly, but is well worth the wait.  Just get a cup of coffee and come back later.

http://members.aol.com/veterans/warlib6v.htm

This is the link to The American War Library website section on the Vietnam War.  A very large and well done site. Visit it.

http://www.homeofheroes.com/


Richard Lysinger sent me this link to a great source on Medal of Honor recipients. /Richard was with Co A. 1/35 Inf. 3rd Bde. 4th Inf Div (Cacti).

http://www.cacti35th.org/regiment/history/35thvietnam.htm

This page from the 35^th Infantry contains the Operational Reports Lessons Learned from the 4th Infantry during Operation Mac Arthur 1 MAY - 31 JUL 1968.

http://a-1-8.org/Docs/grey/index.php

This is A/1/8^ths webpage containing the After Action Reports for Operation Wayne Grey 28 FEB - 31 MAR 1969.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_875#The_Bomb

The taking of Hill 875 in November of 1967 during the battle of Dak To, saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the Vietnam War.  The link above is to an account on Wilkipedia.  During the battle the 2nd and 4th Bn's of the 503rd Infantry suffered 33 MIA, 158 KIA, and 411 WIA. During this same time period, the 173rd Airborne Brigade lost 60 MIA, 272 KIA, and over 900 WIA fighting around the Dak To area.  Enemy loses were estimated at 3000.

This email is from Kent Phillips, who is interviewing survivors of the battle for Hill 875 for a screen play about that action.

I hope this e mail reaches you. Here in Ft. Wayne is a sky soldier who was with the 173rd Airborne. I am assembling facts  for a screenplay about Hill 875 and the men who were there. The number of people to interview is becoming limited, as most are the same age as myself (61). I am going to donate all of the proceeds (if there are any) , to veterans of this battle, and/or their families. I am working with Shane Black, who wrote all of the Lethal Weapon movies, A Long Kiss Goodnight, and most recently directed Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang. I feel he has the right talents for what I want to accomplish with this treatise, as it moves onto the screen.

My goal, primarily, is to contrast America in 1964, with America in 1969. To share the events in my life as a Four F, person, living on campus, then working for Sun Records and the “identity crises” we all felt. We loved our country, yet the majority of the people our age were tearing down every thing we believed in:  the government, social mores, sexual activities, drug use, etc. It was the closest time since 1780 that the United States came to being in the throws of revolution. When we returned to our own age group, we could never feel comfortable. Even the distrust of those who claimed that POT would never hurt you, but cigarettes and liquor caused cancer, etc, was not accepted by us. It is fine to post this e mail on your page, and/or send it to all of those you have contact with. I would love to visit with them and hear their story. It is a story beyond the much touted 101st Airborne. The Fourth and the 173rd , hit the NVA head on and were victorious. I have seen the KIA lists. This was one of the bloodiest battles in Vietnam, and the people who fought it were my age. I was safely nested away with my guitar in Muscle Shoals, Nashville, and Florida, being paid to have fun and drink Busch Bavarian. I feel guilty for not being at your side. Thank you for reading this and your courage as a young boy. Kent I Phillips

Kent I Phillips
Chief Executive Officer
Databank Limited

 

http://www.jacquelinewinspear.com:80/readership.htm

This link will take you to a site about Jacqueline Winspear, author of the Maisie Dobbs Mystery Series.
If you have seen or been around combat, these stories will help you deal with it's aftermath. Even if you don't think you suffer from PTSD, read these stories. They will touch a secret place in your soul and help you heal. They are a mystery series, so the combat stuff kind of sneaks up on you.

http://1-22infantry.org/history/campenari.htm

This link discusses the naming of Camp Enari.  I found it rather interesting.

http://www.talkingproud.us:80/International061406.html

This link is to a site about ROK troops who served with us in Vietnam.  I remember serving alongside the Tiger Division units from the Republic of Korea in Pleiku in 1968.  They were well disciplined, hard core soldiers.  You felt safe with them guarding your back.  They had the firebase guarding the hairpin turn in the Mang Yang Pass, while I was there.  For those of you in B/1/8 with me, you may remember the incident of the Colonel's dog.

http://www.thevirtualwall.org/

If you haven't yet visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund site...DO IT!

http://www.vetsignia.org:80/praises.htm

Got this site from Bob Kline, USMC, WWII.  They have some nice Vietnam Vet Bumper Stickers, Small but well made.

http://www.scguard.com/museum/index.html

This link is to the South Carolina National Guard Museum.  Tibby and I recently attended the opening ceremonies, since her Grandfather, General James C. Dozier, won the Medal of Honor in WWI and they have a nice display honoring him. He  became Adjutant General of South Carolina in 1926 and served in that capacity for 33 years.

First Lieutenant Dozier was with the U.S. Army's, Company G, 118th Infantry, 30th Division, near Montbrehain, France, on 8 October 1918. He was in command of two platoons, when he was painfully wounded in the shoulder early in the attack, but he continued to lead his men displaying the highest bravery and skill. When his command was held up by heavy machinegun fire, he disposed his men in the best cover available and with another soldier continued forward to attack a machinegun nest. Creeping up to the position in the face of intense fire, he killed the entire crew with hand grenades and his pistol and a little later captured a number of Germans who had taken refuge in a dugout nearby.

They have some of the equipment we used in Vietnam on display there.  I took some photo's and will be adding them to the Grunt Gear page in the near future.

http://www.regrettoinform.org/

Regret to Inform

I had forgotten this movie until Ben Goldberg reminded me of it.  At the time I first saw it, I was only just beginning to deal with my PTSD and could not process much of the material.  I still had too, tight a lid on my emotions and memories.  It does show war from both sides.  As Ben says, young people should see it before they decide to jump into military service.  I agree and believe all voters, who may elect politicians who send people to war by their actions or inactions, should see it also.
It is the story of a widow, who heard the words "We regret to inform..." telling her that her husband had been killed in Vietnam.  She was 24 years old. Twenty years later, she traveled to Vietnam to see the place where her husband and fought and died.  Along with the story of her personal journey are interviews of other war widows, both American and Vietnamese.  It will squeeze your heart up into your throat, especially if you fought in that conflict.

 

http://www.diggerhistory.info/00-pages-top-level/master-index.htm

This link is to an Unofficial history of the Australian & New Zealand Armed Services, with some very good references to the Australian forces in Vietnam.  We worked with one of these units for a few weeks.

http://www.wlajournal.com/18_1-2/karlin.pdf

Online journal of War, Literature, and the Arts has many interesting and informative articles about combat and society.  The current issue has an article by Wayne Karlin, the Marine who returned Hoang Ngoc Dam's personal documents to his family for me.

http://www.rjsmith.com/my_unit.html

Ray's website honors the 1/69th Armor and has some great maps of the area.

http://www.daktodefenders.org:80/

This site is dedicated to comrades who served with the 299th Combat Engineer Battalion during the siege of Dak To 9 MAY 69 thru 1 JUL 69.

http://cybersarges.tripod.com/index.html

Cyber Sarge, 25th Infantry Division, A Battery 7/11 Field Arty has a great website.  Take a look at the Agent Orange page in particular.
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_Army_enlisted_rank_insignia&oldid=104488178

This is a link to Wilkipedia, the free encyclopedia, which has a very good article about Enlisted Rank Insignia in the US Army.

http://www.vietnam-landmines.org/

I personally think the damage done by landmines decades after the end of hostilities is a crime against humanity.  This site talks about the aftermath of the landmines used in Vietnam and their terrible legacy. If you are concerned and have the means, please contribute to this organization or others like it.  The indiscriminate killing and maiming caused by landmines is not unlike the horrors of chemical warfare or white phosphorus or biological warfare, all of which I would like to see removed from the arsenals of the world.  The foregoing is my personal opinion and like all such thoughts are personal expressions of free speech.  Some will disagree, but not many who have been personally touched by these tragedies I am willing to bet.

http://www.vietnamenterprisegroup.com/

Vietnam Enterprise Group, Inc. (VEG), a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm, was formed in 1993 to provide a variety of professional services to businesses and individuals interested in the emerging opportunities for commerce between Vietnam and the United States. (I had trouble opening this site with IE 6.0, but Netscape opened it just fine.)

http://www.prideofservice.com/

A great site to get those personal items that display your military service...personalized T-Shirt, Sweat Shirts, Tank Tops, Golf Shirts, Long Sleeved Shirts, Caps, Visors, Mouse Pads, License Plates, Coaster Sets, Coffee Mugs, Aprons, Boxers, Wallets, Neckties...you design it.

http://www.tibart.com/

A personal website done by my wife, Tibby and I. It gives you a feel for who I am today.  Also a great nature photography site with a deep spiritual connection, that makes you feel connected to the whole universe.

http://www.loftpress.com/bookmain/lightrucmain.htm

Tom's book about B/3/12 in 1969, reminds me of my tour with the 4th Infantry around the Cambodia/Laos border. It will bring many daily memories back into clear focus...check it out! Read this excerpt from:

"Light Ruck, Vietnam 1969"
by Tom Lacombe

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze4s5h6/ssgwarhogusa/index.html

SSG Michael Boxer was assigned to Delta Company 3/8th, 4th Infantry Division and walked Central Vietnam from OCT 1968 to OCT 1969. His website is still a work in progress. It tell the story of the battle for Hill 947 during Operation Wayne Grey. His reference to General Creighton Abrams, overall Commander of US Forces in Vietnam confirms my memories of Col Knight's removal from command. The fact that General Abrams was in the air during these battles, attests to the significance of Operation Wayne Grey.

 http://w3.ime.net/~ncocloca/NCOC-1~1.HTM

This link is to the Non Commissioned Officer Candidates Locator site for Ft. Benning trained "Instant NCO's"  those so called "Shake-n-Bakes".  Some of my finest NCO's were trained there.  It is a good place to get in touch with them.

Homer R. Steedly Jr.    (Email:  )       More stories coming soon...Check back often.    Copyrighted ...