The Origins of Memorial Day
On Memorial Day, we honor those that have fought for the American concept. Men and Women that have sacrificed so much in order to defend the ideals that have made us a great nation. — Kamala Harris The tragedy of the hard-fought Civil War was the deaths of more than 600,000 soldiers over the course […]
Video Presentation: The Trauma of Firefights
Firefights, especially night firefights were always traumatic. At night you were afraid to change your position for fear of being shot by your own men, but once you fired your weapon your position was compromised and you had to move or a fusillade of bullets would be heading your way. At night there was also […]
Firefights and Courage
John Wayne, who never served in the military but is revered by all branches of the service, may have said it best: Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway. Courage under fire is something all grunts (infantrymen) thought about in Vietnam. My firefights came in a variety of forms: a skirmish with […]
Band of Brothers
The Cav patch…that big, beautiful yellow patch, the largest patch of all the Army’s units, was designed by Col and Mrs. Ben Dorsey when he first served with the 7th Cavalry at Ft. Bliss, Texas. Mrs. Dorsey originally explained that the patch had to be large enough to be seen through the dust and sand […]
Helicopter Combat Assaults (Charlie Alpha)
What was it like to go on a helicopter combat assault with the 1st Air Cav Division during the Vietnam War? As a platoon leader with A Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Cav, I went on more than 60 “charlie alphas” during my tour from 1968-69. Sometimes we made two assaults per day. This photograph gives […]
Video Presentation: Leading a Charlie Alpha – Jumping Off and Falling Down
I always rode in the first helicopter when it was my platoon’s turn to lead a Charlie Alpha (Combat Assault). I would sit or kneel behind and between the pilot and co-pilot and look out the front windscreen. Sometimes there was a headset I could put on and talk with the co-pilot as they led […]
How and Why I Wrote This Book
I wrote this book after conversations with many Vietnam veteran officers and enlisted men. From these conversations I learned that I had experienced several events that they had not. Each of the chapters in my book describes one of these stories. Each chapter exists independently without chronology. Some stories are humorous, some horrific. It took […]