by Albracht, William; Wolf, Marvin; Galloway, Joseph L. (FRW)
CH-54 Sikorsky Flying Crane, 26
Cham people, 10, 12, 14
Childers, Captain Charles, 196
Childs, Rudy, 99, 110
Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG), xii, 12–14, 20, 28, 35, 70, 71, 78
Claymore mines, 88–89, 144
Close, SP4 Edward J., 276
Cobra gunship, 103, 110, 186
Cole, CW2 James C., 201, 205, 275
“College Colonel, The” (Melville), 228
Collins, CW2 Robert, 275
Collins, Lieutenant Colonel, 192
Colt Automatic Rifle (CAR-15), 85, 147
CONEX containers, 31–32, 99
Conscientious objectors, 48
Coonce, WO1 John “Jack,” 135, 136, 276
Corcoran, Lieutenant General Charles A., 16, 220–22, 255–56, 260
Cosmos, WO1 Charles “Pete,” 204, 276
Craig, SP4 Jesse, 276
Crane, Lex, 55, 58, 60
Crites, Lieutenant, 169
Crockett, Davy, 219
Dak Lak Province, 10, 174, 268
Dak To, 19
Davison, WO John “Les,” 135–37, 186, 201, 203–5, 240, 249, 275–76
DC-3, 162
De Sio, WO1 David J., 276
Degar Highlands Liberation Front, 13
Degar tribes, 10, 12, 15
Delaune, Lieutenant Colonel Elton J., 34, 154, 155, 174, 210, 288–90
Demilitarized Zone, 15
DeNote, Staff Sergeant Rocco, 81, 186, 189–90, 192, 220, 222, 277, 298, 299
Diem, Ngo Dinh, 12, 13
Dien Bien Phu, xii, 37, 86
Donovan, CW2 Kenneth, 199–202, 204, 206–7, 249, 259–60, 275, 277–78
Draft, US, 3, 27, 47, 48, 134, 135
Draft dodgers, Vietnamese, 5
Drang River Valley, 18
Duc Lap Special Forces Camp, 9, 18–20, 32–34, 35, 36, 69, 112, 133, 136, 154, 191, 200, 201, 259
Dykes, Captain Al, 162–70, 173, 207, 230, 237, 249, 278, 297, 298
EC-47s, 16–17, 163, 207
Eisenhower, General Dwight D., 162–63
ELINT (electronic intelligence), 16
Enuol, Y Bham, 14
F-4 Phantom, xiii, 108, 109
F-100 Super Sabre, xiii, 108, 109, 142, 174
FADAC (Field Artillery Digital Automatic Computer), 66, 225
Falcon gunship, 135–38, 176, 186, 203, 206
Farlow, SP4 Richard, 276
FDC (see Fire direction center)
Fenlon, WO1 Dennis, 206, 275
Field guns, development of, 24
Fire direction center (FDC), 32, 34, 77–78, 100, 118, 155–57, 188
Fire direction specialists, 25
Firebase Annie, 31, 32, 36, 65, 67, 156, 174, 268
Firebase concept, 34
Firebase Dorrie, 36, 282
Firebase Helen, 36, 191
Firebase Kate
air support for, 96, 100, 103, 107–8, 111–12, 141, 142–50, 158, 161, 166–70, 176–80, 188–89, 195, 223–24, 249
ammunition shortage on, xiii, 144, 146, 150, 186–87, 195, 213, 257
ARVN and, xiii, 190–92
attack on, 95–105, 107–20, 123, 137, 141–44, 146–50, 155–58, 167–70, 174–82, 186–96, 209, 211, 212, 250
bomb damage assessment of, 267
building, xi–xii, 29–32
communications on, 65–66, 166–67, 225
cross-border strike and, 189
escape from, xiii–xiv, 231–40, 243–48
food on, 68–69
geography of, 30, 86, 87, 89
operational chain of command on, 34–35
perimeter breached, 175–76
perimeter defenses of, 87–89
planning escape from, 214–15, 220, 223–27, 229–30
recon expeditions from, 69–71
recreation on, 71, 89, 90
registering of guns on, 67–68
reinforcements for, 112, 116, 120, 141
replaced howitzer, 114, 119
rescue plan for, 192–94, 196, 211–13
sanitation and hygiene on, 70, 72, 90
size of, 65
supplying, xii–xiii, 80–81, 144, 146, 150, 186–87, 202–3, 206–7, 275–76
troop rotation on, 81
underground FDC built on, 77–78
water on, 185–87, 213
weapons on, xii, 26, 31, 34, 67–68, 86, 188
weather and, 66, 71–72
wounded on, 98–100, 102, 104, 105, 109–10, 135–38, 147–49, 179, 187, 194, 195
Firebase Martha, 36, 191
Firebase Mike Smith, 284, 288, 290
Firebase Susan, 31, 32, 36, 65, 67, 68, 156, 174, 268
Firebase Swinger, 29
Flight school, 130–31
Forward air controllers (FACs), 62, 143, 147, 150
Foster, First Lieutenant Walter, 276
Franco-Prussian War of 1870, 23
French, in Vietnam, xii, 12, 37, 86
Friendly fire, 4, 176
Frye, Mary Elizabeth, 140
Galloway, Joseph L., xi–xiv
Gay, CWO Harold Benjamin, 115, 130–33, 135, 142–44, 146–50, 249, 279
Geneva Accords of 1954, 12, 135
Geromin, SP4 Warren, 72–73, 78, 112–13, 115, 148–49, 194, 233, 247, 248, 279
Ghost soldiers, 5
Gia Nghia, 104, 107, 112, 126, 146, 174
Giáp, General Vo Nguyên
Gillikin, SP4 Larry, 275
Gooch, Sergeant First Class Jimmy, 76, 284
Graft, in ARVN, 4, 5
Gulf of Tonkin, 15
“Gunga Din” (Kipling), 184
Gunpowder, invention of, 23
Guthrie, Wilbur, 144–47, 149, 150
H-34 helicopter, 129
Hall, Colonel Charles, 35–37
Hare, Phil, 295
Harrell, WO2 Denny, 136–38
HC-47, 163
Healey, Colonel “Iron Mike,” 254, 257
Hearne, WO2 Maury, 143, 148–50, 249
Helmich, Major Gerald R., 224, 227, 279–80
Henry V (Shakespeare), 266
“High Flight” (Magee), 198
Hill 875/Dak To, Battle of, xii
Hitch, First Lieutenant James A., 206
Hmong people, 15
Ho Chi Minh Trail, 17, 19, 163, 188
Hon Tre Island, 62
Honest John rockets, 74–75
Hopkins, Kenn, 25, 30, 31, 71, 73, 91, 97–98, 108, 113–19, 141, 142, 154–55, 157, 192–94, 211, 248, 280–81, 284
Houghtaling, Sergeant, 28, 113, 168–69, 173, 177
Houston, Sam, 219
Howitzers, 24, 31, 34, 67–68, 73, 76–77, 86, 97–98, 101, 107, 113–14, 119, 225
Hue, 20
Huey gunship (see UH-1 gunship)
Ia Drang, Battle of, 18–19
Ia Drang Valley, xii
Indian Wars, 34
Indirect fire, concept of, 24
Ingram, WO1 Larry D., 276
Jarai people, 15
Jesuits, 11
Johnson, Lyndon B., 3, 14
Johnson, Marlin, 174, 269
Johnson, Peewee, 225
Johnson, SP4 Bob, 32, 66–67, 69, 77–78, 99, 118, 155–56, 214, 220, 224, 236–37, 239, 247, 281
Kadel, SP4 David E., 275
Kampuchean people, 14
Kate (see Firebase Kate)
Kennedy, John F., 292
Kerr, Lieutenant John, 25, 65, 67, 68, 77, 78, 80, 87, 91, 99, 108–11, 119, 120, 141, 146, 147, 155–57, 173, 177, 248, 282–83, 290
Ker
ry, John, 189
Khe Sanh, siege of, xii
Khmer Krom people, 15
Khmer people, 10, 12
Khmer Republic, 270
Kinh people, 10–12
Kinnard, Major General Harry, 124–25
Kipling, Rudyard, 64, 128, 160, 184, 242
Klein, First Lieutenant Tom, 154, 289
Kontum province, 16, 20
Koon, SP4 Nelson, 73–75, 77–79, 96, 98, 113, 115, 118, 120, 137, 138, 154, 155, 157–58, 187, 192, 194, 210–11, 225, 226, 230, 235, 237, 246–48, 283–85
Korean War, xiv, 31, 33, 222
Ky, General Nguyen Cao, 3, 5, 14
Lam Dong province, 16
Laos, 2, 10, 14, 17, 18, 101
Larson, Lieutenant General Stanley “Swede,” 125
Lartéguy, Jean (Jean Pierre Lucien Osty), vii
Lattin, Major George, 107, 109, 111, 188, 249, 273, 285–86
Law of the Jungle, The (Kipling), 64
Leaves of Grass (Whitman), 84
Lillie, Gordon W., 222
Long Binh, 61
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 106
“Lost Legion, The” (Kipling), 242
Lott, SP5 Douglas Hugh, Jr., 143, 150, 249
Love, SP4 Thomas W., 275
Lu Lan, General, 222
LZ Albany, 18
LZ X-Ray, 18
M16 rifle, 85, 147, 192
M60 machine gun, 120, 145, 192, 194
M79 grenade launcher, 114, 192
M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, 85
MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam), 13, 190
MACV RECONDO Combat Operations Course (COC), 62
Maddox, Bob, 136, 137
Magee, John Gillespie, Jr., 198
Malvestuto, Terry, 286
Matlock, Jim “Herbie,” 144–50, 249, 286–87
Matson, SP4 Richard D., 276
McFarland, Sergeant, 98, 113, 154, 225
McKim, Randolph Harrison, xxiv
McNamara, Robert, 109
Melville, Herman, 218, 228
Mike Force (Mobile Strike Force), xiii, xiv, 14, 15, 18, 41, 62, 112, 192–94, 196, 211–13, 224, 231–33, 237–39, 244–47, 263
Military Occupational Specialty 13B, 75
Ming, General Duong Van, 13–14
Moffett, Ken, 290, 294, 295
Monsoon season, 17
Montagnard soldiers, v, xi–xiii, 6, 10–14, 26, 28–30, 69–71, 78, 87–91, 95–96, 123, 124, 148, 175, 190, 192, 213–14, 220, 223, 226, 234, 235
Moore, Major, 176
Moore, PFC Thomas M., 275
Mortars, development of, 24
Mosher, SP5 Craig W., 275
Murphy, Joe, 47–50
My Lai massacre, 53
Nachtigall, Dave, 136
Nadine, PFC Dennis, 120
Napalm, 4, 147, 176
National Security Agency (NSA), 16
Native Americans, 11–12
Newsweek magazine, 189
Nha Trang, 16, 37, 61, 125, 254, 293
Nha Trang Bay, 62
Nixon, Richard M., xi, 3, 126, 189–91
North Vietnamese forces (see People’s Army of [North] Vietnam)
Norton, PFC Michael R., 114, 249–50, 274, 280
Nung troops, xiii, 15
NVA (see People’s Army of [North] Vietnam)
O-1 Bird Dog, 17, 104, 107, 111, 112, 114, 129
Officer Candidate School, 49–58, 67
Officer promotions, 40–41
OH-6 Cayuse (LOACH), 103–4
Olsen, SP4 Pete, 145, 146
Operation Switchback, 13
OV-1 Mohawk, 17
Owen, Major Dean M., 201–4, 249, 260, 276
Palmer, Captain William, 62, 63
Parachute training, 57–58
Parker, Steven, 272
Patton, George S., Jr., 94, 152
PAVN (see People’s Army of [North] Vietnam)
People’s Army of [North] Vietnam (PAVN), 1, 2, 6, 14, 15, 36–37, 70, 79, 80, 86, 89, 90, 96, 97, 101–4, 107, 112, 115–16, 119, 124–26, 141–44, 147–50, 156–58, 167–69, 174–79, 186, 188–91, 194, 202, 206, 207, 209, 211, 212, 224, 226, 230–31, 235–38, 245–47, 250, 253–54
24th Infantry Regiment, 19
28th Infantry Regiment, 18, 212
32nd Infantry Regiment, 19
40th Artillery Regiment, 18
66th Regiment, xii, 18–19, 81, 207, 212
174th Infantry Regiment, 19
K-393 Artillery Battalion, 18
Pepke, Major General Donn R., 125–26
Phan Rang, 34, 170, 174
Phuc, Phan Thi Kim, 4
Phyllis Ann project, 162, 163
“Picket-Guard, The” (Beers), 208
Pierelli, Sergeant Dan, 79–80, 86, 87, 89, 90, 95, 99, 101, 102, 161–62, 166, 168, 169, 174, 187, 191, 195, 211, 225, 226, 232–36, 243, 245, 246, 248, 263–64, 273, 287
Platt, Air Force FAC William E., 112, 179, 287
Plei Me Special Forces Camp, 124–26
Pleiku City, 15, 16, 62, 124, 125, 145
Pluhar, Larry, 268
Plummer, SP4 Ernest C., 276
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 33, 195
Pries, Colonel Hugh, 297
Project Friday Gap, 269–70
Pugh, Dick, 278
Quang Duc province, 16
Quang Tri province, 19
“Reaper and the Flowers, The” (Longfellow), 106
Recoilless rifles, 97
Relief columns, 123–24
Republic of Korea troops, 16
Resquist, Lieutenant, 169
Rickenbacker, Captain Eddie, 223
Riovo, Major, 77
Rock Island, Illinois, 45
Rogers, Gerald “Tex,” 69, 73, 77, 98, 229, 230, 232, 245, 248–49, 288
Roosevelt, Theodore, 19
Ross, First Lieutenant Ronald A., 153–56, 173, 174, 180–82, 195, 215, 274, 288–90
Ross, John, 290
Ross, Trisha, 290
ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps), 49, 53, 62
Royal Thai Army, 15, 60
Ryder, First Lieutenant Ken, 142
Saigon Cowboys, 5
Schilling, Bobby, 290, 294–95
Schmidt, Elvira, 291
Schulz, Charles, 223
Scott, Forrest, 29, 30, 80–81
11 Corps, 16, 34, 261
Serain, SP4 Calvin, 136, 275
Shadow (see AC-119G Shadow)
Shakespeare, William, 266
“Sheridan at Cedar Creek” (Melville), 218
Shriver, WO1 Kenneth, 276
Sidle, General Winant, 36
Simmons, Lieutenant Colonel Frank, 9, 10, 192
Simmons, Sergeant First Class Don, 248
Simpson, First Lieutenant Norman, 275
Smith, Elizabeth Clark, 27, 291
Smith, First Lieutenant Mike, 26–31, 67, 68, 70, 71, 77, 78, 80, 87, 91, 97, 99–100, 110–11, 116, 154, 209–11, 214, 226, 230, 235, 237, 243, 245, 246, 248, 256, 288, 290–91
Smith, Justin, 291
South Vietnam Air Force (VNAF), 3, 4, 14
South Vietnamese forces (see Army of the Republic of [South] Vietnam), 2–3
Special Forces (see United States forces)
Spectre (see AC-130H Spectre gunship)
Spooky (see AC-47 Spooky gunship)
Stevens, Sergeant First Class, 246–48
Strange Captain John, 104, 105, 114, 249
Sullivan brothers, 60
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, 8
Tet Offensive, 2–3, 145
TH-55 Osage, 131
<
br /> Thanh Hoa, 18
37 mm anti-aircraft gun, 142
Tidmore, Sergeant, 76
Tierney, Lieutenant George, 63
Tiranti, PFC Bernie, 98, 113, 118, 154, 157, 187, 248, 284, 291
Trace ammunition, 147
Trang Phuoc (Ban Don), 28, 29, 69, 79
Travis, William, 219
12.7 mm machine gun, 235–36
Typhoon, The, magazine, 191–92
U-2 spy plane, 16–17
UH-1 gunship, 110, 114–16, 131, 132, 142, 144, 176
Uhring, WO1 Frank G., 276
United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races Front (Front Unifié de Lutte des Races Opprimées, FULRO), 14
United States forces
First Air Cavalry Division, 18–19, 124
First Aviation Brigade 48th AHC, 114, 132, 133, 134, 142, 249
First Aviation Brigade 155th AHC, 131, 133–35, 144–46, 199, 201, 203, 240, 249, 259
First Aviation Brigade 189th AHC, 144, 145, 249
1st Cavalry Division, xii, 19
I Field Force Vietnam (IFFV), 36, 41, 42, 16, 17, 19, 32–34, 125, 191, 220, 260
First Infantry Division, 221
United States forces (cont.)
4th Infantry Division, xiii, 19, 125, 126, 132, 190
Fifth Special Forces Group, 13–15, 35, 59–62, 190, 257
6th Special Operations Squadron, 223
17th Cavalry, 103
22nd Artillery, 34, 153, 154, 210, 289
27th Artillery, 28
35th Tactical Fighter Wing, 108
46th Special Forces Company, 60
52nd Artillery Group, 41
71st Evacuation Hospital, 177
92nd Artillery, 25–26, 28
101st Airborne Division, 38, 51, 133, 134
155th Assault Helicopter Company, 18
173rd Airborne Division, 19
185th Recon Company, 80, 104
486th Bomb Squadron, 177
559th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 108
after-action reports, 70, 125, 148
Air Force, 129–30
Army Air Corps, 129, 162
Army Security Agency, 16
Army Signal Corps, 53
Army Special Warfare Center, 58
Military Intelligence, 18
Special Forces Officers’ Course, 58–59
Special Forces Team A-233, 28, 29, 69, 79–81
Special Forces Team A-234, 29, 112, 269
Special Forces Team A-236, 9, 10, 12, 15, 81, 253
Special Forces Team A-239, 19
Special Forces Team B-23, 9, 81, 112, 150, 158, 192, 220
Strategic Air Command, 175
Task Force Alpha, 125
Task Force Fighter, 125–26