Vietnam OR Military TRUE STORIES (Serious Or Funny)

DJ Rabbit,
I was in the Quang tri province during the easter offensive and saw alot of things that were like you described. I personally can not comprehend how anyone would want to kill someone like that. I suppose terrorists can do it because they think they are sending a message. They are and it furthers the stereotyping of the fanatics. We had them in the nam as well, but even though my unit forbade any type of mutilation to the enemy, I know it went on. But like you brother my heart aches for people that lost a loved one then and it still hurts when I see or hear about a loved one lost now.
We are all brothers in ways that people who have never been in a firefight could understand. But none the less it still haunts me over many things that I knew happened and no one listened.
God bless you DJ Rabbit. It's guys like you that give us all a chance to speak and be heard even after 30+ years.

Lilwolf.....

It is PEOPLE like you.... that STILL make me PROUD to be an AMERICAN VIETNAM VET! One of the SILENT MAJORITY who would rather carry on in silence than let the REAL WORLD know what WE KNOW. I have MORE than a few stories from my Air Force tours...... but I KNOW they pale by comparison to some of the brave Army & Marine troops..... like my good friend Charles.... and YOU!

This forum is ALWAYS OPEN for your insightful and honest input and discussion.

Peace my Brother... Peace!

Dave

OK here’s my story from the first Gulf War.

I was at the time an AD (Aviation machinist mate, E-3) attached to VAQ-132, the Scorpions. We flew EA-6B’s. We were stationed on the USS Saratoga. We broke a few records on that cruise of 8 months in the Red Sea. We made 5 crossings of the Suez Canal, and made the fastest time from the States to the Mediterranean than any other conventionally powered ship, 5 days. Made only 4 port calls, the rest of the time we were at sea.

One of our port calls around Christmas ’90 was to Haifa Israel. There was bad weather, 15 foot waves in the bay. The port was too small to accommodate a carrier, so they hired local ferries to take us into port for liberty. At the time I was doing my required 3 month mess deck duty, 18 hours 7 days a week. I had planned to meet up with my work buddies to go into town when we got off duty. I was working night shift so slept in the day. We had 48 hours liberty, but with a curfew.
Not knowing at the time, but lucky for me, I overslept and missed meeting my buddies.
So I hooked up with another buddy and got in line to catch a ferry to go on liberty.
As an E-3 I had to be back on ship by 2300. Again lucky for me I guess, my bud and I were sitting getting drunk in a bar when it was getting close to time to have to leave. But we lost track of time and didn’t start heading back to port till almost 2230, there was no way we were going to make that ferry to get back to the boat by 2300. We figured we’d catch the next one and hope we didn’t get into too much trouble.
So we get back to the dock just after the ferry we were supposed to catch had just left. A few minutes later were told they were not going to run any more ferries because the sea was too rough. So we waited with thousands of other sailors in the port parking lot.
After about 30 minutes a ship re-call was issued. This means all ship personal should return to the ship, or in this case the port. We didn’t know what was going on.
Then the rumors about a ferry sinking started to spread, but we got no details until we finally got back to the ship 36 hours later. During which time we didn’t get much sleep.
They finally got the ferries running again, even though the sea was still rough and made for a pretty scary ferry ride.
Lucky for me again, the Chief on duty at the ferry loading dock was from my squadron, so he let me go with just a verbal reprimand for not already being back on the boat.
Anyway when we finally get back to the boat I find that the buddies I was supposed to have met up with that night were on the ferry that sank. 21 died altogether including Randy, who I had worked with side by side in the scullery for the last 2 months on the mess decks. My other buddies were pulled from the water.
Apparently the ferries bilge pump had stopped working, and was already taking on water before it left the port. The ferries pilot ignored warnings from its passengers.

Not really a ‘war’ story but was I kept off that ferry for a reason, or am I just lucky?
I think I was just lucky…





[edit on 18/6/2006 by ANOK]

ANOK.......

GREAT STORY! This thread is NOT just about war stories..... but stories in general of Military Men and Women (Active Duty or Vets). My HOPE is that folks who always wanted answers into the fighting man or woman's brain.... will get a REAL inside look.

Okay..... since we are heading down the path already with your story or FATE or LUCK....... here is one that I have never told anyone.... anywhere....... until NOW.

If you happen to go to THIS PAGE:

landscaper.net...

You will see a Stars & Stripes publicity photo of my roommate Jim at Phan Rang when he was DJ of Radio Phan Rang during 1969-70. HE was the one who got me to be his studio engineer where I LEARNED everything I needed to know to do Radio First Termer when Pete and I got to Saigon...... but that is another story.

Okay.... here it is. As every military man or woman KNOWS..... regardless of WHERE you were IN COUNTRY.... when it came time to LEAVE and go back home to the WORLD again.... you exited through Cam Ranh Bay. Of course, there were exceptions..... but let's not NIT PICK. Since Pete had already, through personnel, gotten our Saigon assignment, I was going back home for 30 days leave before going on to Saigon. As is traditional for those that are SHORT (less than 30 days left before going home)..... Jim and I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning telling stories and, of course, drinking. About 2 a.m. or so, I laid down in my bunk to catch some zzzzzzzz's before getting up..... going down to the flight line and catching my hop to Cam Ranh Bay. My plane was scheduled for 8 a.m. from Phan Rang.... so my original idea was to wake up around 7:00 a.m. and have a Security Police friend of mine take me down. Well..... even though I had a few drinks, I was really restless that morning and just couldn't sleep. So around 5 a.m. I grabbed my duffel bag, went to the orderly room and called my SP bud to come get me early..... which he did.

We are sitting on the flight line in his jeep around 6:30 a.m. when the base comes under rocket attack from the VC on Charlie Mountain. As we have had numerous attacks during the previous 12 months..... Charlie's aim has never really been too damaging....... but occasionally he did strike barracks areas, the post office, etc. About 6:45 a.m. we are listening to the traffic on his SP radio. We find out that the Headquarters Squadron Barracks Area (which I was attached to) had been hit by several rockets. We head up to the barracks area and find numerous command personnel including medics, SP's and doctors. As we make our way around my old barracks, I thought I was going to faint. My SP friend and I approached as close as we were allowed...... a rocket had penetrated the side of my old barracks and had entered and detonated in my old room. A few minutes later (it seemed like hours), the medics were carrying out the dead and wounded. My roommate Jim, who I had shared so many memories and history with at Phan Rang, was DEAD. Although I had seen death before in Vietnam.... that is the first time I cried.

As a homage to Jim from me, David Zeiger included that shot of him (above) at the microphone in his movie, "Sir! No Sir!" It is part of the visual along with a napalm run with me talking about the official Dave Rabbit sweatshirt on the audio.

For YEARS after that I would have occasional nightmares about it. "IF" I hadn't been so restless...... "I" would have been in my bunk at 6:30 a.m. that morning. I would also be DEAD. So when you write of things about being LUCKY or about FATE.... I can definitely RELATE.

FATE or LUCK? Who knows. As I have said numerous times before..... the Road To Radio First Termer only had to have one thing change on the three year path to it's existence....... IF one thing changes..... a left instead of right..... an up instead of a down...... leaving my Phan Rang hooch at 5 a.m. rather than 7 a.m........ it's almost too scary to even think about.

Dave

[edit on 6/19/2006 by Dave Rabbit]

something my grandfather told me..dont know if its true or not but here goes...WW2 and briefing ghurka`s...they give them a mission to infiltrate and assault an area by air....jump out at 500ft and..continue mission...ghurka commander says he will talk it over with his men....comes back and say`s...we can probably do the mission but the men request to jump at 200 ft...group commander says 200ft...thats well below the safety levels for opening parachutes...ghurka commander ask`s..are we getting parachutes???..we didnt think we were getting parachutes!!!....ahh the ghurkas..dont ya love em.

Thanx for the reply Dave, glad you liked my story...

Yeah, really makes you think doesn't it? Why me? Thanx for taking the time, I enjoyed your story too.

I didn't metion this in my post but I'm not a strong swimmer, enough to pass the Navy swim test, but in that water I doubt very much I would have survived.

Talk about crying, there wasn't a dry eye on that boat for a week after. It was pretty weird. Normaly, with 5,000 personel, the boat is VERY noisy just from the people.
But for at least a week all you heard was mechanical noises.
My eyes still water thinking about it...

Right there with you Anok..... I had to stop and take a break for a few in typing the "Jim" story. I too think of him and my other friends that NEVER came back.

Thanks again for sharing.

Dave

I'll tell you guys all one last little story. One night up at our fire base we were told to saddle up for a Long range recon. There was the usual grumbling but off we went. 9 days later we got back and found out that the firebase had been hit hard. My own little bunker that I shared with about a dozen other guys had been hit with 3 mortar shells. All direct hits. I went walking over to the mess and the firebase Lt. comes up and says, "Sgt. your dead". I laughed it off till I found out 5 days later that the Army had notified my mother that I had been KIA. So I got permission to go down to Da Nang to call on the Mars station. While I was en route I found out they had found one of my boots with a dog tag in the laces. That was all they found of what they thought was me. Anyway, I called my mother and family and after almost giving my mom a heart attack and a good butt chewing from the rest of the family for not being dead I figured I couldn't win, so I hung up and went back to the fire base. Then promptly got drunk. I think it was the first time and only time in all my years of lifer status that the army ever actually moved quickly to report someone KIA.
By the way Rabbit thanks for the kind words. They mean alot from someone like you. Still brothers my friend
Lilwolf - MACV SOG 1971- 1973

Lilwolf....

The ERRONEOUS REPORTING of a GI being MISSING or KILLED is one that we could probably start a SEPARATE THREAD on like I did on FRIENDLY FIRE...... but I am going to keep it in the STORY thread because it is important for "civilians" to understand things like this..... the harm they cause... the grief they cause.... because someone just TOOK SOMETHING FOR GRANTED..... rather than checking their facts.

When I was at Cam Ranh (1968-69), a friend of mine there with the Army told me that HE was reported KIA (killed in action... for those who don't know the codes). He realized it ONLY upon getting notice from his commander that they had received a letter from his family requesting details. Now... isn't that nice. A good 2 or 3 weeks of his family thinking he was dead..... simply because of some stupid clerical error.

By the way Lilwolf..... since you were a "lifer" ...... I want to set the record straight once and for all. When I first came out..... I became friends with some of the guys from the 15th Artillery. They had a page dedicated to me, etc. In the course of our early friendship, I found out that one of them was a "lifer" (someone who makes a career in the military... usually 20 to 30 years or more.... also for those that don't know our lingo)....... anyway..... anyone who has ever listened to the surviving show knows that I constantly made fun of the "lifers" and "officers" on the show. One day, he says to me that I must have had a real bad experience to have HATED "lifers" and "officers" so much. I responded to him..... and repeat it here for the ATS members...... I served with many "lifers" and "officers" that I respected, admired and had a great relationship with. The show was SATIRE. The only people I really hated (regardless of their rank or time in service) were the idiots that couldn't find their asses with both hands and caused the deaths of numerous men and women in the military BECAUSE of their STUPIDITY.

My brothers in arms, like you Lilwolf, I have the deepest and utmost RESPECT for.... and will defend YOU and THEM with my last breath. YOU and the OTHERS are the true heroes..... YOU and the OTHERS are the ones that gives ATS the freedom of speech that they enjoy..... YOU and the OTHERS are the ones that Radio First Termer WAS and ALWAYS WILL be about! Thanks for digging deep and sharing stories that I know were buried.

(Salute)

Dave

[edit on 6/20/2006 by Dave Rabbit]

I had a simular problem after the ferry acident. The ship sent out telegrams for the people who survived to inform parents/spouses that they were still alive.
My parents live in the UK, so I specificaly asked if it was a problem, they said no it wasn't.
So I figured it was OK, only to find out a couple of weeks later that it wasn't OK, and they didn't send a telegram to my parents. Thanx for letting me know eh?

Not as bad as getting a telegram saying I was dead, but by the time I wrote and let them know they had almost a month of not knowing. Needless to say it was a very long month for them.

Yeah.... sometimes saying NOTHING is WORSE than knowing one way or the other. And you can bet your boots there are PLENTY of stories like that out there too.

Dave

After we invaded Iraq the second time we began flying into different airfields all over that we had captured. One particular mission we had a MEDEVAC mission and uploaded a team. The team graciously brought us the aircrew of the C-130 breakfast at o dark thirty and it was good. Everyone but the Flight engineer ate it. well here it is about 8 hours later and the flight engineer is getting hungry now decides he is going to heat up his 2 breakfast burritos in the old galley oven cuising over Iraq at 19000 Ft it warms up and he eats it. We were headed way up northern Iraq to evacuate some sick soldiers on this last leg, well the flight engineer states "man i am cramping up and need to take a serious sh*t!"
we were about 55 minutes from landing and said iam going to the back! So he runs to the back of the C-130 and is preparing to doodoo. If any of you know what a toilet looks like in a C-130 it is basically a round can with a plastic bag. well quicker then I can spin around he was already filling that bag with you know what.
So he is now relieved and gets back into his seat and we configure for landing and landed and we taxiied our Herc down the taxi way and the local third country nationals are doing labor along the taxi ways and normally we would throw them left over food in bags from our lunches from the day and other food we didnt eat. so we chucked the food and they would run and gather it under the constant bowing force of 4 fans of freedom running.
Well the Flight engineer decided to empty the toilet bag and chucked it off the ramp of the Herk and it landed in the grassy side of the taxi way and those poor people thought it was food and ripped it open and from the constant blowing of 4 engines all the doodoo just blew all over that poor guy. these people were all sorts of pissed off. I think I never laughed so hard, it was funny but not really. i think after that episode they were more cautious of what we would throw off the ramp of the plane while we taxiied by.

Hey Dave myself I spent 22 months in Vietnam and I'm not sure what kind of stories you are interested in.