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Post by Sir John on Aug 9, 2013 14:43:15 GMT -5
No, that was the 9th Australian Division.
We arrived before the Russians. Softened them up in advance.
SJ
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Post by hornet32 on Aug 9, 2013 14:48:34 GMT -5
Rommel made a minor mention about the 9th something about 'Roo's .
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Post by Sir John on Aug 9, 2013 14:56:34 GMT -5
The Germans said, "thank god, the Russians have arrived to save us"
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Post by jerryfmcompushaft on Aug 9, 2013 17:18:57 GMT -5
The 8th was in Germany was it not , Berlin perhaps . When I was with them they were headquartered in Goeppingen and then moved north to Bad Kreuznach. They were tasked with Army reserve and organized with five Battle Groups - 3 leg and 2 airborne. During WWII the CG, McAuliff (sp) became known for his comment when asked for his credentials by the German, who was surrendering to him, by pointing to his MP accompaniment and stating "These are my credentials". They had one MOH recipient - a Sig Corps E4.
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Post by hornet32 on Aug 9, 2013 18:24:30 GMT -5
Battle Group , the Potomac concept was it not?, Battle Group = 4 battalions .
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Post by jerryfmcompushaft on Aug 9, 2013 21:53:41 GMT -5
Battle Group , the Potomac concept was it not?, Battle Group = 4 battalions . Pent - omic. Five Battle Groups (pent) per division to combat the Atomic (omic)threat....headquarters moved every 24 hours or less. Supposed to relocate before they could be targeted. Increased the Sig Co to a Sig Bn to provide the extra comm required. 8th was unique in that it had two airborne battle groups located in Mainz. In normal divisions the size and strength of each Battle Group varied based on the mission assigned. In the 8th, the airborne Battle Groups had to stay as organized since they were unique within the division.
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Post by hornet32 on Sept 12, 2013 12:54:53 GMT -5
Final approach into Ton su Nuit on a C-141 Starlifter I was looking out the window it was 11:00PM AND I saw a stream of tracers going from one point to another in the night I wondered what that gunner was shooting at , I was not particularly afraid on coming to VN but I became instantly aware that this was real ville .
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Post by jerryfmcompushaft on Sept 12, 2013 13:12:28 GMT -5
When I looked out the window on arriving at Tan Son Nhut, I saw a town lit up like a Christmas tree with neon and street lights ablazing. I thought, "What kind of war is this anyway?"
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Post by hornet32 on Sept 12, 2013 13:27:48 GMT -5
Yes the Bien Hoa and Tan Son Nhut area were lite up like the Ginza on a Saturday night , we were housed in an old French villa in Bien Hoa for six weeks before moving up to Cu Chi , my company arrived in VN in the Middle of July '67 the 242 ava went operational the middle of August '67 , I had had two weeks in country training with another Chinook Co. stationed at Tay ninh , gave the regular gunner two weeks of down time he was happy I was not .
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Post by jerryfmcompushaft on Sept 12, 2013 15:50:26 GMT -5
Since we are disclosing closely held secrets here.
My arrival in Vietnam (the first time) was after a 10 hour delay in Hawaii while they fixed the airplane (commercial - and they opened the bar while we were on the ground - ran out of booze before we took off). I already mentioned my astonishment at the lights in Saigon during a war (I had just come from Germany where we went 'black out' during just training exercises).
I can remember stepping off the airplane and dropping my briefcase which was immediately coated with condensation as it went from the air conditioned airplane to the hot, humid Saigon summer. We were put into formation and a nasty little buck sergeant started our "orientation", which went along the lines of "Everyone of you SOBs better write so I can read it while you fill out these papers! Now on the first line where it says 'name' print - I mean print not write - your name"
After about three of these ridiculous instructions, I thought to myself 'Self - you are a Major - you don't have to tolerate this bullshit' and I stepped out of formation and completed my form at my own pace (finished in half the time it took Sgt Shitehead to instruct the peons how to fill out their forms).
Processing through the repl detachment, we (three of us) were picked up by a jeep and driven to a BOQ (a 'requisitioned' hotel) where we were put in a room with nine other guys, triple decked in GI issue bunks. I spent most of the night on the balcony of this room watching tracers and flares out on the edge of Saigon. That is until it started to rain which rain the balcony caught very nicely, and channeled into the room which ended up with about two inches of water on the floor. (Glad, then, that I had a top bunk).
Next morning we were taken to the "Headquarters 1st Signal Brigade" - a requisitioned villa with nothing but a couple of desks set in the middle of an empty room - that was the G3 shop. Seems that we were the first three officers to arrive assigned to the G3 section - we had to build from there. Before I left for another assignment six months later, we had installed a briefing room, a mess hall, guard towers, motor pool, and an EM club.
More later if anyone is interested....
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Post by hornet32 on Sept 12, 2013 16:18:03 GMT -5
Yes I'd like to hear more I always like to hear about others experience in VN , I stay in touch with two I served with in the 116th , one a fellow gunner the other Flight Leader Capt Akridge , used to go to reunions but there's not much interest anymore , Col. Blimp ( Merryman ) kissed enough ass to make it to Major General , defiantly a military wonder .
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Post by Sir John on Sept 12, 2013 17:21:10 GMT -5
I got all the way to Private!
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Post by hornet32 on Sept 12, 2013 18:08:48 GMT -5
Private was probably the best rank in the Army he could stay down below the radar .
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Post by hornet32 on Sept 30, 2013 11:02:15 GMT -5
Why I should have stayed in VN , VN was the perfect place for someone like me , at the time I had a very aggressive hostile personality who didn't mind killing off a few , I wasn't one of the crazies I was close , today I'm just a mild mannered vet .
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Post by dontom on Oct 2, 2013 9:32:36 GMT -5
Private was probably the best rank in the Army he could stay down below the radar . Best rank was PFC (Proud F-ing Civilian. -Don- (Rocky Gap State Park, MD)
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