4. Old Guys and M60 Machine Gunner 173rd Vietnam 

It is beyond me when I see these old men doing their interviews to think these old guys are those same patriotic warriors that were over there shooting and getting shot. Ernest Lerch is one for example of being on the front line for two years ... I tried to see what Ernest looked like in Vietnam while he was there and sure enough I found a picture of him holding a machine gun looking like the warrior he is. All of these mens hearts are incredible , what they were faced with isnt even comprehensible . I love hearing their stories and getting to know these veterans. I would love to shake their hands and tell them how appreciated they are and welcome home warriors . Thank you

One of my rrd friends was in the 173 & came back nervous. he carried it with him at work. He was Army I was Marine & got to know him from working trains he an engineer & me a conductor. He died heart attack in his early 40's.He was a little guy with rank i vietnam & intimidated by his own men.. He couldn't get guy to do things like walking point or placing guy in positions. Vietnam made him a nervous wreck I could see it in him. We once walked through a field of small trees & brush with tree limbs eye level in a ravine from rrd track main lines to highway football away. to find our taxi ride. The rrd called for us to get relieved, we worked our 12 hrs & no ride could get to our train to get us. He said the trees & bushes reminded him of vietnam as we walked through 50 yards of thick low hanging tree limbs, vines, weeds or brush as I led the way to the road for our cab. He remarked to me I was a good point man. I told him those days were over. He was an engineer on a train & we both learned our jobs 15 yrs prior. He was nervous driving a freight train & not many guys liked working with him. We got to know each other & of our past before the rrd. We both joined the local vfw near our place of employment in a small township. Sometimes I think the war killed him after 1967 & he died in a chair at his home heart attack. He could get nervous over certain things or events.

Yes I know Jesse Salcedo, good guy lives on small ranch outside San Antonio. doc Tim Cloonan 173

Thank you for your service and all ARVN too.

Hand salute to you Lerch. Glad you made it home, hope you are well.

Yeah lurch is a gift that they didn't even know about. He is a badass that you dont know about. Saved more lives than penicillin .

Two weeks at a knew job. You people were great.

The world is divided into the sheep and the wolves. Once in a while, a sheepdog comes along to look after the flock..... how he remains so calm, you have to admire that.

My pops was a m60 gunner he was wounded in 68 y'all Vietnam vets have a place in my heart ✌✌✌✌✌🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

My husband was 173rd D co 1967-1969....thanks for posting

Love those stories!!

T.hank you for your service. My best friend was killed during an attack on the firebase. Silver star. killed 5 NVA including an officer. I won;t name him out of respect. God bless you all.

@ 7:38 is my brother, I think at the time 'Spec.4' Bradd Alden Gray to the right of Salcedo holding bandelier, M16 in his right awkwardly as he shot lefthanded. Anyone here in this edit? I would be incredibly grateful to hear from you if you remember him, as he mentioned he remembered someone filming. I have personal memorabilia and story told to me by him I'd like to share, but not in a public way as here. Let me know please as I'd be more than happy to share what he shared with me(very personal and private) in a different personal messaging way. Thanking any of you in advance, and THANK YOU ALL for the lifelong sacrifice I know you made. I will check back here often. Bradd's little brother Paul

A great documentary. Thank You.

Old is only relative, but brave to to the bone

I was 1st marine 214 Delta 369 Echo, death was everywhere in Country.. 1st marine and 3rd marine were both at Bearcat.. I respect all VN Vets, no matter Army, Navy, Airforce, or Marines..

aussies are some bad ass dudes, you hear story after story, during Vietnam, WW2, and they are always out numbered, but seemed to come out on top always

Over 2 years in the jungle in a line unit-how the hell can you decompress from something like that?

I wish my Uncle would have spoken about us time. He was A.M. 101st. Central Highlands Opperation Hawthorn.

I saw a meme a while back that was a guy with an M60 thrown over his shoulder and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. The caption said "Bad Mother Fucker". That was you wasn't it.

Interesting. Very well done, thanks for the upload.

you beautiful patriot,you sir are a hero off heroes,

The pig was by far the best machine gun but was heavy to hump. Sure was fun to shoot especially at night with tracer rounds.

I carried the M60 in1965/1966 my gun crew got shot up twice after the first fire fight it be comes a fight for Survival

I hope he lives in peace... I'm a 39 year old Canadian.. Old enough and... Well... Been there. Not in the Jungles.. But thank you.

Jesse and General Patton would very much have enjoyed each other's company, I think.

war is the worst experience any young man can endure or survive.. the memories live with you forever right up into old age!!! these men did their duty.. not heroes, just brave soldiers who fought for their comrades!!

That's a cool video I wanna see the whole thing! Wow! Stone cold these guys. Wow.

My father Sgt Craig Heaney delta company 3rd battalion 503rd 68-69 would love to find some of his brothers from nam if anyone might remember him. His platoon sergeant was a guy named Wayne Barefoot.

Nice job with material, Doc Tim Cloonan 173d

My dad always told me about Jesse Salcedo. KJ was his nickname in the 173rd. I can't believe I found this video.

I carried the pig as a airborne ranger 84-04 miss it still dream about it

NICE!!!!!

The politicians lost it.

THIS IS YOUR LAST WAR

Did this ever get released?

In 20 years, it'll be my generation being spoken of, the 9-11 generation

My pop fought the Japanese in the jungle of New Guinea......he was Australia and Australia troops were outnumbered 10 to 1 for the first years of the war.....they fought constantly day and night hand to hand for months on end without any medical or any way to get away from the constant fighting.....just left to fight and survive in some of the most dense terrain in the world.....no helicopters then.......their radios would not even work......he was a Bren gunner and though he would never talk much about the war especially about the killing I have read in books about how he single handedly had killed many men......there was one account how he in one skirmish had killed over 35 Japanese with a Bren gun fired from the hip.....that was in just one action......he never mentioned once about these things to anyone.......his son (my mothers brother) was killed in Vietnam......why is it that Americans talk so freely about killing and are so dramatic?

Kill or be Killed. Plain and simple. 11bravo 05'-06 Iraq.

OOOO yaa I feel ya Brother. I loved combat. And although the Lord knows I've tried ...there is NO thrill like killin that sonof a bitch thats tryin to kill you BW 14

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here poppys im here u sre ols im free

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back in the Nam, the 173rd were to...."...find...engage... " ...VC, (Vietcong), NVA.....and then then when the 173rd got home, they found...democrats... allies of the VC and NVA.

Gnarly

Far out

Lol at the boomer making shit up about legions.

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Roman legion

Why do have to do these things to each other, please god stop this bullshit. We lose so many people on both sides good people and for what nobody wins. This hurts to watch, its not being a coward to want peace, you a coward if you afraid to fight for peace. We suppose to be civilize and the best generation of human lol yeah right.😥😥

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I ran M60s on Helos, shotgun, I don't know how many I offed. Sometimes God wasn't in Vietnam. Now my time is short and I wonder what God is going to do about all this killing. Killing didn't bother me then and it doesn't now. Do you think I'm going to Hell?

all that for nothing. what a waste