Please comment & Subscribe. Video is not political statement, only tribute to men & women who gave their lives in Vietnam. Please honor those who served their country, especially those paying the ultimate price.
Footage taken by John "WolfieRed1" Wolf in Vietnam, April 1971 using 8mm camera I bought in PX at LZ Bronco. I served Delta Company, 1st/20th Infantry, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division (Jungle Warriors), unit dates back to Civil War. According to History Channel's producer Lou Reda Productions, I took some pretty rare footage for a grunt, not media photographer. I sent them original 8mm footage, they upgraded to HD and it's included in 6 hour 3 part documentary "Vietnam in HD".
On April 2, 1971, after 3 weeks in the bush we were ambushed while marching back to LZ Liz. We lost Lt. Glenn Hata, only 1 week in country & many were wounded, including Eldred Sadler. He was hit in the neck severing his jugular and was saved by Charles "Coach" Middleton & Tom "Doc" Tierney using a sewing kit. During our days of rest at LZ Bronco, south of Chu Lai, I took movies of buddies and entertainment (see other videos) & decided to carry the camera on our next combat mission. A couple of days later we were trucked north to LZ Liz, 1/20th Inf. and artillery fire base. On April 10th we were trucked north to LZ Dragon to wait pickup by 116th AHC (Army Helicopter Company) Hornets for assault into the Song Ve River and Valley, a bad area known for lots of NVA (North Vietnamese Army) and VC (Vietcong) activity.
Took shots as we waited for Hornets to pick us up & handed camera to Kerry to take shots of yours truly. I was a M-203 grenadier (M16 & M-79 over & under) I can be seen in some of my videos loading M-79 rounds (grenades) into my M-203 & pointing it at Kerry. We dressed up a Vietnamese kid we knew in my hat, rucksack and weapon. We trusted him (yes stupid), Vietnamese were great people in a beautiful country. Buddies seen in videos: Bill Hamilton, Ron Robbins, Don Hyson, Ron Griffin, Rex Cowan, Milt Hardin, Steve Lintl, Mark Sutlick, Ed Barraza (hat blown off), Kerry Harwick and Lt. Anthony (Tony) DeCamillo giving me peace sign as his bird landed. When the Birds landed for pickup I ran with the camera in my right hand and M-203 in the left taking movies. I sat on the floor, legs hanging out (no doors) and filmed throughout the assault, no one said stop. I finally found the smiling door gunner (Norm Roggenbuck) next to me. Thankfully that doesn't haunt me any longer? As we neared our landing zone, we took severe left turn and I almost slid out. Kerry Harwick grabbed me and maybe saved my life, I wouldn't stop filming. As we jumped out, Bravo Company got on board, you will see shots of other Birds landing & gunships flying overhead.
The next day, April 11, 1971 (Easter Sunday) we were told we would hump up a nearby mountain to relieve Alpha Company. Prior to departing, Battalion Chaplain Merle Brown landed with hot food and gave us Easter services, he told us it was a cease fire. We watched as he flew from our position to Alpha Company's position. Later, as we watched his bird (piloted by Bob Chipley) return to pick him up. While lifting off, they were hit by rockets & grenades, instantly killing Chaplain Brown and the crew chief. After numerous explosions and automatic fire, 9 more Alpha Co. men were killed defending themselves, saving their buddies & helping wounded off the burning Bird. The battle raged on into the night, the sky was lit by flares, artillery, mini-gun tracers from 174th AHC Sharks, Shadow gunships and F-4 Phantom jets dropping 500 lb. bombs. We watched waiting to be called to the rescue, painfully listening to radio requests for dust-off birds and body bags. We were all angry waiting, being so close and unable to do anything as buddies were getting wounded & killed. A team from Bravo Co. led by Lt. Tom Dolan was helicoptered in to help. Tom has since become a good friend and has written a book, "The Mad Fragger and Me" about his experiences. I have had honor of talking to Alpha & Bravo Co. men, those flying gunships, slicks, dust-off and Shadow. Bob Chipley, the pilot of the Chaplains Bird, barely escaped the explosions. He saw my videos in 2008 and 7 days later he was sitting in my living room sharing memories of this tragic day.
We lost very good men that day, adding to 58,000 other brave men & women who died in Vietnam. It is my honor to honor these men. It has been painful to talk with family and friends about how their loved ones perished, but helping them find some closure has been my honor. Those lost are always on my mind as they should be to all loyal Americans. War sucks, but never forget the women & men who serve their country! Please Welcome Home Vietnam Vets they never got and thank those in uniform for making sacrifices serving their country. WolfieRed1
27 янв 2008
