Vietnam War: Another Day at the O'Club 

Love the content,i am 60 so i saw the war on TV and remember when my dad got back from SEA.

I worked as a civilian DoD contractor in Da Nang, Saigon, and numerous other lovely spots from 1970 to 1972. I was enlisted Navy prior to returning as a civilian but as a civilian I was given the equivalent rank of Major so I had access to the BOQ and the Officer's Club. I can attest to the fact that officers got down in the mud just as bad as an 18 year old enlisted private. It must have been difficult for officers to wear two hats, one when they interacted officially with the enlisted and then later in the club when the animal in them came out. With Navy pilots being the worst, no wonder all the "O" Clubs were shuttered after "tail hook".

DOUBLE WOW!!! I love this video. It brings back so many memories of old times in Thailand and Vietnam. Wonderful stories from the old-timers who were part of that history. Thank you Paul for your artistic presention of a world long-gone but alive in the hearts and minds of those of us still living who lived within it.

Another slice of life that I know first hand. Thanks for posting and bringing memories. I'll send you an email.

Thank you Paul for another great video You keep hitting home runs Nice to hear about where I am currently living

That brings back some memories - I was in the officers club half a dozens times, you nailed it.

Enjoyed the part about fighter pilots needing to be sober. Pulling multiple g's is hard enough without a hangover!

Man, I'm currently reading Mr. Polifka's book "Meeting steve canyon"... This was a wonderful video. Your's are the best sir.

Great video.. Once again, thanks to your digging down deep to get to the bottom to stay on top. (and to the stories by Karl). Gene Hamner Raven 12

I suppose all wars have these stories, but you could read a thousand history books and never hear them. Graham Greene communicated a sense of it in his novels. But nothing beats a presentation like this and I am extremely grateful to you and to those interviewed. I spend time wondering the extent to which the entertainment industry, and its inevitable partner the sex and drugs industry, undermined US authority in Vietnam. At Dien Bien Phu in May I met a young lady, an ardent Vietnamese nationalist and socialist, paying her respects to the dead. I can only imagine what those like her, a generation or two earlier, would have thought seeing a foreign power turn Saigon into a city whose main industry was providing 'entertainments' for tens of thousands of young soldiers. A few Vietnamese got wealthy (and I suppose many escaped in 1975 to keep fighting the war in print), but most must have been incredibly saddened. Even today, whilst Vietnam maintains an image and culture of modesty, it is far more so in Hanoi than Ho Chi Minh City. My fiancee is Vietnamese and sadly the wartime stereotypes are still something I hear all the time. Sure, tongue-in-cheek to some extent, but there is no other stereotype, proving how persistent is this cultural 'collatoral damage' of the war. You handle these issues with senitivity and frankness, Dr Carter.

This shit is what drove me to Rhodesia in 68'-70'. Crippled Eagles and Bright Lighter's, sheep dipped from Green Beret to CIA...but I digress cause that was another lifetime ago. Thanks for the memories.

A fun start to my morning. Our nephew lives at Nong Khai but we haven't had many chances to explore yet.

The Udorn NCO Club in '68 and '69 was too small for all , so E-4 sergeants had to patronize the EM Club. That EM club had two regular Thai waitresses that were very good looking Thai girls. One was a little taller than normal, and the other had a darker complexion than most Thais. I cannot remember their names, but I do remember they both were soon to be married to USAF officers! Behind the bar was a big sign with the names of all then drinks available and the prices. I made it to the Salty Dog, before I stopped tasting (it took more than a week) and settled with those if not beer. My New York buddy, Joe Ferrara, from Jolly Green Ops., drank the same. Nam Pong is the name we called the Marines 10,000foot runway to the South, The Rose Garden song came out about then, and Nam Pong was the Marines original "Rose Garden" . I have heard the Marines have had a lot of "Rose Gardens" since then.

Dr. Carter, Another great video. Really enjoy your work. I knew a few people you mentioned in earlier works from my "cloudy" years in Bangkok. I was honored to know them. Been living in Thailand 37 years. Met my Thai Lao wife 32 years ago and we have 2 sons that are still in Thailand. we are retired in Phitsanulok. Look forward to your next video. Buddy Atwood

Well the "O" Club was beyond my level as a 19 year old E-3

Thank you for sharing those great stories. I have watched a number of videos on RU-vid where the bars and women of Khorat and Udorn Thani are featured. I live in the area, and I can say that although the clothing and hair styles have changed, the NE Thailand Esarn faces remain the same......

I'm heading to Thailand in a couple of months..Udon worth stopping by? Big student of the V War glad you showed up in my feed.

Hmm. So many videos give the impression there was a bunch of eunuchs serving in Vietnam. Of course, that was not the case. I was a woman serving at Osan AB, RoK, in 1977 & 1978. Lots of carry over from Vietnam. Most first term enlisted women got off duty, and hid in the barracks. Not me.

Listening to Karl makes me thankful that I was not an Officer!!! The frogs story was hilarious.

IYKYK 😂

Flying multi million dollar jets, why were pilots allowed to drink at all? That's just crazy

A Sidebar. Candy Xuan at 3.20 performed until 2010 (?) in clubs in Saigon, in the video she looks a bit like a young Mama Noi from Copa/Check in 99 in Bangkok- who actually "met" Bob Hope in the 60s, but that is whole different story. Great, culturally interesting.

I knew the US aircrews partied hard but hearing that F-16 (or F-4?) pilots were crashing planes & killing themselves (14:00) due to hangovers is breath-taking. On a lighter note, I'd be very interested in any similar reviews of activities in Angeles / Clark air base a that time. A friend said he ran a go-go bar there in the latter years of the War after he was medically discharged following a hard practice parachute landing in Vietnam (some time after May 1969, after he'd fought on Hill 937). He had some funny brothel stories from Angeles, one involving a woman sat in a wicker chair suspended from the ceiling, with a hole cut in the bottom; he said he used to keep getting kicked in the face as he lay underneath & it was spun around.

I'm from Lawton. LHS 67" You go to Central?