My wife's uncle went down on a helicopter in this operation. There were American troops there - it was classified. The Army told the family that he went down in Vietnam. It was only in recent history that the family was told that he actually went down in Laos. The search for MIA remains kept on running into conflicting information from his unit and from where the Army said he went down. After all, if he'd went down and Vietnam and they knew where, why couldn't they retrieve him and his crew? The disinformation is the saddest part. I understand the DoD's need for OpSec. But after it failed, the only need for secrecy is to protect the rear ends of of politicians and bureaucrats. People shouldn't have to wait 30 and 40 years to know how their loved ones met their fate. His mother never recovered from the 'not knowing' how and where. Seems insignificant to many, but to a mother trying to process the death of her son, it was everything.

@barrydysert2974

2 жыл бұрын

🙏

@robertb6889

2 жыл бұрын

A former special forces guy at church served in Laos as ground forces, in a black ops as well, in defiance of official policy and congressional orders and was nearly caught by the Vietnamese there. He never talked about the war much, but when he did it was clear he’d seen some really messed up stuff

@richardprice5978

2 жыл бұрын

America should really consider ending the lies and proxie wars or meddling in foreign affairs it has no real reason to be in and this goes for other countries as well like the uk, part of the reason why im and others are against the middle east airibe wars and now the USSR BS. as for the 🇺🇸 DOD and black operations 🤦🏻‍♂ having the live next to/around guys that served is hard in more ways than one and yes there was a airfield in laos and it was classified and the navy WW2 engine room veteran that was on base as a reenlistment/contractor aircraft maintenance was sworn to secrety didn't tell me but he had flashbacks of the airfield being attacked and him omost getting shot below the belt 😉 zipping up out the door of the outhouse by a sniper in the tree and 7th-🇺🇸 sniper saving him by dumb luck and by chance i think i saw a picture of him fighting fires at the same point of not trying to get shot at in a different raid, a different guy about 1974-1990 i think was his first assignment/he's not talking but doesn't sleep well from the memory's/flashbacks and i think by reading what is in the public domain was there to about 1980 ish/was one of the last men out of nam and it would by now after 10+ year's be better just to let it out rather than bottled up in the mind as that cannot be good for the veterans and the government denying information and involvement isn't either to its veteran's and its commonwealth citizens and the 🇺🇸 navy isn't any better as im guessing but at least by being around a submarine veteran in 1950-1980 ish had more than one silent flight with other naval powers but there not talking and reading is hard to find anything but it does shape how you think 20+ years later out of the service and for me id like to understand my elders better ect but i can't as good because there a gap/blockade in doing so ect

@richardprice5978

2 жыл бұрын

@@robertb6889 🇺🇸 government would have burned him aka not are guy not are intel ect. that much i figured out if its a classified mission

@richardprice5978

2 жыл бұрын

@@robertb6889 o did he get benefits from the army 🇺🇸 ect. as my understanding is classified missions don't count on official paperwork aka you weren't in a war/combat ect which is bs. should have the same benefits as the rest of the veterans that can talk about there war time experience's that are eligible for things like a pension or health care after honourable discharge

I left Vietnam in July, 1969, after 22 months up near the DMZ. The last thing I wanted to hear about when I got home was news from Vietnam. It was only after I was told that the bases I knew had been over run by the NVA did I really begin to take notice - that was 1972 - the same year the Marines finally pulled out of Vietnam. What a waste of treasure and lives. What a sad lesson America was destined to repeat.

@jayfrank1913

Жыл бұрын

Izzy: Thanks for the input on your experience.

@jayfrank1913

Жыл бұрын

@@sjb3460 And Iraq.

@topgunsnake720

Жыл бұрын

I watched my old base Camp Evans get overran on the evening news. Pissed me off that Ford wouldn't send help that was promised.

@Free-Bodge79

Жыл бұрын

You went . No doubt for the right reasons and from loyalty to your country. You did what you could and you were lucky enough to make it home. Bless you and your family. Respect due. One luv from the UK. ✊ 💛👍

@johnceglick8714

Жыл бұрын

It was SAD !!! Especially me , losing an uncle , mid 3/68 , tail end of bloody TET , in SouthVietnams Central Highlands , near Pleiku , 10 days b-4 my 11th bday !!

When I volunteered to fly a second tour in Vietnam, I was sent up to the DMZ minutes after landing at Cam Rahn Bay. It was a mess, the unit I was assigned to was D Trp 3/5th Cav. They were based out of Quang Tri. It was a meat grinder up there. Our mission was to keep the QL9 open for the retreat. We lost a lot of our ships, and crews on that operation. After that any replacement aircraft we received were pretty much whipped, but our maintenance crews back in the hangers were the absolute best, IMHO !!! They were able to keep our birds patched up and flying. We couldn't have asked for any better then that!!! I finished my second tour and went home in Feb of 72. Division,(101st Airborne) had already stood down, our war was coming to an end. Now all of our troop didn't get to go home, just us old timers who had over 18 months in country. I had 21 1/2 months, and I was ready to finally go home. And not a single day goes by that I don't think about my second tour. Funny, Cambodia on my first tour wasn't as bad as Lam Son 719, but bad enough. War sucks....

@BRANFED

2 жыл бұрын

interesting read,.. glad you made it back to tell the tale

@richardprice5978

2 жыл бұрын

you're welcome i think i known one of the contractors responsible for air maintenance, his dead now but lived past 77 years old at the time i think he was in his 40-50's and was a WW2 veteran but those hanger's weren't as safe as place to be as his bosses in the 🇺🇸 said aka he didn't plan on getting shot at/bombed

@richardprice5978

2 жыл бұрын

what was the last flight in nam you did? or at least you can say with the DOD looking/knowing? as i think i know a different veteran but there not talking and you where flying calvary 😉

@dotell3359

2 жыл бұрын

I was in Cambodia in 1968. No one was to know.

@gotchagoing8843

2 жыл бұрын

@@richardprice5978 I was Air cavalry. My very last flt was January 16, 1972. I went home less then a month later. My unit wouldn't let me fly anymore because I was "short timer" anyways, and it was towards the end of my second voluntary tour. I was whipped mentally and physically at that time. My body was done with the war. I was told I looked like a zombie when I came home.

I was a freshly minted crew chief/door gunner with the 282nd AHC and flew my first major combat mission on Feb. 2nd 1971 into Laos for this operation. Scared is an understatement. The AAA was thick and they adjusted everytime we adjusted altitude. One of our helicopters was shot down and we happened to be in the LZ when it happened. Luckily were were able to rescue the crew and an injured ARVN trooper. It was just as bad if not worse when we had to go back to extract the troops in March of 71. I had ARVN soldiers hanging on my skids. It was horrible Thank you for bringing this part of the Vietnam War to light. There is a lot more to tell about this operation.

@cartersmith8560

Жыл бұрын

much respect for yo chopper jocks....I have great sympathy for those ARVNs too....not their fault they got thrust into an stupid meat grinder

@cartersmith8560

Жыл бұрын

years ago I read INTO LAOS by Keith William Nolan........it was enough to make na grown man cry

@jaykay1207

Жыл бұрын

I am an Indian Army veteran. I always admired the Huey armada !! They really did a super job in Vietnam RESPECTS

@greasyflight6609

3 ай бұрын

Good book..."Into Laos"...by Kieth William Nolan...Lam Son 719

I was a recon pilot (Birddog) primarily in Laos. I was returning from a mission when I encountered extreme carburetor ice and experienced engine failure at 7000 feet, IFR conditions. With only a partial avionics panel, I sucessfully executed a dead stick landing on a dirt road.. I had landed only a few miles from the roar of cannons which seemed to come closer every minute. I had a UHF radio, but no contact..A few hours passed and it was getting dark.I went to the aircraft just to see if it would restart.What a surprise! The ice had metled and the engine fired right up. I flew back to my out post at night, IFR.

@williamdimich5217

2 жыл бұрын

MACV Team 162, Vietnamese Airborne Division.

@WALTERBROADDUS

2 жыл бұрын

How do you ice a carburetor in the tropics? 🤔 7000 ft. does not seem cold.

@SkylaneGuy

2 жыл бұрын

@@WALTERBROADDUS - very easily. There's a significant temperature drop in the carb throat due to the venturi effect. With lots of moisture in the air (IFR), I'm not surprised at all. The Birddog engine (Continental O-470) is notorious for it.

@WALTERBROADDUS

2 жыл бұрын

@@SkylaneGuy Okay...😒

@ramprat9769

2 жыл бұрын

@@WALTERBROADDUS You have no clue how aircraft engines work... do us all a favor and stop commenting.

I was a 21 year old Marine in Da Nang RVN in March 1971. USMC helicopter units were used in Lam Son 719 and I remember hearing about the heavy helicopter losses and that the operation had been a defeat for the ARVNs. I was back in the states by May 1, 1971.

@dannyjones3840

2 жыл бұрын

Semper Fi brother

I was stationed at Ft Knox Kentucky on that day. Either the Base Commander or the Department of the Army decided that the operation had to be explained to the troops and so we found ourselves in the. Base auditorium being presented an extensive dissertation with all manner of overhead projected maps and charts by Officers. The operation and objectives were extensively explained. Of course being seated in a comfortable chair in an overheated stuffy enclosed space not able to move to keep awake found many off us teenagers and early twenty something's dozing off despite the quality of the speakers There was no followup presentation after the withdrawal. A chilling pall fell over the Army, and then I was levied back to Vietnam where the operational word was Vietnamization but we of the lower enlisted ranks knew it was about getting out of Dodge.

@richardprice5978

2 жыл бұрын

were you there between 1974-1980? at ft Knox? as im wondering if you bumped in to someone else i know

For those of us who took part in Lam Son 719, we referred to the numbers as seven-one-nine. It was more brutal than THG described…I was a Marine helicopter crewman…the deck along the Ho Chi Minh Trail was littered with downed helos. All LZs were hot. Thanks History Guy.

@gotchagoing4905

Жыл бұрын

Welcome home brother.

As a two tour veteran of Vietnam I had the utmost respect and admiration for our chopper pilots, and our combat medics.

Helicopter pilots have always been the unsung hero’s in my opinion because of what they had to fly through

@sharky7665

2 жыл бұрын

In 1967 the average life span for a door gunner was 4 months. My C O wanted me to extend 2 months so I could be a door gunner. That was right before TET and luckily I turned it down because I was homesick.

@skyden24195

2 жыл бұрын

My uncle was 1st Air Cavalry, achieving the rank/position of "Crew Seargent" (I may be mis-identifying the position name, but I know for certain he was an Air Calvary Seargent.) My uncle, during a mission, earned (one of two) purple hearts when he was injured from an attack on the helicopter that he was in.

@BobJones-dq9mx

2 жыл бұрын

Yes of course. Their bravery was galvanized during WW2.

@sharky7665

2 жыл бұрын

@@skyden24195 during Tet the Viet Cong used mini guns they had taken from downed helicopters. They had a lot of ammunition too. The red streams of tracers coming from the ground and out of the copters in the night sky is a sight I’ll never forget. The choppers didn’t back down at all. PS. The Viet Cong used green tracers from China normally.

@skyden24195

2 жыл бұрын

@@sharky7665 My uncle rarely (if ever) talked about his service (at least not to or around me.) My information came from other family members' telling and/or saved newspaper clippings. I did meet (one of) his platoon captains; unfortunately the meeting was during the service held for my uncle's passing in 2003.

Flying up the Ho Chi Minh Trail in a helicopter, I had never seen so many helicopters shot down in on place.

@diphyllum8180

2 жыл бұрын

It's just too bad they didn't get them all

@chuckyluv1314

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for you brave service brother.

@cruzgomes5660

Жыл бұрын

@@diphyllum8180 owe the middle school edge

As an Army helicopter pilot, I was transferred from a unit in III Corps (3 Corps) to a unit in I Corps (aye/eye corps) in March, 1971. Things were a lot "busier" up there. Still, it was leadership by the unqualified, doing the unnecessary, for the ungrateful. Hey, at least I get a monthly payment from the government as a disabled veteran!

@gotchagoing8843

2 жыл бұрын

I'm a scout CE, welcome home brother. I flew my second tour right up on th' Z. Our aircraft had an upside down white triangle with a red strip in the middle. Snakes and slicks had them on the tail booms. My loh had it just behind the rear seat on the engine cover-both sides.

@mikebell719

2 жыл бұрын

The saddest thing about Vietnam is that veterans are still dieing from the effects of Agent Orange. I met DC in 69 he had just came back from Nam, he passed away in 06 of bladder cancer. That's when I found out that he was with Special Forces, all of their fire bases were cleared with AO. The VA doctor told him that he got BC from smoking! UNBELIEVABLE! His brother came back from Nam addicted to heroin along with other issues, sometime in the 90s the VA awarded him a 6 figure settlement, within the year he ODed. Veterans are still dieing because of their service in Vietnam. More needs to be done for all of the Veterans of our country.

@gotchagoing8843

2 жыл бұрын

@@mikebell719 I got nailed by agent orange, and have service connection for that. Parkinson's-essential tremor-and neuropathy. Also have my spine held together with titanium rods(4) and all the hardware, several discs removed, and one or two fused. All from a crash on my first tour, and the VA didn't "fix it" until May of 2018. My first flt physical I was 5ft 11 1/2" tall. After all was done to my spine I am now 5ft 8".

@sonyascott6114

Жыл бұрын

@@gotchagoing8843 Hang in their brother.Shiw them that you are still indestructible,and will out live all of the doctors.Many thanks for your sweat and blood.

For those of us who participated in this operation, we didn't refer to it as Lam Son 719, but Lam Son Seven One Nine. Thanks for remembering this poignant time.

@scottmccloud9029

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your service and so thankful you made it home.

@PeterOkeefe54

2 жыл бұрын

MOS?

@PeterOkeefe54

2 жыл бұрын

@@DefenderoftheTrees so what with all the forest fires??? LOL...thanx

@DefenderoftheTrees

2 жыл бұрын

Ignorance…

@oldfart3137

2 жыл бұрын

I was in an artillery unit in the Nam 70-71. My platoon went to Laos for three days with a Vietnamese Marine unit to shoot cover for the ARVNs coming out. The marines were good troops. The ARVNs, on the other hand, would run when the SHTF. Never thought they'd make it.

I flew SOG missions in a Huey during 68 in that part of Laos. At that time, it was estimated it would take 4 to 6 U.S Army divisions to cut and hold the trail for 120 days. More than once I saw groups of North Vietnamese Army that numbered over 200. I was already out of the Army and in college when this operation occurred. The flying the crews encountered was the most intense of the war. Probably the most dangerous in the history of the U.S. Military.

A friend of mine’s dad was a helicopter pilot shot down during this battle. His remains have not been found. War has many costs.

@gotchagoing8843

2 жыл бұрын

I'm sorry to hear that. Know this, he was EXTREMLY brave flying anywhere in Laos before-during-and after LS 719. I was forced down in mid Dec-71 about 2 or 3 clicks into Laos. My ship was recovered after we limped it all the way back to the coast,(Quang Tri to be exact). My MR blades were taken off and thrown into the dump, near the refuel/rearm point at our old base. LS 719-and afterwards was a total meat grinder up on the DMZ. Including the addition of the Strella 7 shoulder fired heat seeking anti aircraft missiles that was supplied to our enemy by Russia. We lost one slick with all the crew and our infantry,(ARPS) on board. That I believe was in sept of 71, just north of Dong Ha. We recovered as many of the pieces of bodies that were found. 8 or 9 souls were on board, and they barely filled 5 body bags. I know because our CO and I carried all of them into the 18th evac at QT. We would not let anyone help us. We spoke no words to each other, I picked up one end, he the other, and both of us had tears dripping off our faces. When we carried the last body bag in, the docs kicked us out so they could do their grisly task. I'm done now.

@travist7777

2 жыл бұрын

@@gotchagoing8843 Welcome home, and thanks for sharing from a kid who used to wear POW bracelets back then.

@leroycharles9751

8 ай бұрын

Do you happen to know the pilots name?

@doughudgens9275

8 ай бұрын

@@leroycharles9751 CWO Marvin M Leonard, 15 Feb 1971

@leroycharles9751

8 ай бұрын

Thanks. @@doughudgens9275

My father flew in this mission... He never spoke about it. But as he's now passed I've gone thru his emails and found great detail of what he did during this time. Very proud of him.

My father was there, he was a planner and had pushed for a significant reserve of American helicopter airframes. Good thing he did, many crews flew and were shot down repeatedly several times in a single day. That these crews, saddled up and kept flying is a testament to their fortitude.

Wonderful thumbnail account of this adventure, Mr. History Guy, Thank you so much. I was there at the time, with artillery on QL9, near the Rockpile. Saw some of the detritus of the withdrawal, and wondered at that time what the hell had happened. I would like to recommend what I consider the finest book written on that offensive, "Invasion of Laos, 1971, Lam Son 719" by Robert Sander, a helicopter pilot thrust into and survivor of this operation. Both nuanced and gut-wrenching, Sander describes both his situation and the overall history superbly. Thanks for your service, Robert, and welcome home.

Some things stick in your mind. I was stationed on Lackland AFB in 1969-1970. I was riding on one of the shuttle buses and was talking with one of the Vietnamese guys that was going through the language school. He was lamenting about being pulled out of college and drafted into the army. I keep my thoughts to myself, but wondered if all of the Vietnamese army felt the same way.

@robertheinkel6225

2 жыл бұрын

I went thru basic training at Lackland, in July 71

@lc9245

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly that. My extended families have members drafted on both sides. They always avoided the topic, especially in front of each other. My father and a few uncles were drafted and served on the front, a few died. In my father's case, he got into college, but was drafted and served until the war ended. My distant uncle-in-law was also eligible for the draft to the ARVN. His family was fortunately wealthy, and he managed to avoid service. Most of his relatives didn't, but being in the military allowed for greater opportunities, so most of them managed to reach the U.S., while he had to wait until after normalisation. As they explained, for the PAVN, if you are the only son, you are exempted from the draft. But, if you have a brother, tough luck. It is usually a decision between the elder and younger, which the younger would like draw the short straw, as the elder brother would likely be making a living for the family. Unfortunately for many, particular the poor, their family size was large, which meant the chances of being drafted is very high. The urban population had less children, so a lot less educated class children were drafted compares to the urban poor. This is particularly tragic for poor children who managed to get into college, only to be drafted because they were eligible.

@lynnwood7205

2 жыл бұрын

@@lc9245Thank you for the post.

@dbeaus

2 жыл бұрын

I was in in the Army VN in 69 and worked part of the time with some CIA types in the South. When ever we talked about the ARVN taking over, they smiled. According to them the ARVN Army was "at least" 30% VC or VC sympathizers. Morale was bad, desertion was every day, Corruption was rampant, and leadership was unqualified and not very willing to fight. Yes, as THG says, there were excellent units and very good commanders, but I believe they were the exception. One of the folks I worked with was an ARVN Lt. He said we would begin withdrawing before the 72 US elections and be out by around 75. Pretty good prediction I think. He said that most of the ARVN soldiers had figured by then it was only a matter of time. My thoughts and respect go to the men and women, on both sides, who were dedicated to their principles and died. I have often wondered how many wars we would have if the politicians had to fight them.

@Samtzu

Жыл бұрын

@@dbeaus Yup.... I was on a Fire Base near Phan Thiet and we had ARVN soldiers spaced around our perimeter guarding it. We didn't trust them. And, after I came home, when I heard about this operation and how "well" it went, I was beyond sceptical...From what I saw of the ARVN's, they couldn't succeed. You're right about the ARVN's being partially VC, and those guys that WERN'T VC were tired of the war anyway. Glad we both made it out alive.... by the way, I was with B Troop, 7/17th Cav.... Our base camp was in Camp Enari, Pleiku, but the 7/17th covered ALL of II Corps....

Wow, that was a lot of great history. Thank You very much.

Reading through the comments is heartbreaking. I'm from the Vietnam war timeframe but as a military wife stateside. The emotions are still raw even all these years.

@wintercook2

2 жыл бұрын

Military families bear so much more of the burden. So wrong.

I remember that the operating word was never tell the ARVN too much as it was well known that Northern agents were present in all units. There is no doubt in my mind that the cong simply moved out of the way of the advancing troops and then hit them from behind. It was a favorite tactic and they did it over and over again. Every American airbase had civilians working there and no doubt enemy agents kept the north advised on future airstrikes. There were agents in the government as well, especially in the provincial capitals, that kept the north well informed. One quote I've never forgotten was " the only thing the hippies and war protestors got wrong about Vietnam, was just how bad it was and how wrong we were to be there". Thanks a heap Nixon!

@victorhopper6774

2 жыл бұрын

actually the worst were a american husband and wife who worked at the pentagon. they sold the encrption codes to the russians who sent them to hanoi. i think they were caught in the late 70's and sentenced.

"Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975" by Max Hastings is an excellent recent book on the Vietnam War. It covers Lam Son. One of the things that struck me about the book was the similarity between Vietnam and Afghanistan. Specifically, that American involvement in both of them was doomed to fail by the same problem: the USA could not create a competent government with popular support that could stand on its own when the US military eventually withdrew.

@badguy1481

2 жыл бұрын

It was NOT that South Vietnam's government was incompetent. The Problem: It was fighting their neighbors to the North who were being funded by the Soviet Union AND Communist China. Expecting the South Vietnamese to "fight alone", against those 3 MAJOR powers, was irrational. The South Vietnamese were able to "hold their own" when American Air power was used to aid their fight, especially that air power consisting of B-52's. When the American Congress REFUSED that support during the 1975 invasion, South Vietnam was overrun by those 3 Communist powers.

@WALTERBROADDUS

2 жыл бұрын

I wouldn't exactly say that was the issue. On the contrary, they would have been fine if North Vietnam had obeyed the peace that they had signed in 1973.

@WALTERBROADDUS

2 жыл бұрын

@@badguy1481 😏 Yeppers. Folks tend to gloss over that. We forced them to the peace table. Then the North decided to break the Peace.

@keithweiss7899

2 жыл бұрын

@@WALTERBROADDUS Thank you! I have had so many youngsters argue with me that the communists threw us out in 1975. We were already gone! The treaty was signed in 1973 and by 1974 there were no American troops left in Vietnam! But the leftist history revisionists try to make it seem that we were kicked out in 1975. That was only our embassy being evacuated. I wish the schools in America would teach the truth. The communists signed a peace treaty, we left, then after two years of buildup the communists violated the treaty and invaded the south. That is why we never lost that war, we weren’t there!

@sharky7665

2 жыл бұрын

The common denominator for both wars is the military industrial complex which Trump exposed openly.

I want to welcome home all the men and women that fought in Vietnam thank you for all you did and for what you gave

@sharky7665

2 жыл бұрын

Amen

@dejavu666wampas9

2 жыл бұрын

The people of the USA have, rightly, a national guilty conscience about how the men and women who fought that war were treated. I was USMC 1969-73, never was sent to Nam. When someone thanks me for my service, I thank them, and am silently happy that the American people have recognized that a major disservice occurred back then.

@sirronald4953

2 жыл бұрын

Does that includes the multiple massacres.rapes and losing the war

@shatterquartz

2 жыл бұрын

@@dejavu666wampas9 How about a national guilty conscience for sending them in the first place? US soldiers had nothing to do in Vietnam, except prop up a corrupt kleptocracy. Today Vietnam is unified and at peace, and those who once went there as imperialist stooges are now welcome as friendly visitors.

@dejavu666wampas9

2 жыл бұрын

@@shatterquartz - There’s a lot to unpack in your post. I believe we can blame a Democrat, JFK, for getting us involved. Then LBJ, a Democrat, for escalating. All for a corrupt SV government. We agree so far. A Republican got us out. Militarily, we never lost a major battle. Even the Tet Offensive was eventually defeated. We lost the political aspects of the war, because the citizens of the US were not backing the effort. The guilty conscience thing concerns individual citizens’ behaviour toward the youngsters ordered to fight, not governmental bad decisions. Again, we agree that Vietnam is at peace now, happily. But the dark underbelly of their unification is the killing of SV people who supported us, rape, people imprisoned for ‘re-education’, etc. Peaceful now, but at a cost. Finally, I wince at you calling brave men and women serving our country, ‘stooges’. That I have to call you on. Were they sent there for reasons that, in hindsight, were suspect; probably. That hardly was their fault. No name calling, please. Our tourism dollars are what has created a friendly, welcoming relationship. A capitalistic motivation, by the way. So we actually did defeat Communism. Ironic, really.

A friend of mine who was involved in the Vietnamization process told me that he he saw the ARVN as hopeless. He wasn't surprised they lost, along with the rest of South Vietnam a few years later.

@josephstevens9888

2 жыл бұрын

@T.J. Kong That is exactly what my friend told me; he had a great deal of respect for the NVA. He said they were some brave, tough bastards. Thanks for sharing T.J. Kong!

@sharky7665

2 жыл бұрын

I was there in 67/68. I saw good ARVN soldiers and some not so good. Even then we treated them like 2nd class citizens whether they were good or bad. Might have been bad for morale.

@dejavu666wampas9

2 жыл бұрын

Add to that the fact that we promised the South Vietnamese military aid like weapons, planes, ammunition, etc., but within a year, politicians wanting to get re-elected, stopped the financing of that aid, killed the program, and broke a solemn promise. That sounded the ARVN’s death knell. A real dishonourable moment in our history.

@Samtzu

2 жыл бұрын

I was on a firebase south of Phan Thiet through most of '69.... we had ARVN soldiers stationed with us, supposedly to guard our parimeter... they were untrustworthy, to say the least, but they weren't as bad as the political leaders. Two different times, working out of Da Lat, I saw both Thieu and Ky, and they were all style and no substance... as were their generals. I just wanted to get out of Dodge before getting killed for these scum. Fortunately, I did... although I still carry scars and quirks.... so it goes....

@sharky7665

2 жыл бұрын

@@Samtzu I understand. I was a convoy long haul driver. Got to see a lot of places. You’re right about the President and his cronies. We should have just shot them and left. I was so proud of my government when I went over and so disappointed when I got back home.

Lam Son 719 was my last combat operation in RVN. I was also a participant in Lam Son 1.

@joshuamccormick5497

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your service old timer.

@malcolm20091000

2 жыл бұрын

Then what did you do from Lam Son 2 through Lam Son 718? Just kidding. Welcome home.

Thank you for bringing us this reminder of the "Peace with Honor" that former President Nixon believed he had achieved. I left the doomed Republic of South Vietnam (RVN) on September 9, 1970, and was granted an early release from the US Army on February 2, 1971. I wanted nothing further to do with RVN, Nixon, Laird, Johnson, MacNamara, et al! The first I really heard any news about Vietnam was the rout down QL-19, a highway I had traveled many times during my year there. Such a colossal failure for U.S. military leaders to face the reality: the South Vietnamese governments had no connection to their people and meager loyalty from their troops. True, the US abandoned the teetering South Vietnamese military after 1972-73. But it was obvious to many of us 5 years earlier the war was lost. Even declassified documents showed the Pentagon in 1965 was admitting there was no reasonable way to "win." Terrible waste of money, lives and beautiful country.

I was off the coast on the Ranger. If you do a deep dive into how the war was fought, you will see that the real issues was that Johnson was telling the field commanders what to do and when. It would take up to 8 hours to get the ok to bomb a target. If it was a mobile target it was gone by then. If the suits had let the war fighters do there job, the out look would have been different. The same routes get you shot down we lost many fine pilots because of the way we where hog tied by the suits.

@sharky7665

2 жыл бұрын

George H Bush ran the CIA during the Vietnam war. His job was to keep the war going. It was very profitable for the military industrial complex. He voted for Hillary in 2016 along with the whole Bush clan.

@briangoldy8784

2 жыл бұрын

@@sharky7665 The Whole Bush Family are Criminals..........If The American Public believe 9/11 was not Planned an Conspired.......Pretty Stupid,,

@ag7898

2 жыл бұрын

Sadly, no deep dive needed. The idiocy of how the war was micromanaged is not hard to find.

@edwardcarrington3531

2 жыл бұрын

All these wars were dragged on for profits. Look how hard the military industrial complex backed MSM is pushing this Ukraine invasion.

@Blazer02LS

2 жыл бұрын

@@sharky7665 Really, Then you might be able to explain how he "ran the CIA during the war" when he didn't become director until January of 1976 under Ford and was gone in December of 1976 when Ford lost to Carter.

I was in on that operation in a air assault Squadron, don't let anybody fool you there was some tough fighting going on.

I drove Hueys in 1969 and it was immediately obvious to everyone that "we" had no idea what we were doing as we "fought" over the same grid squares week after week after week. I was a warrant and never spoke to anyone, of any grade, who had any idea what we were doing, or why. We and the American public had been lied to and deceived by Nixon, Westmoreland, Kissinger, McNamara so much that it was absurd and repugnant. I named my son after my flight school buddy who came back in a box. He would be 72, but died when he was 20! War is a bummer and an event such as this was even worse. Best of luck to all of us.

@victorhopper6774

2 жыл бұрын

so you didn't like johson's war.

@travist7777

2 жыл бұрын

Welcome home.

Great video! I wonder what the THG videos depicting the 20 year debacle in the Middle East will be like.

What's the Mike Tyson quote? "Everybody's got A plan, until they get punched in the face.... "🤕

With the price of oil reaching historic levels History Guy should make a video on the world's first oil well in Titusville PA which is very interesting. "Drakes well" is now a very good museum with a working replica of the first oil well derrick. It also includes transporting the oil to Oil City PA and down the Clarion river down to Pittsburgh Even a now ghost town then called Pithole was made over night then abandoned. Millionaires were made over night in the 1860's, in NW PA. Oil spills filled the local rivers and creeks. Indians saw the oil leaking from the rocks there and used it for medicine prior to the white Europeans who used it at first to replace whale oil. It would make an interesting historic video that relates to now as to how it all started and led to cars, plastics and so much more.

@prinzchen17

2 жыл бұрын

that really does sound like a perfect bit for THG👌

@1pcfred

2 жыл бұрын

The first modern oil well was drilled in the Caucuses in Russia in 1847. And that's history that deserves to be remembered!

@lordgarion514

2 жыл бұрын

Crude oil was first used to replace lamp oil made from coal. Invented in 1850 and sold under the trade name kerosene. By the time they started switching to using crude oil, whale oil sales had already dropped 80%, and kept right on dropping.

@1pcfred

2 жыл бұрын

@@lordgarion514 whale oil was humanity's first energy crisis. What dropped with whales was the whale population. Even though they're living creatures hunting them excessively makes them unsustainable. We burned a lot more whale oil than whales could grow to supply it.

I live in Thailand and visited Laos about 15 years ago. There was a group of American military personnel staying at the same hotel including a couple of medical doctors and some of the most intelligent military people I've ever met. They were still there looking for and recovering the remains of airmen from the Vietnam War. They were confined to the hotel in the evening by orders so we had plenty of time. That really impressed me, it was not something Americans were expected to see, yet I had run into it. Have to admire the loyalty that showed for our soldiers. It was weird being in a country that was still flying the sickle flag.

@schoolssection

9 ай бұрын

What I found puzzling in Lao (Pakse - about 4years ago) was seeing the hammer and sickle flag nearly next door to a Christian church.

You know, some history is hard to swallow but all lessons are not fun to learn. The History Guy just makes the best out of it. Our government schools, that even bother to teach history, should take a good look at the History Guy.

Like most first attempts, the first at Vietnamization didn’t go that well. But the ARVN and the South Vietnamese learned quickly. By the time of the Easter Offensive, they were able to turn back a bigger attack than the TET Offensive, with the help of their Covans of course. Read Botkin’s “Ride The Thunder” for details.

@jamieholtsclaw2305

2 жыл бұрын

Correct. But I wonder what they were thinking at Lam Son attacking with inferior numbers. I am assuming, maybe wrongly, that they knew enemy troop numbers in advance.

@frankieseward8667

Жыл бұрын

It wasn't enough. The US couldn't keep supporting the war and the North Vietnamese still made enough gains for future invasions

The problem was that the South Vietnam government was rotten to the core from the beginning. Outside Saigon the Vietnamese people had no allegiance to a government that only came around to collect taxes, where ARVN officers ripped off the pay of the lower ranking troops, and sold US supplies on the Black Market. Sure, there were some very good ARVN units, but not enough to compensate for the rest of the troops who had no motivation to fight under officers that could care less about them. I would argue that the turning point occurred long before Lam Son, with the failure to secure the A Shau valley in 1970 by US troops, due to lack of forces, conflicting goals to fight hard yet avoid casualties that would upset the people back in America. Read Keith Nolan's "Ripcord", a tragic account of ongoing seesaw battles between the 101st Screaming Eagles and the NVA, that resulted in the loss of permanent US firebases to stem the flow of supplies and troops at the mouth of A Shau valley. Many US troops drafted at the time understandably did not want to be the last solider to die in a war no one really cared about, leading to hesitation to fight, fragging of ambitious officers looking to get their career ticket punched, and lots of drug abuse among the lower ranks.

@DN-nf9pc

2 жыл бұрын

The US made South Vietnam

My unit 3/17th air cav lost many ships in that operation. We were supposed to merge with the 3/5 but the remaining members of our unit never changed unit designation. They sent us later to Khe San and I even got to land in Lang Ve for a stop and go. Couldn't wait to get the hell out of dodge.

My brother WO1 Thomas Patrick Doody RIP Tom ❤️ his helicopter and crew were the first to go into Laos and never came out Never Forgotten

My unit, the 101st Abn was surrounded at a firebase called Ripcord. Many of our helicopters where shot down and many of our troops killed. Ripcord was later abandoned and was the biggest loss of the US in the war. That was in July 1971. One wonders where the air support was of the greatest country in the world.

@topgunsnake720

Жыл бұрын

Ripcord was in 1970 and was a complete success drawing the enemy away from Khe San and massing them where B52s could take them out. Sorry you didn't get the memo. REDSKINS Company D (Atk Hel), 158th Aviation Battalion ( Aslt Hel), 101st Airborne Division (Ambl) Camp Evans 1971. Man in the front seat and in the door.

@vinhlong7347

4 ай бұрын

@@topgunsnake720Ripcord was a 100.000m2 fire support base and it was not to be abandoned. North Vietnam in the battle of Ripcord only have 1 regiment and supplied with 50 heavy mortar shells against the base.

I like the scuba man behind your coin display. Never seen anything like that before.

After the backlash against the U.S. Military in America in 1975 .I Volunteered ...1st 10th Cav Scout. 75-79

Thanks for the awesome content!!

Good show as always thank you

I did read a book by a US helicopter pilot, he said this was the worst thing he ever seen. I do see some parallels with "operation market garden" during WW2. Too much wishful thinking and ignoring intelligence that didn't fit the plans. It is always tempting to make a bold decisive tactic that would win the war and if Lam Son had been successful it is possible that Giap would have agreed on a peace treaty but I have my doubts about that. I think they instead should have given ARVN some easier victories to boost their morale instead, I don't think even that would have helped though. The real problem was how corrupt the South Vietnamese government was and it is hard to give an entire people good morale when the core is rotten. When the President say "I have only one hero, Hitler" you have a whole lot of problems. It is incredible hard for a foreign force half the world away to win a long term war against a well motivated enemy with support of the locals. We can see the same thing in Afghanistan (everyone from Alexander the great to Soviet and Great Britain have tried there and it have always ended poorly). I can only say that I am impressed how long France was able to hold Vietnam before Dien Bien Phu with only a Japanese intermission. Of course it is the terrain as well as people that make both Vietnam and Afghanistan so hard to occupy, and there are many other factors as well but I don't see how US could have won the Vietnam war long term without changing the South Vietnamese government to a democratic and popular regime. I do have a feeling that Russia recently made a similar mistake but even worse. Ukraine is larger, a lot of it is hard terrain and the opposition seems very determined as well. I don't think Russia can occupy Ukraine long term either, except maybe a few places with a Russian majority.

@HYDRAdude

2 жыл бұрын

>When the President say "I have only one hero, Hitler" you have a whole lot of problems. This statement just reflects on your own ignorance of non-European mindsets. Hitler isn't the boogieman in most parts of the world as he is in the west. To them he is just a guy who conquered Europe and revitalized the economy; a 20th century Napoleon. When your media and government aren't controlled by (((them))) you are able to make rational observations about historical figures free of propaganda.

In January 1971, about a month before Lam Song 719 started, a ARVN Division moved into Cambodia near Snuol to act a a feint to draw down PAVN into Cambodia, but it did not work. They probably new the real battle would be in Laos. The Battle of Snuol started AFTER Lam Son was all but over in late April and early May. I did not go into Cambodia myself, I was a Huey pilot. But I evacuated wounded to An Loc where Chinooks took them further south. Chinooks have ambulance kits and each aircraft can carry 24 litters. That was the only time I saw Chinook ambulances.

Lam Son 719 was a bloody battle that involved three USA I.D.s . The 101 A/B Airmobile , "Americal" I.D. (23rd I.D.) , and the 5th Mechanize (5th I.D.) . Losing 250 American in a little just under 2 mos. is a lot of casualties , which signifies that NAM.war was just as bloody than it was 3-4 yes earlier .

As a diversion for Lam Song 719, the 101st Airborne launched an incursion into the heavily fortified - almost mythical - A Shau Valley, because Lam Song 719 took up so much of the chopper resources in S. Vietnam, the isolated platoons and companies were often left stranded for days at a time, unable to casevac their wounded and dead and unable to get as much fire support as the Americans had become used to by that point in the war. I'm unsure if any of the troopers were even aware of why they were going into the A Shau to begin with, it's difficult to find info about this Op on particular because there was so much fighting in the A Shau throughout the war and the 101st were often the guys sent in there to get shot up. I only know about this because I had a teacher that was an LT of a recon platoon sent into the A Shau, he couldn't get his guys out for some time, said he was told all the choppers were busy "with some general's party" - years later I pieced together the circumstances and substantiated my suspicions that it did have to do with Lam Son 719. Still a pain in the ass to find details about the 101st's actions in the A Shau to support Lam Son 719, really a pain in the ass to find details about the war from 1970 - onward in general.

A very clear and lucid account of thee operation. Thanks very much.

Typical US government misleading the public. Still the same to this day. RIP to all those brave men and women killed in a political driven war, which to my knowledge, was never declared. They deserve to be remembered as well. Great video, History Guy.

@meminustherandomgooglenumbers

2 жыл бұрын

It was more of an extremely unpopular colonial occupation. Nam declared independence as a single unified country in 1946 after kicking out the ww2 Japanese occupiers, but the allies chose to let the prior French colonizers try to recolonize it instead, so we never actually recognized it as a country onto which we could declare war. With the defeat of the French in 1954 came a peace agreement for the formation of an independent unified Nam, to be brought into existence by a nationwide election. The Chinese were to administer the election in the northern half of the country, and the USA was supposed to do the same in the southern half on the very same day. However, polls consistently showed that the communists would win with over 60% of the vote, so we started trying to propagandize for someone else. It wasn't working, so we then started repeatedly delaying the election in order to buy more time to propagandize and set up election rigging infrastructure. We never succeeded in those things and we refused to allow an election which communists would win, so we delayed indefinitely and our election administration zone eventually became the country of South Viet Nam, which we then claimed to be defending.

I wish I would have had you as a teacher when I was in school.i would've paid better attention.you have a way of telling a story.thanks for your channel.

I just finished Max Hastings' book on the Vietnam War. Not sure if you've read it, but more than once, Hastings refers to someone's acts as something that "should be remembered."

Love from DeKalb Mississippi USA 🇺🇸 Home of the bloody 43rd Ms

A wise cautionary tale from history. A reminder for these times.

I was stationed in Saigon in a BOQ, I was one of the enlisted who worked at the BOQ. I recall officers heading out. I also recall several coming back covered in a red clay and fewer coming back than had left.

One of the biggest problem was the Civilian population didn’t like the leadership in south Vietnam, and wanted a chance, so local groups in the south became sympathetic to the cause of the north way of leadership.

@badguy1481

2 жыл бұрын

Very hard to say. Many of the, so called "indigenous" Vietcong, were actually infiltrated from the North early in the war.

@joeywheelerii9136

2 жыл бұрын

@@badguy1481 true but wasn't the South ruled by the catholic minority?

@badguy1481

2 жыл бұрын

@@joeywheelerii9136 THAT problem ENDED before the American military became heavily involved in Vietnam. It ENDED when the South Vietnamese President, Diem, was killed in a coup, approved by the then American President, JFK.

@meminustherandomgooglenumbers

2 жыл бұрын

They were always sympathetic to the north. The country had declared independence as a single unified nation in 1946, but the allies decided to let France try to keep it as a colony instead. With the French defeat in 1954 was supposed to come an election, again to determine the leadership of a single unified nation, but we didn't like the fact that the communists were polling over 65% nationwide, so we delayed the election indefinitely, and our election administration zone in the south eventually became South Vietnam, which we then claimed to be defending. The South was never popular, and it's main pillars of support were from people who had collaborated with the French colonizers, along with the small handful of huge land-owners. Plus the Diem government was notoriously autocratic and corrupt. And the only reason the French sympathizers were more concentrated in the south was because that's where the French administrative center had been. Saigon was a sleepy little backwater town until the French colonizers began to built it into a large city with a starkly European style.

@meminustherandomgooglenumbers

2 жыл бұрын

@@badguy1481 The coup was already planned by the South Vietmanese military before they even informed the JFK administration about it. That was right after South Vietnamese special forces had carried out the Pagoda Raids, storming a series of Buddhist temples, killing hundreds. The common understanding was if the coup failed, then civil war would follow.

Was there!

I was an intelligence analyst on the MACV joint general staff during Lam Son 719. So many helicopters and other equipment and people were lost that no one really knew what the actual losses were. The North claimed huge numbers of aircraft and other equipment destroyed and ARVN troops killed. The South made equally extravagant claims of NVA losses of people and material. I don’t know if it happened for any other operations but I saw an “ Eyes Only” memo between General Abrams and Gen. Lam that listed the casualty and equipment losses that would become the official numbers for public release. I have no idea how accurate those numbers were and I don’t think either one of the Generals knew either.

@Jim-Tuner

2 жыл бұрын

There is a book that came out a few years ago called "Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes, 1968-1972" If you are not aware of it, you may find the contents very interesting.

@bobprickett2223

2 жыл бұрын

@@Jim-Tuner Thanks. I just ordered it.

@lancer2876

2 жыл бұрын

@@bobprickett2223 also Invasion of Laos by Robert Sander and A Raid too Far by James Willbanks. A Raid Too Far gave me a better impression of the ARVN.

@malcolm20091000

2 жыл бұрын

@@lancer2876 I also thought Sander gave a wonderful account of his experience in the operation, with an interesting take on how hard it was to determine exactly how many aircraft were lost. Both books are excellent.

@bobprickett2223

2 жыл бұрын

@@lancer2876 One of the many problems of Lam Son 719 was the prohibition on the use of any US ground forces. The lack of communication between ground forces and air support made things even worse. I think there was only one American on the ground with the ARVN. I don’t know how he ended up with the ARVN he could have been a pilot who was shot down. I read his messages almost in real time as he described his position being overrun. His last transmission was that a tank was rolling over his position.

If possible would you be able to expand on how Nixon actually worked at sabotaging negotiations between the North and South prior to the 1968 election. Eventually prolonging the conflict, and costing more American lives.

I went out on this one as my last trip to the field in my tour 70-71

My dad was accepted into the U.S. Air Force, in 1971, as an orthopedic technician (medical core.) This was much to the relief of my grandparents (and other family) since my uncle had (at the time) recently returned from serving in U.S. Army 1st Air Cavalry. During his service, my uncle received two purple hearts, as well as the bronze star and other notable commendations for outstanding valor (and/or equivalent.) Being that my uncle already had the valuable experience, he was willing to return to the conflict in the stead of my dad. Of course, my dad's acceptance into the USAF made my uncle's willing sacrifice unnecessary.

My dad was a Special Forces (commonly called Green Berets) officer in Laos and Cambodia in the early 1960's. I believe it was Operation White Star. He did later tours n Viet Nam as well.

@Mondo762

Жыл бұрын

Hello from another Army Brat. My father was one of only 275 advisors in Viet Nam during this same time period. He was posted in Saigon from late 1959 to early 1961. At first, the family was going to join him but he said to stay home because it was getting more dangerous. I knew another Army Brat that actually did live in Saigon back then. As a Green Beret, I'm sure your father has some interesting stories.

Thx for your work👍🇺🇸👍

I Love History!

thanks

I arrived "in country" in April 71 after Lom Son 719 and left in March 72 before the big Easter offensive. Whew!! Shamrock 68 CW2 D Troop 1/10 CAV

@TheHistoryGuyChannel

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your service.

the saddest thing of the Vietnam war is the fact that Ho Chi Minh was an important American ally in ww2 and expected good relations with the US government... he was the most important spy in southeast Asia for the OSS, the fore runner of the CIA, and was incredebly disappointed when the US government drove him into the hands of the Chinese and the USSR, instead of letting him install a moderate socialist state like the Yugoslavia of Tito. he considered himself a friend of the USA before the betrayal that forced him to make Vietnam into a fully authoritarian communist state. Ho was originally a socialist, not a communist...

@dbeaus

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, and for that bit of disaster prepping you can look at John Forest Dulles. One of the worst persons in US diplomatic history. Arrogant, bigoted and fiercely narcissistic, he had too much sway with Eisenhower. You see, by Dulles's refusal to work with Ho, he laid the groundwork for the policy that led us into the war. Who knows what would have happened if Ike had worked with HO? Kissinger was no better. His tactics to stall the peace talks guaranteed the war would go on and 1000's of GI's and millions of Vietnamese would die for nothing. Nixon and Kissinger knew the outcome of the failed 68 talks but proceeded anyway. Winning the election was more important.

@ingeposch8091

2 жыл бұрын

@@dbeaus it was not Dulles that did not want to work with Ho (he worked closely with Ho against the Japanese empire for the duration of ww2!)... it was the betrayal of the own anti-colonial policies the US stood for during ww2, by letting the French "keep" their colony in "Indo-China" (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) whilst forcing the British and the Dutch to give up their Asian colonies. this drove Ho into the arms of Russia and, instead of a moderate socialist and democratic state Ho originally stood for, made the country into a communist totalitarian state...

@dbeaus

2 жыл бұрын

You have to remember that in WW11 Ho was an ally and had made no remarks about Communism. When Ho visited Washington in 53 or so, he had to go thru Dulles to get to Ike. Dulles, by now, was convinced Ho was a Communist even though there was scant evidence of that, refused to set the meeting. If you read what Ho wrote you would see that he left Washington and returned home. He could not understand how a country leading the world in Democracy would not help him against the French. He said that now he was like a wounded man on a battlefield. He didn't care who gave him aid as long as he was saved. He then turned to the Chinese and to a lesser extent, Russia. You have to remember that the Chinese and Vietnamese were fighting each other for a thousand years or so. Ho was no angel, but neither was Dulles. When I was in Vietnam, the kids in the South were pretty favorable towards Ho. So was much of the population. They separated Ho from the VC. They would say that VC were bad but Ho was ok. It is very difficult to defeat an enemy when the people supposedly on your side love the leader of the opposition.

@ingeposch8091

2 жыл бұрын

@@dbeaus wow! you really know a bit about that part of history... my guess is that you're not an American for they are not really known for an accurate sense of history. i'm Dutch by the way.

@dbeaus

2 жыл бұрын

@@ingeposch8091 Well, I am as American as they come. Born in a working class, union family on the southside of Chicago. I am not a historian, but have always had an interest in history. My knowledge of this era is from reading a lot and the fact that I was in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970 in the Army. I was privilege to some information most never saw and some was my personal experience. Once you take part in something you have a different perspective of the events than someone who only writes about it. I like the word "accurate" you use. History is written by the winners and those that have a great deal to lose post event. The problem with Americans, and many others, is that we tend to wish for the old times and ignore the bad things the old times contained. Often we will alter or ignore facts to fit our desired outcome. Unfortunately that altered truth is taught as fact in schools. Example: The war of 1812. generally taught in the US as a great Victory. I was told my the Australians in Vietnam that in England and Australia it is taught as a great victory for the English. The truth? Both sides came away with something. The altering of historical facts to fit the agenda of the current government/corporations has been around for 1000's of years and will continue as long as history is recorded. I have the greatest respect for the Vietnamese people and will as long as I live. I wish them well regardless of the government they chose to have. No one wins a war. The side that loses the least we call the winners.

Awesome!

Back in the Saddle Again!

I was a Sgt-E5 and took part in Dewey Canyon 2, the American operation in support of Lam Son 719. Three of the eight men in my section were wounded badly enough they were sent to hospitals in Japan. My driver was killed. The B52 bombing rocked my M42 Duster (25 tons) on it's torsion bars as if it weighed nothing. When Lam Son 719 failed, we Americans pulled away from the border with Laos under artillery fire. But we had to wait two days until they blew up tons of American artillery shells at Khe Sahn (I think) before we could leave. It seemed like a retreat to us.

I love you broadcast, love the History, but please send some good news

This battle happened when I was a child. Funny how time marches on.

This operation Lam Son 719 was much better planned and executed than the Russian invasion of Ukraine, particularly the Russian thrust to Kyiv. The ARVN had route 9 for the armor, built FSBs for the Rangers on the North, Right side of route 9, Airborne in the middle, the crack 1st INF division on the left of Rte 9. The Marines was in the rear. All flanks and the rear were covered and fully supported with USAF air power. Yet the heroic ARVN troops got beaten badly even though they inflicted much worse casualties on the NVA. South Vietnam failed in its primary objective and the withrawal became a rout as said. It just shows how difficult war is. Don't underestimate or ignore it.

@truthadvocacy

8 ай бұрын

US forces went to war against a rural country in Vietnam, but are terrified of fighting Russia, an industrial power, in Ukraine. That is the take away from US foreign policy. Russia has proved inept in its war in Ukraine, but at least fights an industrial nation, although weaker, but having full Western support!

@vinhlong7347

4 ай бұрын

USA and South Vietnam in this battle only have big mouth, they have little photos of North Vietnam casualties but in fact North Vietnam have plenty proof of South Vietnam and American casualties.

Roger that Lam Son seven one nine.

Vietnam offered a lot of lessons that nobody in politics seems to have learned. When our son was in high school my wife and I looked in his history book to find that there was only a half a page, one paragraph, about the war in Vietnam.

@grider421

Жыл бұрын

anything embarrassing to our fearless leaders get top secret classification they have already written vietnam out of our history. to bad had we remembered it would have been harder to pull off our endless criminal wars

Going in with the support troop units where a few gun trucks that got hand picked for that mission

Took me a bit to realize PAVN meant NVA.

@HootOwl513

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, me too. Guess it's the new ''PC'' label.

Oh, that anecdote about undermining peace negotiations so it didn't benefit Humphrey reminds me of something my Very Conservative lifetime Republican voting step-dad said only once, but led him to be more discerning in his votes from then on. "Interesting how the hostages in Iran were released on Reagan's inauguration day, isn't it?" It was difficult to confirm who he cast his ballots for from then on, but it was definitely not for Reagan in 84 or either Bush as he'd loudly complain "can't believe I voted for that sh!thead" about Clinton in 2nd term & "glad I didn't vote for that crook" in a discussion we had about Reagan's involvement in Iran-Contra in 1987 (for a polisci paper I was writing senior year). When i reminded him of what he'd said, he raised a brow and tapped his forehead & pointed at my notebook as if to say, "Think about it again in this context." We rarely saw eye to eye on ANYTHING but I'll hold those moments close as father-daughter bonding time. (Many people credit the hostage release to Reagan & his incoming administration as a result of talks held after the election. But it was actually the Carter admin that should be credited with their release, having held negotiations for months. That they waited until minutes after Reagan was sworn in sure did look sus to me then, and even moreso in the intervening years. Maybe dad was onto something...)

This isn't a criticism of the editing in the episode, but as a helicopter crew chief in the Central Highlands (I was out-country and medevaced by then, not to return), the ratio of helicopters to tanks in the theater was--according to a look at Google--12,000 to 600 and it seemed like there were an awful lot of tank images in it. I can't recall ever seeing one. Armor wasn't as much of a factor as Aviation by a wide margin...not to insult the guys in them. In that climate, it must have been hell in one; we at least got some breeze.

@rpmhart

2 жыл бұрын

Neglected to add: Welcome back to the World, brothers. Glad you made it.

You should acknowledge your regular viewers

I would love to hear an episode on the May 1970 protests and shooting at Kent State University.

@navyreviewer

2 жыл бұрын

If you want that just go to Kent state. I did in the 90s and trust me the staff was would babble about it endlessly to anyone willing to listen. The original "mostly peaceful protesters."

My, how poignant and timely these reminders of the specters of the past tend to be.

@chrisamyhalt494

2 жыл бұрын

Hello beautiful 🌹🌹

@chrisamyhalt494

2 жыл бұрын

How are you doing

10:24 That footage of the helo pilot tracking a passing Phantom is interesting.

It seems to me that the checkered result of Lam Son Seven-One-Niner resulted more from a failure of intelligence than of combat ability. The NVA in the area outnumbered the ARVN forces three to one. Who missed that? Had that been known, likely Lam Son Seven-One-Niner would have been scrubbed.

I was there at the time as a grunt. We pulled security along HWY 9

A lesson this country still has not really learned is: NEVER get involved in another country's civil war. Maybe after the civil war, but not during it.

@navyreviewer

2 жыл бұрын

This was not a civil war. This was an invasion of the south by the Chinese with Soviet help using north vietnamese puppets. Post cold war Russian documents confirm this.

I was very young at the time. Some of my earliest memories include watching Waltee Cronkite on the CBS evening news. I did know about soecific evenrs. I do remember coverage of thr US involvement in Laos and Cambodia. I remember being under the impression that it was a bit of a scandal that there werw US troops involved in cross border operations.

History Guy, I'm a lifetime resident of San Diego County and you occasionally bring up the name San Diego City News. Having never heard of it in my neck of the woods, I am wondering where this source of information comes from? Is there another city named San Diego that I am not aware of? Prying minds want to know. Thank you for your wonderful and informative programs. I am a daily viewer.

The entire Vietnam conflict can be explained in just one frame at 15:26. No excuses,lies, geneva conventions,money, strategies,winning hearts and minds,vietnamation, Hamlet projects. 58,000+ KIA Americans, MIA, WIA. Frame 15:26 says it all. What a vain glorious waste of lives.RIP🙏🇺🇸🦅

@truthadvocacy

8 ай бұрын

👎 You missed the 3 million SE people deaths!

USA should be spending 1% of military budget on cleaning up unexploded ordnance in Laos and Cambodia instead of using citizens of those countries to ‘find’ them.

@lynnwood7205

2 жыл бұрын

True.

Dear History Guy, where did "Red Tape" come from?

Thank you for pulling that band aide off. We needed to be reminded of what happened, so we don't let it happen again. Nixon should have been tried as a traitor for ruining the almost finalized peace talks. How many people died so another could get into/keep power?

@sharky7665

2 жыл бұрын

Nixon was hated by the military industrial complex for trying to stop the Vietnam war. Same with Trump stopping the Afghanistan war. They scrapped Trump’s withdrawal plans and made their own. The results were disastrous but the media blames Trump. Parallel to the Vietnam outcome. The “Watergate Scandal” was on TV for a year as a retaliatory move. Nothing compared to what’s going on today.

@rnedlo9909

2 жыл бұрын

@@sharky7665 Thanks for the "news" max update

@karenryder6317

2 жыл бұрын

@@rnedlo9909 Exactly. We know the script by now.

Doomed to fail!!?? How do you explain the Paris Peace accords?

@ THG could you do us 15m on the history of the eurasian step? i know theres probably no 'pirates' involved but still beleive its a good story that will earn much intrest. Today i see much disinformation about this history and i think it would be a service to the world for THG a source we all trust to give us the facts.

@lizj5740

2 жыл бұрын

*steppe I doubt that history could be crammed into 15 minutes, no matter how fast THG talks.

@ericbofcarsonc6720

2 жыл бұрын

Look to prager u the truth about Vietnam

" and One hundred and seventeen helicopters. "

Also, the ARVN was out numbered around 5 to 1, so the force sent in by the ARVN and the Americans was totally inadequate.

A teacher of mine who was there, kept calling it "Lousy Laos" all the time.

My dad was a door gunner in 117th assault helicopter company.. 69, 70.

Next, you should do a piece on linebacker.

What’s your source for the Nixon undermine negotiations? The ones I’ve heard are very suspect.