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Vietnam war day

Started by Trout Maharishi, March 29, 2022, 17:13:52 PM

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Trout Maharishi


No celebration, just a quite time to remember.
"We're all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn't. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing."
― Charles Bukowski

Al

Thanks for posting this thread TM. Some of you who see my Facebook posts may have saw what I put on their today. Didn't think to post here but I will now .............

March 29th is the day we have set aside as National Vietnam Veterans Day. The Moving Vietnam Wall was at the Airborne & Special Operation Museum here in Fayetteville, NC this past weekend. A friend and I went there and located 12 names of KIA whom I personally knew along with the details of their deaths. I have listed them below to honor and remember their names.

SP4 Robert (Tiffy) Roentsch - "Tiffy" Roentsch was from my hometown of Walpole NH. I remember him as being a couple grades behind me in school. He was one of the early casualties of the Vietnam War (KIA 19 Feb 66) which got a big write up in the local, regional and state newspapers. He was an army medic and was killed while rushing to administer first aid to his fellow soldiers.  His profile is located  at  http://www.virtualwall.org/dr/RoentschRQ01a.htm

SP4 Gary Ball – He was also from my little hometown of Walpole NH. I knew him as the brother of Shirley Swain. She and her husband "Hector" befriended me by taking me in as one of their own kids during my time of need. Gary had just about completed a one year tour in Vietnam when he was tragically killed (16 Jul 68) by a negligent weapon discharge by a member of his own unit back in the rear area.  His profile is located at  http://www.virtualwall.org/db/BallGW01a.htm
                                                                                                                               
1LT Stephen Sparks – He was assigned to a Special Forces camp in the Mekong Delta not  far from one of the camps where I was assigned. He was killed (11 Sep 68) while participating in a joint operation. I helped place his body on a Huey for the first leg of his final ride home.  His profile is located at  http://www.virtualwall.org/ds/SparksSD01a.htm                                         
                                                                                     
PFC David Gardner – He was also from my hometown of Walpole NH (we were a small community of less than 3000 at the time). He one of thousands of enlisted who had no idea why they there – they just answered the call to duty. He had been "in country" less than four months when he was KIA on 11 Dec 68. His profile is located at     http://www.virtualwall.org/dg/GardnerDE02a.htm

PFC Dallas Padgett – Dallas was one of my medics at Special Forces camp Tuyen Nhon (A-415) located in the Mekong Delta. He was killed in an ambush while on 6 Jan 69 and was the only USA soldier KIA directly under my command. He was a good medic and his death haunts me 50+ years later. I write a lot about Dallas in my book "My War – Vietnam 1968-69  1971-73" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088SG8S6D . His profile is located at  http://www.virtualwall.org/dp/PadgettDL01a.htm

SFC Margarito (Chico) Fernandez – Chico was a Special Forces sergeant assigned the duty of advising a Vietnamese airboat company located near B-41 in Moc Hoa.  I accompanied him on several airboat operations of which I write about in my book https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088SG8S6D . He was hit by friendly fire in Feb 69 and was medevaced to Can Tho where he died of wounds 30 days  later on 18 Mar 69. His profile is located at http://www.virtualwall.org/df/FernandezMx01a.htm

CPT Louis Geneseo – He was my replacement at my 2nd SF camp (Thanh Tri A-414). Ten days after I turned the camp over to him he and several others were killed (24 Jul 69) when the Huey he was riding in was blown out of the sky when it hovered to check out a suspicious object on the ground. Ten days earlier and I would have been on that helicopter. His wife who lived the next state over from my hometown contacted me to ask what happened. There was not much I could say other than to offer condolences. CPT Genesco's profile can be seen at http://www.virtualwall.org/dg/GeneseoLJ01a.htm

LTC Martin Beck – LTC Marty Beck replaced LTC Wes Herrlien as the B-41 (Moc Hoa) commander when Herrlien was WIA. I enjoyed working for both Herrlien and Beck. Beck was somewhat of a character who liked to carry an old fashioned gangster style sub-machine gun. Ten days after I turned Thanh Tri (A-414) over to Genesco, Beck and his Vietnamese counterpart flew into Thanh Tri, picked up Genesco and his Vietnamese counterpart and off they went to look over an area where they planned a future operation.  (What happened next was verified by interviews in the incident report  with another Huey crew who monitored radio traffic and my personal conversation with the B-41 S-3 who led a reaction force to secure the site and recover bodies) Someone spotted a suspicious object on the grown – Beck directed the Huey to hover so they could get a closer look. No one was sure what it was so Beck proceeded to fire it up with his sub-machine gun. The suspicious object turned out to be an unexploded 500 pound bomb – the sub-machine gun fire detonated it. The explosion blew the Huey out of the sky killing Beck, Genesco, their Vietnamese counterparts and the entire Huey crew – pilot, co-pilot, crew chief & door gunner. LTC Beck's profile can be seen at http://www.virtualwall.org/db/BeckMR02a.htm

SSG Perry Browning – He was my senior medic at my 1st SF camp (Tuyen Nhon A-414). Perry was a good medic who in addition to taking care of our team organized a cadre of Vietnamese medics who cared for our CIDG soldiers and their families. I remember one time watching him his assistant medic PFC Padgett deliver a baby at the camp dispensary.  All SF medics took their turn in the rotation to accompany the Vietnamese on operation.  One operation got into a serious firefight with the VC which resulted in several CIDG casualties.  Perry set up as hasty medical station and was attending the wounded when a VC grenade was tossed into the makeshift aid station. Perry picked it up and was in the process of tossing it back when it exploded killing him instantly.  His profile can be seen at http://www.virtualwall.org/db/BrowningPN01a.htm

SGM Wilbur Childress - He was a senior NCO at Bien Hoa during my 2nd tour in Vietnam. One evening he and a group of NCO's were examining a Swedish K, a sub-machine gun which was noted for being somewhat dangerous because it fired from the open bolt and did not have a safety. No one is sure exactly what happened but the weapon fired killing SGM Childress instantly. His profile can be seen at http://www.virtualwall.org/dc/ChildressWH01a.htm

SGT Paul Lawing – SGT Lawing was my NCOIC perimeter security when I was the S-3 at Phuoc Tuy training Cambodians under the FANK program. I remember assigning him those duties and receiving regular briefing from him. Shortly after I was pulled to head the Armor MTT to help the ARVN retake Hue and the DMZ during what is known as The Easter Offensive (see chapter 18 of my book) one of the Phuoc Tuy range areas came under fire. SGT Lawing led a reaction force and was killed (14 Jun 72) in the firefight that followed. His profile can be seen at http://www.virtualwall.org/dl/LawingPH01a.htm

CPT John Spires – CPT Spires was a MTT leader who I briefed prior to his team's assignment shortly after we phased out the Cambodian training program under FANK and switched to MTT's helping retrain the Vietnamese.  I was the S-3 at Bien Hoa and managed the re-training program.  He and two others were killed (22 Jul 72) when the jeep he was riding in detonated a mine near Kontum.

To each of them I say "You are gone but I remember you. God Bless and Rest in Peace. I hope your families still remember and that they were able to carry on after your passing".

Trout Maharishi

#2
Al- I'm always amazed at your recall of names, places, and events.
"We're all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn't. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing."
― Charles Bukowski