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No politics ... no grandstanding ... just ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Please take the 12 minutes to watch.
Please take the 12 minutes to watch.
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Marvelous story, Craig. Thanks for posting it.
I learned a number of valuable lessons in Vietnam.
My first night of combat, at the sound of the first explosion, I experienced a level of fear I have never experienced before or after. Every fiber of my being was screaming "dive head first into the ground and with your bare hands dig your way back to the U.S." OK, there were a couple of fibers that were suggesting I empty my bowels but I figured things were bad enough as they were so I passed (pun intended) on that. Neither did I try to dig my way home.
Almost instantaneously, my mind went through a progression of thoughts.
1. There are people out there who want to KILL ME! :eek:
2. What, in heavens name can I do to prevent that????? :confused:
3. How 'bout throwing something at them to keep them away, something like little pieces of lead. :boom:
I was a sound man on an Army Motion Picture Team shooting news stories that were released to the three major TV networks and other news outlets. I carried a Nagra portable tape recorder, a microphone, and a Colt, model 1911, 45 caliber pistol.
As good a weapon as the Colt is, it wasn't going to be much help until the enemy was within about 50 feet of me so I wasn't going to be a major contributor in the "throwing lead" department until things got really drastic.
So, what did I do? I DID MY JOB. I started recording, my cameramen started filming, and we ended up with a great story that made it onto one of the major network's evening newscast (can't remember if it was Huntley/Brinkley or Walter Cronkite, but it was one of the two).
When I ran out of tape, which didn't take all that long, I started unloading ammunition for an M42 Duster which basically was a 40mm anti aircraft gun mounted on a tank chassis. Regrettably, we lost one man that night. But, we kicked the butt off the company of North Vietnamese regulars who had attacked us. They never got close enough for me to use my 45.
This is me the next morning. The cans surrounding me were the cans carrying the ammo I was unloading for the Duster.
Sorry for subjecting you to a long story to get the point. One of those valuable lessons I learned in Vietnam, if not the MOST valuable lesson, was "when the #$%& hits the fan, get busy doing something productive." That's what the people on the boat lift did, bless them, and it gave them, and us, one very fine moment.Jack -
Nice post Craig, I had never heard of this.
Geez Jack, you weren't horribly unattractive in your youth, what went wrong?There's a fine line between gardening and Madness.
-Cliff ClavinComment
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Craig - That is something to off load all those people in such a short time, spur of the moment.
Jack - You had a cool MOS. :salute:Comment
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Life in general. :sigh:Originally posted by etcarrollJackComment
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Initially, I was assigned to the infantry as a heavy weapons specialist (105mm recoilless rifle).Originally posted by tesseract
But, while still in advanced infantry training (AIT), with the help of a Brigadier General and a U.S. Congressman, I managed to get my MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) changed which got me into the Signal Corps as an audio technician (I Had a BA degree in Radio & TV broadcasting).
I was stationed at a Mobile TV detachment in Pennsylvania and then did the tour in Vietnam as a sound man for an Army film team working directly for the Department of Defense. We lived in Saigon but traveled all over the country (and into others – Cambodia, Thailand, and the Philippines) shooting news stories.
Ironically, had I remained in the infantry, I would have been sent to Korea rather than to Vietnam. They didn't use 105mm recoilless rifles in Vietnam so my entire AIT class was sent to Korea.JackComment
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Glad you were able to find a job more suited to your talents, Jack.
The infantry loves to start 11B's out with a nice anti tank weapon, as they did me. Nothing like drawing attention to yourself with a loud bang and a big plume of smoke, then having to keep yourself in harm's way while you guide the missile to the target. :doh! 1:
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Jack was fine until February, 2005. Then he met me, and it was all downhill from there.Originally posted by etcarrollComment
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Thank you so much for your service to our country Jack! :salute:Comment
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LOL! The 105mm recoiless rifle, mounted on a jeep, was an anti-tank weapon of the Vietnam era. I forget the exact time, but we were told that if we didn't get the jeep stopped, jump out, load, and fire the weapon scoring a hit in a ridiculously few seconds, we were dead.Originally posted by tesseractGlad you were able to find a job more suited to your talents, Jack.
The infantry loves to start 11B's out with a nice anti tank weapon, as they did me. Nothing like drawing attention to yourself with a loud bang and a big plume of smoke, then having to keep yourself in harm's way while you guide the missile to the target. :doh! 1:
Looks like they hadn't got things much better by your era. :applause:JackComment
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Well, I can't argue with this. :DOriginally posted by craigsubJackComment
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You are most welcome, Derek. Thanks for the kind words.Originally posted by dwaylandJackComment
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Amazing stuff but I have to say no video can adequately portray the varied emotions surrounding those days and the weeks after. People saw each other for what they were, just human beings and put aside all differences.Originally posted by craigsub
Take it from me. I was there. I worked on State Street, 5 minute walk from the towers when they went down.
Everyone's life changed permanently that day, you just learn to live with it.Comment
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