Archive for the ‘Vietnam’ Category
3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Headquarters, China Beach, Coast Guard Reserve, Da Nang, Hanoi Jane, Operation Starlite, Vietnam
In U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam on February 8, 2012 at 4:38 am
Skip Libby is pictured in his Marine Corp graduation picture taken in 1963 after surviving Parris Island, S.C. boot camp. He was among the first Marines to be sent to Vietnam in 1965. Photo provided
Two days after graduating from high school in 1963 Skip Libby of La Casa mobile home park in North Port, Fla. joined the Marines and went to Parris Island, S.C. for basic training. Two years later he was sent to Vietnam as a member of the 3rd Marine Division, the first division of Marines in country. Read the rest of this entry »
101 Airborne Division, 17th Air Cavalry Regiment, 1st Division, 2nd Battalion, A-Shau Valley, B-Troop, Distinguished Flying Cross, Landing Zone X-Ray, Little Bird Helicopter, UH-1H Helicopter
In Distinguished Flying Cross, U. S. Army, Vietnam on February 6, 2012 at 4:38 am
Mike Goff of Punta Gorda, Fla. was a member of the "Banshees," B-Troop, 2nd Battalion of the 17th Cavalry, in Vietnam. Mel Gibson, on this poster, plays Lt. Col. Hal Moore in the new movie "We Were Soldiers," which opened at the Regal Cinemas in Port Charlotte this week-end. Sun photo by Michael McLoone
Warrant Officer Mike Goff never saw “The Valley of Death.” He wasn’t one of the 400 soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Division surrounded and attacked by 2,000 North Vietnam soldiers at the La Drang Valley in mid-November 1965. Read the rest of this entry »
Cal Tech, Hawk Missle, International Space Station, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Quan Loi, U.S. Army War College
In U. S. Army, Vietnam on January 30, 2012 at 4:38 am
For more than 50 years Ray Starsman of Punta Gorda, Fla. and his family served as career officers in the U.S. Army and Navy. Here his grandson, Raymond (center) graduates from Virginia Military Institute in 2010 a Army 2nd lieutenant. He is flanked by his father, Scott (a Navy Commander, left) and grandfather, Ray (an Army colonel). Father and grandfather pinned the new lieutenant's bars on his shoulders. Photo provided
Producing the manual for designing the International Space Station was the most important and satisfying job Col. Ray Starsman of Punta Gorda, Fla. ever had during a long and varied working career. Read the rest of this entry »
1st Battalion, 1st infantry Division, 271st Vietcong Regiment, 5th Artillery, Big Red 1, Colonel Alexander Haig, Delta Battery, Ong Thanh, Quan Loi, Tet Offensive, The Black Lions
In Bronze Star, U. S. Army, Vietnam on January 27, 2012 at 4:38 am
Col. Ray Starsman of Punta Gorda Isles is pictured in Vietnam in 1967 when he was a captain in command of Delta Battery, 1st Battalion, 5th Artillery, 1st Infantry Division. He was in charge of six, 105 millimeter Howitzers and the men who serviced the big guns. Photo provided
“I was a 27-year-old captain who commanded Delta Battery, 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery, 1st Division. That battery was the longest serving unit in the history of ‘The Big Red One.’ It went back to the Revolutionary War when its original commander was Alexander Hamilton,” the 72-year-old retired Punta Gorda, Fla. bird colonel said. “That was kinda cool.” Read the rest of this entry »
4th Battalion 12th Marine Regiment, American University - Washington D.C., Annapolis, Camp LeJeune, DMZ, Leatherneck, Parris Island, Phu Bai, USS Missouri
In U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam on January 4, 2012 at 4:38 am
Capt. John Campbell is shown when he worked for the Marine Corps in the Philadelphia, Pa. area during the 1950s. He served 28 years in the Corps. Photo provided
John Campbell was gung-ho to join the Marine Corp. He quit high school in his sophomore year at 17 and became a “Leatherneck” in 1946. Read the rest of this entry »
Pearl Harbor, Squadron HS-4, Taedong River, USS Pueblo, USS Yorktown (CV-10)
In U.S. Navy, Vietnam on December 9, 2011 at 4:38 am
Cadet Larry McClure of Punta Gorda Isles, Fla. stands in front of his T-34 trainer while enrolled in 1963 in Naval Aviation at Pensacola Naval Air Station. He was 21. Photo provided
Larry McClure of Punta Gorda Isles, Fla. thinks of himself as a Pearl Harbor baby.
He was born on Dec. 20, 1941 at the Naval hospital in Pearl Harbor. His father was a Navy chief at the time serving with the Pacific Fleet at Pearl. His dad was aboard the carrier USS Lexington when she was torpedoed and badly damaged by the Japanese. The Lexington was sunk by an American destroyer with 300 trapped sailors aboard on May 8, 1942 to keep her from falling into enemy hands during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Read the rest of this entry »
1st Armored Division, Kuwait, Operation Desert Shield, Tet Offensive
In U. S. Army, Vietnam on November 2, 2011 at 4:38 am
Ed Vuolo is pictured in 1991 as a desert warrior somewhere in Kuwait during "Operation Desert Shield." Coalition forces took on Saddam Hussein after he marched his troops into Kuwait. Photo provided
1st Sgt. Ed Vuolo of Port Charlotte, Fla. drove into Kuwait on Jan. 17, 1991 aboard a Humvee behind the M1A1 Abram Tanks of “Old Iron Sides,” the United States’ 1st Armored Division as part of “Operation Desert Shield.” Read the rest of this entry »
1st Armored Division, Ann-Margaret, Bob Hope, Desert Shield, IBM, Kuwait, Long Binh, Tet Offensive
In Bronze Star, U. S. Army, Vietnam on October 31, 2011 at 4:38 am
Ed Vuolo of Port Charlotte, Fla. is pictured as a 19-year-old soldier in Vietnam in 1968. He's ready for war with his rifle, body armor and steel helmet standing outside a bunker at Long Binh, headquarters for all Army activities in Southeast Asia. Photo provided
Ed Vuolo grew up on Long Island, NY, graduated from high school in 1966 and two years later he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Read the rest of this entry »
Kilo Company, Marines, Quang Tri, Vietnam, Vietnam Wall
In U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam on October 10, 2011 at 4:38 am
Capt. Tom Smith of Sarasota, Fla. served with the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam. He is pictured with an enemy AK-47 assault rifle while holding a skull. This picture was taken at Quang Tri, Vietnam, at the division's rear area. Photo provided
Capt. Tom Smith United States Marine Corps wrote this account of his tour in Vietnam:
“On July 1, 1968, while serving as platoon commander of 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 27th Marines, I received orders for a mission. It was a four-day, three-night patrol to establish various platoon patrol bases and then conduct numerous small unit patrols out of them. Read the rest of this entry »
