As Rob points out above, the 1st Air Cav did relieve the Marines at Khe Sanh in '68. The use of LVTP5s in the movie was a piece of Hollywood mismatch of vehicles though. The Army and Marines rarely fought in the same battlespace.
Relieved? That’s what the Army historian says [;)]. I have a friend whose father was a Marine at the siege Khe Sahn. He was there for the whole thing. He was Colonel Frederic Knight, 3d Marine Division G-2. As he puts it “We didn’t need to be relieved”. He gets irate when here’s people refer to it as “relieved”. I guess it’s all a matter of prospective. Technically, Khe Sahn was never under siege since they could still be resupplied via air. But it depends on who’s writing the history. Kind of like Belleu Woods. By the way, he was wounded there by a mortar round and was nearly killed by a sniper. Semper Fi.
Jesse
Ummm, I think you’ll find if you watch the napalm strike Kilgore orders on the treeline adjacent to the beach break that Charlie doesn’t surf at, the a/c are in fact F-5’s - possibly A’s
Was Capt Willard Airborne or Rangers? I thought his shoulder patch showed the Rangers insignia
He was shown as a captain of 173rd Airborne (“Third Herd”), although he may have been a Ranger. It is possible to be both, hence the term Airborne Ranger.
If you’re saying that Marine useage of the M113 is bogus, there is documented proof that the Marines did in fact use the M113 in force on at least one occasion in VN, complete with USMC markings. Ref: Squadron’s M113 In Action for one.
You know? I haven’t seen that one…off to the video stor I go!
You mean Marines were riding around in Army equipement. Man, I hope they showered afterwards. [(-D]
Jesse
In early 2000 I was fortunate enough (given current world situation these oppurtunities have become very rare) to participate in Exercise Balikatan and worked closely with the Philippine Armor Marines. After the exercise we visited their base, if memory serves correctly, Fort Benefacio near Manilla. They had a ramp full of LVTH6s, and although none were operational at the time, several had been used in combat in Mindenoa only a few months earlier. At the time of visit they had switched to using the LAV-300 which had a similar turret to our AAVs (but having an M60 and M2 vice our MK19 and M2), and several had turrets with 89mm cannons (memory may be off on cannon size). We got the opportunity to crawl all over these beasts and I even snagged a couple data plates.
According to recent reading I’ve done, the Phil-Mars have brought several of the LVTH6s back into operation and they sport a really odd white / gray / brown urban camouflage.
Below are pics of the ramp, and the last is probably the LVTE1 that starred in the movie.
I got to blow-up a LVTP5 when I was at Courthouse Bay, Camp Lejuene. We placed a M21 Antitank mine under one track and command detonated it. It moved the vehicle about yard to one side. Diffently a kill.
Just as a side note, I blew-up an A4 Skyhawk on the same range too. That was cool.
Jesse
This is the LVTE1 currently on “guard” aboard Camp Del Mar and provides good shots for comparison of hull differences to the LVTP5. The last pic is one of the P5s that used to be a display aboard Camp Del Mar but is now sitting in a back lot Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow out in the middle of the dessert.
Hi
I scratch built the LVTE1 And I’m still looking for detailed pictures of it, if any one can take them so that I can finish it. You can view it on my web page.http://www3.sympatico.ca/dangeloc/page_01.htm
Regards,
Ralph
I can’t help you with your request Ralph, just want to say that that is some outstanding scratch building!! Any paint since these photos were taken?
I’ve got sort of a fetish for APCs and AMTRACKS… That M75… now there’s a kit that’s been overlooked. I’d love to see that finished! Seem to recall one built many years ago from somewhere. (?)
Thanks for sharing!
AWESOME!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH![:D][bow]
Hi Kevin
Thank you for the compliment. This past year has been very busy for me and have done very little model building. There is no paint as of today.
Regards,
Ralph
being as the trip up the Mekong into Cambodia was way down south the Phantoms probably would have been from the Airforce. Secondly the guys down that way would use whatever form of transportation needed to get to where ever they were headed. I often road on Naval aircraft as well as Airforce transports. My airstrikes were usually Airforce, but often wound up being from a Marine Air Group. Helocopters were always Army if you wanted to see the next day. I’ve seen many Army choppers flying for Marine units. It’s kinda like “whoever’s handy at the moment.”
Willard ws S.F., which ment that there was a good chance that he was CIA. Kurtz was main line Green Beret, and probably wasn’t CIA (although a good percentage are). Now if the movie were fact, and not a piece of fiction; Willard would probably have come from the Phoenix Operations Group (not Phoenix Program). A very secretive arm of the CIA with no known budgit(even more that the NRO). P.O.G. was sorta like the White House’s personal street cleaner, and have only been caught up with once (check the Senate Sub Commitee hearings with one Col. Stinson in 1969), and after a rather long questioning in the Senate Chambers he stood up and told them every piece of data they were after including the hardware used as well as the grid location of the disposed items. Then asked them what they were gonna do about it just before he turned and walked out. That was the end of said inquistion with the fear of God in each of the Senator’s faces (national TV).
gary
A command detonated 500lb. iron bomb is what works best. A 155mm round in the same mode will ruin one so fast that it’s scarey.
gary
think it was the 5th Mechinzed Infantry that took over the A.O right after Tet wound down. The 1st Air Cav came in later alittle more to the south. The 101st pretty much had everything from Da Nang north to about Quang Nam. South of Da Nang you saw the 196th and 198th in force working with the 1st of the 1st Armored Cav as well as the 17th and maybe the 11th. The 101st had the largest A.O., and by far the toughest to be in. Later in 1969 there were some elements from the 82nd sent up there in the 5th Mech areas (no way you were going to put the 101st and the 82nd in the same A.O.!!)
After Tet in 1968 there was a major reshuffle of troops in the north. Khe Shan was occupied at least two more times for brief periods as a F.O.B. At one time the was an Air Cav element there (1969 I think). The Marines were back again at least one more time as well, and maybe the 101st for a month or so. A101 was always there.
In the Spring of 1969 the Marines and Army were heavilly involved in holding back three full strength NVA divisions in the Thien Phouc area (A102) west of Tam key. Pretty much all of the 196th as well as the 1st Cav (armored), and a large element of the 198th along with at least one regiment of the 101st. At least six artillary units were also involved (a rather busy 3 months). The NVA got within forty miles of cutting the country in half while holding A102 in siege for three months. When it was over there as about a division and a quarter left limping back into Laos.
gary
gary