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Title
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Soldier in MP Platoon AO, LZ English
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Description
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Charlie Black, "Charlie always carried a grenade in his jungle jacket left front pocket, as you see in this picture. I asked him why he carried it. He replied, 'You never know when you might need it....'" 1970. This was in the MP Platoon AO, LZ English, April or May. "Charlie was a great MP to have on your side in a fight." Photo and comments by Jerry W. Colwell
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Subjects
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soldiers, Landing Zone (LZ), army bases, Military Police (MP), grenades, Vietnam War, Vietnam, platoons, U.S. Military, air bases
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Local Identifier
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16-3293
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Title
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U.S. Army Soldiers With Vietnamese Children
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Description
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U.S. Army soldiers Bob Lund, Billy Pepper, and Smitty with Vietnamese children. October 1965. Photo by Bob Lund, 6th Battalion, 14th Artillery Regiment. Photo by Bob Lund, 6th Battalion, 14th Artillery Regiment, RVN 1965.
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Subjects
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Vietnam War, soldiers, Vietnamese, children, tanks, Army, U.S. Military
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Local Identifier
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16-2740
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Title
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Viet Cong KIA after Attacking the Perimeter of Tan Son Nhut Air Base
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Description
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Viet Cong dead after an attack on the perimeter of Tan Son Nhut Air Base. 1 Feb. 1968 Photo by: SP5 Edgar Price.
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Subjects
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air bases, Viet Cong, deaths, North Vietnamese Army (NVA), military bases, military photography, military history, Killed In Action (KIA), war photography, U.S. Military, soldiers, Tet Offensive, battles, combat, combatants
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Local Identifier
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16-2942
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Title
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Project Eldest Son – The U.S. Scheme to Sabotage Viet Cong Rifles
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Description
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Project Eldest Son – The U.S. Scheme to Sabotage Charlie’s Rifles. “The objective of the scheme was two fold: to thin the enemy’s ranks while at the same time sapping his confidence in his own equipment.” THE U.S. MILITARY’S Studies and Information Group might sound like a dull Washington policy think thank, but during the Vietnam War, the SOG planned and carried out some of the most daring, not to mention devious, operations of the long and bloody conflict. Case in point: Beginning in 1967, the notorious unconventional warfare unit flooded communist ammo depots throughout Southeast Asia with thousands of sabotaged rifle, machine gun and mortar rounds. Each of the ordinary looking bullets was packed with enough high explosives to destroy any weapon that fired it while also maiming (perhaps even killing) the unlucky shooter. And the charges hidden within spiked mortar shells were so potent they could wipe out an entire gun crew. The objective of the scheme was two fold: To thin the enemy’s ranks while at the same time sapping his confidence in his own equipment. It was a 45-year-old SOG colonel named John Singlaub who first suggested the ploy. The former OSS operative supposedly borrowed the idea from the British army, which had secretly distributed its own exploding .303 Lee Enfield rifle rounds to enemy rebels in Waziristan during the 1930s and even tribal insurgents in Zimbabwe as far back as the 1890s. The American plan, dubbed Project Eldest Son, called for technicians to pry apart thousands of captured AK-47 and 12.7 mm machine gun rounds, as well as 82 mm mortar shells. Once opened, the casings would be filled with a potent explosive that was virtually indistinguishable from conventional gunpowder. The booby trapped munitions were then reassembled and mixed into crates of perfectly good ammo bound for enemy supply depots. Eventually, the SOG manufactured more than 12,000 trick rifle bullets and machine gun rounds along with nearly 2,000 killer mortar shells. Over a two-year period, U.S. special ops teams fanned out across South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia covertly adding ammo crates containing the corrupted rounds into enemy supply caches. Another tactic was to leave full magazines loaded with a single tainted bullet onto battlefields in hopes the ammunition would be recovered and used by North Vietnamese forces or communist guerrillas. At the same time, the SOG spread rumours of Chinese armaments factories producing faulty munitions. According to the stories, the deficient ammo was being knowingly transferred to communist troops in Vietnam by careless and indifferent government officials in Beijing. It was hoped the revelation would lead to a rift between the two communist powers. The U.S. Armed Forces Radio Network, which was monitored by enemy intelligence, added to the narrative by advising GIs to avoid using captured weapons because of the risk posed by defective Chinese bullets. The SOG even went so far as to forge official looking VC and NVA communiqués reporting the hazardous ammunition. The bogus documents were dropped in the field for enemy units to recover and pass along to their superiors. Little data exists as to the success of the operation. Yet Eldest Son had to be abandoned in 1969 when details of it were leaked to the American media. The story didn’t end there however. It’s been reported recently that the Syrian military has launched a similar operation its two-and-a-half year old civil war against anti-government rebels. According to the New York Times, pro-Assad forces have been secretly passing booby-trapped rounds to enemy fighters via illegal arms bazaars across the region. The paper reports that the Syrian army appropriated the idea from the U.S. military, which had reportedly been booby trapping insurgent bullets in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Subjects
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bazaars, illegal arms, booby traps, projectile weapons with explosive propellant, Weapons and Ammunition, trap guns, traps, U.S. Military, machine guns, rifles
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Local Identifier
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16-3965
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Title
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Ranger Class 10, Graduates
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Description
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Ranger Class 10 on April 16, 1964. I am in third row from front, seventh from left. Also in this class is Ranger Hugh Shelton (later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs), Ranger Ron Ray (MOH) and Assit Sec of Veterans Affairs.. also Ranger Ernie Medina, Lt. Calley's Company Commander. — with Ranger Ernie Medina, Ranger Tony Ling, Ranger Ron Ray, Ranger Sherm Williford and Ranger Hugh Shelton. Photo by Milt Brown
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Subjects
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soldiers, Rangers, military training camps, training, graduates, U.S. Military
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Local Identifier
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16-3112
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Title
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Military Aircraft Burns From Viet Cong Attack
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Description
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U.S. Military aircraft burns from Viet Cong attack. Tan Son Nhut February 18th, 1968. Photo by Donald Jellema
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Subjects
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military aircraft, U.S. Military, damage, destruction, attacks, Viet Cong, burning, explosions, North Vietnamese Army (NVA), Vietnam, Vietnam War
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Local Identifier
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16-2934
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Title
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Soldiers on a U.S. Naval Ship Being Deployed to Vietnam
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Description
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3/4 Cavalry Troopers from the Motor pool. 3/4 Cavalry HHT (Headquarters & Headquarters Troop) On U.S.N.S (U.S. Naval Ship ) "Gen. Weigel," 1966. This is the Troop Ship that we left Hawaii on heading to Okie on our way to Vietnam - This is all Pacific Ocean. Photo by Roger McGill.
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Subjects
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soldiers, troops, cavalry, oceans, U.S. Military, U.S. Navy, military deployment, military history
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Local Identifier
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16-2569
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Title
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Letter To The Third Marine Division For Heroism
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Description
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Letter to the Third Marine Division (Reinforced) From the President of the United States for extraordinary heroism. Photo by Jack Mulliner.
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Subjects
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Vietnam War, letters, troops, marines, U.S. Military
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Local Identifier
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16-2600
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Title
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BB-62 USS New Jersey in Tonkin Gulf 1969
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Description
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"BB-62 USS New Jersey in Tonkin Gulf 1969. We used to pick up Navy artillery observer. The 2000 lb rounds from these 16 inch guns could clear lots of real estate." USS New Jersey (BB-62) is America's most decorated battleship. The USS New Jersey is an Iowa-class battleship, and was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named after the US state of New Jersey. New Jersey earned more battle stars for combat actions than the other three completed Iowa-class battleships, and was the only US battleship providing gunfire support during the Vietnam War. Photo and comment by Tom Everhart.
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Subjects
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aerial views, artillery, shelling (artillery projectiles), battleships, U.S. Navy, navy, ships, U.S. Military, military deployment, aerial photographs, Vietnam War, Vietnam
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Local Identifier
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16-3805
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Title
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Kingsmen Returning From A Mission
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Description
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United States Army Huey helicopters. Kingsmen returning from a mission across the border, just north of Hue, 1968. Photo by Tom Everhart.
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Subjects
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Vietnam War, helicopters, Huey helicopters, Army, U.S. Military
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Local Identifier
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16-3664
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Title
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Viet Cong Dead After an Attack on the Perimeter of Tan Son Nhut Air Base
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Description
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Viet Cong dead after an attack on the perimeter of Tan Son Nhut Air Base. 1 Feb. 1968 Photo by: SP5 Edgar Price
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Subjects
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air bases, soldiers, Viet Cong, Vietnam War, Vietnam, Killed In Action (KIA), battles, combatants, combat, deaths, North Vietnamese Army (NVA), Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), U.S. Military
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Local Identifier
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16-2928
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Title
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Living Spaces Inside a U.S. Naval Ship En Route to Vietnam
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Description
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This is how we lived on the ship. All 3/4 Cavalry Troopers - Gary Schick, Paul Dockendorf, Don Kress, and forget the other names. 3/4 Cavalry HHT On U.S.N.S Gen. Weigel, 1966. This is the Troop Ship that we left Hawaii on heading to Okie on our way to Vietnam - This is all Pacific Ocean. Photo by Roger McGill.
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Subjects
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soldiers, naval ships, military deployment, Vietnam War, Vietnam, troops, cavalry, military history, military personnel, U.S. Navy, U.S. Military
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Local Identifier
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16-2573
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