I talked with Specialist Five
John Irwin about his assignments in PSYOP during the
Vietnam War. One thing his comments show clearly is how you can become a
gypsy being moved and assigned to support one combat unit after another. The
Number of units he moved through are amazing. Vietnam PSYOP was in its infancy and none of the big units was there
yet, just some odd detachments and companies. As you read this remember this
is just one year of military life.
Reading this history is like
looking at three or four years of war. I add his thoughts in italics with some
of my own in plain text.
A 19th PSYOP Company Leaflet
100,000 copies of this black and white leaflet coded Leaflet 19-20-67 were
produced by the 19th PSYOP Company at the request of the 3rd Brigade of the
9th Infantry Division. It targeted Viet Cong in their area of operation. The
front uses a "death card" motif and depicts an ace of spades on a skill with
the text:
"Viet Cong! This is a sign of death!"
In August of 1966, I was originally assigned as an interpreter to the 19
PSYOP Company, at that time part of the 3rd Special Forces Group. Only a few of us were airborne at that time, the field teams
only. I taught at JFK Center Special Forces headquarters -
part time, including one unit that later was assigned to Dak To, Vietnam.
The original plan for the 6th PSYOP Battalion was that the field teams
would be airborne qualified. Several of us were, but not all. Field
teams would have been supporting the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the
1st/101st Airborne Division, and one brigade of the 1st Cavalry, all of
which were airborne. We also did a lot of work with the Special Forces
teams. At the time, only the 1st Infantry Division was not an airborne
unit, so field teams being jump qualified made sense. And a straight leg
PSYOP guy would not be very well accepted in an airborne unit. "Leg" is
an insult by an Airborne soldier who looks down on the average soldier
that is not airborne qualified.
[Authors Note] The 19th PSYOP Company was activated at Ft. Bragg as part of
the 3rd Special Forces Group on 10 August 1962. On 19 November 1966 it was
deployed to Can Tho Vietnam as part of the 6th PSYOP Battalion to provide
advice and support to military units and agencies in the Mekong Delta in IV
Corps Tactical Zone. At first there were PSYOP companies and detachments in
Vietnam, then it was found that more manpower was needed, and the Companies
became Battalions.
The 6th Battalion First Headquarters in Saigon - The bombed Kinh Do Theater
[Authors Note] Headquarters was initially in the Kinh Do Theater in Saigon
except for the radio and TV advisors, and the printing facilities, although
a lot of paper and printing supplies were stored on the first floor where
the seats had been. After the theater was blown up by an estimated 50
kilograms of "plastique," it moved some distance away to a small, modern,
three-story building near Cholon that had been an auto shop.
The 244th PSYOP Company Leaflet & Poster Catalog
In January 1966, the 6th PSYOP Battalion went by boat to Vung Tau, and from
there to Saigon, where it was headquartered. Other personnel were sent to
the 244th PSYOP Company at Da Nang in I Corps, the 245th PSYOP Company in
Nha Trang in II Corps, and the 246th PSYOP Company in Bien Hoa in III Corps.
IV Corps not staffed. I was originally assigned to Headquarters
Intelligence in a theater in downtown Saigon. After a couple of
months, I was reassigned to the 246th PSYOP Company at Bien Hoa. While at
Bien Hoa, we did night loudspeaker missions in a C-47. We would awaken the
Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops and attempt to goad them into
shooting at us. An artillery officer then zeroed a battery on the shooters.
We would continue broadcasting in the area to stir up more resistance. The
enemy was wide awake so there was lots of return fire. The artillery
observer zeroed in additional batteries. After several such episodes,
the observer called for a "time on target," and all the artillery units
fired so their shells hit at the same time.
[Authors Note] It was not very difficult to draw fire. One thing that almost
every PSYOP specialist has told me is that when they broadcast, they were
fired upon. Some units would follow the broadcast aircraft with a gunship.
Often leaflet missions were fired upon and they were sometimes followed by
gunships that would wait until the Viet Cong came out to pick up their
leaflets and then open fire. This was not a good way to motivate them to
read our leaflets. We want them to trust us and believe what we say or
write. Gunning them down while reading is counterproductive.
Except for the Phan Thiet helicopter missions, I never did any helicopter
loudspeaker or leaflet missions. Speakers were ineffective if there were other aircraft in the area. Most
nighttime loudspeaker missions were flown by C-47s, but the 1st Cavalry used
Huey helicopters in Phan Thiet. We threw large parachute flares, made ineffective broadcasts with ground
quality loudspeakers, attracted attention, and used helicopter gunships
equipped with grenade launchers for more effective response when we detected
ground fire.
A 246th PSYOP Company “Litterbugs” Patch
I went to Phuoc Binh, southeast of
Saigon to be part of a PSYOP team with the 2d Brigade of the 1st Infantry
Division. The team of Lieutenant Anderson & me went to Division Artillery to
load leaflet shells prior to the division’s deployment with most of 246
PSYOP Company going to Tay Ninh. Andy and I went to Ben Cui plantation with
the 16th Infantry Regiment.
Loading Leaflets into Leaflet Artillery Shells
Lieutenant Anderson of the 246th PSYOP Company and me loading the
leaflets into artillery shells at the 1st Infantry Division Artillery
base between Bien Hoa and Saigon. I convinced Lieutenant Anderson for us
to go from Bien Hoa to Saigon and stay overnight at the 6th PSYOP
Battalion headquarters at the theater instead of going directly to the
division artillery base. We did and had a nice dinner and drinks. The place at Division Artillery base where we would have been was
in a couple of large tents designated for outside support personnel. Two guys in those tents were killed in a mortar attack the night
we stayed in Saigon.
We returned with a
convoy to Bien Hoa to rejoin the 246th PSYOP Company. SSG Terwilliger and I
were to be assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade at the Michelin
plantation. Roger Terwilliger and I never got to work together. I was
reassigned when the 101st Airborne Division ran into trouble and needed
support. My replacement and Roger died in a mine explosion with the
173rd Airborne Brigade after I left to be with the 101st.
In the planning for the PSYOP units, the field units were a two-man team
of enlisted personnel. When
the first units got to Vietnam, all field teams were then led by officers, virtually none of whom
had ever been exposed to PSYOP. We received several loads of Infantry or other branch officers,
all brand-new lieutenants.
Propaganda Shell from the Archives of the 7th PSYOP Group
[Authors Note] Loading leaflets into artillery shells is an art. The 155-mm
leaflet artillery shell accepts a leaflet roll 4-5 inches in height, with a
1-inch inner and 4-inch outer diameter. The number of leaflets will depend
on size and paper weight, but a standard load is about 2000 leaflets (four
rolls of 500). The round can travel up to 20,000 meters and separates in
flight to release the leaflets.
A 245th PSYOP Company Pocket Patch
The 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment
(AKA Alpha 502) of the 101st Airborne Division found itself in deep doodoo at Dak
To in II Corps near the border. An ARC LIGHT mission saved them, but horrific casualties on both sides. I was
immediately sent to Nha Trang to join the 245th PSYOP Company, then the next
morning to a team at Dak To. As the only Psywar interpreter, I guess I
was "A" team. The next morning, the Generals airplane. two Captains
driving and me and leaflets, went to Dak To. That day, the PSYOP Team went
to the Alpha 502 battle site. Hundreds of dead members of
the 21st and 88th PAVN regiments, "People's Army of Vietnam" as North
Vietnam called their soldiers. The smell of rotting bodies was horrific. The
B-52 strike killed hundreds of PAVN. I broadcast most of the night
over the surrounding area until I fell asleep. The following morning,
several North Vietnamese Army soldiers appeared, surrendered, and led the
502nd troops to their mortar and headquarters positions.
All B52 missions, Arc Light in South VN, Linebacker in North VN, other
names for the Trail missions in different countries had to be followed
up with B-52 and Chieu Hoi leaflets. The next morning, I threw leaflets from a USAF 0-1 Bird Dog, not
the USAF U10 Helio-Courier loudspeaker/leaflet plane. The Ragged Scooper Bird Dog pilot had also
been charged to count the 600 craters and knew which exact bombs would
not explode on contact and were fused for delayed detonation. Any
non-exploding bombs were targeted with rocket fire to detonate the bomb.
A B-52 Bomber Leaflet dropped on Vietnam
[Authors Note] During the Vietnam War, the B-52 became one of the dominant
weapons of the Allies. Known by several code names like Fact Sheet, Frantic
Goat, Arc Light, Linebacker I, Linebacker II, etc., these attacks did
enormous damage to the enemy forces. Loudspeaker broadcasts and leaflet
drops would try to bring in injured soldiers to surrender. It was often the
only way those fighters could get medical treatment in the bush. John's use
of "A Team" is an allusion to the Special Forces teams that do the heavy
fighting.
It occurs to me that some readers might wonder what the loudspeaker
message from an aircraft might sound like. I have many, but here is a
short one about recovering Americans that have been captured. This
message is 30 seconds long, requested by XXIV Corps, to be broadcast from
aircraft:
"Attention People,
If anyone has any information regarding Americans missing in action or
prisoners-of-war, please report it immediately to the nearest American
unit or to any Government of Vietnam or Vietnamese Army unit. Once the
information is confirmed the informer will receive 41,250 piasters. His
identity will be withheld."
SF team A248 was at Dak To and willingly
traded us our warm beer, brought in by USAF leaflet mission planes, for the
coldest in their refrigerator. A248 remembered me, and I was treated
royally.
A loudspeaker Jeep of the 24th PSYOP Detachment bearing the flags of the
Republic of Vietnam and the emblem of the Republic of Korea
After Dak To, the 1st of the 101st Airborne went to Tuy Hoa. Our
vehicle in Tuy Hoa was a battered Jeep van with no windows in the back.
A tiger was painted on both sides. The 24th PSYOP Detachment had been
assigned to the Republic of Korea Tiger Division units at Qui Nhon, a few
miles north. We inherited the vehicle. The 24th PSYOP
detachment later became the 245th PSYOP company. Kids in town shouted, "CON
HO" (animal - tiger) when we drove past. We made lots of friends.
We did multiple assignments at Tuy Hoa, Qui Nhon, and in the surrounding
areas. I spent most of my time with Alpha 2 of the 327 Infantry -
primarily 2nd platoon. They had a squad of Army of the Republic of
Vietnam attached, and I could communicate with them and became their de
facto leader.
[Authors Note] In July 1965, the 24th PSYOP Detachment was formed from
personnel of the 1st and 13th PSYOP Battalion assigned to the United States
Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, Fort Bragg, NC. The unit,
consisting of six officers and 24 enlisted, was formed, trained, and
deployed to Vietnam in just two weeks. The detachment arrived in Vietnam in
September 1965 and was assigned to support the 1st Cavalry Division G5
Section at Anh Khe.
The Sketch of the Prototype leaflet
I have a prototype leaflet that was never disseminated. The 2nd Battalion of
the 327th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division was part of a trap to lure
the Highland North Vietnam Army troops into a battle in the Central
Highlands, in the area around Pleiku where the Special Forces Group (SFG)
B24 base was located, and the subordinate SFG A teams A241-9. The A team locations each had been beefed up with a battery of 105
artillery. Additional 155
batteries and a couple of 175s were dispersed throughout B24s area. Normally, a SFG A team base could take on most of a regiment. The
artillery, and supporting nearby artillery, meant that the A24x team could
probably take on 2 regiments, but would be overrun by a third. Spook C47 gunships were on call for the operation, and probably
SPECTRE, although they were Top Secret and not mentioned. A Special Forces Group "Mike Force," a battalion of ethnic Chinese
from Vietnam was on call to helicopter in at night on preselected landing
zones. The second battalion of the 327th Regiment of the 101st was to do a
nighttime combat drop on a selected drop zone, depending on which A24x team
was hit. I was listed for plane
number 4. The remainder of 101st Airborne, troops from the 1st Cavalry, 4th
Infantry Division, and armor from the 25th Infantry Division and others
would come in with daylight. Estimated casualties for 2/327 were 85% by
dawn. Several US divisions would
take on a couple of North Vietnam Army divisions. Then President Johnson
apparently said he would not give up an infantry battalion for a decisive
victory in the Central Highlands. Therefore, the leaflet was never completed or used. I have the original design, showing the paratroopers and the clawed
eagle descending that symbolized the 101st Airborne Division.
A Death Card from A U.S. Marine Corps LRRP Team
We also did a few unusual, small leaflet orders. Often on a mimeograph system, rather than the unit printing
press. We made leaflets for the Long-Range Reconnaissance Teams. The
leaflet showed a LRRP soldier in camouflage combat gear. The leaflet had text something like, "This is who killed your
comrade. Someday, someone will find a leaflet like this on your body." LRRP teams stuck one leaflet in the web gear of each VC or NVA
soldier they killed, just as some infantrymen used "Death Cards."
I saw you but let you live…
[Authors note] Another card appears to be a SOG product. It depicts a
rifleman taking aim at a Viet Cong Guerrilla. The text in Vietnamese is
"I saw you but let you live…next time you die." This is not too unlike
the message that Irwin mentions above. The back of the card depicts a
crude skull and crossed bones. There are numerous such fake cards sold
on the Internet but this one would seem to be genuine. It is depicted in
John L. Plaster’s book, SOG – a Photo History of the Secret War,
Paladin Press, Boulder, CO, 2000. The author says about this image:
SOG calling card, designed to be left by recon teams behind enemy lines.
LRRP teams carried the leaflets. In the middle of 1967, there was a lot of data about the LRRP
teams published so the teams from the 101st Airborne were quickly renamed Lima Company, of the 75th
Infantry, the Ranger Regiment, and they had to work in larger groups because of the size of
the North Vietnamese Army units in their area. A small four-man team would not survive.The smaller four-man teams became 8-man, then larger.During the A Shau battle, they only worked in platoon size units.
A Cozy Little C-47 Aircraft with a few Boxed leaflets
The picture is of the C-47 loaded with leaflets. The full load meant
it was a resupply mission. Since I was on the plane, and never flew
anywhere in II Corps except a few locations, it was most likely me
returning to Tuy Hoa from Nha Trang with a load of leaflets. The
other people are Air Force loadmasters assigned to GABBY. The plane
always had a crew of about 5. Pilot, copilot, navigator, and two enlisted loadmasters. One or both enlisted could have been mechanics.
The load is too full for a leaflet drop. Some of the leaflets may have been meant for a drop after the
leaflet supply was completed.
While with the 101st Airborne Division, I recall a Tuy Hoa leaflet aimed
at the North Vietnamese Army 410 Mortar Company. We knew their approximate location. Too little information for a
bomb or artillery strike, but enough for a leaflet mission. We only
wanted a few hundred or a couple thousand leaflets, aimed directly at
the 410th. The lieutenant
wanted thousands and thousands of leaflets spread over the entire
region. PSYOP meant that the
leaflet needed to land on the targeted audience, the 410th. Excess leaflets landing on other units meant the North Vietnam
Army political officers could correctly say that they were not the 410th
company, the leaflet was a lie, and that the soldiers needed to ignore
all leaflets. Our own brass
did not understand the futility of excess leaflets, and that correct
intelligence and targeting really meant something. The leaflet aimed at
the 410th Mortar Company was delivered at them about 8-9 months after
they walked down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The leaflet mentioned how long the 410th had been in the South,
and asked how many of their company had died, and said that the 410th
soldiers would die in the South since there was no plan for them to ever
return to the North.
Attention Members of the K-10 Battalion, 5th North Vietnamese Army
Regiment
[Authors note] I do not have a copy of the 410 Mortar Company leaflet
John mentions. However, I have many other similar ones aimed at a
specific target so I depict one here. This leaflet targets member of the
K-10 Battalion, 5th North Vietnamese Army Regiment and bears the Chieu
Hoi (Open Arms) symbol inviting surrender. Some of the text is:
"You have undergone much danger and hardship and before reaching
South Vietnam. You thought you would be warmly welcomed by the
people of South Vietnam. Now you know how wrong you could be…"
John also talks about the multitude of leaflets dropped. I looked at the
opening page of the 4th PSYOP Group’s Monthly operations Report for
March 1971. All it talks about is numbers:
Number of impressions: 4,883,285. Number of 6 x 3-inch leaflets printed:
10,150,000. Number of leaflets dropped: 60,768,000. Number of aerial
loudspeaker hours: 138. Number of ground loudspeaker hours: 497. Number
of movie hours: 160.
Some Leaflets dropped by John Irwin
Leaflet 3-66-11
[Authors note] Whenever I talk to a PSYOP soldier I always ask if he
brought any leaflets home. Americans are great souvenir collectors and
thank God for that, or my articles would be bare of illustrations. The
first leaflet is a very familiar scene. I have about a half-dozen of
this general type of leaflet, they always show a Viet Cong or North
Vietnamese soldier dead in the dirt. Most are in black and white; some
add a touch of color to catch the eye of the target. Because John was
there early in the war, the leaflet does not have a standard code. Its
code is 3-66-11. No U.S. leaflets used a “3” at the front, so I am going
to guess that this was made about March or November 1966. The
text is:
Surrender before it is too late!
Leaflet P-02
Another early leaflet. Early in the war when the U.S. wanted to address
the North Vietnam Soldiers coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, they used
the code “P” for “People’s Army of Vietnam.” Later, the code was changed
to “T” for “Trail,” So, not only is this an early use of the code, but
it is also an early use of the leaflet series, the second one printed.
The front of the leaflet shows a bombed bridge with the shadow of an
American aircraft flying over it. The back shows three photographs of
the abundant life in South Vietnam. The text on the front is:
Compatriots of North Vietnam, look straight at the reality and judge for
yourselves:
If the Communists of North Vietnam continue their destructive war in the
south, destruction like that shown in this scene, will continue to be
delivered to the north.
The text on the back of the leaflet is:
If the Communists of North Vietnam stop their destructive war in the
South, these scenes of peace and posterity will materialize both in the
North and in the South.
So,help win this senseless war and bring peace and prosperity to all
Vietnamese. Leave the ranks of the Communist Party aggressors. Us this
safe conduct pass to join the Just Cause.
Life in South Vietnam
Leaflet 941
This leaflet uses a common theme, that of a sad family waiting
for their beloved member who has gone off the join the Viet Cong. These
were produced by the Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO) with numbers going up to about
6000. The text on the back is:
We remember you; do you remember us? Do you ever think about your
families? Do you know that the Army of the Republic of Vietnam is
winning the war everywhere? We are worrying over your whereabouts and
what is happening to you. The Welcome Back government policy is waiting for your return. We hope that this letter
will reach you so that you are able to come back to us sooner. We are
hoping and waiting for your return.
Leaflet 245-N-13-67
I have always admired this vignette. It is found on several American
leaflets, sometimes in color, sometimes in black and white. It shows so
much. We see a lonely Viet Cong fighter sitting by himself and thinking
of two paths he can take in the future. One portrays death and
destruction if he continues to fight with dead bodies, blood, and a
destroyed bridge and building. The back text varies according to who
made the leaflet and at what point in the war. This leaflet was made by
the 245th PSYOP Company. The “N” shows it was printed in Nha Trang in
1967. The code on the front, 6-676 (4) implies that the Vietnamese had
part in the making and distribution of this leaflet. That is a
Vietnamese code number. The text on the front is:
Isn’t it time to return to your family?
Which of the above scenes do you prefer?
The text on the back is:
You arrived in South Vietnam several months ago. You are tired, some of you are sick, and many of you have
malaria. We have medicine and doctors. We will help you and treat your ailments.
Leaflet 245N-14-67
The above leaflet was produced by the U.S. Army 245th PSYOP Company in
Nha Trang in 1967. It depicts a heroic South Vietnamese soldier on
horseback carrying his colors and trampling the flag of the Viet Cong on
the ground. Irwin told me he thought it represented victory in the
Chinese year of the horse 1966. I should mention that 1967 was the "Year of the Goat" but the story
Irwin heard might be because the leaflet was printed in late 1966.
There is a poster using the same image and that poster has the text at
top:
POWERFUL FAITH IN THE CERTAINTY OF VICTORY DURING THE YEAR OF THE HORSE
None
of the text on any of the three leaflets I have seen using this vignette
mention the "Year of the Horse."
The enemy flag should have been a gold
star on a field of red at the top and blue at the bottom. Instead, the
colors are red and green. Somebody got the colors of the enemy flag
wrong. The leaflet was later corrected with the proper color blue. There
is no text on the front. The text on the back is tactical, targeting two
enemy regiments:
To the soldiers of the 325th Division's 18th and 95th Regiments
You have fought in South Vietnam for almost one year. Look around you! Think about all the friends whom you will never see again!
Are you about to die too? Everywhere you look you see disease and
death. Death is chasing you - the power of Phuong Hoang
[Operation Phoenix] will not miss even one shelter, one underground
bunker, or one hiding place. You have only one chance to live and to see your families in North
Vietnam again. That is chance is:
Return to the Nation's Just Cause before it is too late.
Leaflet 245N-48-67
This rather dull leaflet depicts about 11 scraggly Vietnamese people,
some clearly far too thin and their ribs are showing through their
chests, so without a second thought I assume they are Viet Cong fighters
that have either been captured or gone Chieu Hoi. The photo is very bad.
It is clearly taken in the field, and I assume the PSYOP unit could not
do much with the film when it got back to the unit.
I was wrong. Those were local villagers being held captive by the Viet
Cong and rescued by the Americans. So, let’s see what
the text on the back says:
Who can be indifferent?
The compatriots shown on the back of this leaflet have just been set
free from a Viet Cong detention camp by the soldiers of the American
101st Airborne Division. Apart from Mr. Truong Phu Xuan, Chief of the My
Trung hamlet, Truong Tung, secretary of the Phuoc Thanh hamlet, Mr.
Hoang Kim Chinh, employee of the Local Force office of the Hieu Xuong
District, Mr. Pham Thang, a Local Force private, Mr. Tran Van Dinh, an
ARVN serviceman, Mrs Vo Thi, Lam Thi Ao, Mr. Nguyen Hang and Nguyen
Huong are mostly innocent civilians. Looking at their skinny posture and
miserable face, one can immediately see how badly they were maltreated
by the VC while in captivity. They are currently being fed at a
temporary residence camp, tended to by health care workers so they can
recover before going home.
Tragedies like this shall be repeated if the Viet Cong continues to
exist. Please help the government maintain security and order, as well
as to rebuild a new life with empathy and mutual support.
Soldiers of the Southern puppet government!
SP5 Irwin must have found this enemy leaflet while on patrol. This Viet
Cong flag leaflet asks the people to join the ranks of the guerrillas to
drive out the Americans and their South Vietnamese allies. Another
soldier told me he found this same leaflet in a village outside Landing
Zone Baldy, a U.S. Marine Corps, Army, and Army of the Republic of
Vietnam (ARVN) base located northwest of Chu Lai, Quang Nam Province in
central Vietnam. The text on the front is:
Soldiers of the Southern puppet government! Join the people in a united
struggle under the just banner of the National Liberation Front for
South Vietnam to defeat the American aggressors and their puppets and
liberate South Vietnam.
The text on the back is:
Travel pass
Officers and soldiers of the puppet regime in the South holding this
pass while reporting to any Front authority or PLAF unit will be
decently received and treated.
The Central Committee of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam.
All cadres, Liberation troops and compatriots please note: Decently
receive and guide the bearer of this pass to report to the nearest Front
authority or People’s Liberation Army Front unit.
I now return this article to John Irwin.
The OH47 Helicopter
After leaving the 101st, the major sent me to a separate reinforced
battalion operation of the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Calvary of the 1st
Cavalry Division at Phan Thiet on the far Southeast corner of II Corps.
Most of our actions were with the Headquarters Reconnaissance
platoon. We worked in the Phan Thiet area for several months.
Since I was on flight status, I could ride in any of the helicopters and
planes. As opposed to the 101st, the Cavalry had tons of helicopters.
I substituted as a gunner for C/1/9th Cavalry, reconnaissance OH47 "glass
gunships." Some of the gunships, called "hogs" were equipped with 48
rockets. The Cavalry was the only unit which used "hogs," Aerial Rocket
Artillery (ARA), callsign SPARK
GAP
and the Delta 229 gunships, callsign BOXKITE. I also flew as a substitute gunner for SPARK GAP and BOXKITE. The Cavalry
helicopter battalions had colored symbols painted on the pilot doors. The
1st ARA battalion was Red, 227 was green, 228 black, 229 blue, 9th Cavalry
yellow. Individual companies were identified with the symbols: X was
Headquarters, A was a delta, B was a square, C was a circle, and D was a
diamond, in the battalion color. Spark Gap, Boxkite, C/299 slicks and
the C/1/9 helicopters, including the glass gunship platoon were at Phan
Thiet.
SP5
Irwin’s USAF 1st Air Commando Wing C-47 [callsign Gabby] on the ramp at Nha
Trang.
The front door is open, rear door removed for the loudspeaker system.
USAF loudspeaker C47s [callsign GABBY] had an enlarged door to
accommodate cargo, unlike the civilian or even WWII DC-3 versions. The door opened to the front, and the rear half of the door frame
was left empty as a large speaker system was bolted to the floor, aimed
out the opening. The
radios and panels were virtual antique and the planes 20 years old. Near the rear of the plane, opposite the door, was a metal chute
to disperse leaflets, one handful at a time, by us or the crew. C-47s often carried leaflet resupplies to the field units, as
well as leaflets needed for the missions. We never got new cardboard boxes, only those scrounged from
wherever. Since boxes fell
apart in the humidity, we always had problems with boxes breaking loose
or falling apart.
The C47 loudspeaker is mounted in the doorframe. There is no rear door
since it would block the loudspeaker.
A second door was created forward
to load and unload cargo and crew in the GABBY aircraft.
The civilian version of the U-10 [callsign SPEAK] is called the Helio
Courier. The CIA used them on short fields or improvised locations to
insert or extract personnel. The USAF used the same door configuration
and mounted the same loudspeaker system from the C47 on the left side,
just behind the pilot. Leaflet boxes were loaded into the back via the right-side rear door. This was the same door to insert or extract personnel in the CIA
versions. The right front
passenger (usually a psywar team member) got in first, and then the
pilot, both through the left front door. U-10s had an amazing level of radios and avionics and two audio
control panels. The planes had two VHF radios (Very High Frequency -
normal civilian or airline radios), at least one UHF radio (Ultra High
Frequency - military airplane radios), and at least one FM radio
(Frequency Modulation - a lower frequency used by ground military
units). Radios were called
Victor (VHF), Uniform (UHF), and FM (Fox Mike), respectively.
For SPEAK missions, I usually wrote down the local unit FM frequency,
the FM Brigade command frequency, the USAF Bird Dog Victor frequency,
and the jet fighter frequency that RAGGED SCOOPER would use to direct
bombing missions by the fighters. I always punched the numbers into the
radios, but most pilots just let me play with the radios. Pilots didn't know or understand the callsigns and all the lingo
used on Army FM radios. To
me, the USAF VHF and UHF radios were a novelty and cool. I monitored the radio traffic, and often the pilot's panel was
off for almost all radios. I
can recall incidents when the monitored radio traffic, in mid-air,
changed our mission. Once,
northwest of Tuy Hoa, I heard on FM that a ground unit was chasing a
smaller and cut off VC or NVA unit. I climbed into the back and broadcast an impromptu call to
surrender while SPEAK circled the area. Another time, I heard RAGGED SCOOPER point out a tunnel entry
north of Tuy Hoa by Highway 1. The Bird Dog pilot said he would mark the location with a rocket.On the UHF fighter frequency, I heard Red 3, one of the F100
fighter jets on the bombing mission, say the rocket was not needed as
Red 3 would mark the location with a 500 pound bomb. I flipped the switch to let the pilot hear all the action, which
had us charged up. After the
bombing ended, SPEAK dropped down below our authorized altitude to drop
leaflets on the site.
Our air support was from the 1st Air Commando Wing and several of
their squadrons. I do not remember which of the wing’s several squadrons
flew which planes. One flew the leaflet and
loudspeaker U10 Helio Courier (AKA Useless One Zero), the Helio Courier is a
cantilever high-wing light short takeoff and landing utility aircraft
(callsign SPEAK), another flew the C-47 loudspeaker birds
(callsign GABBY), others flew the 0-1 Birddogs (Callsign Ragged
Scooper), C47 gunships (callsign SPOOK), the AD-1 FAC (forward
air controllers over the Trail and North Vietnam, later replaced by fast
FACs: F100 Super Sabres, and later F4s Phantoms, and another squadron flew
the super-secret C130 gunships, (callsign SPECTRE). My
missions were in the C47, U10, and O1s.
The Air Medal
After one year in Vietnam, I was done. One Air Medal, most of the way
to a second, a Combat Infantry Badge, and lots of memories. The award of Air
Medals during Vietnam was measured in hours. 200 hours were required. Submission of information to substantiate Air Medals included date,
location, time in hours and minutes, type of mission, and type of aircraft,
and usually the aircraft organization, often callsign, etc. I had a little over 300 hours. Since we had 2-3-4 guys with a field team, we took turns flying, some
liked to fly, some didn't. We
didn't have a mission every day, and weather was also an issue. Most of our missions were 1-2 hours. We also counted the "lifts" being transported in "slicks" UH-1D
transport helicopters on landing zone assaults or extractions. Most of them we 10-15 minutes. Since I was on flight status, I could also get gunner time, which I
previously mentioned. Early in
the war, anyone could substitute as a gunner. That didn't work out well, and then flight status became required. Gunship flights were on an alert status and called out as needed,
except for designated patrols or escorting a "lift," called an Eagle flight
of ten ships, unless fewer were required. OH47 Glass gunships of the 1/9
Cavalry only allowed substitute gunners on their "last flight" at dusk. If the mission encountered heavy action, the 1st Battalion of the 9th
Cavalry did not want an inexperienced gunner dealing with multiple
additional helicopters, gunships, and incoming troops on an incoming Eagle
flight lift during gunfire. The
lack of daylight would prevent additional resources being sent to assist in
dealing with whatever the last flight encountered.
John Liked to fly and often volunteered as a door gunner
He took the picture of this door gunner on a Vietnam helicopter mission.
The Cavalry had tons of helicopters, even flying standby while we searched
on the ground. The 1st Infantry Division moved in battalion strength, with
7-10 Eagle flights to move the battalion. Each Eagle flight had 2 gunship escorts, plus the Landing Zone had a
flight of about 10 gunships flying cover. The 101st Airborne Division
walked, and often moved at night. I can recall walking 20-25 kilometers, just one platoon crossing an
entire map, at night. Resupply was water, food, and ammunition brought in on
the "Dustoff" air ambulance slicks sent to pick up our wounded. The 101st
worked in platoon strength, in the boonies, just us, often out of range of
artillery support, with no helicopters available for anything except
Dustoff. There was a difference
in how the Airborne was treated. I was probably the only one who worked in all three environments.Troops did not get moved between units, and only paratroopers got
sent to Airborne units.
After I left on the first week of January 1967, my old 19th PSYOP Company
was reassigned from 3rd SFG to IV Corps. The 6th PSYOP Battalion became the
4th PSYOP Group. The four PSYOP companies became the new 6th, 7th, 8th, and
10th PSYOP Battalions. I never saw any of that. When I got back to the USA, I was too “short” to qualify for Special Forces
and ready to return to civilian life. If I requested Special Forces, I would
need to reenlist. I was still in the Army, and the 82nd Military
Intelligence Detachment (82nd Airborne Division) sent me to Fort Holabird
for Interrogator school just before my discharge.
My job description said I must be able to perform the duties of
Interrogator, serve as principal operations NCO in strategic intelligence
interrogation center at theater Army or higher headquarters; assist command
and staff officers in intelligence operations and training situations for
strategic intelligence interrogation activities. On 15 March 1968, I
returned to civilian life.
As always, if any readers care to comment or send additional
information I encourage them to write the author at sgmbert@hotmail.com.
