I remember the big fat missile thing (shown in one of your pictures) which we thought was an ammo depot or air raid shelter. For the military Tet presented a golden opportunity to crush the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese because they were weakened by that great effort. The 175 mm guns were usually parked in the same corner, just in front of these corner buildings (just west of them). I had always thought that he had 175mm SPHs there. I lucked out and was given KP duty, which I didnt like at first. On 6 February as a battalion of Marines sealed off the north end of the An Loa Valley to prevent the enemy from escaping, the divisions 2nd Brigade air assaulted into An Lao Valley. 318 sentences with 're equip'. Battalions can be added or subtracted from the unit, as need dictates. Even though the military bitterly denounced this position and warned that it would produce certain disaster, President Lyndon B. Johnsons administration accepted it in March 1968, an election year. The base was abandoned and turned over to farmland although the Long Thanh North airfield is clearly visible on satellite images. World War 2 & Korean War He was there everyday for our stay doing jobs for us. After 5 you could pick up a pass to go to town. The unit's actions in the Admiralty Islands prepared it for the amphibious assault on Leyte in the Philippines on 07 October 1944. Dear Sp4 Jeffery Wright, Thank you for your service as a Field Artillery Basic. 8th Bn, 4th Arty (8-in/175) WWII Crest DUI 112th Infantry Regiment . Sgt Pappy Bryant was another gun chief. David Powell tales of the field artillery FOR SALE! After eight years of fighting to preserve its colonial empire, France finally suffered defeat at the hands of Ho Chi Minh, an ardent Vietnamese nationalist and communist, when Dien Bien Phu fell in March 1954. 85 Paul containing a list of ALL US Army Vietnam Artillery units. Home > United States > JBLM, WA > Government Services > 504th . The 1st Cavalry had the capability to maneuver their artillery aggressively on the battlefield to destroy the enemy and refused to allow difficult terrain to hinder delivering huge amounts of firepower upon enemy positions. 42nd SP = Self-propelled Unit Crest 14th Infantry Regiment Single. Nevertheless, division artillery commanders had difficulty locating moving units and coordinating supporting fires. Arriving at the 264th in Bad Kreuznach I started one of the best experience and times of my life. ! Contents 1 Lineage 2 Distinctive unit insignia 3 Coat of arms 4 Current configuration 5 Campaign participation credit 6 Decorations 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Lineage [ edit] After leaving Vietnam General Westmoreland criticized this routine vigorously when he admitted that artillery and air power had produced a firebase psychosis. Likewise, firepower succeeded only because the North Vietnamese stood and fought. Attached below the shield a Gold scroll inscribed FESTINA LENTE in Black letters. Taking hi3 argument even further, Kinnard insisted that the 1st Cavalry lured the enemy into battle by teasing it with a seemingly unprotected airmobile infantry battalion. Once the enemy struck, the 1st Cavalry hit it hard with massive artillery support.60 Simply stat- ed, the battles of Ia Drang vindicated the airmobile concept and showed the field artillerys capac- ity to provide close support in difficult terrain. Contact: Ron 1st Bn, 92nd Arty (155, T) 5th Bn, Rod Shaughnessy, 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery Most Btry's were comprised of 6 howitzers, which allowed them to be split and moved to different locations for support and defense of more units and even themselves. That night the North Vietnamese ferociously hit the 1/9 Cavalry. Other times we would go out from Giessen for 10 day periods as part of NATO exercises or just to practice maneuvers. 1st Bn, 30th Arty (155, T), 1st Bn, 8th Arty (105, T) My father, LTC Henry Ewell (Hank) Strickland, Jr. (deceased 12/20/2012) was commander of 6th Battalion, 9th Artillery (175 mm Self-Propelled howitzers) which was at Rivers Barracks in Giessen, Germany. 1st Bn, 83rd Arty (8-in/175) Pilots contacted ground units and then adjusted tube artillery on the fringes of the battle- field. There was a field behind the gun "parking lot" where there might have been one "kind of museum piece" 175mm SPH. Looking for your old artillery unit? Because of that, many commanders reluctantly operated beyond their artillery or tac- tical air support and refused to fight on equal terms with the enemy. I have adopted the outline format used by Major General David Ewing Ott in his book published by the Department of the Army in 1975 titled Vietnam Studies, Field Artillery 1954-1973. Normally, a raid included one 105-mm. I don't remember if I got to fire one. 11th Inf Bde (105, T) 5th Battalion, 38th Field Artillery, 2nd Infantry Division, [ Steel Behind the Rock ], Korea 1967. 2nd Bn, 9th Arty (105, T) I am uncertain whether this gun accompanied the 867th in its later deployment to Germany, referred to by some on your web site as "AWOL". *Estimated delivery dates - opens in a new window or tab include seller's handling time, origin ZIP Code, destination ZIP Code and time of acceptance and will depend on shipping service selected and receipt of cleared payment. Battalion, 27th Artillery (1) 18 Jan 56 to 1 May 56: Gun Platoon Commander, A Battery (2nd Gun Platoon) This transferred the authority to make key decisions from the battalion commander or higher to the battery commander. . Junction City culminated with the battles of Ap Bau Bang II, Suoi Tre, and Ap Gu. Because the Army wanted flexibility to shift experienced artillery officers easily between field and air defense artillery units, the command retained the integrated advanced course. 6th Bn, 84th Arty (155, T), 3rd Bn, 6th Arty (105, SP) We were protected by a battery of antiaircraft guns and a company of light infantry. Battery - 8/4th Artillery The units moved into pre-arranged positions around the Triangle to seal it off and attacked.82 As expected, main force Viet Cong units dispersed as the Americans and South Vietnamese pushed into the bastion. James Strange B Btry Their response was which corner. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. This created varying ways. By the early 1960s North Vietnam had a formidable army that had been organized, equipped, and trained alongChinese lines and that relied upon stealth and foot mobility. Rex G Welty, the Exec. Contact: From these positions located so that any point in the area of operations could be reached by at least one battery and usually two or more, the maneuver commander conducted offensive operations, while field artillery, ranging from 105-mm. For many Americans the offensive symbolized the senseless destruction of the war. This really made us feel like little soldiers - lol. After three weeks of heavy bombing and intensive artillery fire, the Americans and South Vietnamese finally liberated the city. Units, FIRST FIELD FORCE VIETNAM ARTILLERY I also drove a Gamma Goat. commands used in artillery fire missions The 42nd Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army, first Constituted 5 July 1918 in the National Army (USA). The 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery Regiment, was originally constituted on 5 July, 1918, in the National Army as Battery D, 42nd Field Artillery, an element of the 14th Division. That probably was a good thing because the winning team got a trip to the US to participate in the all army tournament. Gardner. Greg Lawson, just to name a few. 1st Bn, 92nd Arty (155, T) 41st Artillery Group The days were pretty much the same so we looked forward to being in the field. Most every one in the unit had at least two years of college and we were treated a little nicer that we expected. On the fifteenth the North Vietnamese repeatedly assaulted the Americans, Small arms fire became so intense that the forward observer from the most hard-pressed American company was pinned down and could not call in artillery fire. No way the Seventh Army was going to stop 65 tank divisions located across the Eastern Boarder in the Fulda Gap. We have extensive unit history, maps and information about the unit and the 155mm Howitzer, Towed. To compensate for the lack of firepower the North Vietnamese stressed rigorous discipline, tactical superiority, and careful preparation. At the direction of the Commanding General, Continental Army Command, the Artillery and Guided Missile School and the Air Defense School explored the desirability of dividing the artillery into two branches. At the end of the eight weeks a high percentage of the troops were assigned to the 264th FA Btl in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. Also, the war compelled the field artillery to adapt to fight a small-unit war, but it never abandoned its faith in massing fire. 2nd & 3rd Howitzer Batteries, 11th ACR. Early drifts towards this mentality started in Ia Drang and culminated in 1967. Fortunately, the artillery offcer located back at 1/7s command post could see the fighting, adjusted artillery fire, and directed aerial artillery attacks and tactical air strikes. Integrated basic and advanced officer courses, which had been initiated in 1947, had failed to provide officers with adequate preparation to serve effectively in either artillery.93 With support from the Armys Assistant Chief of Staff for Training, the Continental Army Command created basic courses for the two artilleries in 1957 but reintegrated basic officer training in 1958 through 1961 because of the lack of officers and money.94 In the meantime, the Continental Army Command retained the integrated artillery advanced course for officers with five to eight years of experience because of pressure to maintain flexibility in officer assignments. - 5th Battalion, 22nd Field Artillery (175mm Gun / 8-inch Howitzer) - 1st Battalion, 30th Field Artillery (155mm Howitzer, Towed . Bet you cant guess the name of the Battalion Commanders daughter. more army patches - click 165342093801 artillery groups were part of First Field Force Vietnam Artillery (IFFV Arty), in the 2 I agree with Charles Kelley. for your artillery unit Even though it was transported by heli- copter, tube artillery lacked sufficient mobility to respond to fast-moving situations. 8th Bn, 4th Arty (8-in/175) LOL, I often wondered how my old Army buddies turned out. The Vietnam Years After establishing a patrol base, it staked out ambushes to catch North Vietnamese units fleeing to safety. Unit Crest (We Support the Line) 29th Field Artillery Regiment. on the organization of Field Artillery in Vietnam. I came to Rivers Barracks while the whole post was at REFORGER, so it was basically empty. This happened in March in Germany which can be and was quite cold. gun, andcomplemented the revised 6400-mil firing chart. Among 24,500 men ordered to active duty in 88 units across the United States were 570 Kentucky Guardsmen and 750 Kentucky Air Guardsmen. in Vietnam in August 1972. You will be honored at the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC on September 9, 2016 by your brothers in arms who served with you in the 5th BN 42ND FA- we have never forgotten. 1st Bn, 82nd Arty (155, T/8-in, SP), 2nd Bn, 319th Arty (105, T) The 29th Infantry Division (29th ID), also known as the "Blue and Gray Division", is an infantry division of the United States Army based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.It is currently a formation of the U.S. Army National Guard and contains units from Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia.. 3rd Bn, 16th Arty (155, T) Battalion, 11th Artillery Contact: Charles Workman, 6th Battalion, 33rd Artillery The story was that the perimeter guard/patroller heard a rustle in the bushes, turned, and saw the tiger coming at him in mid air. Contact: To fire a 280mm cannon the exact quadrants of the gun were required by FDC. Of course we couldnt pass up a chance like this, after establishing contact with FDC we asked if they could hit the tower. howitzer battery, one understrength 155-mm. For a buck you could be a big shot and buy the section Lowenbraus all night. . Contact: Dave Holdorf, 3rd Battalion, 16th Artillery and 155-mm. The Rings lived in our apartment building (behind a motor pool which was at the Army shopping complex (PX, Snack Bar, Magazine store, Library, Movie Theatre, etc) which was located some distance from Rivers Barracks. Although search-and-destroy operations of late 1965 and early 1966 were successful, the Army still had difficulties protecting the countryside. Battalion, 14th Artillery [2] Become a fan. This demonstration of firepower along with small arms fire compelled the Viet Cong to withdraw. My father's executive officer was Major Lightner (?). 7th Bn, 9th Arty (105, T) Based on a number of criteria (like the mental health of the men that had been on a hot firebase for an extended amount of time and enemy activities) the swing battery could be swing for anywhere from 3 months to a year. By doing this FADAC greatly increased accuracy, decreased response time, and allowed gun crews to fire longer missions and hit more targets with less ammunition. This test culminated in the firing of the first atomic round at Frenchman's Flat firing range in Nevada, by the Officers and men (and one gun) of the 867th FA Bn. A few years ago I ran across a book entitled Private Presley by Andreas Schroer which documents Elviss years in Germany and I swear it is as good as a high school yearbook for memories. Be the contact person [2][3] To resolve that shortcoming field artillerymen airlifted the howitzers. Battalions are made up of Battery's and here again you will find flexibility as BN's expanded or contracted along with the need. 1st Bn, 77th Arty (105, T) You may have been within range of each other but this was not always the case one thing for certain, you were always on a "road march." Commanders located the enemy with infantry and then attacked with field artillery and air strikes. 108th Artillery Group. D. We were there from Fall 1966 - Feb/Mar 1968. 2nd Bn, 35th Arty (155, SP) Guidi, 6th Battalion, 84th Artillery The Army concurred with the recommendations and split the field artillery and air defense artillery into two distinct combat arms with their own training programs in 1968. After the Battle of Ia Drang, General Kinnard had nothing but praise for his field artillery. This combination broke the enemys attacks for the day. War I was 8 years old (3rd grade - 4th grade) at the time so my memories are not crystal clear. 8th Bn, 6th Arty (155/8-in, SP), 1st Bn, 8th Arty (105, T) After years of debate over the validity of consolidating field and air defense artillery, the war prompted the Army to recognize the existence of two artilleries and to make them independent of each other. AAA Vector Graphics - VIETNAM SERVICE > 5th Battalion, 42nd Artillery. I remember, in Giessen, we had to have two weeks worth of rations ready at home in case the Russians came in and we (dependents) had to bug out. 7th Bn, 15th Arty (8-in/175) Decades after he got back from Vietnam, he later told me he was moving 155mm howitzers around to different (mobile) firebases. The war in 1965-66, therefore, forced the field artillery to modify tactics and organization. Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund | 3033 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300 | Arlington VA 22201 | 202.393.0090 of three firing batteries. Contact: Stu Sears, Responsible for III Corps And Artillery 2nd Bn, 13th Arty (105, T) A memorandum for General Kalergis pointed out There is not [a] price tag in [on] the life of a US soldier, massive use of artillery, air and naval support will save US lives. In January of 1944, the Battalion fired its first round in the World War II at Oro Bay, New Guinea. Faircloth, 1st, B Battery fired the last US Army artillery round Share your o Army or Department of Defense. For the most part, 1/92nd was a 3 Firing Btry BN each with 6 - M114A1 - 155 mm Howitzers, lovingly referred to as "The Pig." Within twenty- four hours after the beginning of Tet, on 30 January 1968 Hanoi launched a series of attacks from the demilitarized zone to the southern tip of Vietnam. 2nd Bn, 94th Arty (175), 2nd Bn, 319th Arty (105, T) Garry Baxter, 2nd This article is about the US regiment. Vietnam changed this. Contact: The battle at X-Ray carried on over the next two days. Even though the Vietnam War demonstrated the Armys flexibility to move from its preoc- cupation with nuclear war to unconventional war, it also revealed the Armys growing reliance upon firepower. We were to fire one round from each gun to give the Russians something to think about, blow up the Breech blocks, and race like hell for the Spanish coast. Constituted 29 June 1918 in the Regular Army as the 1st Battalion, 42d Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps), Inactivated 17 August 1921 at Camp Eustis, Virginia, Redesignated 1 July 1924 as the 1st Battalion, 42d Coast Artillery, Reconstituted 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army; concurrently consolidated with the 42d Field Artillery Battalion (active) (see ANNEX) and consolidated unit designated as the 42d Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 4th Infantry Division, Relieved 1 April 1957 from assignment to the 4th Infantry Division; concurrently reorganized and redesignated as the 42d Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System, Redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 42d Field Artillery, Withdrawn 15 January 1996 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the United States Army Regimental System, Constituted 5 July 1918 in the National Army as the 42d Field Artillery and assigned to the 14th Division, Organized 10 August 1918 at Camp Custer, Michigan, Demobilized 7 February 1919 at Camp Custer, Michigan, Reconstituted 1 October 1933 in the Regular Army as the 42d Field Artillery, Redesignated 1 October 1940 as the 42d Field Artillery Battalion, assigned to the 4th Division (later redesignated as the 4th Infantry Division), and activated at Fort Benning, Georgia, Inactivated 16 February 1946 at Camp Butner, North Carolina, Activated 15 July 1947 at Fort Ord, California. When they finished we moved out and did a Rhine River crossing. If it were m What he wanted was all the discards from the C rations which the GIs usually had. In Summons of the Trumpet: US-Vietnam Perspective (1978), David R. Palmer, an advisor to the Vietnamese Military Academy and Vietnamese armor units during the Vietnam War, caught the essence of the transformation- of Army tactics caused by the drive for fire support. Since I had been there such a short time, I didnt know where we went to train. of Contact: We also had black & white Chevrolet station wagon which bit the dust (threw a rod) on the trip down to Munich in 1968. On the kamikaze issue, that would be gamey to me. 32nd Arty (8-in/175), 2nd Bn, 11th Arty (155, T) It was a short cut to our apartment complex. We then did a half hour of PT followed by a half hour of DD. Background:,The coat of arms was originally approved for the 42d Field Artillery Battalion on 7 May 1942. '68-'69, 3rd Battalion, 6th Artillery Russ Warriner, Battery When the wooden tower turned into toothpicks it took about three minutes for the French Army to disappear. Using this as protection, the Americans then pushed towards the North Vietnamese, who retreated. As you might expect, a number of these personnel turned out to be considerably less than desirable, and caused no end of problems. Because we all bought US Savings Bonds, which made the CO look good, we did not have to stand reville. As the fighting grew hotter, the 1st Cavalry quickly concentrated by using the helicopters mobility, defeated the North Vietnamese, and forced them to retreat. Even though the North Vietnamese did not achieve their objective, their ability to initiate such an offensive stimulated a great debate in the United States. Scarlet is the color used for Artillery. 5,558 Views, KING OF BATTLE: U.S. ARMYS FIeld Artillery in Vietnam. The scouts fired on the North Vietnamese. Based upon the report of the Army Officer Education and Review Board of 1958, the Continental Army Command reintroduced separate basic officer courses in 1962 because of the need for specialized training for new officers. 77th Artillery 12 midnight curfew and you had to wear Class As or a jacket and tie. I was sent to Camp (now Fort) Chaffee for my eight weeks of basic training. When I ETS'd & came home, my accent was thick, broken English! During the Vietnam conflict the following artillery units served at one time or is no relation between the contact person and website), 3rd fire capabilities and strengthened the requirement for mutually supporting bases. Photo below was submitted by Gordon Artillery Regiments were constituted on 8 March 1898, three weeks after the explosion of USS Maine in Havana, Cuba on 15 February 1898, as the United States' declaration of war on Spain . When we returned to Bad Kreuznach I was called to the Battery Commanders office. Shortly after I was there, orders came down to remove the names from the guns, so they were painted over. Contact: Ron 1st Bn, 27th Arty (155, SP) Towards the end of summer 1958 the Army switched to dollars and I remember waking up to hear women screaming along the depot fence. 8th Battalion, 25th He and his men trained at Fort Sill on the 105 mm towed howitzer. 2 talking about this. Rest in peace with the angels. I impacted some girl's forehead with my front teeth. On April 19, 1968, the 2d Battalion, 138th Field Artillery with units in Louisville, Bardstown, Elizabethtown and Carrollton, Kentucky were ordered to active duty by President Lyndon B. Johnson.