NDQSAAir Defense Artillery service during the Vietnam War
NDQSAThese NDQSA member stories were originally published on the old website. They were not part of those selected for the Heritage Page due to size and content. They are being shared again on the updated NDQSA.COM website to preserve them in perpetuity for family, historians, and all those interested in Air Defense in Vietnam and the men who served with those units. The Table of Contents identifies, whenever possible, the author, unit, time period, and location in Vietnam.
Morris Johnson’s trip from Dong Ha to Da Nang turns into a convoy of one. Well, no big deal – sounds like, but no convoy had gone from Dong Ha on the DMZ to Da Nang since the Tet offensive.
The VC gain a victory without firing a shot. Jim Sproles’ story about an event while getting ready to open a new fire base called Grant and were awaiting their turn to get airlifted.
On the job training takes on new meaning for Richard Shand at the Duster Compound during his baptism under fire. His total live fire training was four rounds on the Duster in a gravel pit.
Viewing Viet Cong bodies for the first time at FB Gray was a disquieting experience for Richard Shand.
Search and Rescue along the DMZ – Jim Perkins’ unique and human perspective.
Although no Club Med, a peaceful village offered some respite from the war.
Richard Shand, D/5/2. Our section of two Dusters helped to establish Bold, a remote fire support base in the midst of jungle near the Nui Chua Cham mountain south-east of Gia Ray (80 km NW of Saigon). We were the first Dusters to operate in this sector. We were expecting to be there only one week but our stay was extended at least twice. Morale was less than spectacular.
Richard Shand ponders whether death is the final reality. At Firebase Bold it seemed that we had disappeared into some forgotten part of the war.
Our section of Dusters supported three self-propelled 155’s who fired in support of allied operations against an NVA (North Vietnamese Army) division in the area. I was informed that the NVA had already attacked all the other allied bases in our vicinity. What follows is a somewhat rambling discourse about events at Bold.
Richard Shand’s journey into the heart of darkness at the edge of civilization in Feb 1970 as the prepared the way for the April incursion into Cambodia.
Glen Strohl’s account of serving as XO of Battery D, 6/71 from deployment in 1965, arrival aboard the Gaffey at Qui Nhon and establishing the company as the northern most Hawk battery on the Cam Ranh peninsula.
These NDQSA member reflections were originally published on the old website. They are not really stories from Vietnam but more like reflections about their time in Vietnam or the impact it had on them. In a couple cases they are external sourced items not written by NDQSA members but were on the archived website so cataloged here.
Louis Block’s impassioned account of how he rediscovered his brothers-in-arms.
Richard Shand’s reflections on his Fort Ord drill instructor at work teaching his trainees how to become effective fighting machines.
My letters home were edited versions of my experiences, purged of anything that might alarm my parents. They do, however, provide an accurate record of living conditions and non-combat related activities.
A collection of short stories about family, home, and reflection.
Sections of dusters (consisting of two vehicles) were often attached to allied units operating in III Corps. On numerous occasions I found myself working with Aussies, Kiwis and Thais as well as ARVN units. Living among the soldiers of a different culture could lead to unexpected surprises.
Years after I returned from Vietnam, I continued to dream that the war was not over and I had to go back for another tour of duty. This is one of those dreams with its own peculiar distortion of reality.
My first day as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, probably January 10, 1969
I traveled through the city several times on the way to and from fire support bases in the Delta. The following impressions show the strange unreality of a city that remained strangely detached from the fighting that surrounded it.
Richard Shand had the somewhat unique experience of being a Canadian in Vietnam. As a resident alien he was drafted and sent to Vietnam. While there he was told there were less than 100 like him. Years later that led to research into these anonymous warriors.
The photograph of that little girl is one of the most recognizable and gripping images of the war. The photograph, and the feeling it evokes, is at the very heart of the new memories of the event. The photo is an accurate depiction of about 1/500th of a second of the immediate aftermath of an all-Vietnamese accident in an all-Vietnamese fight in June of 1972, and it was originally reported that way, until twisted by manufactured details have changed the perception and altered the reported history of that tragedy.
Lest we forget…how then do we remember? How do we bring closure within ourselves, how do we honor those who did not come home, or came home broken and bent in both body and spirit?