Podcasts about easter offensive

Lt. Col. Tom Williams USMC (Ret.) - Doorsteps of Hell: The Arizona & Tropical Jungles 1969 -1970; The Heart of a Marine Series, Book 1. This is episode 721 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast. On 20 December 1944, Tom Williams was born Tom Collins in Savannah, GA. Abandonment by his biological father at the age of six months old, profoundly impacted Tom's early life causing his mother to farm him out to relatives while she worked to make a living for them both.  At the age of six years old, Tom's mother met and married U.S. Air Force Major Carl F. Williams Jr. This fortuitous marriage would bring about a radical change in Tom's life. As a military dependent, he immediately found himself traveling the world, living in foreign lands, learning about Ancient Roman history and archaeology, assimilating a basic conversance in the French, Arabic, and Japanese Languages, as well as being immersed in their respective cultures. After Tom's dad retired, his family moved to the Williams' ancestral homestead established in 1832, in Dooly County Georgia. Yet again, living, working, and learning to manage the family farm would have another major influence on Tom's future interests, especially regarding his love for the agrarian way of life.  From 1964-68 Tom attended North Georgia College (NGC) acquiring a BA degree in history and a minor in psychology and political science. He then attended the Marine Corps' Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Quantico, Va., where he set the Marine Corps' record of 52 seconds for the Obstacle Courses and was the Platoon Honor Man. He then completed The Basic School (TBS) for all newly commissioned Marine Corps 2nd lieutenants, also at Quantico, graduating in the top 10% of his class. Before leaving Quantico, Tom then attended and graduated from High Intensity Language Training (HILT) for Vietnamese.  As an infantry officer, Tom deployed as a 2nd lieutenant to Vietnam in 1969-70 where he commanded an infantry platoon in Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, followed by commanding a reconnaissance platoon as a 1st lieutenant in Alpha Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division.  Subsequent to this combat tour, Tom commanded the Shore Party Platoon at the 1st Marine Brigade, followed by commanding the 81mm Mortar Platoon in 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station, Hawaii. Twenty-five months later, on two days' notice, Tom was redeployed back to Vietnam, as a captain, where he served as a school trained aerial observer.  During this second combat deployment, Tom was imbedded with a Vietnamese O-1 Bird Dog squadron flying 183 combat missions from Hue Phu Bai Airfield, during the 1972 Easter Offensive. During his twenty-nine-year career, Tom participated in six amphibious deployments: four Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) and two Marine Expeditionary Brigades (MEBs). In 1976 as a school trained Communications Officer, he participated in the Non-Combat Evacuation Operation (NEO) of Beirut, Lebanon. In 1980-83, under secret orders, he was assigned as the regimental operations officer for developing the one-of-a-kind Mechanized Combined-Arms Task Force (MCATF), at Twenty-nine Palms, CA. In 1983-86, he was the Infantry Weapons Officer at Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) Washington, DC, responsible for replacing or improving all Marine Corps infantry weapons. From 1986-90, he was the Amphibious Operations Officer for Commander Sixth Fleet's NATO staff, Commander Striking Forces South (CSFS) in Naples, Italy, responsible for coordinating all NATO amphibious training exercises throughout the Mediterranean Sea. That was followed by his participation in the First Gulf War, 1990-91, as a G3 operations officer with I MEF HQ.  His last major active-duty assignment was as the G3 for the first Marine Component HQ to the European Command (EUCOM), in Stuttgart, Germany, 1993-96.  After retiring in 1997, he spent eleven years as a contract mentor and trainer, six years in Saudi Arabia (1998-06) and five years in Afghanistan (2006-12).  Currently, he lives an agrarian life on a 75-acre cattle property, Camelot, located on the Lamington Rain Forest Plateau in southeastern Queensland, Australia. He raises beef cattle, sells free-range eggs, and is a beekeeper, a gardener, and is developing his home into a Bed & Breakfast, while also writing a series of books, Heart of a Marine, in which he shares his Marine Corps experiences and his life's lessons learned. Our focus will be Col. Williams book series Heart of a Marine - Book 1 - Doorsteps of Hell: The Arizona & Tropical Jungles 1969-1970 Incredible book. Amazing conversation. So much to learn. Before you go... You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee. This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it.  Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you! You are AWESOME! Connect & Learn More: www.heartofamarineseries.com https://www.facebook.com/heartofamarineseries https://www.instagram.com/heartofamarineseries/ info@heartofamarineseries.com Length - 01:10:27

During the Vietnam War in 1972 Lt Col Hambleton was shot down during the Easter Offensive. One of the largest American rescue operations was sprung to get him back to friendly lines. Gene Hackman stars as Hambleton in this Hollywood retelling of the story, and Danny Glover of 'Lethal Weapon' fame co-stars as a Skymaster pilot tasked with getting him home. Where does Bat*21 rank in the Vietnam War genre? Join us to find out... Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/fighting-on-film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On January 27th, 1973 the U.S. signed a peace treaty that ended its war in Vietnam so Scott and Scott and Bob got together to discuss the last stages of the war, the peace treaty, and some of the lessons and legacies of Vietnam. The last phase of the war is not discussed as much as the earlier period, so we went into some detail about the last big battles of the war like the Easter Offensive. We discussed the background to negotiations before 1972 and the ways in which Kissinger and Nixon engaged in deceptive diplomacy--reneging on agreements and actually escalating the war. We also corrected the historical record on the so-called Christmas Bombings, which Americans have been told forced the North Vietnamese to make concessions and sign the peace treaty but in reality which were condemned globally and forced the U.S. to agree to terms which had been on the table much earlier. Finally we discussed the legacy of Vietnam, and pondered the questions "who actually won the Vietnam War?" ------------------------------------ Outro- "Green and Red Blues" by Moody Links// "A Christmas Tale, by Richard Nixon" https://afflictthecomfortable.org/201... Why Is There No Antiwar Movement? (https://bit.ly/3XBnsoA) The "Christmas bombing" of 1972 — and why that misremembered Vietnam War moment matters (http://bit.ly/3GDIsUA) Follow Green and Red// G&R Linktree: https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast https://greenandredpodcast.org/ Vietnam 50 Years Later Labor Podcast Network We've recently become a member of the Labor Podcast Network! Check them out here:https://www.laborradionetwork.org/ Support the Green and Red Podcast// Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast Or make a one time donation here: https://bit.ly/DonateGandR This is a Green and Red Podcast (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). “Green and Red Blues" by Moody. Editing by Scott.

Dr. Stephen Phillips interviews CDR David Bruhn, USN-Ret,to discuss his book, "On the Gunline: U.S. Navy and Royal Austrailian Navy Warships off Vietnam, 1965-1973." Bruhn relays how navy surface ships interdicted North Vietnamese logistics and supported U.S. Marines and soldiers ashore with gunfire support. Topics include the major operations such as Operation Market Time and Sea Dragon, the actions of participating ships like USS St Paul, USS New Jersey, USS Carronade, and USS Epperson, and details of North Vietnamese helicopter attacks on Navy patrol craft. CDR David Bruhn's website: http://davidbruhn.com/CDR David Bruhn's email: commanderbruhn@gmail.com  

Extraordinary Valor is the story of Special Forces Major John Duffy's Medal of Honor gallantry at Firebase Charlie, and the heroism of South Vietnamese paratrooper, Major Lê Văn Mễ, who fought by his side. It is the true story of their battle to defend Charlie Hill, a key to holding Vietnam's Central Highlands during North Vietnam's 1972 Easter Offensive. John Joseph Duffy was born in New York City; Le Van Mễ in a small village outside the old imperial capital of Hue in South Vietnam. Living on opposite sides of the globe, they come together in the heat of war in Southeast Asia when Major Duffy is assigned as the American advisor to the elite South Vietnamese 11th Airborne Battalion where Mễ is second in command. The battalion receives the order to “Fight to the Death” on Charlie Hill. After two weeks of intense combat, hundreds lay dead and those still standing are out of food, water, and medical supplies. Their ammunition is nearly gone. Duffy and Mễ draw on their bond of friendship and trust to make a selfless two-man last stand against the final North Vietnamese human wave assault. Both are badly wounded, Duffy multiple times. Their heroic action allows 36 members of the 471-man battalion to escape and be rescued. The rest are killed, captured, or missing in action. William Reeder enlisted in the Army in 1965.  He had two tours of duty in Vietnam flying OV-1 Mohawk reconnaissance airplanes and AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters. On his second combat tour, he was shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese, spending nearly a year as a prisoner of war. Through the Valley is his memoir of that experience. Deanne Bonner Simpson, counselor at Legal Help for Veterans, reviews the PACT ACT.

The conga player and Vietnam veteran has led a life of service both in and out of the military. As a door gunner with the 1st Air Cavalry, he joined those throughout the ages willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. The Troubled Men are awed as Rosie recounts his mythic life. Topics include the Norfolk Bayou Boogaloo, a D.C. gig, Hawaii, cousins, smoking Kools, a George Porter encounter, local stupidity, Zion Williamson, a 2nd booster, Ray Liotta RIP, a pistol whipping, “GoodFellas,” “Something Wild,” DeNiro, a kidnapping, a musician father, a maestro grandfather, a seminary expulsion, the Celebration of Life festival, a draft notice, enlistment, Vietnam deployment, the Easter Offensive of ’72, “The Deer Hunter,” “Apocalypse Now,” “Platoon,” death cards, coming home, troubled vets, Mardi Gras ’73, Professor Longhair, volunteer work, art therapy, and much more. Intro music: Styler/Coman Break music: "Summer Samba" by Walter Wanderley Outro music: "Galveston" by Glen Campbell Support the podcast: Paypal or Venmo Join the Patreon page here. Shop for Troubled Men’s Shirts here. Subscribe, review, and rate (5 stars) on Apple Podcasts or any podcast source. Follow on social media, share with friends, and spread the Troubled Word. Troubled Men Podcast Facebook Troubled Men Podcast Instagram Iguanas Tour Dates René Coman Facebook Rosie Rosato Facebook

In the sixth episode of our series on Vietnam, the boys speak with Sean Fear, lecturer in international history at the University of Leeds, about the last stages of the American War in Vietnam. They talk about the political situation in North and South Vietnam in the early 1970s, U.S. bombing campaigns, the peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam, the Easter Offensive, the Paris Peace Accords, the final fall of South Vietnam, and more. Become a patron! www.patreon.com/americanprestige

Jim Willbanks is one of the most interesting military historians you'll come across. Born in Texas and a graduate of “that school” in College Station, Jim was commissioned as a young lieutenant through ROTC at Texas A&M University. He not long after found himself as an advisor with an ARVN regiment in South Vietnam during the 1972 Easter Offensive, during which he was wounded and decorated for heroism under fire. He spent twenty-three years in the Army, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. His decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with “V” and Oak Leaf Cluster, two Purple Hearts, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with two Silver Stars. If that wasn't enough, Jim graduated from the Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) with honors, then was selected for the inaugural class of the new Army School for Advanced Military Studies (SAMS). He earned a Ph.D. in history at the University of Kansas, beginning a long and distinguished career as a military historian and instructor in military history at CGSC, where he also served as head of the Department of Military History for several years. Jim is the author or editor of fourteen books, including A Raid Too Far (Texas A&M Press, 2014), Abandoning Vietnam (University Press of Kansas, 2004), The Battle of An Loc (Indiana University Press, 2005), The Tet Offensive: A Concise History (Columbia University Press, 2006), and most recently Danger 79er: The Life and Times of Lieutenant General James F. Hollingsworth (Texas A&M Press, 2018). A dedicated servant of the military history profession, Jim served on the Board of Trustees for the Society for Military History, the Board of Editors for the Journal of Military History, and is on the Editorial Board for Modern War Studies at the University Press of Kansas. He and his work have been highlighted in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, US News & World Report, Wall Street Journal, Army Times, Stars and Stripes, and PBS, where he consulted and appeared in Ken Burns' Vietnam series. Now retired, Jim remains as active in the profession as ever and is Aggie as ever. We'll chat with Jim about being a veteran of the war he now studies, working with Ken Burns, and the value of history in professional military education. Join us! Rec. 11/04/2021

On June 29, the second day of the counteroffensive, an OV-10 flown by Air Force Capt. Steven L. Bennett had been working through the afternoon in the area south and east of Quang Tri City. Bennett, 26, was born in Texas but grew up in Lafayette, La. He was commissioned via ROTC in 1968 at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. After pilot training, he had flown B-52s as a copilot at Fairchild AFB, Wash. He also had pulled five months of temporary duty in B-52s at U Tapao in Thailand. After that, he volunteered for a combat tour in OV-10s and had arrived at Da Nang in April 1972. Bennett's partner in the backseat of the OV-10 on June 29 was Capt. Michael B. Brown, a Marine Corps airborne artillery observer and also a Texan. Brown, a company commander stationed in Hawaii, had volunteered for a 90-day tour in Vietnam spotting for naval gunners from the backseat of an OV-10. Air Force FACs were not trained in directing the fire of naval guns. The two had flown together several times before on artillery adjustment missions. They had separate call signs. Bennett's was “Covey 87.” Brown was “Wolfman 45.” They took off from Da Nang at about 3 p.m. During the time they were airborne, Brown had been directing fire from the destroyer USS R.B. Anderson and the cruiser USS Newport News, which were about a mile offshore in the Tonkin Gulf. Bennett and Brown had also worked two close air support strikes by Navy fighters. It was almost time to return to base, but their relief was late taking off from Da Nang, so Bennett and Brown stayed a little longer. The area in which they were flying that afternoon had been fought over many times before. French military forces, who took heavy casualties here in the 1950s, called the stretch of Route 1 between Quang Tri and Hue the “Street Without Joy.” US airmen called it “SAM-7 Alley.” SA-7s were thick on the ground there, and they had taken a deadly toll on low-flying airplanes. The SA-7 could be carried by one man. It was similar to the US Redeye. It was fired from the shoulder like a bazooka, and its warhead homed on any source of heat, such as an aircraft engine. Pilots could outrun or outmaneuver the SA-7—if they saw it in time. At low altitudes, that was seldom possible. “Before the SA-7, the FACs mostly flew at 1,500 to 4,500 feet,” said William J. Begert, who, in 1972, was a captain and an O-2 pilot at Da Nang. “After the SA-7, it was 9,500 feet minimum. You could sneak an O-2 down to 6,500, but not an OV-10, because the bigger engines on OV-10 generated more heat.” The FACs sometimes carried flares on their wings and could fire them as decoys when they saw a SA-7 launch. “The problem was reaction time,” Begert said. “You seldom got the flare off before the missile had passed.” About 6 p.m., Bennett and Brown got an emergency call from “Harmony X-ray,” a US Marine Corps ground artillery spotter with a platoon of South Vietnamese marines a few miles east of Quang Tri City. The platoon consisted of about two dozen troops. They were at the fork of a creek, with several hundred North Vietnamese Army regulars advancing toward them. The NVA force was supported by big 130 mm guns, firing from 12 miles to the north at Dong Ha, as well as by smaller artillery closer by. Without help, the South Vietnamese marines would soon be overrun. Bennett called for tactical air support, but no fighters were available. The guns from Anderson and Newport News were not a solution, either. “The ships were about a mile offshore, and the friendlies were between the bad guys and the ships,” Brown said. “Naval gunfire shoots flat, and it has a long spread on impact. There was about a 50-50 chance they'd hit the friendlies.” Bennett decided to attack with the OV-10's four 7.62 mm guns. That meant he would have to descend from a relatively safe altitude and put his aircraft within range of SA-7s and small-arms fire. Because of the risk, Bennett was required to call for permission first. He did and got approval to go ahead. Apart from its employment as a FAC aircraft, the OV-10 was rated for a light ground attack role. Its machine guns were loaded with 500 rounds each. The guns were mounted in the aircraft's sponsons, stubby wings that stuck out like a seal's flippers from the lower fuselage. Bennett put the OV-10 into a power dive. The NVA force had been gathering in the trees along the creek bank. As Bennett roared by, the fire from his guns scattered the enemy concentration. After four strafing passes, the NVA began to retreat, leaving many dead and wounded behind. The OV-10 had taken a few hits in the fuselage from small-arms fire but nothing serious. Bennett decided to continue the attack to keep the NVA from regrouping and to allow the South Vietnamese to move to a more tenable position. Bennett swept along the creek for a fifth time and pulled out to the northeast. He was at 2,000 feet, banking to turn left, when the SA-7 hit from behind. Neither Bennett nor Brown saw it. The missile hit the left engine and exploded. The aircraft reeled from the impact. Shrapnel tore holes in the canopy. Much of the left engine was gone. The left landing gear was hanging down like a lame leg, and they were afire. Bennett needed to jettison the reserve fuel tank and the remaining smoke rockets as soon as he could, but there were South Vietnamese troops everywhere below. He headed for the Tonkin Gulf, hoping to get there and drop the stores before the fire reached the fuel. As they went, Brown radioed their Mayday to declare the emergency. Over the Gulf, Bennett safely dropped the fuel tank and rocket pods. The OV-10 was still flyable on one engine, although it could not gain altitude. They turned south, flying at 600 feet. Unless Bennett could reach a friendly airfield for an emergency landing, he and Brown would have to either eject or ditch the airplane in the Gulf of Tonkin. Every OV-10 pilot knew the danger of ditching. The aircraft had superb visibility because of the “greenhouse”-style expanses of plexiglass canopy in front and on the sides, but that came at the cost of structural strength. It was common knowledge, often discussed in the squadron, that no pilot had ever survived an OV-10 ditching. The cockpit always broke up on impact. Another OV-10 pilot, escorting Bennett's aircraft, warned him to eject as the wing was in danger of exploding. They began preparations to eject. As they did, Brown looked over his shoulder at the spot where his parachute should have been. “What I saw was a hole, about a foot square, from the rocket blast and bits of my parachute shredded up and down the cargo bay,” Brown said. “I told Steve I couldn't jump.” Bennett would not eject alone. That would have left Brown in an airplane without a pilot. Besides, the backseater had to eject first. If not, he would be burned severely by the rocket motors on the pilot's ejection seat as it went out. Momentarily, there was hope. The fire subsided. Da Nang—the nearest runway that could be foamed down—was only 25 minutes away and they had the fuel to get there. Then, just north of Hue, the fire fanned up again and started to spread. The aircraft was dangerously close to exploding. They couldn't make it to Da Nang. Bennett couldn't eject without killing Brown. That left only one choice: to crash-land in the sea. Bennett faced a decision, Lt. Col. Gabriel A. Kardong, 20th TASS commander, later wrote in recommending Bennett for the Medal of Honor. “He knew that if he saved his own life by ejecting from his aircraft, Captain Brown would face certain death,” said Kardong. “On the other hand, he realized that if he ditched the aircraft, his odds for survival were slim, due to the characteristics of the aircraft, but Captain Brown could survive. Captain Bennett made the decision to ditch and thereby made the ultimate sacrifice.” He decided to ditch about a mile off a strip of sand called “Wunder Beach.” Upon touchdown, the dangling landing gear dug in hard. “When the aircraft struck water, the damaged and extended left landing gear caused the aircraft to swerve left and flip wing over wing and come to rest in a nose down and inverted position, almost totally submerged,” Brown said in a statement attached to the Medal of Honor recommendation. “After a struggle with my harnesses, I managed to escape to the surface where I took a few deep breaths of air and attempted to dive below the surface in search of the pilot who had not surfaced. Exhaustion and ingestion of fuel and water prevented me from descending below water more than a few feet. I was shortly rescued by an orbiting naval helicopter and taken to the USS Tripoli for treatment.” Of Bennett, Brown said, “His personal disregard for his own life surely saved mine when he elected not to eject … and save himself in order that I might survive.” Bennett's body was recovered the next day. The front cockpit had broken up on impact with the water, and it had been impossible for him to get out. He was taken home to Lafayette, where he is buried. North Vietnam's Easter Offensive, battered by airpower, stalled. The South Vietnamese retook Quang Tri City on Sept. 16, 1972. The invasion having failed, Giap was forced to withdraw on all three fronts. It was a costly excursion for North Vietnam, with 100,000 or more of its troops killed and at least half of its tanks and large-caliber artillery pieces having been lost. The Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously to Steven L. Bennett on Aug. 8, 1974. It was presented in Washington to his wife, Linda, and their daughter Angela, two-and-a- half years old, by Vice President Gerald R. Ford in the name of Congress. (Ford made the presentation because President Nixon announced his resignation that day. Ford was sworn in as President the next day, Aug. 9, 1974.) The citation accompanying the Medal of Honor recognized “Captain Bennett's unparalleled concern for his companion, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his life.” Since then, there have been other honors. Navy Sealift Command named a ship MV Steven L. Bennett. Palestine, Tex., where Bennett was born, dedicated the city athletic center to him. Among other facilities named for or dedicated to Bennett were the ROTC building at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, the gymnasium at Kelly AFB, Tex., and a cafeteria at Webb AFB, Tex. From Wiki.org: Steven Logan Bennett (April 22, 1946 – June 29, 1972) of Palestine, Texas was a United States Air Force pilot who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Vietnam War on August 8, 1974 Prior to entering the U.S. Air Force, Steven Bennett attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in Lafayette, Louisiana; he graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. He was in ROTC and received his private pilot's license in 1965. He entered the Air Force in August 1968, and earned his pilot wings at Webb AFB, Texas in 1969. In 1970, he completed B-52 bomber training course at Castle AFB, CA. He was stationed at Fairchild AFB, Washington. He flew B-52s out of Thailand for almost a year. He then transitioned to become a Forward Air Controller (FAC), and graduated from the FAC and fighter training courses at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, before reporting to Da Nang, Vietnam in April 1972. He had only been in combat for three months before his Medal of Honor mission and had also won the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. He was also awarded the Purple Heart and the Cheny Award. His call-sign at DaNang was Covey 87. Bennett had recently turned 26 when he was killed. Captain Bennett was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Vice President Gerald Ford presented the decoration to Captain Bennett's wife, Linda, and daughter, Angela, at the Blair House on August 8, 1974. Bennett is buried in Lafayette Memorial Cemetery at Lafayette, Louisiana. He was survived by his wife and one child. He had two brothers, David and Miles, and three sisters, Kathe, Lynne and Ardra. His mother, Edith Alice Logan Bennett, preceded him in death and his father, Elwin Bennett, died many years later in 2006. His daughter now lives near Dallas, TX with her husband, Paul, and two children, Jake and Elizabeth. His wife, Linda Leveque Bennett Wells, died on July 11, 2011. Bennett's observer, Mike Brown, and was reunited with Bennett's wife and daughter in 1988. They have since remained close and together have attended numerous dedications in Bennett's honor throughout the United States. Angela is a lifetime member of the OV-10 Association located at Meacham Air Field in Fort Worth, Texas. They have acquired an OV-10 and painted the names of both Bennett and Mike Brown on the side in memory of their last flight together. Angela was named by her father, who chose Angela Noelle, as in Christmas Angel; she was born near Christmas. He is the namesake of the ship MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett (T-AK-4296) and his name is engraved on the Vietnam Memorial at Panel 01W - Row 051. There have been numerous other dedications done in his honor. They range from streets being named after him to buildings, including a gymnasium and a cafeteria, a sports arena and VFW posts, and many monuments. He has been mentioned in several military history books. Medal of Honor citation The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to CAPTAIN STEVEN L. BENNETT UNITED STATES AIR FORCE 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron, Pacific Air Forces. Place and date of action: Quang Tri, Republic of Vietnam, June 29, 1972. For service as set forth in the following Citation: Capt. Bennett was the pilot of a light aircraft flying an artillery adjustment mission along a heavily defended segment of route structure. A large concentration of enemy troops was massing for an attack on a friendly unit. Capt. Bennett requested tactical air support but was advised that none was available. He also requested artillery support but this too was denied due to the close proximity of friendly troops to the target. Capt. Bennett was determined to aid the endangered unit and elected to strafe the hostile positions. After 4 such passes, the enemy force began to retreat. Capt. Bennett continued the attack, but, as he completed his fifth strafing pass, his aircraft was struck by a surface-to-air missile, which severely damaged the left engine and the left main landing gear. As fire spread in the left engine, Capt. Bennett realized that recovery at a friendly airfield was impossible. He instructed his observer to prepare for an ejection, but was informed by the observer that his parachute had been shredded by the force of the impacting missile. Although Capt. Bennett had a good parachute, he knew that if he ejected, the observer would have no chance of survival. With complete disregard for his own life, Capt. Bennett elected to ditch the aircraft into the Gulf of Tonkin, even though he realized that a pilot of this type aircraft had never survived a ditching. The ensuing impact upon the water caused the aircraft to cartwheel and severely damaged the front cockpit, making escape for Capt. Bennett impossible. The observer successfully made his way out of the aircraft and was rescued. Capt. Bennett's unparalleled concern for his companion, extraordinary heroism and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Air Force.

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was a highly classified, multi-service United States special operations unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War. Established on 24 January 1964, the unit conducted strategic reconnaissance missions in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), Laos, and Cambodia; carried out the capture of enemy prisoners, rescued downed pilots, conducted rescue operations to retrieve prisoners of war throughout Southeast Asia, and conducted clandestine agent team activities and psychological operations. The unit participated in most of the significant campaigns of the Vietnam War, including the Gulf of Tonkin incident which precipitated increased American involvement, Operation Steel Tiger, Operation Tiger Hound, the Tet Offensive, Operation Commando Hunt, the Cambodian Campaign, Operation Lam Son 719, and the Easter Offensive. The unit was downsized and renamed Strategic Technical Directorate Assistance Team 158 on 1 May 1972, to support the transfer of its work to the Strategic Technical Directorate of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam – part of the Vietnamization effort. Contact: https://twitter.com/jamesonstravels https://www.instagram.com/jamesons.travels https://jamesonstravels.com/ Podcast -https://anchor.fm/jamesonstravels Blog: https://jamesonstravels.com/ Discord: https://discord.gg/MsmaCyj Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/jamesonstravels Support the channel: *  Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/jamesonstravels *  Paypal - https://Paypal.me/jamesonstravels *  Channel Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/jamesons-travels *  Free Trial - AudioBook by Audible - https://amzn.to/2YrR4Jp *  Free Trial - Prime Video - https://amzn.to/35dELlA *  Free Trial - https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/6uiakp/ *  Ebay - https://tinyurl.com/ycnfkqjd *  Ecamm - https://www.ecamm.com/mac/ecammlive/?fp_ref=jamesonstravels *  Cigar of the Day - https://tinyurl.com/y8z6hraa Amazon Affiliate Link - https://amzn.to/3gVnlzq DISCLAIMER: I participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting Jameson's Travels. *Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jamesonstravels/support

"Jesus, Mary, Get me there!" This was the prayer shouted by Col. John Ripley as he laid his demolition charges under the bridge at Dong Ha. He handwalked under the bridge miraculously avoiding commie red tracer rounds that the North Vietnamese shot at him from accross the river. The bridge was the only way the had to continue their Easter Offensive and they weren't playing around. How could this bloody mess of a Marine possibly manage to keep going and avoid there fire? You and I know the answer, but the commies learned the hard way that day. Listen to the full story of Marine Corps legend, Col. John W. Ripley. My website: https://catholic-mens-podcast.pinecast.co/ Leave me a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/CatholicMensPodcast Email me at: michaelsword7@gmail.com Attributions: Hero Down by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100880 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Impending Boom by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100198 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Crusade - Video Classica by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100884 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Cambodian Odyssey by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100585 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Firesong by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100598 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ An Upsetting Theme - The Descent by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100333 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Today's guest is Stephan Talty, author of the new book, SAVING BRAVO, which comes out October 30. Talty tells the never-before-told story of one of the greatest rescue missions not just of the Vietnam War, but the entire Cold War.In 1972, the Vietnam War was a lost cause. Public support in the US had cratered; the soldiers and airmen who returned home were called “mercenaries” and their cars were keyed on Air Force bases. Nixon was searching for a way to leave the battlefield, but thousands of Americans were still fighting for their lives, grasping for some meaning to their service. At the time, few American airmen were more valuable than Lt. Colonel Gene Hambleton. He carried highly classified information and knew secrets about cutting-edge missile technology that didn’t just concern Vietnam but could change the course of the Cold War itself. When Hambleton was shot down behind enemy lines amid North Vietnam’s Easter Offensive, he was left to lie and wait to be rescued in the middle of one of the fiercest ground battles since WW2. With time running out on the hallucinating and half-starved American, his fellow airmen would have to find a way to extract him from a flood of 30,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. It was a rescue mission that, for a moment, put a halt to the US’s futile fight in the war. Vietnam was for many a war without heroes. But the eleven men who went after Hambleton gave their lives for a higher cause. Drawing from access to unpublished papers and interviews with the families of those lost in the mission—many of whom are still waiting for the remains of their loved ones, and answers they feel the government owes them—Talty reveals a remarkable story of bravery, compassion, and humanity, one that will speak to all of us struggling to make sense of an anxious and uncertain time. In addition to its release in October, the book has also just been optioned for film by 20th Century Fox.

"Siege at An Loc" concludes as Ed Marks continues to experience the 1972 Easter Offensive in a story by Don Lomax and Wayne Vansant. Plus, we continue to go "Stateside," this time catching up with Sgt. Poklow from the original run of the series. I also have a look at season 3 of China Beach.

"Siege at An Loc" concludes as Ed Marks continues to experience the 1972 Easter Offensive in a story by Don Lomax and Wayne Vansant. Plus, we continue to go "Stateside," this time catching up with Sgt. Poklow from the original run of the series. I also have a look at season 3 of China Beach.

Ed Marks goes deep into the Easter Offensive of April 1972 in part one of the two-part "Siege at An Loc" storyline by Don Lomax and Wayne Vansant. Plus, a backup story called "Stateside" begins as we take a look at what happened to the boys from the fifth batallion (from all the way back at the beginning of the series) as they live their lives back home. And I also continue my look at China Beach with season 2.

Ed Marks goes deep into the Easter Offensive of April 1972 in part one of the two-part "Siege at An Loc" storyline by Don Lomax and Wayne Vansant. Plus, a backup story called "Stateside" begins as we take a look at what happened to the boys from the fifth batallion (from all the way back at the beginning of the series) as they live their lives back home. And I also continue my look at China Beach with season 2.

November 15, 2017 - Dr. William S. Reeder, Jr., Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired) In 1972, as the Paris Peace Accords drew to a conclusion, young William Reeder, Jr. was a Captain in the U.S. Army, assigned to an AH-1G Cobra Attack Helicopter in Vietnam. For many servicemen and women, the Vietnam War was over for the U.S. military. Reeder was afraid he missed the opportunity to see combat as a Cobra gunship pilot. The North Vietnamese had other plans, however, and the Easter Offensive changed Reeder's life forever. On Wednesday, November 15, 2017, Dr. William S. Reeder will present a lecture at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC) in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, describing how fighting in the spring of 1972 led to his capture while defending the American base at Ben Het in Vietnam, and how he survived the horrifying ordeal of being a POW in Vietnam. For video of the USHAEC's podcasts, or to learn more about the USAHEC, find education support for teachers, researchers, and soldiers, or to find more programs at the USAHEC, please visit our website at www.usahec.org.

The War of the Lamb Against the Prince of This World: An Interview With Adam Storey About Christ's Easter Offensive and the Resurrection. Adam Storey is the Vice Chancellor and Director Marriage and Family Life Office at Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines. We talk to him not only about how "militant imagery" surrounding Easter in the Early Church strikes him as a combat veteran, but what such imagery has to say about how we should celebrate Easter, along with hot takes regarding Ham intake during the Octave and pot shots at Easter Eggs. Also: a one of the greatest great moments

Southeast Asia War Gallery