I never
served in Vietnam but I know many former members of the military who did...and
who suffered from it or still suffer from their serving in this most thankless
American conflict.
This
exhibit is a new addition for visitors to explore while visiting Patriot’s
Point many points of interest. I guess
that this vignette of life for our troops in Vietnam is an ‘experience’ for
visitors…but to those who served in combat in Southeast Asia this was a tragic
war with no positive outcome. Worse yet,
our veterans of this war were reviled by many and their service and needs were
ignored by most citizens as well as by our government when they returned.
In the
last few years, Vietnam Veterans have finally received some respect and
heartfelt thanks for all of their sacrifices.
The first thing that visitors see as they approach the Vietnam
Experience is this memorial with the dog tags for the 895 South Carolinians who
died in the War. We thought that this
simple memorial was very moving and meaningful.
Also on
display near the main display at the Vietnam Experience is this, the most
ubiquitous aircraft from that war. The
Bell HU-1M “Huey” served in a plethora of roles, from medevac to gunship. A total of 7,023 Huey’s saw action during the
war with 3,305 of them being destroyed.
1,705 Huey pilots and 1,103 other crew members died in war.
Staff
members for Patriot’s Point Naval and Maritime Museum realized that this Huey (UH-1C
66-15005) had served in the Vietnam War and that during that time, a veteran
had been killed in action aboard the aircraft.
The fallen hero was Kenneth M. Plavcan, a gunner in the 116th Assault
Helicopter Company, 3rd Gun Platoon (“Stingers”). This display is dedicated to his memory and
his service…
This is
a rare surviving US Navy Mark 1 Patrol Boat River (PBR) The Navy used small
craft such as this in their efforts to control the rivers and estuaries
throughout the Mekong Delta. At the
height of their use, about 250 were in service during the Vietnam War.
With a
fiberglass hull and a water jet drive, these boats could reach speeds of about
30 mph and they were very maneuverable.
In addition to individual small arms, these boats had a twin 50 caliber
machine gun forward and a single 50 aft.
Later versions also were equipped with a 40mm Mk. 19 grenade
launcher. They were not armored and
relied on speed to escape nasty situations…
Note:
· James Elliott Williams was a sailor of the
United States Navy during the 1950s and 1960s. He was the most highly decorated enlisted man
in the history of the United States Navy, among which is a Medal of Honor. This “Brown Water Navy exhibit” is dedicated
to him. The US Navy Destroyer, USS James
E. Williams was also named in his honor.
To learn more about Chief Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Williams and his
success with his Patrol Boats against the Viet Cong in the Mekong Delta, go to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._Williams.
The
overall concept or goal of the Vietnam Experience is to use state-of-the art
technology and artifacts to give visitors the ‘feel’ of what it was like to
live and work in a US Navy Advanced Tactical Support Base (Brown Water Navy)
and a US Marine Corps Artillery Firebase during the Tet Offensive and the
Battle of Khe Sahn in 1968.
The “base”
includes vehicles, aircraft, an observation watchtower, barracks, mess hall,
medical facility, command center, storage, ammunition dump, different bunkers,
sound effects, etc.
This is
one of the bunkers on the 2.5 acre Vietnam Experience base.
Photos
of the interior of the buildings just didn’t come out well. While it’s hard to imagine the mud, insects,
misery, as well as death and injury, one of the huts/bunkers featured a
combined video and sound production complete with explosions, ground shaking,
etc., in an attempt to give visitors the feeling of what it would have been
like at the base during a major assault.
It was not a good feeling…and it did get our attention!
Visitors
could climb up into the observation tower and ‘fire’ the 50 caliber machine gun
at imaginary enemy forces. For my taste,
that position/duty station is a little exposed from the waist up! The observer would be the best and most
obvious target during an attack. Those
sandbags just wouldn’t do the trick…at least in my mind!
This
Kaiser Jeep M725 is on display in the combined Naval/Marine base. It’s a version of the basic Kaiser Jeep 715
model. Between 1967 and 1969, over
33,000 trucks mostly small ones like this were produced for the military. This ambulance could carry up to 5
stretchers…
The
Battle of Khe Sahn was a long and bloody struggle. It lasted from January 21 through July 9,
1968! During this long battle, the Khe
Sahn Combat Base and the hilltop outposts around it were surrounded and under
constant North Vietnamese ground, artillery, mortar, and rocket attacks. A total of 274 Americans were killed in this
battle and another 2,541 were wounded. (Given the intensity of the battle, it’s
a wonder that many more of our soldiers weren’t killed) Khe Sahn was eventually
relieved by additional forces and then we withdrew from the area. Thousands of North Vietnamese and American
allied soldiers were also killed in this struggle…
This is
another Bell UH-1 “Huey”. This one is
set up in MEDEVAC mode. Typically, the
crew consisted of 2 pilots, a medic and a crew chief. Thanks to helicopters like this one, the
average time to get a wounded soldier to medical support was about 35 minutes…
MEDVAC
helicopters were kept very busy during the war with brave crews risking their
lives over and over again to rescue wounded US and allied military
personnel. A total of 58,307 American
military personnel were killed in action in this war with another 303,644
wounded.
Note:
· All wars are tragic and Vietnam was no
exception. The war started with the
French fighting the Vietnamese Nationalists back in 1955. The war ended with America’s withdrawal in
1975…20 years of fighting. Estimated war
dead, civilian and military from both sides of the USA’s portion of the
conflict have been estimated to be as high as 3,806,000!
This
gun emplacement would have been pretty standard. The weapon is a M101 A1 Howitzer. These standard light towed cannons/howitzers
saw plenty of service beginning in World War II on through Vietnam. The cannon fires a 105 mm that sends a 33
pound projectile up to 8 miles…
Note:
· It is estimated that the USA and the South
Vietnamese Army fired over 7,000,000 tons (or 14,000,000,000 pounds) of
artillery shells at the enemy during the war!
This is
an M-42 “Duster”. This tracked
self-propelled unit was developed for the Korean War and it was equipped as a
mobile anti-aircraft platform. Since the
aerial threat never materialized in Vietnam, these vehicles were used on ground
support missions. The enemy referred to
them as “Fire Dragons”.
About
3,700 M-42 Dusters were built.
The "Duster" had a crew of 6 and weighs 49,500 lbs. fully loaded. Maximum speed is 45 mph with a range of 100
miles. The primary armament consists of
fully automatic twin 40 mm M2A1 Bofors cannon that can shoot 240 rounds per
minute… Due to minimal air threats, most often the M42 provided ‘on point’
security, convoy escort or perimeter defense as shown in this exhibit.
The
Boeing Vertol tandem rotor CH-46 Sea Knight medium assault transport helicopter
was introduced to the US Marine Corp in 1964.
In addition to troop or cargo transport, it was also used as a MEDEVAC
unit. In that role, it could transport
15 wounded and 2 medical corpsmen. As a
troop transport, it could carry 24 fully equipped soldiers…
A total
of 524 CH-46 helicopters were built. At
least 100 of them were lost in action in Vietnam. They conducted 200,000 missions and carried
roughly 500,000 troops during the war.
These helicopters were not retired from the US Marine Corp until late
2014.
Note:
· Raymond Michael Clausen Jr. was a United
States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam in January
1970. On a mission to rescue Marines trapped in a minefield and under attack by
enemy, under heavy enemy fire Clausen repeatedly left the shelter of the Sea
Knight, carrying out one dead and eleven wounded Marines…making six trips
through the minefield until every Marine was extracted.
This Sikorsky
UH-34D “Seahorse” helicopter is also on display within the base camp. Originally developed as an anti-submarine
helicopter for the US Navy, the “Seahorse” first flew in 1954. During the early part of the Vietnam War, US
Marines frequently used this aircraft for combat assault and other duties. It could transport 18 fully equipped troops
or 8 stretchers. In other
configurations, this helicopter was also named the “Choctaw”.
A total
of 2,108 variations of the UH-34 were built over a 17 year period. This was the last piston-engined helicopter
to be operated by the Marine Corps. This
helicopter served with 25 different country’s armed forces around the world…on
every continent.
The
Vietnam Experience is a different type of memorial than the usual, that’s for
sure. It’s an attempt to give civilians
a sense of what it was like for our military personnel during the Vietnam
War. It’s too clean and too pristine to
truly represent the hell that that conflict was for our troops. It does give one the feel of what a base might
look like and what living there was like.
Of course, it’s missing the jungle, dampness, bugs and mud...not to
mention the danger.
For us
the key experience was watching the film, feeling the explosions and hearing
the voices in the bunker with other visitors. Scary stuff!
No matter how one feels about the politics and the outcome of the Vietnam
War, our warriors deserve our thanks and gratitude!
Note:
· A total of 257 Medals of Honor were awarded
to members of the United States Military Services based on service during the
Vietnam War…about 162 of them posthumously.
In addition, over 1,000 Distinguished Services Crosses were awarded…400
posthumously.
For
more on Patriot’s Point and its exhibits, you can go to www.PatriotsPoint.org. We’d highly recommend a visit to see the
ships, planes and the Vietnam Experience!
That’s about
it for now. Just click on any of the
photos to enlarge them.
Thanks
for stopping by for a visit!
Take
Care, Big Daddy Dave
