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My War - Vietnam, 1962-67
As a correspondent for:

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Jan. 2-3, 1963 - Ap Bac, (First battle of the American War)
Pre-strike...

Three downed helos - two H-21s and a UH-1B - lie in the flooded rice paddies outside the small village called Ap Bac.

Ap Bac village, seen from an L-23, reveals three downed helicopters in the flooded paddies. Alos revealed are the tracks made by ARVN armored personnel carriers as they tried to reach the village.

An Army salvage team headed by Capt. Don Toth, (R) works to repair one of the H-21s shot down in the initial landings at Ap Bac.

Capt. Don Toth (R) who headed the salvage team at Ap Bac, was killed one week later in another helicopter crash.

One Huey retrieves another Huey helicopter shot down at Ap Bac.

This H-21 was repaired in the rice paddies at Ap Bac and flown to Tan Hiep airstrip... losing power on landing.

An ARVN soldier killed in action at Ap Bac is carried to an ambulance.

With his .50-cal. machinegun ready, an ARVN tanker trains his binoculars on Ap Bac village in the near distance.

This is the Viet Cong view from Ap Bac village, taken just after the area was secured.

Watching for action on the road to Ap Bac.

Seven Aamerican helicopter crewmen killed in a crash just a week after Ap Bac... including Capt. Don Toth.

1963: 5th Special Forces, Central Highlands
Montagnard Strike Force: 85 men, some preferring loin cloths and bare feet in the jungle. SSgt. Stevens and Ka-kau, leader of a 85-man Strike Force, discuss the next step. SSgt. Howard Stevens, one of three Special Forces team members amongst the 85 montagnards, plans an attack with Ka-Kau, the Koho tribe leader (C).
SSgt. Stevens briefs the Montagnard leaders before an assault. SSgt.Howard Stevens - Special Forces A Team
SSgt. Stevens fires into the jungle during an ambush. Special Forces SSgt. Stevens removes a mis-fired rocket from the front end of a Bazooka during pursuit of VC ambushers. SSgt. Howard Stevens, patrol leader SSgt. Howard Stevens became a POW in Korea on July 2, 1950. 1963: Ka-kau, leader of an 85-man Koho tribe (montatgnard) Strike Force with his family. 1963: Ka-pon, a soldier in the Koho tribe Strike Force, has more VC kills to his credit than any of the montagnards. Montagnard Payday Dam Pao Special Forces A Team base camp
1963, Mekong Delta
US landing craft become patrol boats on the Mekong river. Vietnamese Marines on patrol through the rice paddies of the Mekong Delta just South of Saigon. VNAF T-28 fighter-bombers pass over a row of helicopters lined up for the first troop insertion of the morning.
A "friendly air strike' called in when a single sniper fired on an ARVN patrol wiped out this village in the Mekong Delta. A young Vienamese girl is brought up river in a dugout boat after she was wounded in a 'friendly' air strike on her village. The victim of 'friendly fire' by Vietnamese Air Force T-28 fighter-bombers, waits for treatment.
US Army Lt. Campbell, advisor to the ARVN unit offers C-rations to a youngster.

Rescue at Ba Dong, September, 1963
(114th Aviation Co. Vinh Long)
BaDong Rescue - 9/63 - A village surrounded by guerrillas is lifted out under fire. BaDong 9/63 - Over 120 villagers were rescued. On one Huey were 23 men, women and children.

Saigon Coup, November 1, 1963
Nov. 1, 1963: Story by Steve Stibbens. Two top generals said in interviews that the war was as good as over... "baring unforseen political upheaval..." Oct., 1963: Midnight in Saigon, ARVN soldiers loyal to President Ngo Dinh Diem stand guard on the street corners around the Palace.
Nov. 1, 1963: Rebel VN Marines pause after storming the Presidential Palace in Saigon. Nov. 1, 1963 - Debris and soldiers rest in the grounds of the Presidential Guard as the Coup ends.
Nov. 1, 1963: A rebel VN Marine holds some of the booty -- fresh cigars and a new hunting rifle - found in the Presidential Palace in Saigon. A rebel tank driver gets a cigar from the private humidor of Ngo Dinh Nhu, the president's brother and head of the secret police. Two rebel tankers celebrate their victory.

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