US ARMY BIRTHDAY

Today is the Army's birthday. I remember the 200th birthday well as I was going thru ROTC "Summer Camp" at FT. Bragg. Having survived Viet Nam in the Air Force, I nearly got killed by a Marine artillery battery at Bragg. Those 8" shells sounded like Volkswagens moving thru the air. Our compass man had led us into the impact area during a night ambush. Happy Birthday, Army.

Unfortunately things like that happen all to often Vic.

Happy Birthday to my sister service.

Nice HD did you guys blanket party him? lol

happy birthday to all my brothers and sisters.

You mean the compass man? He had an accident. One of our tech advisors had to be medivaced out after being bit by a water moccasin. Even in peace time training, night operations can get hairy. Since I was a big guy, I had to carry the M60 machine gun. Even the ambush was a cluster flub. The target for our ambush turned out to be armor. We were afraid of getting run over by tanks. College kids in the jungles of NC, scarier than the tet offensive. Real live war stories from ROTC. I could tell some real ones, but they didn't end as well.
At least we all survived that infamous night ambush FU.

While I was stationed at Pope I literally watched thousands of guys wobble out to the planes for one of the DZ's. Man they carried a lot of stuff.

Yeah, the 82nd had some crazy troopers. You have to wonder about folks who jump out of perfectly good airplanes. But I salute them all on the Army's birthday.

Strange things happen sometimes! When I was in ITR (now I think they call it AIT) quite a distance off they were detonating an artillery round with some C-4. When it blew, it sent a chunk way up the hill toward us, and the instructor screamed "incoming" and hit the dirt. It landed about ten feet from a group of us.

Vic...try carrying the M-60 in mountains, flooded paddies, and elephant grass when it's about 100 degrees!

Thank God I was in the AF in the war. I had no desire to be infantry in that war. When I got my draft notice, I went to Ft Jackson for the physical. But I had slipped into delayed entry in the AF. Every other one in my line was sent to the Marines. I pulled out my DEP paper and off to the fly boy line I was sent. Felt good. Why do you think I picked armor when I went into the army? Ride into battle with a big gun. Why die tired?

I enlisted in the Marines, and around graduation from Boot Camp we found out that almost everyone was going to be an 0300 something. Ended up that half went to "Guns", the other half went to "Mortars"; we didn't exactly get tp pick and choose.

LOL exactly HD thats why I went combat engineer I drove this on patrols.



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Thank God you made it home, Tom. I wanted jet engine mech in the AF but they made me a munitions spec and sent me to a base that didn't even have any jets. But for some perverse reason, the Army gave me my first choice, armor.

I had a cush tour compared to you folks, or by any other measure. MCBH Kaneohe Bay Hawaii.

Happy birthday to the US Army.