Rank was hard to come by because the 280s were being phased out and the battalion seemed to be a place for Officers who were being phased out. H&HQ as well as A Btry were there in April 1958 and B & C Btry were at Rivers Barracks. Livingston, Dusters (Battery D, 71st Arty As tube artillery lifted its fire, aerial artillery blasted the area to allow the infantry to land. Our problem was Moses had rotated to the US so we were down to one pitcher, Capt. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org]. By doing this FADAC greatly increased accuracy, decreased response time, and allowed gun crews to fire longer missions and hit more targets with less ammunition. artillery groups were part of First Field Force Vietnam Artillery (IFFV Arty), in the 2 The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 42d Field Artillery Battalion on 7 May 1942. This movement set an important precedent as it indicated that medium guns could be air- lifted and therefore possess the same mobility as lighter pieces had. Although FADAC did not eliminate the need for manual computation for backup capability, it greatly altered the field artillerys performance in Vietnam. Within the first couple of weeks the outfit went to the field for training for a week. Lieutenant Colonel Lloyd J. Picou of the 1st Cavalrys artillery responded with the same enthusiasm. 1st Infantry Division Artillery, 105mm H T, 155mm H T, John F. Karr, 5th Battalion, 42nd Artillery Among 24,500 men ordered to active duty in 88 units across the United States were 570 Kentucky Guardsmen and 750 Kentucky Air Guardsmen. There were also a few officers and large numbers of enlisted men who were transferred to the Battalion when the "Pentomic" reorganization took place. 1st Bn, 77th Arty (105, T) Dave Teke, 105mm H T Rest in peace with the angels. Rex G Welty, the Exec. Contact: Ron The story was that the perimeter guard/patroller heard a rustle in the bushes, turned, and saw the tiger coming at him in mid air. 6/15th's AO, and IV Corps included the Mekong Delta and the southernmost parts of I have quite a bit of information about the Battalion and its history, both during and prior to the period of time I was assigned there. to the men of the 4/60th Air Defense Artillery (Quads and Dusters) as Bill Taggart, 1st Battalion, 84th Artillery 318 sentences with 're equip'. Unable to take such punishment, the NVietnamese finally abandoned their drive to destroy the artillery that had been so destruc- tive at X-Ray. Unit Crest (We Support the Line) 29th Field Artillery Regiment. Army - 41st Field Arty Gp w Vietnam SVC Ribbons Army - 173rd Airborne Brigade w SVC Ribbons Army - 124th Transportation Cmd w SVC Ribbons . Greg Lawson, just to name a few. 6th Bn, 15th Arty (105, T) Contents 1 History 2 Lineage 3 Distinctive unit insignia 4 Coat of arms 5 Current configuration 6 Campaign participation credit 7 Decorations 8 See also 9 References 10 External links History I remember one of the Lieutenants (a company commander?) Frequent questions. Artillery in Vietnam was organized primarily into two forces, the 1st Field Force Vietnam (IFFV) and the 2nd Field Force Vietnam (IIFFV) each with different tactical areas of responsibility (TAOR). Because of the one-year tour that left little time for on the-job training, combat in Vietnam required the officer to arrive as a proficient field artilleryman and not a hybrid field and air defense artilleryman. Shield: Gules, two bendlets between four shells, two in chief and two in base, all Or. Frank's Facebook Page. In some cases, batteries fragmented operations even more by assigning part of their guns for base camp defense and the other for tactical employment. When we returned to Bad Kreuznach I was called to the Battery Commanders office. Even though 1st Cavalry field artillerymen could maneuver their 105-mm. After the Battle of Ia Drang, General Kinnard had nothing but praise for his field artillery. LTC Ring was the commanding officer of the 2nd of the 82nd (8" self-propelled howitzers). At the end of the eight weeks a high percentage of the troops were assigned to the 264th FA Btl in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. McBride, (not Outside of aerial artillery, the 1st Cavalrys field artillery provided minimal support. At least 2 cooks married the women KPs. This action totally disrupted North Vietnamese plars to attack Plei Me and put them on the defensive. In fact, the only thing "static" in our lives was change. To fire a 280mm cannon the exact quadrants of the gun were required by FDC. Because of the size of the brigades area and range limitation, the division artillery commander attached a battery to a partic- ular battalion to provide the maximum coverage. Our first formation was 7:30 instead of 6. I made friends quickly, Pfc Jonathan Ahlbrand, Pfc Muhammad Blaylock, Cpl Juan Then, Pvt. Click here to open 'USArmyGermany' list of US Army Vietnam Artillery Units, "Artillery conquers and infantry Lent has begun. Unit Crest (Conjuncti Stamus) 28th Field Artillery Regiment. Another time we spent 3 days in a mosquito infested swamp along the Rhine River while a Company of Engineers built pontoon bridges for us to float the 280s across the river. 5th Battalion, 8th Field Artillery Regiment- Inactive since 16 May 1996. . U.S. Army Vietnam Artillery In each case Viet Cong forces attacked American fire bases with mortar rounds, rifle grenades, rockets, and recoilless rifle fire. Contents 1 Lineage 2 Distinctive unit insignia 3 Coat of arms 4 Current configuration 5 Campaign participation credit 6 Decorations 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Lineage [ edit] Although firepower was a decisive factor, it had limitations. We then did a half hour of PT followed by a half hour of DD. 54th Artillery Group 8th Battalion, 26th The shells indicate the nature of the organization and with the bendlets produce the numerical designation of the organization. Prior to this time the 1/92nd (in 52nd Group) and the 1/30th (in 41st Group) were the only completely Air Mobile medium artillery units in all of IICTZ. For many Americans the offensive symbolized the senseless destruction of the war. Using this as protection, the Americans then pushed towards the North Vietnamese, who retreated. groups or commands. Using Chinooks, we had been able to position tube artillery in the midst of a literally trackless jungle where it provided close support to our infantry and gave them a vital measure of superiori- ty, Kinnard wrote in Army in 1967.60 Besides lauding tube artillery, he boasted that aerial artillery had matured in the Ia Drang by supplementing tube artillery and in some cases providing the only firepower. Muller, 1st note: Although there are many members of this unit which owe their lives 509th RC, 5th Engineer Battalion. I remember his children, Wally, Shelly, Pam, Barbara, Earl, and Nancy (my age). The best was the softball team, we had two very good pitchers, one was a man named Moses and the other was Captain Gardner. My first assignment was in the radar group, which didnt last very long. V Corps Artillery These other non-firing Btry's were the Service Battery (Svc Btry) plus the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB Btry). personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army 97 Viewing the past years of inte- gration and its detrimental impact on field and air defense artillery and the need for qualified offi- cers in both artilleries, authors of The Artillery Branch Study urged ceasing the practice of cross training and forming two separate branches of artillery. Looking for more information from military/civilian So depending on when you joined the unit, you could have moved a lot or not at all. Forty-one. 2nd Bn, 33rd Arty (105, T) INTRODUCTION Constituted 5 July 1918 in the National Army as Battery D, 42nd Field Artillery, an element of the 14th Division Organized 10 August 1918 at Camp Custer, Michigan Demobilized 7 February 1919 at Camp Custer, Michigan Reconstituted 1 October 1933 in the Regular Army as Battery D, 42nd Field Artillery. 2 talking about this. It was . Addressing this development, Brigadier General James G. Kalergis, Commander, I Field Force Vietnam Artillery, explained in 1967 that field artillery batteries normally performed as ifthey were battalions and that battalions acted as if they were division artillery or group head- quarters. 62 The following year, Picou explained in MilitaryReview, From the division artillery viewpoint, the most significant outcome of this campaign [Ia Drang] was the use of aerial artillery.63 Aerial artillery gunships flew to the scene and were able to locate and attack enemy forces. TWS is the largest online community of Veterans existing today and is a powerful Veteran locator. unit on this page. in Vietnam, 2nd Battalion, 320th Artillery It was common practice (at least during 1969 to 1971) to have one of the batteries be a "Swing Battery." Because of his opposition to expanding the war, President Johnson cut back bombing, informed the South Vietnamese that they had to shoulder more of the burden for defending themselves, and launched a peace initiative to create an independent, non-communist South Vietnam. I'm pretty sure the developers would have not have allowed that to happen if there were an easy solution to stop it. (2) 1 May 56 to 7 Jun 56: Executive Officer, A Battery My dad volunteered for Vietnam in 1968 and we stayed in Munich, Germany while he was there (Central Highlands, Pleiku, Da Nang, Nah Tran, etc). Of course we couldnt pass up a chance like this, after establishing contact with FDC we asked if they could hit the tower. Battalion, 20th Artillery 6th Bn, 27th Arty (8-in/175) or unit contact's e-mail address. Battery is abbreviated as BTRY or Btry. 9th Infantry Division Pin. If you served in 5th Battalion, 22nd Artillery, Join TWS for free to reconnect with service friends. Photo: Bob Webster, Comments The war assumed a new dimension following Tet. Vietnam War Commemoration 50th Anniversary. When a Btry was split it formed Platoons of howitzers and the most common was the 2-howitzer platoon although I have found reference to a 3-howitzer platoon once in my reading of our records. William Tecumseh Sherman. Because of operations over vast areas, numerous displacements, short, violent actions, and an undefinable front and rear in 1965-66, the field artillery found the battery-battalion arrangement to be logical and to provide fast, accurate fire. February 11, 2022 Group. Contact Since the Iron Triangle was a formidable arrow tip pointing straight at Saigon, the Army decided late in 1966 to destroy that preserve even though previous attempts had failed. 6th Bn, 15th Arty (105 T) 2 Crest:,The hand grasping the spears indicates firepower in any direction. 9th infantry division vietnam 1967 bearcat. It seems they needed to replace the man who did the calculations during the surveys and the review of my schooling made me their choice. The ability to airlift towed 105-mm. Soldier of Fortune Magazine He served with HSB Battery, 5th of 16th Artillery from June 1969-June 1970. Ron Griffin, 3rd Both the 41st and the 52nd Artillery Groups contained 4 battalions of artillery with calibers ranging from 105 mm to units with 8" and or 175 mm howitzers and guns. Angel, 1st Battalion, 321st Artillery By doing this, field artillerymen reduced the time required to occupy a position and dispelled fears about the field artillerys inability to keep up with the other combat arms on a highly mobile battlefield. Russ Warriner, 1st Early in January 1967, the 1st Infantry Division, the 25th Infantry Division, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the lth Armored Cavalry Regiment, and separate battalions of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam opened Operation Cedar Falls. I remember going to Grafenwoehr for some sort of Family weekend and my Dad was wearing his .45 cal Colt M1911A1 and ear plugs. 8th Battalion, 25th The 5th Battalion 42d Artillery remains assigned to the 23d Artillery Group, APO 96289, with the mission of General Support II Field Force Vietnam. Artillery and air power had the responsibility of defeating, routing, or destroying the enemy. It was redesignated for the 42d Artillery Regiment on 26 November 1958. 1st Bn, 11th Arty (105, T) Home; Exhibits and Displays The division, which was activated on 1 October 1941 in Hawaii, conducts military operations primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. HSB, 5th of 16th Artillery June 1969 - June 1970 Sir, My father William Ralph Francis passed away on 06 JUNE 2018 and I found many photos of his firebase in Vietnam. As important as technique was, suitable field pieces facilitated firing in a complete circle. After a couple of years it dawned on me that I would have to serve my two years with Uncle Sam when I was done with school. 4th Bn, 77th Arty (ARA), 2nd Bn, 4th Arty (105, T) This arrangement guaranteed a rapid response by the artillery when called upon, simplified furnishing fire support in guerrilla warfare, and saved lives. Nevertheless, division artillery commanders had difficulty locating moving units and coordinating supporting fires. Coffee at the snack bar followed by more section training and bug out time. Each GI was allowed one time to exchange and some people made a lot of money buying script dirt cheap. If you have a contact person or unit webpage for your Vietnam artillery battalion, Contact: Jay Kute, 3rd 2nd Battalion 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment. After 1st formation we had about a half hour to do section chores. I was 8 years old (3rd grade - 4th grade) at the time so my memories are not crystal clear. Links | 2nd Bn, 321st Arty (105, T) 4, 6th Bn, 29th Arty (105, T) Contact: Joe DiPardo, 6th | News | This may help you find your friend from the war. 1st Battalion, 333rd Field Artillery was activated 2 July 1973 in Germany (Wiesbaden). After a couple of days back, the men I was serving with and myself figured something was going on. Change for me! I remember the big fat missile thing (shown in one of your pictures) which we thought was an ammo depot or air raid shelter. Contact: Irv He dropped it with one round from his M16. "C" Battery fired the first US Army artillery round Contact: Rick "A The trip to Germany was an experience. Camp Dover, Hwa Yang-ri, Korea October 1967, Charlie Battery, 5th battalion, 38th Artillery " Best Steel Behind the Rock ". Sgt. Contact: to your artillery unit on this page by notifying the for sale! 6th Bn, 14th Arty (8-in/175) Because we all bought US Savings Bonds, which made the CO look good, we did not have to stand reville. 1st Bn, 84th Arty (155, T/8-in, SP), 7th Bn, 13th Arty (105, T) Find 5th Battalion, 22nd Artillery unit information, patches, operation history, veteran photos and more on TogetherWeServed.com. I remember his daughter, Susan (about my age). The base was abandoned and turned over to farmland although the Long Thanh North airfield is clearly visible on satellite images. Even though field artillery officers tried to minimize displacements, the speed of the ground troops and the size of the area compelled them to make over 160 displacements, which strained the divisions air resources. The mission of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is to honor and preserve the legacy of service and educate all generations about the impact of the Vietnam War. XXIV Corps Artillery Battalion, 92nd Artillery 2nd Bn, 20th Arty (ARA) Contact: The Vietnam Years Commanders located the enemy with infantry and then attacked with field artillery and air strikes. We were not the first unit he had befriended. We generally woke up to Hill Billy Reveille" on AFN radio. The 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery deployed in January 1991 for Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, joining in the largest artillery raid ever conducted. I lived with them mostly from Friday eves to Sunday eves to learn everything about them. Contact: Artillery Charles Engel, Quads (attached to the 4/60th The Lt. then put it in a classified record for use if hostilities broke out. Because of this, the 1st Divisions artillery commander delegated fire control to commanders of direct support battalions, who helped convert the Iron Triangle from a haven into a no mans land by the end of January. It reduced fatigue and the resulting errors of fire direction center personnel. Other U.S. units stationed at Bearcat included: Bearcat also served as the base for the Royal Thai Army Expeditionary Division forces from 1968. 1st Bn, 92nd Arty (155, T) 7th Bn, 15th Arty (8-in/175) Whenever possible or appropriate, the pilots adjusted tube artillery to flush personnel into the open and then attacked. Big Guns - learn about the John Howard, 1st Battalion, 83rd Artillery your your webpage URL or webpage for your Vietnam artillery battalion, please contact the webmaster so we can insert a hyperlink for Just gain enough time for the SAC Bombers to get there and be sure we were out of the way. Had to love the guy. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Entdecke US Army Unit Crest: 42nd Field Artillery Group - WE HAVE THE POWER in groer Auswahl Vergleichen Angebote und Preise Online kaufen bei eBay Kostenlose Lieferung fr viele Artikel! Military Challenge Coin 5th Battalion 3D Field Artillery Regiment, SILK #15 1ST PRINT MARVEL COMICS VF/NM CB844. Vietnam changed this. Even though they were surprised, the North Vietnamese slugged the Americans viciously with small arms, rocket, and mortar f.:e. To repel the assaults the Americans airlifted in reinforcements throughout the day under the cover of artillery fire from L-.nding Zone Falcon. 6th Bn, 33rd Arty (105, T) He was hospitalized at Long Binh Post in Bien Hoa Province, RVN, when on September 30, 1971, he suffered a fatal heart attack as a consequence of his illness. 3rd Bn, 16th Arty (155, T), 2nd Bn, 4th Arty (105, T) Although the Army continued fighting into 1973, Vietnamization changed the field artillerys primary mission. Be the contact person Contact: Gary Puro, Battery G, 29th Artillery Contact: Steve Sipos, Headquarters Battery, Together, we can make sure our heroes will get the reverence they deserve and the stories and sacrifices of our heroes will never be forgotten. well as the Radar and Searchlight units this article will focus primarily Battalion, 27th Artillery As a result, the enemy feared American field artillery and made batteries prime targets for infiltration or full-scale attacks. The 1st Cavalry had the capability to maneuver their artillery aggressively on the battlefield to destroy the enemy and refused to allow difficult terrain to hinder delivering huge amounts of firepower upon enemy positions. Background:,The coat of arms was originally approved for the 42d Field Artillery Battalion on 7 May 1942. Contact: Bob Warriner, 5th Battalion, 22nd Artillery Many times I would climb the fence (8ft with three lines of barbed wire atop it). These bombardments along with small arms fire broke up several attacks during the day. occupies"J.F.C. Quads = Quad 50 machineguns, Headquarters Battery, Unit Crest (Tace Et Face) 26th Field Artillery Regiment Unit Crest (Courage and Action) 27th Field Artillery Regiment. . 8th Bn, 4th Arty (8-in/175) 5th, Battalion, 42nd, Artillery, Arty,Service Ribbons,Vietnam,VN,United States Army,Vet,Veteran,Unit,Insignia,Patch,Crest . They verified the need to get as much firepower on the enemy as quickly as possible and to use artillery and air strikes simultaneously. In early 1971 for example C Btry occupied 3 firebases all within 7 miles of each other for mutual support of the Engineers working on the roads, the ARVN's and US Infantry pounding the bush as well as the 3 firebases. This rapid sweep taxed the 1st Cavalrys artillerys ability to support the maneuver elements. Contact: "Boz" PHEONS", 1st Battalion, 8th Artillery In Saigon the Antericans and South Vietnamese repulsed the initial assaults and cleared the city within several days. Using CH-54 Flying Cranes and CH-47 Chinook helicopters and reducing the weight of the 155-mm. Parker was a captain with B Battery, 5th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery in the Vietnam War from 1968 to '69. 7th Bn, 15th Arty (8-in/175) Schilling 78 Commenting on this, Brigadier General Willard Pearson, Commander, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, wrote in December 1966 that his units motto was Save Lives, Not Ammunition.79 Given this, he wroteDecember 1966 that the ground forces main task involved finding the enemy. General Vietnam era Paper & Ephemera. Arty Stories - Vietnam Contact: Charles Workman, 6th Battalion, 33rd Artillery Box 42nd Field Artillery Group DUI. Early drifts towards this mentality started in Ia Drang and culminated in 1967. I remember Rivers Barracks. Battalion, 14th Artillery [2] That probably was a good thing because the winning team got a trip to the US to participate in the all army tournament. Throughout our Website you will see abbreviations we will try to put them into parenthesis next to the word it most commonly replaces and for words that require more in-depth explanation we will try to link it to it's expansion in the glossary. and 155-mm. of artillery units in Vietnam C Btry 5/4 Arty. Lewandowski, 105mm H T - Provided He had a simple strategy if war ever broke out. Most every one in the unit had at least two years of college and we were treated a little nicer that we expected. I rotated home and was discharged October 11, 1956. The 8th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army first formed in 1916. Why his arm did not fall off is amazing, he pitched 6 games in five days. The base along with the availability of naval gunfire and tactical air gave the Army the capacity to rain deadly fire and reinforced the grow- ing trend of relying upon firepower rather than maneuver for defeating the enemy. The field was another story all together. I also drove a Gamma Goat. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese struck six major cities, sixty-four district capitals, and fifty hamlets and caught the Americans and SouthVietnamese off guard. Because of guerrilla warfare, commanders simply could not position their field artillery without adequate protection. Goodman was FDC section chief. As you might expect, a number of these personnel turned out to be considerably less than desirable, and caused no end of problems. We calibrated the guns and did fire missions day and night. 6th Bn, 14th Arty (8-in/175) Provisional agreements reached at Geneva, Switzerland, prevented this, divided the country at the seventeenth parallel, and scheduled reunification to come through a general election in July 1956. As such, the Vietnam War had a profound impact on the field artillery. Home Cities Countries. Contact: No Frozen Chosan for him again. Try to imagine if you will, wrestling over 6 tons of steel in the middle of a monsoon downpour while trying to maintain footing in the slippery, slimy red muck of the Vietnamese clay soil and you'll see why we called them Pigs. Contact: William To protect one landing zone and its batter- ies, the field artillery had to site at least two batteries within range of each other. The steel tracks have replaceable rubber pads. Additionally, the Vietnam War highlighted the inherent shortcomings of consolidating the field and coast artillery. Then went back to duty. . The Battalion Exec, a Major Stein was the only man in his West Point class who was still a Major or the last of his class to make Major. In these cases, the movement was done by CH-54 Skycrane helicopters (Sikorsky Tarhe) or for long moves (like from Ban Me Thuot to Pleiku) with C-130 cargo planes. If you didnt go to town the EM club at The Depot was first rank. I remember our cooks: Mack Lingo, Watson, Greb and The Chief. I am uncertain whether this gun accompanied the 867th in its later deployment to Germany, referred to by some on your web site as "AWOL". Miss him still after 50 years, SP4 Jeffery L. Wright was trained in field artillery and served with C Battery, 5th Battalion, 42nd Artillery. There also was a 155 outfit at Rivers Barracks so there was plenty of competition between the troops. Contact: Chris As a means to extend offensive operations, the Army conducted artillery raids from fire bases into remote areas by displacing artillery to supplementary positions and quickly withdraw- ing. I was the Bn Ammo Clerk for Svc 2/92 FA even though my MOS was 13B. (6) 9 Oct 57 to 1 Jul 57: Executive Officer, B Battery and 155-mm. Yet, separating the two artilleries had little impact upon the Artillery and Guided Missile School, which was renamed the Field Artillery School, because it was already focusing its energies on field artillerymatters and not air defense artillery. Comments This article incorporates public domain material from .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}42nd Field Artillery Regiment.