Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM Vietnam

Albert Watson | 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) - Army

5:15   |   Newly commissioned out of ROTC, Albert Watson got to know Fort Benning really well. After his basic course, he went through Ranger school and Airborne school. At his first assignment, a very capable sergeant taught him how to be a platoon leader.

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Keywords   :     Albert Watson    Spokane WA    Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)    Fort Benning    Ranger    Airborne    Fort Carson

Videos ( 5 )
Vietnam
  • Albert Watson  |  Vietnam  |  5th Infantry Division (Mechanized)  |  4:10

    The airliner was full of young soldiers and Marines, who left the cold of Spokane for the heat and humidity of Vietnam. Albert Watson was assigned to the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, a unit specifically designed for the war in Vietnam. Most of his time was spent in the flat delta, where you could see for miles. When they were sent north on an operation, the visibility in the jungle was more like five feet.

  • Albert Watson  |  Vietnam  |  199th Light Infantry Brigade  |  4:01

    There were booby traps galore in the Mekong Delta where platoon leader Albert Watson served most of his tour. His unit managed to avoid any injuries from them until they were sent north into the jungle, where they were tougher to spot. The men had to be cross trained because of the constant rotation of troops. You had to be able to step into another role to cover for someone who was no longer there.

  • Albert Watson  |  Vietnam  |  199th Light Infantry Brigade  |  5:16

    Albert Watson discuses the differences in tactics between operating in the delta and operating in the jungle. Encounters with wildlife were constant, from giant centipedes to elephants. Eventually, Watson was made Executive Officer where he had the headache of issuing constantly changing scrip.

  • Albert Watson  |  Vietnam  |  199th Light Infantry Brigade  |  3:17

    There was a new Brigadier General and Albert Watson was assigned to him as an aide. General William R. Bond was quite a character with a distinguished career, including escaping from German captivity and rolling into Berlin with the Russians. He liked to be in the field with his men and that proved to be his undoing.

  • Albert Watson  |  Vietnam  |  199th Light Infantry Brigade  |  4:32

    Coming home from Vietnam was not pleasant for Albert Watson. His mother was there at the airport to meet him as he was cursed and spit on by protesters. His parents got harassing phone calls at their home. He felt he had done what was right and he made the Army a career, which helped him get over the divided situation in the country.

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