Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:01 | Greg Camp discusses his very first experiences and emotions during his arrival in Vietnam. After a frightening ride in a helicopter, he met his platoon sergeant. Surely this guy would be a salty old veteran.
Keywords : Greg Camp Vietnam Tan Son Nhut Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey) Tom Bitterman Shake and Bake draftee
Newly commissioned from West Point, Greg Camp prepared to leave for Vietnam. First matter of business, his car. Some of his memories from this time are funny, some poignant.
Greg Camp discusses his platoon's first enemy contact during a search and destroy mission. It was hot and wet in their part of Vietnam, although there were no rice paddies there. He still had to deal with plenty of disgusting parasites, though.
Greg Camp shares the struggles he faced during his first combat mission which led to him earning a Bronze Star.
Richard Nixon gave them six weeks to get into Cambodia and get out. Greg Camp got there and then had to deal with an ad hoc company of cooks, clerks and malcontents he was given. As their deadline approached, he tried to help a West Point classmate who was nearby with his own company and a severely wounded soldier. His only hope was the Jungle Penetrator, a rescue rig that could be lowered from a helicopter.
Greg Camp only lost two men under his command in Vietnam. They were attached to a another company on a mission in Cambodia when a rocket from an attack helicopter found a surprise target.
His first assignment as a new platoon leader was to guard the base at Tan Son Nhut. This gave Greg Camp a chance to get to know his men. On his first foray into the field at night, he was positive he heard somebody crawling up to his position. All night long.
All the time. That's how often Greg Camp came under mortar fire when he was at a base camp in Vietnam. One time, he thought he was blinded after a round hit an ammunition cache. There was a soldier under his command who kept bugging him for a job in the rear. Be careful what you ask for.
When Greg Camp returned from Vietnam, he could not believe what was going on. From strangers on a plane to the single girls in his home town, it was the same thing. A cold shoulder.
Greg Camp recalls one of the finest soldiers he ever knew, Myron F. Diduryk, who distinguished himself at the Battle of LZ X-Ray in the Ia Drang, and was killed due to some dubious decisions on the part of another officer.
