Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
9:31 | Gene Richardson was on a troop train on his way to Fort Lewis, Washington, for basic training. The train was halted in the Midwest and the men were told that there was no room for them at Fort Lewis. Their new destination was Fort Carson, Colorado, where the nights were below freezing.
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Gene Richardson could have re-enrolled at college but he felt it was time for some adventure so he entered the draft. The Army took him in 1966 and, like the men that came before him in his extended family, he would serve the country.
The Marine Corps usually didn't get personnel through the draft but in 1966, there was a big buildup for Vietnam. After Gene Richardson got his clothes and his shots, he watched as every third man was taken and sent to the Marines. He considered raising his hand but he suddenly thought of his dad and his uncles.
He grew up tramping through the woods so when it came time for escape and evasion training, Gene Richardson was pretty good at it. When it came to the medical and first aid training, though, he had some reservations.
At the end of basic training, Gene Richardson was told to report to the captain's office. Uh-oh. Can't be good. The captain told him to report to the colonel's office. Yikes! When he got there, the colonel put him at ease and noted that he had a good bit of college under his belt. Had he ever thought about becoming an officer? Pt 1 of 2.
After being offered the chance to go to OCS, Gene Richardson had to pass a board comprised of three officers who bombarded him with questions. He felt like he did pretty well but then began a long waiting game. Pt 2 of 2.
Officer Candidate School was brutal but Gene Richardson had a plan. It was all a game and he was going to win it. They would not break him. He was fresh from basic and AIT but there were a lot of candidates who were NCOs, who were glad to share their knowledge. Part 1 of 2.
It was like the Boy Scouts again. At OCS, Gene Richardson had to build a fire and cook a rabbit out in the woods, all without saying a word to his fellow candidates. Everyone in the class pitched in to help an older NCO who was overweight make it through the physical training. Pt 2 of 2.
The first command as a newly minted Lieutenant for Gene Richardson was at 2nd Battalion, 41st Armored Regiment. One of the first things he did was call a meeting with all the NCOs in the platoon and ask for their help in becoming a good officer.
The IG inspection was coming. Everything had to be inventoried. Every serial number had to be checked. Everything had to be accounted for. Gene Richardson's company was looking pretty good. The worst thing wasn't something missing but something extra.
Gene Richardson did not want to go. He'd been told his unit was going to Detroit to possibly help quell the rioting and he wanted no part of shooting another American. It was at that moment that he got his orders for Vietnam. It was the Fall of 1967 and he flew into Tan Son Nhut and began his orientation.
Gene Richardson's assignment was down in the Delta. His platoon participated in larger operations as well as running night ambushes on their own. They had good air support and the base was substantial with showers, a mess hall and a laundry. You could get a haircut and a shave in the adjacent town but he this made him nervous the first time.
Gene Richardson describes what it was like to set up a night ambush in the Mekong Delta. One of the hardest things was just staying awake after it was all set.
Long after the war, Gene Richardson found an article online written by a Chinook pilot who was sent to resupply a unit in trouble. He realized that the unit on the ground in the incident was his platoon. He contacted the author and filled in the missing parts of the story.
After Tet, the action didn't let up for quite a while. Gene Richardson was taking part in a major sweep of an area known to have a lot of Viet Cong. As his platoon moved through a rice paddy, they suddenly came under fire from three reinforced bunkers. The company commander and his radio operator were hit almost immediately. Part 1 of 2.
The decision was made to withdraw from the area and call in air support. After his company commander was wounded, platoon leader Gene Richardson took over and told the group that they were going to walk back the way they came and then there would be a strike. There was just one problem, the pilot jumped the gun. Part 2 of 2.
Platoon leader Gene Richardson explains the Mad Minute, the process of shooting out all the ammunition in all the weapons at the end of an operation. Then, new ammo is loaded. In the environment of Vietnam, you always wanted to have new, dry ammo.
When Gene Richardson began his Vietnam tour, he kept a diary. It was a real struggle to keep the thing dry in the field, never mind the struggle with self expression.
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place was a song that every soldier in Vietnam could relate to. If that song started playing, invariably everyone would start singing along. And the VC never made the fellows so mad as when they blew up the stereo.
There was a sniper out there and Gene Richardson was shooting back at him when he thought he saw a rat. It wasn't a rat, it was a kitten. He cleaned it up and adopted it, though his men teased him about it. The chief of the village next to the base invited the officers to come for a feast where an unusual dish was served.
He had a leg wound that just wouldn't completely heal so Gene Richardson was sent to Saigon, then to Japan. He was wondering what was going on when the doctors finally told him what the problem was. At least he was in Japan instead of in the mud back in the Mekong Delta.
The war in Vietnam tore his generation apart. That's one reason Gene Richardson has come to the conclusion that we never should have gone there. He cautions that we should always question the reasons for getting involved in a conflict.
