NEW VIDEOS

Dorri Vu

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During her second Afghanistan deployment, Dorri Vu met a lot of civilian contractors. She was impressed at the money they were making so, when her time was up, she went to work for a contractor and spent two more years in Afghanistan. Those two were way better than the first two years she was there as a soldier. (5:36)

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Dorri Vu has mixed feelings about Afghanistan, especially after that pull out. The fate of women there disturbs her. They had experienced for the first time some freedom from their oppressive male dominated culture. Now, they were forced back into burqas under the Taliban. What was it all for? (5:19)

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You learn from everyone you meet. That was the way Dorri Vu was while in the Army. She took what lesson she could from everyone, even if she didn't like them. When she finally got to see folks again at a reunion, she was reminded of her life before becoming a mom. (Caution: strong language) (8:11)

Dennis Smith

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Dennis Smith got his first impressions of war at an early age. As a child, his family lived in France near the Verdun battlefield where he found many relics of the famous battle. When he was older, his father told him about Japanese troops who refused to surrender, a grisly business. (5:04)

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After he was commissioned, the first assignment for Dennis Smith was at a drone squadron in Panama City. His job was air control and he directed the traffic as the drones were used for target practice. But his skill was needed in Vietnam and he took the long flight in 1970. The action at the time was in Cambodia. (5:21)

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Dennis Smith had lived in Okinawa so the heat of Vietnam was a familiar thing. He knew French so that was how he communicated with many of the South Vietnamese officers he worked with. His job was running air control for tanker hookups with fighters, which could be tricky in the volatile weather of the area. (5:15)

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Dennis Smith worked with Forward Air Controllers but his job was different. One night he did a little of it when he was on duty and got a call from a gunship who had spotted some sampans on the Mekong at night which was forbidden. The brass would not give clearance for a strike but then he had a thought. What about the Navy pilots? (4:32)

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After he was appointed Vietnamization Officer and Training Officer, Dennis Smith went to see the commander of the Vietnamese squadron he would be training. The wall was covered with many photographs of men. Who are all these people? The commander abruptly dismissed him. That was when he learned about the Ghost Battalions. (4:17)

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He had to get up to Long Tan. Dennis Smith was waiting for a ride on a helicopter and it was finally his turn. He started to board the ship and an army colonel kicked him off and took it for his own purpose. It promptly crashed on take off and he went to the motor pool where he wound up with a most unusual vehicle. (5:47)

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Dennis Smith flew on Air America a couple of times but he didn't work directly with the CIA, or The Company as it was known. They ran their operations out of Da Nang while he was doing air control for B-52 strikes in Cambodia. (4:15)