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Jim Harding

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For four years, Jim Harding went back and forth from Okinawa to Vietnam. He was given the task of developing the best tactics for Forward Air Controllers in Vietnam. During this time, he flew over 450 missions himself, mostly as a FAC. (4:17)

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Jim Harding would visit different units in Vietnam and evaluate their Forward Air Controller tactics and then disseminate the good ideas to all FACs in the field. The Starlight scope was an innovation that helped them a lot. The O-2 was a newer aircraft with some better capabilities but he had a fondness for the old O-1. (6:19)

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They flew low and slow, always looking for something. Jim Harding began flying Forward Air Controller missions early on in Vietnam. Once, he found a POW camp in Laos but it was abandoned before a rescue could be attempted. When he and a fellow FAC in another plane spotted a SAM site just across the DMZ, the other pilot was shot down but he was able to call in the strike that destroyed it. (6:06)

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Artillery fire is no laughing matter but sometimes there is humor in war. Jim Harding recalls a funny story about a mad scramble for the shelter when the shells began to fall. He was a Forward Air Controller in Vietnam, a dangerous profession. (5:30)

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Jim Harding enjoyed flying as a Forward Air Controller but the search and rescue flights were the most satisfying. It was a great feeling when you kept someone from becoming a POW. (2:15)

Brian Poole

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His father and both his grandfathers had served so it seemed natural to Brian Poole to enlist when he turned 18. That was in July of 2001. In September, that decision became a lot more significant as America entered a new kind of war. (7:01)

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Boot camp was a real culture shock. Brian Poole had lived in a dorm at boarding school so missing his family was not an issue but everything else was. After that and Marine Combat Training he was assigned to an artillery unit. (5:52)

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Brian Poole loved firing the howitzer. As he and the howitzer prepped to enter Iraq, it was determined that it was missing an important part. (Caution: strong language) (6:15)

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As Brian Poole's Marine artillery unit moved towards Baghdad, they fired a lot of ordnance at the retreating enemy. Once, they pushed out too far ahead of everyone else, stretching their supplies. They were close to the city when they got a piece of news that no one ever wants to hear. There had been a friendly fire incident. (6:13)

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It was not what he expected. When Brian Poole walked the streets of Baghdad, he found out that liquor was for sale, that there was a Catholic church and, even more surprisingly, a synagogue. His unit returned to the States by ship, which turned out to be a blessing. (7:46)