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Frank Farrell

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After his deployment in Italy, Frank Farrell was finally sent over to Vietnam in 1967. He talks about what it was like for him to hear about his friends' deaths prior to him going over, and his first job when he reached Vietnam. He was tasked with tending to all the different artillery batteries in his unit and making sure they were all successfully operating and able to complete their missions. (7:37)

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According to Farrell, one of the biggest issues the batteries had was obtaining more ammunition. Many batteries would run out of ammo fairly quickly, and so had to be replenished quickly and effectively. He talks about that struggle as well as what the area around Pleiku, Vietnam was like. In addition, he documents two separate attacks his division made in the middle of Vietnamese tea plantations. (7:19)

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Occasionally, Farrell would be riding in a helicopter to tend to different batteries across a 200 mile parameter. There were unfortunate times where the helicopters would be malfunctioning, forcing the pilot to land it in unauthorized territory. Much of this territory was occupied by the Montagnard, who had many friendly interactions with Farrell and the other men. Upon arriving at the fight in Dak To, his unit was met with heavy enemy fire almost immediately. (6:18)

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While in the process of shipping supplies over to different batteries, there were times where the supply lines themselves would get attacked, causing a delay in replenishing weapon amounts. Once the battle at Dak To had concluded, Farrell and his men went back to carrying out their traditional search and destroy missions around the area. (3:49)

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Right before the Tet Offensive, Farrell's unit received an extremely powerful new weapon to use against the enemy. The sheer strength and nature of detonation of this weapon forced them to keep it on very secure lock down, stored separately from all the other weapons they had. They'd been suspicious of the NVA's plans prior to the Tet Offensive, but never expected something on as big a scale as that in such little time. (7:45)

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While working in South Vietnam, Frank Farrell remembers a handful of civilian interactions from the war, as they happened a lot of the time. He also talks briefly about leaders that stood out to him and what it was like to hear about US citizen morale upon returning to the states. Following his time in the service, he went on to graduate school in New York and returned to Vietnam many years later to find it was no longer the war zone it once was. (6:55)

Frank Francois III

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Frank Francois III was always on a fast track. He started first grade at three years old, finished high school in three years, and graduated from college at nineteen. Foregoing medical school for a military career, he went to the Command and General Staff College as a captain, another notable feat. (3:50)

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The 1st Cavalry had shed its horses and was now Air Mobile. Frank Francois III deployed to Vietnam as the Transportation Officer for the unit. His responsibilities were supplying the troops at the forward bases and running the shuttle flights that moved personnel around the country. This made him a popular fellow. He was too busy for a reporter from Time Magazine and missed out on being the subject of a feature story. (5:07)

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The worst day in Vietnam for Frank Francois III was the day one of his Forward Support Companies was overrun. It was his responsibility to retrieve and transport the bodies to the Quartermaster Corps. In the middle of that grim task, he was informed that there would be a party. He couldn't believe what he was hearing but it turned into a valuable life lesson. (2:50)

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Frank Francois III was in the air in his commander's helicopter when they heard the call that one of their transport planes had crashed. He knew a classmate, Bob Ray, had been on the shuttle flight's schedule and he arrived in time to help pull him from the crash. (3:36)