Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Gary Lawrence

Vietnam | SEAL Team One

As his SEAL team readied for infiltrating a Viet Cong weapons factory, an order came from Saigon. Stop the operation. Gary Lawrence could not believe the reason he was given. On his team were Kit Carson scouts, ex-Viet Cong. They were great fighters and one of them helped him survive an ambush. (6:31)
In any service in any war, if there's down time, there will be what can be charitably called hijinks. Navy SEAL Gary Lawrence recalls some of these from his Vietnam tours including racy pictures and movies, getting lesser men drunk and absconding with ice cream. (Caution: adult subject matter and strong language.) (7:07)
The SEAL team had a prisoner who knew someone with possible information on American POW's. This was an instant priority for Gary Lawrence and the rest of the team. As they set out on the operation to capture this individual, they encountered their first problem, low tide. Then, when they got to their destination, they got in a hell of a fight. (Caution: strong language.) (11:35)
It was the last operation of his first Vietnam tour. Navy SEAL Gary Lawrence yielded the point to another man on the simple recon mission and that kept him from getting shot. The team ran into a huge Viet Cong ambush and a fierce firefight ensued. As they were getting extracted by helicopter, he was making a last check of the landing zone when he noticed the chopper was taking off. He grabbed the skids and hung on. (Caution: strong language.) (8:05)
There was no ceremony but at least there were no protestors when Navy SEAL Gary Lawrence returned from Vietnam. He was offered a chance to proceed on a course to become an officer but he opted for marriage and career. (Caution: strong language.) (2:28)
For Gary Lawrence, Vietnam was an unwinnable war. There was just no exit strategy. Despite that, he enjoyed his time as a Navy SEAL because they were the best of the best. (Caution: strong language.) (3:23)
Gary Llewellyn

Vietnam | 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry

Just before his college graduation, Gary Llewellyn had a wild idea. The news was running stories about the new air mobile concept using helicopters in Vietnam. He wanted to fly and the Army had a Warrant Officer program so off he went. (6:48)
Anybody interested in Scouts? Newly arrived helicopter pilot Gary Llewellyn was the only one who raised his hand. Yes, that sounds good after I learn the AO. But when he got to his squadron at Tay Ninh, the commander made him a scout pilot right away, flying the small Loach chopper. (4:51)
The Area of Operations was jungle and defoliated jungle. There were NVA and VC both active there and there were plenty of tunnels and bunkers. As one of the new guys, Gary LLewellyn's initial job was as an observer, flying with an experienced pilot and marking ground fire positions with smoke grenades. (4:11)
It was mostly NVA in that area coming off the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Scout pilot Gary Llewellyn flew bomb damage assessments after B-52 strikes, coming in at treetop level. That was fun flying. He also supported extractions and Medevacs. (6:16)