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Gene Frazier

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As officers, each man was issued a bottle of whiskey every week. B-29 pilot Gene Frazier didn't drink, so he traded his accumulated bottles to the sailors for all manner of goods. After the war ended, he was selected to ferry some planes to the Philippines where he acquired a small plane and had fun flying all over the area, except for the occasional potshot by Communist rebels. He turned down a chance to fly for the Chinese Nationalists, and he mailed home a parachute to his fiance, who put it to good use. (5:58)

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Pilot Gene Frazier recalls the mistakes he made during training and his first solo flight. His instructor was actor Robert Cummings who had a unique method of preparing his students for their solo. His next instructor had flown in the Spanish Civil War. He was angry at being stuck as an instructor, so he took it out on the cadets, which made them the best pilots there. (6:42)

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Asked if he lost many friends in the war, B-29 pilot Gene Frazier remarks that he did not lose many in the planes. It was his friends from high school and others he met in training who were sent to much more dangerous circumstances and paid the ultimate price. (1:33)

Gene McCandless

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Gene McCandless listened to the war stories of his older relatives and, when he came of age, he heard the bugle. After his single mother passed away, he sought out his father to sign the papers so he could join the Marines when he was seventeen. (4:10)

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After basic and infantry training, Marine recruit Gene McCandless was assigned to Amtracs. The amphibious tractors could ferry troops from ship to shore as well as travel on land to support the infantry. When he got to the staging battalion for final training before deployment, they found out he was still seventeen. (7:07)

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When the door to the airliner opened in Da Nang, the heat was overwhelming. Young Marine Gene McCandless was in an Amtrac unit and he began an eventful journey north to get to his unit. Along the way, he jumped out of a rolling C-130 and hitched a ride on a Navy river patrol boat. (4:04)

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When Gene McCandless got to his assignment at Cua Viet, up near the DMZ, he was greeted by a ferocious artillery barrage. He was certain the next one would hit the back of his head as he headed for the bunker. He was just seventeen and had slipped through the cracks to make it into the war zone. (5:21)

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Gene McCandless had been shipped out of the war zone to Okinawa to await his eighteenth birthday. When he got back, he was sent to Marble Mountain, where he was reunited with his buddies from the Amtrac unit. His job was to transport Marines around their area of operation and support them with supplies and logistics. (4:19)

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For Amtrac crewman Gene McCandless, the worst thing in Vietnam was the bugs. The flies and mosquitoes were relentless. There were plenty of rats, too. When he wasn't dealing with the wildlife, he had a variety of assignments, including the relocation of villagers. (Caution: strong language) (6:47)

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Amtrac crewman Gene McCandless had to spend some time in the rear when his eardrums were perforated by some live fire. When he resumed his duties, he was part of a detail that went to pull a sunk Amtrac out of a river. It sounds simple but it turned into quite an adventure. Part 1 of 2. (5:52)