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Howie Bachman

Vietnam | Multiple Units

Rescued from his lowly staff job, Howie Bachman visited each company of his new unit, the 3-5 Cav. The last one was actually an attached company, Dreadnaught Charlie. It's commander did not run a tight ship and his job was in jeopardy. (8:44)
Dreadnaught Charlie was a mess. The tank company had been run in a lax manner but new company commander Howie Bachman had them shaping up fast. It earned him an uncomplimentary nickname but then the men saw that he ate what they ate and slept where they slept. Then came the infamous overheard radio conversation that really earned their respect. (10:33)
The brass didn't like to send out the big tank recovery vehicles so when one of Howie Bachman's tank commanders got stuck by a creek, he used his own resources instead. One of his clever plans backfired, though, when a booby trapped Claymore he was preparing exploded in his hand. Evacuate to Okinawa? No way! (8:19)
No one in armor had ever done it. When he assumed command of C Troop of the 3-5 Cav, Howie Bachman had his second combat command in a row. He began to assert his usual leadership style which meant that the men hated him at first. That would change. (8:56)
A long range patrol unit came into the night position of one of Howie Bachman's tank platoons. Unfortunately a specially trained anti-armor NVA unit followed them. Fortunately, one of them triggered a trip flare. The battle was on. When it was all over, a PFC had some heartfelt words for his commander. (6:32)
The green tracers started coming in on Howie Bachman's position. He determined that it was really another platoon that was under attack and moved to reinforce them. After the fight, they found blood trails leading into a village and were eager to go looking for the wounded enemy. No, we're not going to do that. That's how a massacre starts. (4:58)
No one had ever heard of this happening. A faulty mortar round blew up in the tube, killing three soldiers. Howie Bachman had that lot of mortar rounds taken out of the ammo stocks. When it came time to fire some rounds for night time positioning, the men refused to fire the mortars. He had to take matters into his own hands. (7:32)
An infantry platoon was attached to Howie Bachman's armor troop for a small operation. It was the hot season and they came in dog tired and parched. Would you like a Coke? The platoon leader looked at him like he was from another planet. (3:27)
Howie Bachman had commanded back to back units in combat, a unique feat for an armor officer. This set him up for a nice career even though he inadvertently missed out on a plum job with General Creighton Abrams. (3:41)
His second return from Vietnam was a little hazy due to the friendly and generous flight crew on the airliner from Seattle to Houston. First it was grad school for Howie Bachman and then a career that alternated between the Pentagon and command in the field. While at Rice University, he set some people straight about how real soldiers felt about the Calley trial. (8:03)