Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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John Overbeck

WWII | 275th Armored Field Artillery Battalion

After working his way through Northern France, John Overbeck recalls his first combat experience leading up to the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. (2:23)
Shortly after the end of the Korean War, John Overbeck recalls spending a year in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the North Korean border. (1:24)
John Overcash

Vietnam | Multiple Units

Newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant John Overcash made his way through the toughest schools, Airborne, Ranger and Special Warfare School. By then he was a 1st Lieutenant and he made his way to the 1st Special Forces Group in Okinawa to join an A-Team. The next stop was the Vietnam/Cambodia border. (4:24)
It was at a way station for VC and NVA on the Ho Chi Minh Trail that A-Team member John Overcash narrowly dodged a sniper's bullet. Undeterred, his team surprised the enemy while they were eating lunch. After the firefight, they found two survivors. They were crying for their mother. (6:38)
After his first tour in Vietnam, Green Beret John Overcash went though a grueling underwater demolition course run by the Navy. Then he was sent back to the war as part of a new top secret outfit that aimed to disrupt enemy activity in neighboring countries. (5:15)
He was setting booby traps on the Ho Chi Minh trail when John Overcash stepped on a punji stake. The wound didn't seem bad but the next day, it was apparent that he had blood poisoning. After he recuperated and had a quick visit with his family in Okinawa, his commander had a new assignment for him. He was to lead a recon team into Laos. Part 1 of 2. (7:40)
The Special Forces recon team was looking for an ammo and supply dump in Laos. John Overcash was the team leader and, after they found a huge rice cache, he split off to look for the ammo dump. Almost immediately, he heard gunfire back with the main group. The mission was now compromised. Part 2 of 2. (7:42)
After his second Vietnam tour, John Overcash spent a year in Okinawa and then went to Fort Benning to develop and run a small unit tactics course for the Ranger School. This is where he got the nickname Phantom Ranger. He then tendered his resignation to devote time to his family, but the Army wasn't through with him yet. "Needs of the service," meant that he was going on a third tour. (5:23)
During his last Vietnam tour, John Overcash was advising an ARVN division and coordinating air support. He managed to reduce the response time significantly. This was his last rodeo and he headed home to North Carolina. (4:41)
John Overcash had three tours in Vietnam, but it was during Ranger training that he first flirted with death. The final exercise took place in the Georgia mountains. A three man team was to escape and evade their way out of the back country, but as night approached, the weather took a turn for the worse. (7:54)