Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Kenneth Sager

Vietnam | 1st Cavalry, A Company, 228th Assault Helicopter Company

After basic training in Fort Gordon, Ken Sager made sure that he got sent to Vietnam because he wanted to be a part of the war. He worked on loading the ships, where he got his first introduction to the war. (7:47)
After being assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, the Tet Offensive was underway. They faced a formidable challenge in fighting the North Vietnamese there and had to think on their feet to outsmart them. (7:29)
During a firefight, Ken Sager was trapped in a flaming helicopter that led to his injuries he sustained from the war. Piecing together the story of what happened that day didn't happen for many years. (7:39)
After being injured in a helicopter accidents, Ken Sager returned home and tried to find his place back in the States. He left the country for a while to get away from it all. After many years, he met the men who saved his life in the accident and felt the relief of knowing those things. (11:28)
Kenneth Sager remembers the support systems he had after the war to get him through his PTSD. Recovering is a hard process for any soldier who has seen what they had seen. (11:00)
Kenny Bell

WWII | 871st Field Artillery Battalion, 66th Infantry Division

He was a young country kid trying to make his way in an Army full of more sophisticated people. Kenny Bell got the manual for the artillery pieces and read it at night until he knew the guns inside and out. He volunteered to go overseas when he was sent to a stateside post. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (5:09)
His division was devastated by the sinking of the SS Leopoldville, so Kenny Bell was not sent to Battle of the Bulge. The 66th Infantry Division was instead given the assignment of containing German troops around submarine bases on the French coast. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:39)
Kenny Bell relates the story of a man on his gun crew who went into the nearby French town and came back with five gallons of wine. That night, while he was having a little party, a fire mission came in. Not good for accuracy. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (1:54)
The end of the war was a big moment for Kenny Bell. For the first time in a long time, he went into town and celebrated. That was in Brittany, but before he went home, he had occupation duty in several places. In Austria, he had a big German command car for his personal transportation. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:25)
After World War II, Kenny Bell wound up an Army lifer. He became known as a fixer, a sergeant who could come into a dysfunctional unit and straighten it out. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (3:48)