Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Mike Burke

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) | 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment

When Mike Burke heard about another Ranger unit jumping into Afghanistan in 2002, they figured that was it. They'd missed the war. That proved to be very wrong and, later that year, they were there as well. (6:25)
It was a great homecoming for Mike Burke after his Afghanistan tour. He went right back to hard training and, he didn't know it yet, but the next deployment would be to Iraq. The weeks before Saddam was deposed were chaotic but then the victors basked in the appreciation of the Iraqis, at least for a while. (Caution: strong language) (7:15)
It was chaos. There was no standardization of equipment between the Army, the Marines and Special Ops as Operation Iraqi Freedom unfolded. The outcome was inevitable, though, and Saddam was toppled. Mike Burke recalls his unit's involvement in the Jessica Lynch rescue, and "capturing" a high ranking Ba'ath official only to get a big surprise. (5:43)
We gave them a taste of freedom. Mike Burke wants all veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq to be proud they had a hand in that. Now it's up to those folks to decide if they want freedom bad enough to fight for it. (6:35)
Mike Carey

Vietnam | 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment

His father was a Navy lifer but the Navy wanted a four year enlistment so Mike Carey went with the Marines. It would be the best training for Vietnam and he knew that's where he would be going. He had a specialist MOS but when he got there, he was just another grunt. (6:57)
After a short survival and orientation course, Mike Carey was on his way to Vietnam. All his romantic notions about war from all those war movies were immediately gone when he found out what his first assignment was. Eventually he made it to the field where he wasted no time in becoming a target. (6:11)
Mike Carey had just arrived in Vietnam and on his first patrol, the platoon leader told him to take the point. Why would he do that? He got through the patrol and it was the start of "paying his dues." Two other Marines joined the unit at the same time and they became a close knit group. (2:54)
On Hill 214, a new fire base took shape as the Marines cleared off the hilltop and brought in artillery. Mike Carey recalls that it was very thick jungle there but in the middle of it they found an NVA supply trail. They also found malaria. (6:56)
Mines and booby traps can be devastating and not just because of the carnage. It was depressing to Mike Carey because there was no opportunity for payback. There was no one around to go after. He describes one that gave him a Purple Heart and took out his platoon leader. (4:12)
The unit was in place for the night when a Marine heard something. Denied an illumination round, he was allowed to toss a grenade and he then found two dead NVA who'd been sneaking up on them. The next morning they made a security sweep of that area and Mike Carey describes the deadly ordeal that became. (9:00)