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Mike Vining

Vietnam | 99th Ordnance Detachment

During the Cambodian Incursion, the 1st Cavalry Division was flown in to secure a massive cache of Vietnamese weapons and ammunition. As part of their EOD detachment, Mike Vining was brought in to destroy it, but getting out would be much more difficult. (13:38)
Incoming mortars and rockets were a threat all over Vietnam, no matter where you were. Mike Vining describes one such event where an ammo dump had caught fire and was burning dangerously. (6:24)
The booby traps in Vietnam were prolific and killed and wounded many. Mike Vining discusses some of the techniques the VC and NVA would employ against American forces, as well as American efforts to do the same to them. (8:49)
Working around explosives is naturally a dangerous endeavor, and American EOD experts suffered a number of casualties over the years. Mike Vining discusses some of the bombs that were WWII relics and the transition to, and legacy of, the BLU-82 “Daisy Cutter”. (3:17)
Vietnam was a testing ground for all sorts of new weapons and tactics. Mike Vining details the implementation of a new experimental type of ammunition, the XM-74, and how it’s chemical components presented an extreme hazard for his EOD team when one got loose. (10:58)
Mike Vining describes some classified munitions he had to deal with at Fire Support Base Audie after the enemy attacked and artillery was called in to stop them. (2:20)
There wasn’t much that would save you if munitions were detonating by you, and Mike Vining details the one time he wore a flak jacket in Vietnam. (1:33)
After his tour in Vietnam, Mike Vining returned to the civilian world and landed a job in a factory. The shift was fine and the pay was right, but the working conditions were plenty dangerous. Despite the Army’s reduction in force, he was able to reenlist, but on one condition. (9:15)
Operating stateside, Mike Vining’s EOD unit was tasked with assisting the Secret Service with large scale events. During a Presidential election event where Senator Bob Dole was visiting Quincy, IL, the town would be rocked by a nearby explosion and subsequent bomb threats. (Part 1 of 2) (7:48)
The Secret Service had removed Senator Dole, but Mike Vining and his team were left in Quincy, IL to deal with the remaining bomb threats which ended tragically. (Part 2 of 2) (10:52)