Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Ron Sherman

Vietnam | 45th Military Intelligence Detachment, 1st Military Intelligence Battalion (Air Reconnaissance Support)

Ron Sherman's main job in Vietnam was to develop the rolls of film shot by reconnaissance planes and make prints for the photo interpreters to examine. He used a camera himself, sometimes flying in helicopters or small planes. A question from his commander about pilots carrying hand held cameras led to a shopping trip to Tokyo. (5:45)
Ron Sherman went to Vietnam on a ship and he spent the time reading about the country and the people, trying to get a feel for where he was going. His post in Saigon was a photo lab operation, so he was able to enjoy the city a little, at least before the Tet Offensive. He recalls watching fireworks turn into hostile fire, but it was the 1st Cavalry's response that nearly got him. (3:06)
After some kind words for Good Morning, Vietnam, photo officer Ron Sherman recalls a special mission he was given which involved a trip to Thailand. Pilots had spotted something strange in the A Shau Valley. What was it? (4:43)
Ron Sherman laughs when he recalls a wild night with an Australian Special Forces unit during his Vietnam tour. No way to keep up with those guys. His best day there, though he didn't know it at the time, was when he received a fateful box of cookies. (3:58)
Ron Sherman got the news of his father's death the same month a close friend died in the siege of Khe Sanh. Eager to leave Vietnam, he still had some time to serve when he got home. Posted to a Nike base near his home in Cleveland, he faced a worse task than any he had faced back in the war. (5:38)
It was Max Cleland who got photographer Ron Sherman involved with a Vietnam Veterans group. Not even the former Georgia Secretary of State could put the Veterans Administration right, though, in his view. He laments that we got involved in that war at all, and points out the only thing that would be different had we not done so. (5:23)
Ronald Russell

Vietnam | Multiple Units

Ron Russell's tour in Vietnam began as a Forward Air Controller based at an old rubber plantation in South Vietnam. Halfway through the tour he was recruited to move to NKP air base in Thailand and serve as a pilot for Special Forces operations and as a FAC flying over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. (4:58)
As an F-4 pilot, Ron Russell was a perfect candidate to fly the OV-10, a new aircraft designed specifically for counter-insurgency and forward air control. After an eventful tour in Southeast Asia, he went on to a long career in the Air Force and intelligence community. (5:23)
There was a base camp under VC attack. It was a large force and Forward Air Controller Ron Russell had no air assets available for strikes. He fired his marking rockets, knowing that the enemy would hesitate, fearing an air strike. As that effect wore off, he reached out to the artillery for help. (5:08)
A long range reconnaissance patrol had been compromised. They had been spotted and at least a company size force was pursuing them. They scrambled into a large bomb crater and it was there that Forward Air Controller Ron Russell directed the fight to save and extract the team. (6:48)