1st of many humourous, odd. or strange things in my past.

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al_2ndWolfhounds
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Re: 1st of many humourous, odd. or strange things in my past

Post by al_2ndWolfhounds »

In 1969 Vietnam we started the year doing Search and Destroy missions which became Reconnaissance in Force due to political pressures of the time.

Our typical Search and Destroy mission was obviously to search for the enemy and destroy them. Another part was to find weapon, munition, food, medical supply caches as well as mines, booby traps (what we called all forms of traps intended to hurt maim or kill our troops which included IEDs but we didn't call them that at the time). When we found such items we were either to collect the weapons or pretty much destroy anything else.

On one such mission we swept through a village and found caches and booby traps in every hut. I called it in and received orders to destroy everything in place. The combat engineer attached to my platoon was in 7th Heaven. As we departed the village with all villagers in tow and the huts all blown and burning we see approaching us what back home we would have called a Hippie. There he was in all his glory with long hair beard wearing a flamboyant beach shirt and shorts yelling and screaming at us wanting to know "Just what the F__k we thought we were doing?" My response was "Who the hell are you."

His response was just too unbelievable;





















He was with the Peace Corps and that was one of the villages with which he had been working. I then asked him if he had noticed any of what we had found and he replied yes but it was counter to his purpose to do anything about it. I told him that we were going to turn all of the villagers over to the National Police and he could check with them as to whether or not the village was going to need any more of his assistance.

That was the first and only experience I had with the Peace Corp in Vietnam. So I gotta ask did we have any Peace Corp in Iraq while we were fighting and the next is have we had them in Afghanistan over the last 9 years?
RLTW

Active service 01/67-12/73
Ranger Class 10-68
2/27 Inf 25th Inf Div Vietnam 01/69-01/70

"In America, anybody can be president. That's one of the risks you take." - Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965)
“The enemy is anybody who’s going to get you killed, no matter which side he is on.” – Joseph Heller, Catch-22
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IEDmagnet
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Re: 1st of many humourous, odd. or strange things in my past

Post by IEDmagnet »

As I have been in both countries for extended periods of time, I have to say that I never once saw anyone resembling peace corps. That story was amazing to me for that fact. Had I been strolling through Al Yusifiyah or downtown Qalat and had an American or westerner approach me that wasn't in uniform....I think my immediate reaction would be to shoot the collaberating bastard as there is a reason he hasn't been beheaded on Al Jazeera.


Awesome story, thanks for sharing it.
A/3/505 PIR, 82nd 96-98
B/2/121 Inf, 48th BCT Iraq 05-06
B/1/118 Inf, 218th BCT Afghan 07

I'm not stupid, I'm crazy...there is a difference.
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Lefty
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Re: 1st of many humourous, odd. or strange things in my past

Post by Lefty »

That was a great story. Only in the US gov't. could you have agencies working at such different cross purposes.

Only civilians I ever saw in our area were correspondents -about one step removed from the VC in our eyes - and the Red Cross, a government operated mobile brothel.
RLTW
Lefty
SFOC 1969
6th SFG(A) 69-70
Ranger Class 13-70
MACV Tm 21 70-71 (2nd ARVN Ranger Gp 23d
BN)
2/13 Armor 1st Cav 71-72

"Experience teaches a dear school, but fools will learn in no other, and some scarce in that"
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Jim
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Re: 1st of many humourous, odd. or strange things in my past

Post by Jim »

There was a brothel in Can Tho that was operated by a woman who had been married to two Ranger officers that had been killed in action. We referred to her as the "black widow."

In El Salvador, the Ambassador frequently requested that members of USMILGP check the completeness of USAID project. For example, was the culvert is some town really built? Or was some corrupt local official just pocketing the $?
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Advisor, VN 66-68 69-70
42d Vn Ranger Battalion 1969-1970
Trainer, El Salvador 86-87
Advisor, Saudi Arabian National Guard 91, 93-94
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Jim
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Re: 1st of many humourous, odd. or strange things in my past

Post by Jim »

BUMP! Too many shitty stories to let die.
Ranger Class 13-71
Advisor, VN 66-68 69-70
42d Vn Ranger Battalion 1969-1970
Trainer, El Salvador 86-87
Advisor, Saudi Arabian National Guard 91, 93-94
75th RRA Life Member #867
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johnjohnson1957
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Re: 1st of many humourous, odd. or strange things in my past

Post by johnjohnson1957 »

Crazy story, thanks for sharing. BTW, never underestimate the values of mobile brothel, even a government operated one, lol.
Army AD medic: FAMC, 2/5 FA, 97 Gen Hosp, AFRC Berchtesgaden, 28 CSH; 1975-1980
Army Guard/Reserve: 1/410 Inf, 209 Med Clr Co, 12th SF: 1982-1988
USAF AD: 1988-2003; Retired
RS 10-81
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