War Stories

War stories. Every soldier who served in combat has at least one. I’m no exception.

This series offers a glimpse into my 19 months in the Vietnam War, Woven throughout are tales highlighting the extraordinary people I met along the way and descriptions of some of the defining moments that shaped my two tours in Vietnam.

This will be a series, so I recommend you read the posts below in sequence.

I hope you find something of interest here. Thanks for reading!

Part 8: One Helluva Day!

A Vietnam war story about a fateful accident ...

Part 7: Meet Chris Sakell and Mai the Monkey

Meet Chris Sakell and Mai the monkey, two unforgettable good friends ...

Part 6: Claymore Alley

"Claymore Alley" is a paper I wrote years ago about my first combat experience in Vietnam, a case of "friendly ...

Part 5: A Tour of Pr’Line Mountain

Take a tour of our Central Highlands home! ...

Part 4: The Pr’Line Mountain Security Platoon

Meet the men of the 194th MP Security Platoon ...

Part 3: Zero Week in Nam

Part 3: Zero Week in Nam It’s strange how some memories are so completely buried that no matter how hard ...

Part 2: How I Became the Envy of the Battalion

This post discusses how I got my orders for Vietnam when no one was allowed to go ...

Part 1: From High School to Riot Control

This post describes how I enlisted in the Army and ended up as an MP in San Francisco ...

Lest We Forget

A brief history of how the US first got involved in Vietnam ...

Claymore Alley

The story of my first combat experience, later known as "friendly fire." ...