WRA with circled P on grip, this late?

[G26ster]

The 82nd wasn't in Vietnam at that time. I believe that some 82nd elements came over late in the war, but not sure. You would see guys with 82nd combat patches from time to time. The 101st was very active in the Tuy Hoa area north of us and you would have an officer (Usually a Captain) down begging for some better radios and offering AKs as trade bait. Apparently they were asking a lot out of their PRICK 25s. Not to get into the 101st/82 rivalry, but the 101st was an elite unit and very good at what they did. The 82 was looked down upon by soldiers I met because of all of the CIBs that were handed out from the Dominican operation.

I was there much later than you Dave. In 68-71, the 101st moved much further north, and took over most operations from Hue to just south of Quang Tri in Northern I Corps, along with the 5th Mech at Quang Tri and the ARNV Marines. The ARVN Marines had Aussie advisors, who had nerves of steel! I flew gunships in support of all of them, and also in support of SF teams from CCN (Command & Control North) and the 75th Rangers. All units performed in an exemplary manner. One of the biggest problems all units faced in Northern I Corps was resupply. Everything was shipped in from way down South, and by the time it reached its destination up North, half of it was gone! As for the 82d, I'm not familiar with their AO in RVN.

[DaveHH]

Yes, the 101st cut off the NVA west of Hue. I was in the 5th Mec before I went to RVN and it was the sorriest outfit in the Army. I was just out of good Infantry Basic at Ft Ord and we came out good soldiers, the 5th was trained with very poor cadre and had been stripped with most good NCOs sent to RVN. They were some sorry soldiers, sloppy out of shape. When I got there I would hit the deck and do 40 before going to sleep, the other guys thought I was nuts. The Div was rated as not combat ready in early 66. Anyway I always said that when the 5th shows up in RVN we'll know we lost the war, and sure enough that was right. I'm not sure the 82 as a unit ever went to RVN either, some elements may have gone later. They always guarded the 82 for Stateside emergencies. Resupply was a serious problem because they had so many support elements sitting on their axxes that the good stuff left for them. We ordered 70+air conditioner units for use in the big $1M VHF and UHF radio trucks we had all over II Corps as the heat was killing those radios (and truck batteries too)
by the time they arrived fully half were gone and all the local Viet bars suddenly had A.C. Sometimes we couldn't get any American beer or cigarettes (1966). Ever smoke Bastos or drink Korean Star beer? Up in the highlands by the time you were there, I'd bet HWY 19 was like running a gauntlet up to An Khe and Pleiku.

[G26ster]

Yes, the 101st cut off the NVA west of Hue. I was in the 5th Mec before I went to RVN and it was the sorriest outfit in the Army. I was just out of good Infantry Basic at Ft Ord and we came out good soldiers, the 5th was trained with very poor cadre and had been stripped with most good NCOs sent to RVN. They were some sorry soldiers, sloppy out of shape. When I got there I would hit the deck and do 40 before going to sleep, the other guys thought I was nuts. The Div was rated as not combat ready in early 66. Anyway I always said that when the 5th shows up in RVN we'll know we lost the war, and sure enough that was right. I'm not sure the 82 as a unit ever went to RVN either, some elements may have gone later. They always guarded the 82 for Stateside emergencies. Resupply was a serious problem because they had so many support elements sitting on their axxes that the good stuff left for them. We ordered 70+air conditioner units for use in the big $1M VHF and UHF radio trucks we had all over II Corps as the heat was killing those radios (and truck batteries too)
by the time they arrived fully half were gone and all the local Viet bars suddenly had A.C. Sometimes we couldn't get any American beer or cigarettes (1966). Ever smoke Bastos or drink Korean Star beer? Up in the highlands by the time you were there, I'd bet HWY 19 was like running a gauntlet up to An Khe and Pleiku.

Funny, I was in the 5th Mech at Ft. Carson in '63. 1/61st Inf. Got levied to Korea, so yeah drank plenty of Korean beer. Mostly OB beer Our resupply in RVN was so bad, we "willed" Nomex flight suits and gloves to each other. Went thru the year with 2 flight suits and one ratty pair of Nomex gloves, with most of the finger tips missing. But, I've been told every motor scooter rider in Saigon had them