199th Light Infantry brigade

Redcatcher

Hi to all, looking for members who where at Fort Benning, GA in 1966 or where on the USS POPE for the trip over. I would love to talk to any one who was with the 199th then. I was in CO B 7th SPT BN.

Ironrifle

Go to www.redcatcher.org.. Home for all former Redcatchers!

Musket44

I'll be darned -- a fellow Redcatcher !

I, also, was in B Co., 7th Spt -- Mar '67 to Mar '68. CPT Randolph Smith was the CO for most of my time in the company.

Ironrifle

Was with A 2/40 from `Oct. `67-Feb `69.. Welcome home brother!

Musket44

And welcome home to you, too, Sir. In '67 the 2/40th was on the east side of the Brigade base camp, pretty close to the little ammo dump that we ran. When Tet '68 started there were, I believe, two tubes emplaced in the 2/40's area -- real early that morning they must have gotten a fire mission with the target off towards Bien Hoa 'cause they fired a number of rounds right over the offices of A & B companies, 7th Spt. Whoo-wee, was that an attention-getter !

Jim Rau

87th Engineer Co, 68 and 69.

Ironrifle

Alpha Btry had 3 guns at BMB when Tet started. We put out a lot of HE and Illum. rounds that first night!

Redcatcher

Hi & welcome home to both of you. have a hard time remembering things these days. I shared a tent out on the perimeter, next to the helipads,that is where I keep my things when I was in base camp. also drove a 10klb rought terrain fork lift at the ammo dump in 67, was on light duty for 30 days. spent a lot of time driving. Spent time with Big Red 1, when we first got incountry because we had no vehicles. 1st tent was right need the mess tent I think, remember walking back with my chow, to my tent in the rain. mud mud & more mud and sand bags had to fill sand bag for all the tents & guard posts. did you ever have crap duty, burning crap what a deal much rather fill sand bags. any way it good to be alive, God bless & be carefull

prangle

Ft Benning 1967 June
Ft Polk 1967
A,4th,12th, 199th Dec 67 to Dec 68
Ft Gordon afterward

Ironrifle

Did anyone here go to the Ft. Benning reunion?

UH1Charlie

Went over on the USS Sultan, the ship that turned around when a poor soul bailed overboard 4000 miles from land. Trained at Ft Benning in '66'. We were the NVA/VC during the field exercise's. Being the enemy was a real eye opener from my perspective. We ruled the night.
'De Frenchman'
152nd MP Plt. 199th LIB 66-67
187th Assault Helicopter Co 67-68

flapjack

I don't know if you guys in the 199th know, but there is a book on your units activities durring the time leading up to, and following Tet of 68. It was written by a company comander, I believe. I found it a good read, and then gave it to a friend who was in the 199th around that time, so I don't have the title at hand. I found out just a couple of years ago the the VC General who ran the whole Saigon area campaign durring Tet had his headquarters right accross the road from where I ended up a little later, in a temple that was pretty much leveled in a 2 day battle that included all kinds of air assets, etc,etc. This was at Phu Lam if anyone is familiar with the details. The VC LEFT 151 kia. But it was some tanks from the 199th that finally blasted them out of there. It is in the time life books, but better covered in Keith Nolan's "the battle for Saigon." They-the monks-were still trying to rebuild the thing when I got there in 69, but it was a "no fire zone" then, at least for us, but not for them! We got incoming small arms from over there on a regular basis. Used to watch them carry guns, etc- in there at night with a starlight. What a cog cruncher.