Tag: Vietnam

In 1964, the United States wasn’t yet fully immersed in Vietnam and our commitment at that time were just advisors. Roger Donlon was the Commander of A-726, a Special Forces A-Team from the 7th Special Forces Group. His team was placed in Nam Dong, a strategically placed village 30 miles west of Da Nang and […]

During a firefight near the Cambodian border on June 6, 1968, a 1st Infantry Division soldier got a pleasant surprise as he watched a North Vietnamese Army infantryman aim his rifle, pull the trigger and explode in a cloud of black smoke. American troops later examined the remains of the NVA soldier and his exploded […]

Ben Het, was a U.S. Special Forces camp located 288 miles northeast of Saigon and six miles from the junction of the Cambodian, Laotian, and South Vietnamese borders, and on June 23, 1969, it was besieged and cut off by 3,000 North Vietnamese troops using artillery and mortars. The base was defended by 250 U.S. […]

The Special Forces Sergeant pulled the small rectangular Claymore mine from its pouch. Though he couldn’t see the Soviet built truck, he smelled its fumes. The distinctive low rasp of its diesel engine spewed a heavy, acrid odor that hung under the dense jungle canopy for hundreds of yards. Unwinding the detonation wire, he sensed […]

The Pentagon has announced that President Donald Trump will award the Congressional Medal of Honor to former Army Specialist and Vietnam Veteran James C. McCloughan in a ceremony on July 31st. According to news release provided by the Pentagon, McCloughan will receive the prestigious award for “distinguished actions during 48 hours of close-combat fighting against […]

On this day in 1968, SPC5 John Kedenburg’s actions would result in his being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (posthumously) while on a mission in Laos. Kedenburg was assigned to Military Assistance Command Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG known only just as SOG) as the Team Leader (1-0 one zero) of Recon Team Nevada. […]

On this day in 1968, SPC5 John Kedenburg’s actions would result in his being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (posthumously) while on a mission in Laos. Kedenburg was assigned to Military Assistance Command Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG known only just as SOG) as the Team Leader (1-0 one zero) of Recon Team Nevada. […]

April, 24th, 1969 Quan Loi Airfield South Vietnam Adjusting his olive drab skull cap, he pushed another .38 revolver between his utility belt. Shouldering the trusty M3 greasegun with its long silencer, he gave a quick tug to the multitude of grenades cinched at various points on his torso. Feeling them secure; he inspected the […]

In a battle for the district capital of Phuc Long Province in the III Corps area about 60 miles northeast of Saigon in the country of Viet Nam, Special Forces 2LT Charles Q. Williams would distinguish himself in the battle of the Dong Xoai CIDG camp and later be awarded the Medal of Honor. In […]

Continued concern by Vietnam veteran groups about missing Americans from that war continue as the government office responsible for that mission, DoD’s Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency (DPAA) has been without a director for 12 of its 23 months in existence since the departure of its first Director Michael Linnington in June. […]

James Bond had “Q.” SOG had Baker. Ben Baker. During the Vietnam War’s eight-year secret war conducted in Laos, Cambodia and N. Vietnam under the aegis of the Military Assistance Command Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (SOG), the Green Berets turned to Counterinsurgency Support Office (CISO) Deputy Commander Conrad (“Ben”) B. Baker for everything […]

During the lead up to Memorial Day here at  SpecialOperations.com we’re looking at some of the more interesting tidbits of our history. Some you may not have heard of before and others may be familiar to you. While the US had sent Special Forces advisors to South East Asia during the 1950s to Vietnam and to […]