Brothers in War

[tomndianm2]

Brothers in War airs March 26th 2014 at 8 pm ET on the National Geographic Channel. I just thought some might be interested in watching or record it to watch at a later date.

[Jim Sheppard]

I watched the program tonight. It was an excellent depiction of a unit that, in many ways, mirrored our experiences....particularly the original group.

As we did, these guys went through Basic, AIT and a boat ride together. They plodded through a year of combat and watched their friends becoming casualties. The unit, Charlie Company, 4th Battalion, 47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, had severe casualties in their year...with nearly every original member being either killed or wounded. I believe my math determined that only 27 were spared physical wounds out of 160...

For me it was nostalgic for the aforementioned reasons....but since I was infused to the 3rd Bn, 47th Infantry in June of 1968...many of the scenes were familiar...including the ship on which I was occasionally stationed with the Mobile Riverine Force.

I would have liked the producers to comment more on the positive effects of the reunions these guys have had since 1989. I couldn't help thinking it looked exactly like parts of our reunions...in fact, I believe the scenes at the end were shot at the Infantry Museum's Banquet hall.

Thanks, Don, for posting this "heads up". The preceding hour was a documentary about the 1st of the 7th Cav in the Ia Drang. I ended up watching that as well.

[harley hawkins]

Jim

I read a book about the 9th, boys of 67. Their experiences was about like ours as far as basic , going over on the pope, but their combat was different then ours . I think the book author did say he got a lot of pictures from someone who was with c company. Anyway if the documentary is as good as the book many will enjoy it.


mick hawkins

[pt9243]

Agree with Jim. Kept reminding me of our beginnings from basic, AIT, then back to Fort Hood for more training. The boat trip was also all too familiar. Looks like these guys stayed together till the bitter end as opposed to the 1/50 which had men infused into other units. Good documentary.

[Jim Sheppard]

I wondered about the lack of mention of any "infusion" program. I can offer these "educated" assumptions.

They were going through the entire process before us...without checking, I think it was about 9 months earlier. Key to beginning the infusion process would be the steady stream of replacements to all units in Vietnam...which began to slow in 1968 and as troop strength peaked in the spring of 1969....before a decline culminated by Vietnamezation" in 1972/3. Translated...this means they had a ready and steady flow of replacements as casualties occurred...thus eliminating the huge loss to the unit as mass DEROSs occurred at the end of their year. I often wondered why we simply did not just acquire new "in-country" replacements from time to time to bring us up to TOE strength...rather than all the transferring...which added to the break-down in cohesiveness of the unit. When you contemplate the fact that we also had high numbers of KIA and WIA...I personally don't think the Battalion would have taken such a large personnel hit in September of 1968...although I am told they did experience a problem.

Most of our Line Companies never recovered (Personnel TOE strength) from the heavy losses in late 1967 and through the spring of 1968...remaining well under TOE strength. I suspect it was one of the reasons for the move to An Khe and relegation to road and bridge security with the 173rd in late 1968 and 1969. I have also just recently learned that it was common in this period for either reduced unit operations at Platoon Size, or combined operations of more than one "under-strength" Company. This would explain why some members may have witness casualties of a man not in their assigned Company...such as elements of "B" and "C" working together on search and destroy missions. Although this was not a widespread occurrence...it did happen from time to time.

If the 4/47th did not have an "Infusion" program, it probably meant that infusion had not yet been implemented theater-wide?....or maybe simply not in the 9th ID.

[wfm7]

The book does in fact talk extensively and very negatively of how the infusion program decimated their unit's cohesion in a way all too familiar to us

[Jim Sheppard]

"On Paper", Infusion sounded like a solution. In reality, it was a mess. Units had quotas to send periodically, and often commanders selected those they wanted to get rid of. Men we received were immediately alienated by the fact that they had paid their combat "dues" elsewhere...and aside from that very basic commonality, we did not know them very well. They had left their friends behind...and we had been forced to dispatch our friends to get them. In theory, this should not have mattered...orders were orders...but in fact, it did little to boost a sagging morale problem in 1968. These are just my opinions, of course, and subjective. Were it not for "Infusion", I would have spent my entire 3 year enlistment with the 1/50th.

In retrospect, I suppose I wish I could have had a "No Trade" clause!

Many of you do not know of my 50th Infantry "history". I had Basic Training with the first batch to be trained at Fort Hood beginning in December of 1965. I stayed after a failed attempt to attend OCS and became the "Charlie Company" Supply Clerk and then the Charlie Company Armorer. In February of 1967, I volunteered for a 6 month TDY to Vietnam and was stationed in Saigon. I returned in late August and did not even have time to unpack my duffle bag as we left for Vietnam together. I then spent 3 months in Combat as a rifleman and Fire Team Leader with the 1st Squad of the 3rd Platoon. I was selected to be the Uplift forward area Company Clerk for a month or so and then was shuffled around in various jobs with HQ (A Typist for S1 and company clerk for HQ...as well as a "gofer" with Charlie Company Maintenance). Finally I was transferred to the Delta & duty in the supply room of HQ Co, 3/47th Inf, 9th Inf Div (Mobile Riverine Force).

All of this stood me in better stead to be a historian on Vietnam since I witnessed several different AOs in the 18 months I ended up spending in South Vietnam....but at the time, I still hated leaving the 50th.

[pcfrmr]

I was infused. It got me "killed" while with the 1/50th. Doc Fitz kept them from being successful. Did not get to know you guys well then. I was scared to hell by your SOP. You became a top notch Nam savy unit. Following old trails and tracks scared me. Got me and Moomey, Belinge, & Stolinski, plus at least 5 others, just over 46 years ago (26 March, 1968). Can you believe it? 46 years have passed. Still ready at the drop of a hat. Just too damned old. Tired. The reunions make me feel part of the proud and great 1/50th.
GOMF, Bob Wuestenberg