Discussion 2: Skills and Sensitivities

Experiences in War and Combat

Experiences in War and Combat Program Transcript

DESMOND W. FLANIGAN: It's said every generation has its war. My generation, the war was Vietnam. So that was my war, that was my theater. In Vietnam, it was our first in a long time, our first American insurgent or counter insurgent warfare. In insurgent warfare, the insurgent or the guerrilla, they pick the place, they pick the time.

I was always taught as a kid that I was Irish American, so there's a strong Irish background. G. K. Chesterton once said-- the Irish are referred to as the Gaels, the Gaelic race. He said, the great Gaels of Ireland are the race that God made mad, for all their wars are merry and all their songs are sad. So with that as a background, you look for combat. It's the ultimate test.

My experience in combat, in real combat, was basically my first tour in Vietnam, 1963-1964. I went over there as a first lieutenant. I was adviser to a Vietnamese ranger battalion, the 35th ranger battalion. He operated separately, usually what might be called behind enemy lines or in areas that-- the term was contested, which means that it was not under government control.

I remember it was on the 30th of March, 1964, we ended up with locking horns with one of the first contacts with people what they were calling them guerrillas. They weren't guerrillas. They were NVA, North Vietnamese Army. I remember we had moved at night, set up about four o'clock in the morning. Somebody fired a rifle. I was pretty sure it was an M1, it was one of ours. I got up, looked around, nothing.

But then at about five o'clock or so, all hell broke loose. I was lying on my back. I remember looking up, and I saw three lines of yellow-green tracers. Yellow-green tracers are the bad guys. We have red-orange tracers. They have yellow-green.

So it was NVA, and I remember we were definite when they get pretty close. I could see the guy. He was in a uniform, tan uniform, full web gear, light gray pith helmet with a red star, so you knew he was Communist, he was NVA. That lasted for about three and a half, four hours. Things got pretty tight.

The guy on my right was killed, the guy on my left was killed, the guy behind me was killed. I used up their ammo when I ran out. And I remember I got on the radio phone. I just called for any aircraft, gave my call sign and gave the coordinates in the clear. It was really getting close. We were backed up to a river, and it was a river that flowed into the Saigon, so it was a tidal river. The tide was in, we were backed up, and they had us on three sides.

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Experiences in War and Combat

And suddenly, I got this call. This is the US Air Force adviser with a flight of four A1Es, one American and three Vietnamese. And they saved our ass. Then the artillery came in, and we won the day. We lost some people.

During that thing, you didn't think about it, and it only comes back to your memory in snatches. As you talk about it, you remember more things. It doesn't affect you then because you're too busy. It's like the next night or the next couple nights after it goes on.

Experiences in War and Combat Additional Content Attribution

IMAGES: Images provided by http://www.istockphoto.com/

SPECIAL THANKS: The Wilkinson and Flannigan Family

MUSIC: Creative Support Services Los Angeles, CA

Dimension Sound Effects Library Newnan, GA

Narrator Tracks Music Library Stevens Point, WI

Signature Music, Inc Chesterton, IN

Studio Cutz Music Library Carrollton, TX

© 2016 Laureate Education, Inc. 2