IAmA: Vietnam Veteran who was a gunner in an AC-130. On active duty for 4 1/2 years. AMAA

How common was drug abuse among the US military in Vietnam?

Very common.

Was it as bad as it's portrayed in the Vietnam war movies? Most of these films portray the US troops as pretty well blasted out of their minds on everything from marajuana to LSD.

Not quite THAT bad. But many lived each day as if it was their last.

which drug was most popular?

Probably cocaine.

I was under the impression morphine was a bigger deal in the Vietnam war, due to far greater ease or access.

To my knowledge, cocaine was bigger, but morphine was big too.

Ever play mw2?

Yes I have played it once or twice with my son.

what are your thoughts on it? as you actually did something like that in real life?

I believe it numbs sensitivity to death

agreed. Do soldiers tend to find these video games offensive?

Yes I do.

Fair enough

I meant to put : Yes I do think that (they find it offensive)

If you don't mind me asking, what was the most traumatic experience that you had to endure?

I saw one of my friends face blown off.

can you watch movies where they are in vietnam, fighting or do you get traumatic memories??

No, can't watch them. That's also why I hate going to the Rainforest Cafe.

Were you in the shit?

Yes.

dont you hate it when people use missles to take down your ac 130 ruining your kill streak :(

My son says they are n00bs.

How'd the ac-130 handle? How much time did it take to gain a sense of fidelity between you and your pilot?

It was pretty much instant.

Were there ever any situations where you were almost shot down in combat?

Yes. Just about every mission.

What was the most common weapon that was a threat to you. Could ground infantry take you out?

SAM-3 .

And Yea, they could during my first year flying.

What type of munitions did you normally use? What was the most effective method of making the people on the ground stop doing whatever it was that called for your presence in the first place? Did you ever come under air-to-air attack from enemy aircraft?

Loud ones. 20 mm, 40 mm, and 105 mm.

As someone coming to this AMA late (well, it is morning where I am), I am a bit thrown by the rant in the text box. Thanks for providing proof, but please consider how the rest looks to newcomers. It would be good if you could explain a little more about your father' s experiences, and saved the rant for a SMALL edit at the bottom. Coming in to an AMA where the host is already ranting is very offputting... not sure whether to bother reading or whether this is going to be full of argument.

This is reddit, you will always get doubters, just answer them with as much respect as you can muster and move on!

I say all this trying to be helpful.

TL:DR; Please put useful background in the text box and save / minimise the ranting.

To end, a question or two, as this is an AMA: Has your father suffered any form of PTSD or difficulty coping when he returned home? And, what was his happiest memory or thing that uplifted his heart?

I was ranting up there so people would see it. I didn't mean to scare incomers, but if you read theses threads, I'm not dealing with merely doubters. They are flat out accusing my father of lying. I can't provide any more proof without invading his privacy. There is only so much I can do.

Did you feel the war was justified upon your deployment? Did your view change as the war progressed?

1. No, I did not.
2. Not really. My duty was to protect our guys on the ground. So that's what I did.

[deleted]

Waiting for a plane to come back from it's last mission. The whole squadron was out on the flight line, waiting for them. Then the crew chief walked over and picked up the chalks (meaning the plane was shot down). RIP.

EDIT: Chocks, not chalks.

[deleted]

Sorry I put chalks. I am 15 and my dad is answering the questions because hes not a very fast typist. Didn't realize he said chocks. Thank you for very subtly correcting me.

What was your typical mission?

Truck interdiction. Which was stopping supply lines to the enemy. Also, most missions were at night.

[deleted]

1. Sometimes we couldn't
2. you could trade them for a pack of ciggarettes
3. Classified
4. Once aver 4 months
5. 20%. 20%.

I thank you for your service.

I am happy to serve.

Did you know or were you aware of any officers being fragged?

Did you have relationships with native women?

No I was not. Yes.

Do you feel our current wars are reminiscent of the kind of wars that Korea and Vietnam were?

Also, do you know if the Korean war had any effect on decision making during Nam?

Absolutely. No, we weren't out to win. We tried fighting a war with our hands behind or back. There are no rules in war.

What war movie (along the lines of Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now etc) do you think accurately portrays what it was like in Vietnam?

Platoon or The Deer Hunter.

When my dad served, he went through some pretty intense training. Especially for surviving in the jungle and POW camps. Did you feel your training was adequate for what you faced or can nothing fully prepare you?

Nothing can prepare ANYONE for war.

Did your gunship have a codename? What was it's codename? Did you do the gatling guns or the heavy artillery?

Thanks.

Yes, but it changed daily. The squadron was called Spectre though. Both.

Were you scared of going?

Did you ever think you were going to die?

Did you truly understand what the US Army was doing there?

Yeah. Daily. We only knew what we were led to believe.

Do you now think the war was justified or that the US Army had the right to be there?

No, we didn't fight to win.

That's what my grandfather says. He says we half assed it and that we are doing the same in Afganistan. Do you think this is because strict rules of engagement or our reluctance to chase the enemy across borders?

Absolutely I think that's the reason.

So you support the drone strikes in Pakistan? Do you think the AC-130 should see more action today? Would you support you're son enlisting to go fight or even join the military in peacetime?

Yes I am behind them. It is a useful weapon in our arsenal. Absolutely not.

Thanks for doing this AMA and thanks for everything you did for those guys on the ground. You saved American lives over there. Thank you for your service and three more questions. Did you have any experience with the South Vietnamise Army? My grandfather said they were completely untrustworthy. Did you have any contact with the crews and pilots of other CAS aircraft such as the AC-47 or the Cobra Attack helicopter? Were you ever nervous flying after you got out?

1. Yea, they were in fact very untrustworthy.
2. No, but we did have contact with F4's.
3. Not at all.

Firstly, thank you for your service. Secondly, is the pylon turn as effective and devastating as it is made out to be in the AC-130?

Absolutely.

It's said to be extraordinarily accurate, even enough to be used within proximity of friendlies. How accurate could you be in your experience?

I could shoot easily within a 5 foot diameter.

Just a few more questions...

• How many of the people you served with are still alive or still keep in contact with.
• Has your health suffered in any way since returning from the war?
• Were you ever shot or caught some shrapnel?

1. None.
2. I don't really know.
3. No.

Thank you for your service.

Proud to be of service.

1. Do you think the US military should immediately get out of Afghanistan? Why or why not?

2. Do you believe the US military is creating more enemies by continuing to occupy Afghanistan?

3. Why do you think the US military is still in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2013?

4. What parallels do you find between the Vietnam and Afghanistan wars?

1. Absolutely. We aren't there to win. There are no rules in war.
2. Yes.
3. Purely Politcal Reasons
4. We are trying to fight with rules. And that won't get us anywhere.

4.We are trying to fight with rules. And that won't get us anywhere.

So you see war as an all or nothing type proposition?

Yes I do.

How do you aim the weapons? Which weapon was your favorite? Did you carry a parachute? Did you switch munition types (frag, HE, incindiary) during an attack?

Still Classified. the 105 mm. No. Parachutes were stored, we just war harnesses. Yes, constantly.

How similar is the AC-130 to that of one in a video game, such as Call of Duty or Battlefield? Also, thank you for your service!

Very similar.

Why aren't your ribbons in the correct order in the uniform picture?

They are.

Was there any moment where you had to make a difficult judgement call? If so, how did it turn out? Would you have done something different if you could go back?

Edit: Awkward phrasing.

Yes, pretty much daily. Some good, some not so good. No, wouldn't change those decisions.

How did you get MSgt after 4.5 years?

SMSGT actually. I went into the reserves after my 4.5 active years. Retired as a Senior Master Seargent. I was in the reserves for almost 16 years.

How different was the AC-130 compared to the C-130 in terms or thins like handling, noise, takeoff and landing distance?

AC-130 was a lot louder because we flew with the ramp open. But for the most part, they were pretty much the same.

No ear protection used back in the day? I work on bombers and anything louder than a truck requires earpro

We wore headsets for communications, but that's about it.

Thanks for doing this! One question. Could you describe your freakiest/scariest moment?

My first and last mission. Scared that I was gonna be shot going in or leaving.

The spectre gunship must have been pretty young yet when you were on active duty for it. What did most people think about it? Which gun did you like to use the most? What was the aiming system like back then?

Only 3 of them when I was flying. Most people thought it was awesome. 105 mm. Still Classified.

Why is it classified?

Because it is still in use.

Interesting. How old are you now?

64.

I feel honored to have spoken with someone with such valor. Thanks for your time.

Thank YOU.

How often we're you deployed on a mission? Also thank you for your service.

Almost nightly.

How about some proof?

Proof would be particularly helpful to this guys credibility. His brief user history looks more characteristic of a 14 year old than a sixty-something man.

[deleted]

This is actually a 15 year old's account (mine) but my father is doing the AMAA. But i did post the link to proof on another request for it. In cased you missed it, http://imgur.com/CFHsI .

Before I ask my question, thank you for your service - not for the politicians who started the war but for your brothers in arms. My brother spent a year in Afghanistan and while we get along fairly well, I'm having a difficult time getting close to him and I feel like part of it may be trauma from the war - in your experience was it difficult to relate to people upon returning from the war? How did you come out of your shell, if it was ever an issue?

Yes, very difficult. Because they can never understand what war is, that's not their fault, it's just the truth. And honestly, I don't know if I ever did.

what did you think of the anti war protestors? Thanks for your service sir

I hated them, in my own opinion.

Thank you for your service. I come from a military family. My mom was in the Air Force and my uncle fought in Vietnam as well.

• What did you think of the anti-war protesters? Did you think they were disrespectful?

• Did you lose anyone you were close too?

• What was hardest part of the war, mentally and physically?

1. I was not a big fan. I hated them.
2. Yes.
3. Mentally: Losing so many men for no reason Physically: The heat in the plane.

[deleted]

1. 2 years as an instructor gunner
2. Ubon, Thailand
3. 1969-73
4. Classified.
5. Classified

Is it difficult to shoot down planes?

We never fired at planes. That's what F4's are for.

Proof?

http://imgur.com/CFHsI

I heard some military personnel would rape Vietnamese women, was this true?

Also how did you feel after learning the war was started over a lie?

Yes. Well, i just wanted to protect our guys on the ground. So that's what I did. I didn't even care at that point about the politics of it, I was just doing my job.

We're you ever faced with a situation where you were about to lose your life but some how didn't? If so, explain please?

Absolutely. The scariest is usually when munitions exploded IN the plane.

Could you elaborate a little more? How/why did it happens? What were the results to the plane? To the people inside? Are you guys protected from such a thing?

Faulty 40 mm round exploded while it was being fed into the gun. one gun damaged, one gunner blinded. No protection.

Did you know John Levitow?

No I do not.

I don't suppose you served with anyone by the last name of Rhinehart, did you?

whats the first name? What position on plane?

How were you chosen to command the gun system on the airship?

The pilot was the ships commander.

[deleted]

At this time in my life, there was no help available.

Did you have any encounters with the locals, perhaps the mountainous people of SE Asia?

yea, we had mortar attacks from insurgent groups there.

You mentioned that drug abuse was popular there. What was the drug of choice? Were they supplied by the military or were they drugs from the area? Also, thank you for your service.

cocaine. they were from the area.

What were the results, were people kicked out, or just pushed back to work?

Both.