Kampfwagen
Junior Member
isthvan said:
29 April 1975..Operation Frequent Wind
- Thread starter bd popeye
- Start date
SteelBird
Colonel
Operation Frequent Wind...? Heard and seen on TV about that so much, but couldn't see it by my own eyes. Now, I'm not trying to make any polistical debate, just talk about the past... Popeye, were you there? I was there too, but in the Cambodian jungle helpling the Viet Cong to fight against the American... Were we enemy of each other? I think we were... Ah... fortunately we didn't meet each other in battle 
.
In fact, I was never in battle (that's why I'm still alive), just doing some support works in the rear-line. I was a little boy that time, seeing the F-105 bombing our home land almost everyday. We (my family and I) lived in a small village in north-east part of Cambodia, very near to Viet Nam. We were between the Khmer-Rouge and Viet Cong. Well, that will be a long story to talk about the past, let's talk about some of the past experiences: One day a US patrol helecopter were above a tree, my father, his friend and I were under it. The gun-man rained the bullets above our heads, my father and his friend were holding their AK47 aiming at that gun-man. "Don't fire, he doesn't see us", said my father's friend. A moment later when the helecopter went away, my father's friend said "foretunately you didn't fire. If you fired they die one but we die a whole village. They use machine gun to fire blindly when they don't see any target. If they find a target, they just make a signal there and the bombers arrive within 2 minutes".
This is one of the story, I'm not sure if you guy are interested in it. If yes, I'll tell you more...
.In fact, I was never in battle (that's why I'm still alive), just doing some support works in the rear-line. I was a little boy that time, seeing the F-105 bombing our home land almost everyday. We (my family and I) lived in a small village in north-east part of Cambodia, very near to Viet Nam. We were between the Khmer-Rouge and Viet Cong. Well, that will be a long story to talk about the past, let's talk about some of the past experiences: One day a US patrol helecopter were above a tree, my father, his friend and I were under it. The gun-man rained the bullets above our heads, my father and his friend were holding their AK47 aiming at that gun-man. "Don't fire, he doesn't see us", said my father's friend. A moment later when the helecopter went away, my father's friend said "foretunately you didn't fire. If you fired they die one but we die a whole village. They use machine gun to fire blindly when they don't see any target. If they find a target, they just make a signal there and the bombers arrive within 2 minutes".
This is one of the story, I'm not sure if you guy are interested in it. If yes, I'll tell you more...
Steelbird I have heard many of those stories. Real and exaggerated ones. i'm sure yours was real. It si intresting to hear an account of what went on then.
I was never in actual combat being always on a ship out of harms way. The USS Hancock did participate in Operation Eagle Pull prior to Operation Frequent Wind. Eagle Pull was the evacuation of Americans from Cambodia prior to it's fall to the Khmer-Rouge.
Personally I would prefer that we keep this thread on the topic and not open old wounds.
Thank you.
I was never in actual combat being always on a ship out of harms way. The USS Hancock did participate in Operation Eagle Pull prior to Operation Frequent Wind. Eagle Pull was the evacuation of Americans from Cambodia prior to it's fall to the Khmer-Rouge.
Personally I would prefer that we keep this thread on the topic and not open old wounds.
Thank you.
SteelBird
Colonel
bd popeye said:
Popeye, Since you've said so "...not to open old wounds...", I'll not continue any of the story. Actually, not only you (American soldiers) who wounded, but we wounded too, and the wounds didn't healed after the war. Well, Popeye, forgive me to continue a little bit of the story, actually just to finish it.
We lived in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, before the coupe in 1970. And we moved to Kratie, a province in north-east of Cambodia, well I don't want to mention what has led us to joint the so called "Revolution". After liberation of Phnom Penh in 17-Apr-1975, while we were happy that we could come back home (Phnom Penh) and enjoy the reunion of the whole family, a horrible news broke our good dreams -- "the people were evited out from the city of Phnom Penh and the Vietnameses were driven back to their country". A question raised to my parents' mind, same as to the others -- "What do they plan to do?". We couldn't bet our lives on what will happen next, so we pretented to be Vietnamese and went along with others to Vietnam. A funny story happened when we cross the border -- "Hey, You! you're Chinese. Don't go!", shouted a Khmer Rouge soldier to my mother. "No, I'm Vietnamese!", replied her in Vietnamese language. Due to her exellent Vietnamese language, she fooled that guy and got permission for crossing the border. You know, my name is "He", while my sister's is "Ping", combining of our names is "He Ping" which means peace. How much we longed for peace! But the victory on 17-Apr-1975 didn't bring us any peaceful life. It just to stop a forest fire and started another flood! So, what happened after we arrived in Vietnam? Start a peaceful life? No, not at all. Well, another long story here and as Popeye has said "Don't open the old wound", I'm not going to tell that. But I didn't know my real name until we moved back to Cambodia in 1985. So, this is the end of the story.
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SteelBird
Colonel
Popeye and Obcession : Thanks for your support on my posts. I've been considering seriously whether I should open a new thread on that topic. As you have read two parts of the story, the first one sound like a joke, but the second was serious when I made my conclusion on the war. I'm afraid the rest of the story will be sad ones, because you will hear about famine, death and all political pressure during and after the war. So, I'm sorry. I decide not to continue that.
It's been quite some time,10 months, since anyone has posted in this thread. So I will re-open the discussion.
I wrote about 7-8 post in a yahoo group in chronological order about what occuried on the USS Hancock(CVA-19).
In 1975 I was ships company on board the USS Hancock CVA-19.CVA= Attack Aircraft Carrier) She was homeported at NAS Alameda CA. In 1975 both Cambodia and Vietnam would fall to the communist.
The USN formed a 48 ship task force to evacuate Americans and other from these countries. The Operations were called "Eagle Pull" and "Frequent Wind". Hancock would be involved in both operations.
Hancock was lovingly called Hanna and Fightin' Hanna by the crew. Shipmates would fight for that ship. No BS, just fact..
The post will be made on their aniversary's of the actual event.
If there are any slang terms in the post you do not understand I will gladly translate them. Or any other terms or words you do not understand feel free to ask.
I apoligize in advance for anything that is posted that may be offensive to anyone.
I wrote about 7-8 post in a yahoo group in chronological order about what occuried on the USS Hancock(CVA-19).
In 1975 I was ships company on board the USS Hancock CVA-19.CVA= Attack Aircraft Carrier) She was homeported at NAS Alameda CA. In 1975 both Cambodia and Vietnam would fall to the communist.
The USN formed a 48 ship task force to evacuate Americans and other from these countries. The Operations were called "Eagle Pull" and "Frequent Wind". Hancock would be involved in both operations.
Hancock was lovingly called Hanna and Fightin' Hanna by the crew. Shipmates would fight for that ship. No BS, just fact..
The post will be made on their aniversary's of the actual event.
If there are any slang terms in the post you do not understand I will gladly translate them. Or any other terms or words you do not understand feel free to ask.
I apoligize in advance for anything that is posted that may be offensive to anyone.
Neutral Zone
Junior Member
Just looking at the pics of the Air America choppers and the ex Southern ones being pushed over the sides of the carriers, I remember reading somewhere that the North Vietnamese captured a huge number of Hueys and F-5's at the end of the war and most of them were put into Vietnamese service, kept going by cannibalising others for parts and that for many years after the end of the war, the Vietnamese military was one of the largest Huey operators in the world. Was this true?