Legendary Chinese Bandit Recon LRRP Team 1st Bn (ABN) 8th Cav

[jconners]

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"Spirit of Robert Rogers in the Footsteps of Lauri Torni and Tutelage of Frenchy Theriault...FIRST Wave"

The legendary Chinese Bandit Recon LRRP Team 1st Bn (ABN) 8th Cav 1965-66 was awarded TWO Presidential Unit Citations, the nation's highest unit decoration for extraordinary heroism for their participation in the Battles of the Ia Drang (Pleiku November 1965) and Nathan Hale (Trung Luong June 1966)...the ONLY Recon, LRRP, Ranger, Special Forces or Special Operations unit to be awarded TWO Presidential Unit Citations during a single combat tour of duty…in ANY US Conflict or War; conducted the historic FIRST night combat rappel during the Battle of the Ia Drang along the Cambodian border while attached to the 1st Airborne Brigade and lead by RANGER Lawson; and performed DOD/MACV/OP-35 directed long range reconnaissance (LRRP) operations lead by 101st RECONDO Grimes along the northern Cambodia and southern Laos borders in the spring of 1966 ..."Laying Down FIRST Tracks in the Central Highlands…Chinese Bandits Penetrate Deeper...and Where Others FEARED to Tread!"

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[davidbfpo]

There are numerous links on a Google search for 'Spirit of Robert Rogers in the Footsteps of Lauri Torni and Tutelage of Frenchy Theriault', such as:http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com...ID=25&ID=22728

[ganulv]

Originally Posted by davidbfpo

There are numerous links on a Google search for 'Spirit of Robert Rogers in the Footsteps of Lauri Torni and Tutelage of Frenchy Theriault', such as:http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com...ID=25&ID=22728

Benjamin Church's is a more formidable spirit, but that's a separate thread.

[Wyatt]

Reading over your tracking and patrolling document, it mentions a lack of hygiene items and specifically sock/ extra clothes. Was cellulitis or foot problems an issue during patrolling? What was the average length of mission and load carried?

Interesting since it seems that much of what Ive ben taught is almost 180* different... Possibly environment related, jungle vs desert/mountains...

[Ken White]

Originally Posted by Wyatt

Reading over your tracking and patrolling document, it mentions a lack of hygiene items and specifically sock/ extra clothes. Was cellulitis or foot problems an issue during patrolling? What was the average length of mission and load carried?

Interesting since it seems that much of what Ive ben taught is almost 180* different... Possibly environment related, jungle vs desert/mountains...

However, in a 1st Bde 101st Recon Platoon at the same time (1965-66 -- and not the 2/502 Inf Recondo Platoon, an amalgamation of that Battalion's Recon and Anti-Tank Platoons which was effectively a junior rifle company) -- extra clothes weighed too much, no one carried them, you'd get wet in the daily rains, the heat would quickly dry the rip stop and so there was little point in extras -- except for socks, most carried a pair in their helmet (to keep them dry) and one other extra pair in a plastic bag in the ruck -- some wore no socks; almost no one wore underwear, all it did was bind and chafe. 'Hygiene' in the military sense was mostly ignored, most guys carried only a razor, a bar of soap and a toothbrush (used with the Salt packet from C Rations ILO toothpaste). Cellulitis and foot problems occurred but mostly in new guys, the old guys had developed calluses and tougher skin. Recon, long and short range, missions were performed by three to six man teams and lasted from two to seven - ten days, rarely longer. Stealth was the method and contact was avoided (calling in air or Arty from a distance was not avoided...). Resupply was by helicopter or from caches. Loads averaged about 40-45 pounds (though I for one went light and rarely carried more than 30-35 pounds). If there was not going to be a resupply, most missions were five days max.

Most of the differences are indeed environmentally related but there also generational / expectation / societal / risk tolerance differences. It was a different war in a different place and a different time.

FWIW I was also at Troung Long in Jun 66 when the 1/1 Cav came in and got us out of a mess -- everyone there got a DUC (what Conners calls a PUC which the DUC became later in 1966)); 1-8, 2-7 and 3-7 Cav, 1/1 Cav, 2-327 from 1/101. That 1-8 Recon Platoon was just a part of the conglomeration that all got DUCs.

[slapout9]

Anybody know a Sergeant Dickey Flett from one of the 2 Airborne battallions of the 1st Cav? The time frame for his tour would be 65-66 range.

[ganulv]

Originally Posted by Wyatt

Reading over your tracking and patrolling document, it mentions a lack of hygiene items and specifically sock/ extra clothes. Was cellulitis or foot problems an issue during patrolling? […] Interesting since it seems that much of what Ive ben taught is almost 180* different... Possibly environment related, jungle vs desert/mountains...

I suspect what you are being taught about foot hygiene has to do with the introduction of waterproof/breathable fabrics. It's great to have Gore-Tex as an option and it does have its place (one of those places is not the jungle! or even imo for three season wear in the Southeast) but if you're wearing a pair of boots with a Gore-Tex liner and you don't do (at least) a daily change into dry socks foot problems are a question of when not if. It would be more honest to call waterproof/breathable fabrics "waterproof/breathable-to-a-point fabrics" since there is a maximum amount of vapor which can escape at any given time -- I hope you never have the experience of having to wade across a stream and spending the rest of the day with two buckets tied to your feet -- and because liquid does begin to penetrate the fabric from the outside if the pressure differential reaches a certain point (maintaining the DWR helps a lot there).