More for O.T, for Old Tanker

[Moonlite37]

I suppose it was a recon unit. He had a Combat Infantryman Badge. He was killed in Bhin Dhin on first mission as he was getting out of chopper. His father was a Korean casualty and his mother did want him to go. Somewhat sensitive to me

 

[oldtanker]

(quoted from post at 05:50:35 09/10/18) I suppose it was a recon unit. He had a Combat Infantryman Badge. He was killed in Bhin Dhin on first mission as he was getting out of chopper. His father was a Korean casualty and his mother did want him to go. Somewhat sensitive to me

Sorry to hear that.

CIB is issued to Infantry serving in combat. 3 basic requirements.

Be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties.
Be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat.
Actively engage the enemy in ground combat.

A few notable exceptions. A soldier who is not an infantryman may earn the CIB is assigned to an infantry unit and engage in combat as an infantryman.

And the first part "Be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties" can also be waived if a soldier is KIA right away before it can be determined they were competent.

1st Cav division was/is Calvary in name only. It had the same mission and organization as a mech infantry division in Viet Nam. Later, sometime in the 70's it adopted the TO&E of an Armored division. They were not intended to perform the mission of Cav. Cav operates 10-30 miles in front of the front lines to sneak and peak. Missions can range from scouting to rear guard actions to cover a withdrawal or retreat. A Cav regiment serves a Corps (Corps is 2 or more divisions. 2 or more Corps make up a field Army). Separate Cav squadrons serve a division.

Rick

 

[oldtanker]

(quoted from post at 05:50:35 09/10/18) I suppose it was a recon unit. He had a Combat Infantryman Badge. He was killed in Bhin Dhin on first mission as he was getting out of chopper. His father was a Korean casualty and his mother did want him to go. Somewhat sensitive to me

OK, had to go do something.......

Anyway I was going to point out that I doubt they were recon. Recon wouldn't have been dismounting soldiers in a hot LZ. Recon would try to put men on the ground without the enemy know who or how many, or exactly where. In those days it was common for a recon insertion to hit 3 maybe 4 LZ's so the enemy wasn't sure of who or how many or even where. Now they would have been getting out of a chopper under fire if they were an infantry company doing an assault.

Rick

 

[Moonlite37]

Thank you for your response. What I call the Combat Infantryman badge was the rifle on a blue background with a wreath around it. I need to correct, his mother did not want him to be drafted. She was poor and could not keep him in school as she also had another son

 

[oldtanker]

(quoted from post at 10:42:13 09/10/18) Thank you for your response. What I call the Combat Infantryman badge was the rifle on a blue background with a wreath around it. I need to correct, his mother did not want him to be drafted. She was poor and could not keep him in school as she also had another son

Still a terrible loss for a mother. Doesn't matter the how he wound up serving, the loss is no better.

And yes that is the CIB.

Rick

 

[Kansasredneck]

Also recon were usually not fresh troops. A good friend was recon in Vietnam. All the guys in his unit were staff or above and had at least one tour in an infantry unit. They patrolled in pairs and would often just drop off the end of an infantry unit on patrol, then fade into the brush. Chopper was the worst way to insert, nothing like an announcement that a team might be inserting.
One time he was talking with my boys and mentioned parachuting in. My oldest son asked how many times he'd jump out of a plane, Dale said zero. They'd either thrown him out or pushed him.

 

[Moonlite37]

Looking again. He did not have the CIB. The page from the Vietnam Memorial wall shows his photo and some other illustrations including the Purple heart and Good Conduct Medal. which he could not have been awarded. This is misleading. His photo is real and the information of dated and other is right. Thanks for clearing this up.