1 00:00:01,172 --> 00:00:04,255 (gentle piano music) 2 00:00:06,575 --> 00:00:08,653 - What I knew about Vietnam was zero. 3 00:00:08,653 --> 00:00:10,685 I didn't know where it was located, 4 00:00:10,685 --> 00:00:12,939 what was going on there, or anything else. 5 00:00:12,939 --> 00:00:15,488 - And the cards came up that they needed a photographer, 6 00:00:15,488 --> 00:00:17,316 so I was the one that went. 7 00:00:17,316 --> 00:00:20,183 We were going to a place called Vietnam, 8 00:00:20,183 --> 00:00:23,507 and virtually no one had heard of it in those days. 9 00:00:23,507 --> 00:00:26,971 - We were operating off of a carrier we were on, 10 00:00:26,971 --> 00:00:29,804 the Valley Forge aircraft carrier. 11 00:00:31,634 --> 00:00:35,634 Suddenly we had orders to relieve that squadron in Vietnam, 12 00:00:35,634 --> 00:00:37,051 and which we did. 13 00:00:37,651 --> 00:00:41,510 And we didn't have any chance to really talk to anybody. 14 00:00:41,510 --> 00:00:43,760 The people that I relieved, 15 00:00:44,078 --> 00:00:46,487 the squadron commander that I relieved, 16 00:00:46,487 --> 00:00:49,180 I had about 30 minutes to talk to him 17 00:00:49,180 --> 00:00:53,347 while he was heading back to Okinawa, and that was it. 18 00:00:54,536 --> 00:00:57,055 - And he told us, I know you only have secret clearances 19 00:00:57,055 --> 00:01:00,805 but what I'm about to tell you is top secret. 20 00:01:00,883 --> 00:01:04,868 And with that, he instructed us to pack our stuff up. 21 00:01:04,868 --> 00:01:08,398 We were on an airplane back to Okinawa that evening, 22 00:01:08,398 --> 00:01:11,565 and we would be on the way to Vietnam. 23 00:01:12,098 --> 00:01:15,185 - It was just another adventure at that time. 24 00:01:15,185 --> 00:01:18,268 I was 22 years old, single, you know, 25 00:01:18,823 --> 00:01:20,588 and they said, "We're looking for volunteers 26 00:01:20,588 --> 00:01:22,304 "with certain MOS's." 27 00:01:22,304 --> 00:01:26,305 I raised my hand and said, "I can do that, where's Vietnam?" 28 00:01:26,305 --> 00:01:30,242 But later on the significance started to dawn on me, 29 00:01:30,242 --> 00:01:33,909 right after I retired from the Marine Corps. 30 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:43,143 ^- Operation Shufly was really pretty interesting, 31 00:01:43,143 --> 00:01:46,704 ^because when most people think about Marines in Vietnam 32 00:01:46,704 --> 00:01:48,639 they automatically assume 33 00:01:48,639 --> 00:01:52,104 it's the ground troops that went in in 1965. 34 00:01:52,104 --> 00:01:55,365 But we actually had Marine aviators, helicopter squadrons, 35 00:01:55,365 --> 00:01:59,532 that started rotating into Vietnam in 1962 through 1965. 36 00:02:01,193 --> 00:02:02,990 These were the guys who literally were flying 37 00:02:02,990 --> 00:02:04,422 by the seat of their pants. 38 00:02:04,422 --> 00:02:06,958 They were making things up as they went. 39 00:02:06,958 --> 00:02:09,289 It was a lot of adapting, innovating, 40 00:02:09,289 --> 00:02:12,218 and learning how to fly under combat conditions. 41 00:02:12,218 --> 00:02:15,905 ^- So our missions that our pilots flew were designed 42 00:02:15,905 --> 00:02:20,072 ^to put the Vietnamese troops into appropriate landing zones, 43 00:02:21,244 --> 00:02:23,921 to evacuate them after these missions, 44 00:02:23,921 --> 00:02:25,984 to evacuate any wounded that were there, 45 00:02:25,984 --> 00:02:29,812 and then to resupply them there or at other outposts 46 00:02:29,812 --> 00:02:32,161 throughout the northern part of the country. 47 00:02:32,161 --> 00:02:33,411 It all was new. 48 00:02:33,657 --> 00:02:37,372 We had never been in an operation of that nature. 49 00:02:37,372 --> 00:02:38,586 We were all learning as we went along 50 00:02:38,586 --> 00:02:42,129 because the terrain was totally different from the south. 51 00:02:42,129 --> 00:02:44,476 - They were out there, you know, 52 00:02:44,476 --> 00:02:47,658 in conditions they had never flown under before, 53 00:02:47,658 --> 00:02:50,732 monsoon conditions, some of the mountainous terrain. 54 00:02:50,732 --> 00:02:53,595 They were dealing with a different kind of enemy. 55 00:02:53,595 --> 00:02:55,807 So there really is a sense of pride 56 00:02:55,807 --> 00:02:58,263 in how they were able to adapt. 57 00:02:58,263 --> 00:03:01,319 - Navigating was interesting, yeah, it was, 58 00:03:01,319 --> 00:03:02,989 because all the tree lines looked kind of the same 59 00:03:02,989 --> 00:03:06,072 and you had to learn your way around. 60 00:03:06,799 --> 00:03:08,641 - It was very risky, I mean, 61 00:03:08,641 --> 00:03:12,141 HMM-362 literally had been flying two days 62 00:03:13,005 --> 00:03:17,172 when they had their first bird damaged by small-arms fire 63 00:03:17,226 --> 00:03:19,417 and had to make an emergency landing. 64 00:03:19,417 --> 00:03:22,084 By the time HMM-362 rotated out, 65 00:03:23,463 --> 00:03:27,630 all 24 of their birds had been damaged by ground fire. 66 00:03:27,968 --> 00:03:30,330 You have to remember, too, these helicopters 67 00:03:30,330 --> 00:03:32,536 were not armored at this point. 68 00:03:32,536 --> 00:03:34,441 That came a little bit later on. 69 00:03:34,441 --> 00:03:37,245 - [Thomas Murley] What we had was we had Schmeissers and grease guns 70 00:03:37,245 --> 00:03:38,828 that were handheld. 71 00:03:39,828 --> 00:03:42,870 ^A number of our enlisted crew would lay in the belly 72 00:03:42,870 --> 00:03:45,620 ^with their M-1s and shoot people. 73 00:03:46,375 --> 00:03:48,459 ^- The placing of machine guns 74 00:03:48,459 --> 00:03:50,884 ^on the port and starboard sides of the helicopter, 75 00:03:50,884 --> 00:03:53,536 ^they came up with mounts for the machine guns so they could, 76 00:03:53,536 --> 00:03:56,811 using the UX-34 Delta, it didn't have armament there, 77 00:03:56,811 --> 00:04:00,008 and so that gave them protection on both sides 78 00:04:00,008 --> 00:04:02,136 of the helicopter during operations. 79 00:04:02,136 --> 00:04:06,303 ^- Marine pilots are extremely dedicated, professional, 80 00:04:07,064 --> 00:04:09,868 ^and some could even say tend to be 81 00:04:09,868 --> 00:04:13,875 ^just a bit crazy sometimes in their conduct of operations, 82 00:04:13,875 --> 00:04:17,891 but they're always there for the troops on the ground. 83 00:04:17,891 --> 00:04:22,058 - The interesting thing to me about SHUFLY is that this was... 84 00:04:23,027 --> 00:04:27,194 It really was the confirmation of the whole concept 85 00:04:28,082 --> 00:04:31,749 of vertical envelopment in a jungle setting, 86 00:04:32,083 --> 00:04:35,833 and against an elusive, guerrilla-type enemy. 87 00:04:38,497 --> 00:04:40,216 (military drumming) 88 00:04:42,479 --> 00:04:45,180 - [MSgt Warren] Colonel Archie Clapp was known as 89 00:04:45,180 --> 00:04:47,526 an innovator with helicopter tactics. 90 00:04:47,526 --> 00:04:50,359 - He took to flying above the rest 91 00:04:50,692 --> 00:04:52,409 of the helicopters, and behind. 92 00:04:52,409 --> 00:04:54,673 He called it calling plays from the grandstand 93 00:04:54,673 --> 00:04:56,909 so he could see how things unfolded. 94 00:04:56,909 --> 00:04:59,194 - One was called the Eagle Flight, 95 00:04:59,194 --> 00:05:01,430 where he decided he as the commanding officer 96 00:05:01,430 --> 00:05:03,934 would fly higher than the other helicopters 97 00:05:03,934 --> 00:05:06,061 to be able to observe what was going on, 98 00:05:06,061 --> 00:05:08,250 and keep some helicopters in reserve, 99 00:05:08,250 --> 00:05:11,637 and call the shots more or less, like a quarterback, 100 00:05:11,637 --> 00:05:13,559 to put more helicopters in 101 00:05:13,559 --> 00:05:14,960 where they were needed. 102 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,590 ^- Nobody really knew what to expect as far as 103 00:05:17,590 --> 00:05:20,299 ^flying conditions went down there in the delta area, 104 00:05:20,299 --> 00:05:22,237 ^where we were at that time. 105 00:05:22,237 --> 00:05:23,499 ^And so they developed that, 106 00:05:23,499 --> 00:05:27,387 they developed their own tactics by touch and go. 107 00:05:27,387 --> 00:05:29,325 Okay, that one didn't work, let's try something else. 108 00:05:29,325 --> 00:05:31,341 Or that one worked, we'll stick with it. 109 00:05:31,341 --> 00:05:33,294 - He developed a tactic where they would fly 110 00:05:33,294 --> 00:05:35,861 in a different direction and only at the very last minute, 111 00:05:35,861 --> 00:05:38,113 I believe he said two minutes out, 112 00:05:38,113 --> 00:05:41,344 to change course and fly into the intended target. 113 00:05:41,344 --> 00:05:42,652 It would throw them off a little bit, 114 00:05:42,652 --> 00:05:44,780 give the Marines a chance to get in 115 00:05:44,780 --> 00:05:46,133 and let the other troops get out 116 00:05:46,133 --> 00:05:48,131 without receiving heavy fire. 117 00:05:48,131 --> 00:05:51,131 - He probably kept most of us alive, 118 00:05:51,597 --> 00:05:55,764 just because of his previous operational experience. 119 00:05:56,133 --> 00:05:58,087 I think at this stage of the game he was probably 120 00:05:58,087 --> 00:06:01,236 in the running for being the Marine Aviator of the Year. 121 00:06:01,236 --> 00:06:04,559 - And the squadron became known as Archie's Angels. 122 00:06:04,559 --> 00:06:07,364 He was a forward thinker, he was innovative. 123 00:06:07,364 --> 00:06:09,867 He knew how to look at a problem and solve it, 124 00:06:09,867 --> 00:06:11,784 and that's what he did. 125 00:06:17,995 --> 00:06:22,162 In Soc Trang, living conditions were pretty basic, 126 00:06:23,032 --> 00:06:25,915 and it was an airfield that had been built 127 00:06:25,915 --> 00:06:27,883 by the Japanese in World War II. 128 00:06:27,883 --> 00:06:29,411 Very, very small, 129 00:06:29,411 --> 00:06:32,042 and it was pretty primitive living conditions. 130 00:06:32,042 --> 00:06:36,209 Once they moved up towards Da Nang, it was much different. 131 00:06:36,783 --> 00:06:39,571 That airfield was in much better shape. 132 00:06:39,571 --> 00:06:42,012 They had 8,000 feet of runway, 133 00:06:42,012 --> 00:06:45,272 and actually the barracks and the places where they lived 134 00:06:45,272 --> 00:06:48,879 were pretty far separated from the airfield itself, 135 00:06:48,879 --> 00:06:50,722 so much better conditions. 136 00:06:50,722 --> 00:06:53,632 - [Reinhardt Leu] The living conditions were great. 137 00:06:53,632 --> 00:06:54,465 Our cook, 138 00:06:55,665 --> 00:06:58,165 ^he was able to get food for us 139 00:06:59,090 --> 00:07:01,673 ^and my whole squadron, we just, 140 00:07:02,625 --> 00:07:05,625 we got steaks a couple times a week. 141 00:07:05,790 --> 00:07:09,707 - I do remember that we had extraordinary chow. 142 00:07:09,947 --> 00:07:11,383 They went out of their way. 143 00:07:11,383 --> 00:07:15,550 As I recall, we had grilled steaks almost every Sunday. 144 00:07:17,084 --> 00:07:20,667 - At one point I got tired of eating steak, 145 00:07:20,785 --> 00:07:23,180 and for the next week I counted the number of meals 146 00:07:23,180 --> 00:07:27,163 that we had steak, breakfast, dinner, and supper, 147 00:07:27,163 --> 00:07:30,330 and half of those meals we had steak served. 148 00:07:30,455 --> 00:07:34,219 When guys start turning down steak for hot dogs, 149 00:07:34,219 --> 00:07:36,969 you know there's something wrong. 150 00:07:39,907 --> 00:07:42,151 (soft orchestral music) 151 00:07:42,710 --> 00:07:46,877 - That I participated in a groundbreaking operation, 152 00:07:48,694 --> 00:07:51,120 that it was a first for the Marine Corps, 153 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:54,453 and I was part of it, that's like I say, 154 00:07:55,562 --> 00:07:57,814 that's my claim to history, you know? 155 00:07:57,814 --> 00:08:00,696 - I think in terms of Vietnam it was very important, 156 00:08:00,696 --> 00:08:03,696 and it's sort of the unsung mission. 157 00:08:03,707 --> 00:08:07,201 I mean, when we talk about Vietnam we tend to talk about 158 00:08:07,201 --> 00:08:10,039 the Battle for Hue, the Battle for Khe Sanh, 159 00:08:10,039 --> 00:08:13,109 the hill fights, Con Tien, places like that, 160 00:08:13,109 --> 00:08:16,180 but we don't realize that so many of the lessons learned 161 00:08:16,180 --> 00:08:17,597 came from SHUFLY. 162 00:08:17,771 --> 00:08:19,235 How do we get troops on the ground? 163 00:08:19,235 --> 00:08:22,669 How do we deal with ground fire from an elusive enemy? 164 00:08:22,669 --> 00:08:25,346 How do we deal with landing in some of the terrain 165 00:08:25,346 --> 00:08:28,429 that you find in northern I Corps? 166 00:08:28,429 --> 00:08:32,270 Weather conditions, all that stuff came from Shufly, 167 00:08:32,270 --> 00:08:35,405 you know, that's the first place they dealt with it. 168 00:08:35,405 --> 00:08:38,539 Operation SHUFLY absolutely was considered a success. 169 00:08:38,539 --> 00:08:41,563 They were able to do what they came there to do, 170 00:08:41,563 --> 00:08:44,855 and not only did they do it but they did it very well. 171 00:08:44,855 --> 00:08:46,777 - [Spitze] The fact that later on the Marines were able to get 172 00:08:46,777 --> 00:08:49,723 their own complement of Huey helicopters, 173 00:08:49,723 --> 00:08:52,321 and then the Apache, came out of concepts 174 00:08:52,321 --> 00:08:56,040 of tactics and strategy that were developed during SHUFLY 175 00:08:56,040 --> 00:09:00,207 by those very innovative helicopter aviation pilots. 176 00:09:01,677 --> 00:09:04,168 - Shortly after arriving at Shufly I took a picture 177 00:09:04,168 --> 00:09:08,335 of a little girl in the village adjacent to SHUFLY Compound. 178 00:09:10,466 --> 00:09:13,317 The little girl was standing at the barbed wire fence 179 00:09:13,317 --> 00:09:17,067 that separated the compound from her village, 180 00:09:18,011 --> 00:09:21,274 and her right hand was extended and holding a strand 181 00:09:21,274 --> 00:09:23,303 of the barbed wire fence, 182 00:09:23,303 --> 00:09:26,957 and there was a tormented expression on her face. 183 00:09:26,957 --> 00:09:30,957 I've always thought that that particular picture 184 00:09:31,745 --> 00:09:33,912 expressed the Vietnam War. 185 00:09:35,694 --> 00:09:38,514 There was a separation between us, 186 00:09:38,514 --> 00:09:42,597 call it the barbed wire fence or whatever it was. 187 00:09:42,672 --> 00:09:46,839 But in that little girl's face, I remember Vietnam 188 00:09:46,988 --> 00:09:49,508 and I remember the difficulties that we had. 189 00:09:49,508 --> 00:09:53,175 - [Leu] Oh absolutely I'm proud of that operation. 190 00:09:54,107 --> 00:09:57,604 It wasn't the biggest one because we were fighting 191 00:09:57,604 --> 00:09:59,919 the Viet Cong there, we weren't fighting 192 00:09:59,919 --> 00:10:03,305 the North Vietnamese as it turned out to be 193 00:10:03,305 --> 00:10:04,972 in later operations. 194 00:10:05,148 --> 00:10:09,065 But we were well-pleased with what we had to do 195 00:10:09,826 --> 00:10:11,326 and how we did it. 196 00:10:11,496 --> 00:10:14,126 - It's a minor chapter in the history of the Marine Corps, 197 00:10:14,126 --> 00:10:15,939 but actually the history of the Marine Corps 198 00:10:15,939 --> 00:10:17,733 is made up of many minor chapters, 199 00:10:17,733 --> 00:10:19,434 which all come together in a compendium 200 00:10:19,434 --> 00:10:22,083 to make the Marine Corps what it is, 201 00:10:22,083 --> 00:10:25,861 a unique fighting unit that fights with intelligence, 202 00:10:25,861 --> 00:10:28,444 integrity, and also compassion. 203 00:10:32,365 --> 00:10:36,532 (military drumming and dramatic music)