WEBVTT 00:01.172 --> 00:04.255 (gentle piano music) 00:06.575 --> 00:08.653 - What I knew about Vietnam was zero. 00:08.653 --> 00:10.685 I didn't know where it was located, 00:10.685 --> 00:12.939 what was going on there, or anything else. 00:12.939 --> 00:15.488 - And the cards came up that they needed a photographer, 00:15.488 --> 00:17.316 so I was the one that went. 00:17.316 --> 00:20.183 We were going to a place called Vietnam, 00:20.183 --> 00:23.507 and virtually no one had heard of it in those days. 00:23.507 --> 00:26.971 - We were operating off of a carrier we were on, 00:26.971 --> 00:29.804 the Valley Forge aircraft carrier. 00:31.634 --> 00:35.634 Suddenly we had orders to relieve that squadron in Vietnam, 00:35.634 --> 00:37.051 which we did. 00:37.651 --> 00:41.510 And we didn't have any chance to really talk to anybody. 00:41.510 --> 00:43.760 The people that I relieved, 00:44.078 --> 00:46.487 the squadron commander that I relieved, 00:46.487 --> 00:49.180 I had about 30 minutes to talk to him 00:49.180 --> 00:53.347 while he was heading back to Okinawa, and that was it. 00:54.536 --> 00:57.055 - And he told us, I know you only have secret clearances 00:57.055 --> 01:00.805 but what I'm about to tell you is top secret. 01:00.883 --> 01:04.868 And with that, he instructed us to pack our stuff up. 01:04.868 --> 01:08.398 We were on an airplane back to Okinawa that evening, 01:08.398 --> 01:11.565 and we would be on the way to Vietnam. 01:12.098 --> 01:15.185 - It was just another adventure at that time. 01:15.185 --> 01:18.268 I was 22 years old, single, you know, 01:18.823 --> 01:20.588 and they said, "We're looking for volunteers 01:20.588 --> 01:22.304 "with certain MOS's." 01:22.304 --> 01:26.305 I raised my hand and said, "I can do that, where's Vietnam?" 01:26.305 --> 01:30.242 But later on the significance started to dawn on me, 01:30.242 --> 01:33.909 right after I retired from the Marine Corps. 01:35.046 --> 01:36.994 (military drumming) 01:39.520 --> 01:43.143 - Operation SHUFLY was really pretty interesting, 01:43.143 --> 01:46.704 because when most people think about Marines in Vietnam 01:46.704 --> 01:48.639 they automatically assume 01:48.639 --> 01:52.104 it's the ground troops that went in in 1965. 01:52.104 --> 01:55.365 But we actually had Marine aviators, helicopter squadrons, 01:55.365 --> 01:59.532 that started rotating into Vietnam in 1962 through 1965. 02:01.193 --> 02:02.990 These were the guys who literally were flying 02:02.990 --> 02:04.422 by the seat of their pants. 02:04.422 --> 02:06.958 They were making things up as they went. 02:06.958 --> 02:09.289 It was a lot of adapting, innovating, 02:09.289 --> 02:12.218 and learning how to fly under combat conditions. 02:12.218 --> 02:15.905 - So our missions that our pilots flew were designed 02:15.905 --> 02:20.072 to put the Vietnamese troops into appropriate landing zones, 02:21.244 --> 02:23.921 to evacuate them after these missions, 02:23.921 --> 02:25.984 to evacuate any wounded that were there, 02:25.984 --> 02:29.812 and then to resupply them there or at other outposts 02:29.812 --> 02:32.161 throughout the northern part of the country. 02:32.161 --> 02:33.411 It all was new. 02:33.657 --> 02:37.372 We had never been in an operation of that nature. 02:37.372 --> 02:38.586 We were all learning as we went along 02:38.586 --> 02:42.129 because the terrain was totally different from the south. 02:42.129 --> 02:44.476 - They were out there, you know, 02:44.476 --> 02:47.658 in conditions they had never flown under before, 02:47.658 --> 02:50.732 monsoon conditions, some of the mountainous terrain. 02:50.732 --> 02:53.595 They were dealing with a different kind of enemy. 02:53.595 --> 02:55.807 So there really is a sense of pride 02:55.807 --> 02:58.263 in how they were able to adapt. 02:58.263 --> 03:01.319 - Navigating was interesting, yeah, it was, 03:01.319 --> 03:02.989 because all the tree lines looked kind of the same 03:02.989 --> 03:06.072 and you had to learn your way around. 03:06.799 --> 03:08.641 - It was very risky, I mean, 03:08.641 --> 03:12.141 HMM-362 literally had been flying two days 03:13.005 --> 03:17.172 when they had their first bird damaged by small-arms fire 03:17.226 --> 03:19.417 and had to make an emergency landing. 03:19.417 --> 03:22.084 By the time HMM-362 rotated out, 03:23.463 --> 03:27.630 all 24 of their birds had been damaged by ground fire. 03:27.968 --> 03:30.330 You have to remember, too, these helicopters 03:30.330 --> 03:32.536 were not armored at this point. 03:32.536 --> 03:34.441 That came a little bit later on. 03:34.441 --> 03:37.245 - [Thomas Murley] What we had was we had Schmeissers and grease guns 03:37.245 --> 03:38.828 that were handheld. 03:39.828 --> 03:42.870 A number of our enlisted crew would lay in the belly 03:42.870 --> 03:45.620 with their M-1s and shoot people. 03:46.375 --> 03:48.459 - The placing of machine guns 03:48.459 --> 03:50.884 on the port and starboard sides of the helicopter, 03:50.884 --> 03:53.536 they came up with mounts for the machine guns so they could, 03:53.536 --> 03:56.811 using the UH-34 Delta, it didn't have armament there, 03:56.811 --> 04:00.008 and so that gave them protection on both sides 04:00.008 --> 04:02.136 of the helicopter during operations. 04:02.136 --> 04:06.303 - Marine pilots are extremely dedicated, professional, 04:07.064 --> 04:09.868 and some could even say tend to be 04:09.868 --> 04:13.875 just a bit crazy sometimes in their conduct of operations, 04:13.875 --> 04:17.891 but they're always there for the troops on the ground. 04:17.891 --> 04:22.058 - The interesting thing to me about SHUFLY is that this was... 04:23.027 --> 04:27.194 It really was the confirmation of the whole concept 04:28.082 --> 04:31.749 of vertical envelopment in a jungle setting, 04:32.083 --> 04:35.833 and against an elusive, guerrilla-type enemy. 04:38.497 --> 04:40.216 (military drumming) 04:42.479 --> 04:45.180 - [Warren] Colonel Archie Clapp was known as 04:45.180 --> 04:47.526 an innovator with helicopter tactics. 04:47.526 --> 04:50.359 - He took to flying above the rest 04:50.692 --> 04:52.409 of the helicopters, and behind. 04:52.409 --> 04:54.673 He called it calling plays from the grandstand 04:54.673 --> 04:56.909 so he could see how things unfolded. 04:56.909 --> 04:59.194 - One was called the Eagle Flight, 04:59.194 --> 05:01.430 where he decided he as the commanding officer 05:01.430 --> 05:03.934 would fly higher than the other helicopters 05:03.934 --> 05:06.061 to be able to observe what was going on, 05:06.061 --> 05:08.250 and keep some helicopters in reserve, 05:08.250 --> 05:11.637 and call the shots more or less, like a quarterback, 05:11.637 --> 05:13.559 to put more helicopters in 05:13.559 --> 05:14.960 where they were needed. 05:14.960 --> 05:17.590 - Nobody really knew what to expect as far as 05:17.590 --> 05:20.299 flying conditions went down there in the delta area, 05:20.299 --> 05:22.237 where we were at that time. 05:22.237 --> 05:23.499 And so they developed that, 05:23.499 --> 05:27.387 they developed their own tactics by touch and go. 05:27.387 --> 05:29.325 Okay, that one didn't work, let's try something else. 05:29.325 --> 05:31.341 Or that one worked, we'll stick with it. 05:31.341 --> 05:33.294 - He developed a tactic where they would fly 05:33.294 --> 05:35.861 in a different direction and only at the very last minute, 05:35.861 --> 05:38.113 I believe he said two minutes out, 05:38.113 --> 05:41.344 to change course and fly into the intended target. 05:41.344 --> 05:42.652 It would throw them off a little bit, 05:42.652 --> 05:44.780 give the Marines a chance to get in 05:44.780 --> 05:46.133 and let the other troops get out 05:46.133 --> 05:48.131 without receiving heavy fire. 05:48.131 --> 05:51.131 - He probably kept most of us alive, 05:51.597 --> 05:55.764 just because of his previous operational experience. 05:56.133 --> 05:58.087 I think at this stage of the game he was probably 05:58.087 --> 06:01.236 in the running for being the Marine Aviator of the Year. 06:01.236 --> 06:04.559 - And the squadron became known as Archie's Angels. 06:04.559 --> 06:07.364 He was a forward thinker, he was innovative. 06:07.364 --> 06:09.867 He knew how to look at a problem and solve it, 06:09.867 --> 06:11.784 and that's what he did. 06:15.829 --> 06:17.973 (slow drums) 06:17.995 --> 06:22.162 In Soc Trang, living conditions were pretty basic, 06:23.032 --> 06:25.915 and it was an airfield that had been built 06:25.915 --> 06:27.883 by the Japanese in World War II. 06:27.883 --> 06:29.411 Very, very small, 06:29.411 --> 06:32.042 and it was pretty primitive living conditions. 06:32.042 --> 06:36.209 Once they moved up towards Da Nang, it was much different. 06:36.783 --> 06:39.571 That airfield was in much better shape. 06:39.571 --> 06:42.012 They had 8,000 feet of runway, 06:42.012 --> 06:45.272 and actually the barracks and the places where they lived 06:45.272 --> 06:48.879 were pretty far separated from the airfield itself, 06:48.879 --> 06:50.722 so much better conditions. 06:50.722 --> 06:53.632 - [Reinhardt Leu] The living conditions were great. 06:53.632 --> 06:54.465 Our cook, 06:55.665 --> 06:58.165 he was able to get food for us 06:59.090 --> 07:01.673 and my whole squadron, we just, 07:02.625 --> 07:05.625 we got steaks a couple times a week. 07:05.790 --> 07:09.707 - I do remember that we had extraordinary chow. 07:09.947 --> 07:11.383 They went out of their way. 07:11.383 --> 07:15.550 As I recall, we had grilled steaks almost every Sunday. 07:17.084 --> 07:20.667 - At one point I got tired of eating steak, 07:20.785 --> 07:23.180 and for the next week I counted the number of meals 07:23.180 --> 07:27.163 that we had steak, breakfast, dinner, and supper, 07:27.163 --> 07:30.330 and half of those meals we had steak served. 07:30.455 --> 07:34.219 When guys start turning down steak for hot dogs, 07:34.219 --> 07:36.969 you know there's something wrong. 07:39.907 --> 07:42.151 (soft orchestral music) 07:42.710 --> 07:46.877 - That I participated in a groundbreaking operation, 07:48.694 --> 07:51.120 that it was a first for the Marine Corps, 07:51.120 --> 07:54.453 and I was part of it, that's like I say, 07:55.562 --> 07:57.814 that's my claim to history, you know? 07:57.814 --> 08:00.696 - I think in terms of Vietnam it was very important, 08:00.696 --> 08:03.696 and it's sort of the unsung mission. 08:03.707 --> 08:07.201 I mean, when we talk about Vietnam we tend to talk about 08:07.201 --> 08:10.039 the Battle for Hue, the Battle for Khe Sanh, 08:10.039 --> 08:13.109 the hill fights, Con Tien, places like that, 08:13.109 --> 08:16.180 but we don't realize that so many of the lessons learned 08:16.180 --> 08:17.597 came from SHUFLY. 08:17.771 --> 08:19.235 How do we get troops on the ground? 08:19.235 --> 08:22.669 How do we deal with ground fire from an elusive enemy? 08:22.669 --> 08:25.346 How do we deal with landing in some of the terrain 08:25.346 --> 08:28.429 that you find in northern I Corps? 08:28.429 --> 08:32.270 Weather conditions, all that stuff came from SHUFLY, 08:32.270 --> 08:35.405 you know, that's the first place they dealt with it. 08:35.405 --> 08:38.539 Operation SHUFLY absolutely was considered a success. 08:38.539 --> 08:41.563 They were able to do what they came there to do, 08:41.563 --> 08:44.855 and not only did they do it but they did it very well. 08:44.855 --> 08:46.777 - [Spitze] The fact that later on the Marines were able to get 08:46.777 --> 08:49.723 their own complement of Huey helicopters, 08:49.723 --> 08:52.321 and then the Apache, came out of concepts 08:52.321 --> 08:56.040 of tactics and strategy that were developed during SHUFLY 08:56.040 --> 09:00.207 by those very innovative helicopter aviation pilots. 09:01.677 --> 09:04.168 - Shortly after arriving at SHUFLY I took a picture 09:04.168 --> 09:08.335 of a little girl in the village adjacent to SHUFLY Compound. 09:10.466 --> 09:13.317 The little girl was standing at the barbed wire fence 09:13.317 --> 09:17.067 that separated the compound from her village, 09:18.011 --> 09:21.274 and her right hand was extended and holding a strand 09:21.274 --> 09:23.303 of the barbed wire fence, 09:23.303 --> 09:26.957 and there was a tormented expression on her face. 09:26.957 --> 09:30.957 I've always thought that that particular picture 09:31.745 --> 09:33.912 expressed the Vietnam War. 09:35.694 --> 09:38.514 There was a separation between us, 09:38.514 --> 09:42.597 call it the barbed wire fence or whatever it was. 09:42.672 --> 09:46.839 But in that little girl's face, I remember Vietnam 09:46.988 --> 09:49.508 and I remember the difficulties that we had. 09:49.508 --> 09:53.175 - [Leu] Oh absolutely I'm proud of that operation. 09:54.107 --> 09:57.604 It wasn't the biggest one because we were fighting 09:57.604 --> 09:59.919 the Viet Cong there, we weren't fighting 09:59.919 --> 10:03.305 the North Vietnamese as it turned out to be 10:03.305 --> 10:04.972 in later operations. 10:05.148 --> 10:09.065 But we were well-pleased with what we had to do 10:09.826 --> 10:11.326 and how we did it. 10:11.496 --> 10:14.126 - It's a minor chapter in the history of the Marine Corps, 10:14.126 --> 10:15.939 but actually the history of the Marine Corps 10:15.939 --> 10:17.733 is made up of many minor chapters, 10:17.733 --> 10:19.434 which all come together in a compendium 10:19.434 --> 10:22.083 to make the Marine Corps what it is, 10:22.083 --> 10:25.861 a unique fighting unit that fights with intelligence, 10:25.861 --> 10:28.444 integrity, and also compassion. 10:32.365 --> 10:36.532 (military drumming and dramatic music)