pawpaw edited interview

& Kefluniañ

• Speaker 1 0:09
• Speaker 2 0:00
• Speaker 3 2:16

1. 0:00

   Pennad 1: Okay. So, my first question is, when and why did you join the military? 135s · Speaker 2

   Okay. So, my first question is, when and why did you join the military? When was February of 1971, and why was because I had dropped out of high school and I needed some structure in my life, and I thought I could get in the military. And t…

2. 2:16

   Pennad 2: Yeah. But there were a lot of people that didn't worry about it because they had things like flat feet or hard of hearing in one ear or busted eardrum or, you know, their vision wasn't good enough or. 307s · Speaker 3

   Yeah. But there were a lot of people that didn't worry about it because they had things like flat feet or hard of hearing in one ear or busted eardrum or, you know, their vision wasn't good enough or. Yeah. Any number of maladies, but I nev…

3. 7:23

   Pennad 3: was out in california at the time living out in california they were divorced and he signed the paperwork and mailed it back and then my mom signed it and then that's how i could go in at 17. 304s · Speaker 1

   was out in california at the time living out in california they were divorced and he signed the paperwork and mailed it back and then my mom signed it and then that's how i could go in at 17. and you go through all your training and everyth…

4. 12:27

   Pennad 4: weapons did u. 303s · Speaker 1

   weapons did u.s soldiers carry during the war what did you carry was any of it new tech well it was new tech for the day i guess you know um yeah there wasn't except for the helicopters the helicopters were new tech instead of you know taki…

5. 17:31

   Pennad 5: by, by the ton of bombs by the tons. 101s · Speaker 2

   by, by the ton of bombs by the tons. Each, each B-52 could carry, I don't know, 20 tons of bombs of 500 pounders. So it's like 40, 40, 50, 60, depending on the size of them, how many they could drop. And they would fly in flights of three, …

6. 19:13

   Pennad 6: It's scary. 302s · Speaker 1

   It's scary. It's scary. Yeah. I'd have never wanted to have been on receiving that end aid underneath it, you know, because I mean, you figure a mile wide, anything within a mile wide, and three miles long, it's completely obliterated. You …

7. 24:15

   Pennad 7: And since then, you know, they were probably, I don't even, yeah, they still use the M16, but it's, like, probably 20 or 30 generations old, you know, so it's been refined over the decades. 307s · Speaker 1

   And since then, you know, they were probably, I don't even, yeah, they still use the M16, but it's, like, probably 20 or 30 generations old, you know, so it's been refined over the decades. So, was it hard for y'all to, like, I guess, adjus…

8. 29:22

   Pennad 8: Which means, just stand by, don't shoot your guns. 255s · Speaker 1

   Which means, just stand by, don't shoot your guns. If they said, we're going into a hot LZ, I mean, as we're going in, we're opening up on the machine guns, suppressing enemy fire, because they're shooting at us and shooting at the troops i…

9. 33:38

   Pennad 9: It's crazy to, like, I saw the pictures of you and all your people and then just being, you know, 21 now. 303s · Speaker 2

   It's crazy to, like, I saw the pictures of you and all your people and then just being, you know, 21 now. When I was younger, you look at people who are soldiers or you learn about it and you're like, oh, they're so old. But then you get to…

10. 38:43

    Pennad 10: had probably five or five to ten different frequencies of things going on. 161s · Speaker 1

    had probably five or five to ten different frequencies of things going on. And they would all blare. And that's one reason why most vets, Vietnam vets, because helmets would, radios inside of them were kind of new. And they weren't, there w…

11. 41:24

    Pennad 11: yeah I'm assuming you're not afraid of heights now jet flying jets scared the devil out of me and it still does today and even more so today that I'm older but back then and I mean the flight to Vietnam was like 17 hours and you'd make one maybe two stops to refuel on the way but and I did that I went over to Vietnam came back from Vietnam went back to Vietnam came back so four trips like that and that's that there those flights never bothered me of course there again you're immortal you know flying didn't bother me and I always like to sit but I always wanted a window seat now all I want is I'll see I sit out and yeah of course that helps because you can stretch your legs out yeah you know but helicopters were able if like I got shot down once while I was over I just passed the six month mark and probably within a week or two before it happened I have made a comment well I'm hey that's not your true toy I had made a comment well I made it six months without getting shot down because they had one of the things over there they had depending on what field of the military between like infantry or aviation arm or anything you had a designated time sequence that like aviation that they said you had a life expectancy of seven seconds once you cleared the area of operation and moved into hostile territory you know I guess that that meant that helicopters at that time were getting shot down about every while there was loot they were losing one about every seven seconds wow and they sent over probably eleven to twelve thousand helicopters during the Vietnam War and probably four thousand were shot down or wow crashed yeah well you know World War two you had those bombers b-17 bombers and everything that had a crew of ten which included four or six gunners that tail gunner you had a belly gunner and you had two side gunners well with 50 caliber guns and stuff and when the Nazis would come up in their fighter planes they you know they big lumbering four engine bombers you know they they don't have any maneuverability or anything and they'd just pull up behind them and kill the tail gunner first because they'd be shooting at the back of the plane they'd knock out the bubble that he was in and you know I don't know how many thousands of men flight crews ten-man flight crews were killed in World War two and it was like they'd send 200 planes out from England over to bomb Germany and out of the 200 planes maybe 140 would return and I mean this was every mission wow you know they would have that the kill raid on on air crew over there And it was so bad that they had it set up that if you survived 25 trips to Germany and back without getting killed, then that was your, they called it the golden ticket. 301s · Speaker 2

    yeah I'm assuming you're not afraid of heights now jet flying jets scared the devil out of me and it still does today and even more so today that I'm older but back then and I mean the flight to Vietnam was like 17 hours and you'd make one …

12. 46:26

    Pennad 12: But we got hit by one of those. 125s · Speaker 2

    But we got hit by one of those. That's what they estimated when they recovered the helicopter in the tail section. But it didn't sever the cables or anything. The shrapnel just went through the body and missed any important parts. So, the p…

13. 48:32

    Pennad 13: That's awful. 300s · Speaker 1

    That's awful. Wow. Okay, I guess we'll move to my returning home section. After Vietnam, when did you return home and what was it like when you returned to the United States? I went, I got in Vietnam the 9th, or the 11th of January. I left …

14. 53:32

    Pennad 14: flew into San Francisco and there was another guy that was coming home I made friends with on the plane and everything and we were both going back I think I was going to Kentucky and I think he was going to Tennessee or something like that so we were pretty much traveling together but uh and when we come home of course we're in our uniforms and you know looking sharp you got all your medals and everything you're feeling proud of the job you're done and you're coming home alive you know and it was actually pretty traumatic going through the airport stuff people calling you baby killers they really they really didn't do that spit and action everything so once we got our luggage and it had civilian clothing in it we went to the men's room and changed out of our uniforms and got civilian clothes because of the treatment we got in San Francisco didn't want to face it landing in Louisville or any of it I don't think we I think we've got it in the police strike from San Francisco to Louisville I don't remember us stopping anywhere in between but yeah that was pretty pretty crappy so we were in civilian clothes once we got on the plane from San Francisco to Louisville and got off in civilian clothes so but you know and then yeah There's still three more years that the United States didn't completely get out until the North Vietnamese overrun Saigon in 1975. 213s · Speaker 1

    flew into San Francisco and there was another guy that was coming home I made friends with on the plane and everything and we were both going back I think I was going to Kentucky and I think he was going to Tennessee or something like that …

15. 57:08

    Pennad 15: Yeah, well, that last question was my last question. 74s · Speaker 2

    Yeah, well, that last question was my last question. Oh, I thought you closed. I thought you were done. No, I said it was my last question. I'm just rambling. No, it was my last question. Oh, oh, okay. Thanks for letting me interview you. W…