Combat Journalist

tetvet

Banned
Combat Journalism in Vietnam was good , inventive , informative and even entertaining but where was it being reported from ? I never saw anyone from the press nobody I knew or talked to ever saw anyone from the press yet there were hundreds maybe thousands of Foreign correspondents in Vietnam , much of the Reporting it seems was done from the roof top bar at the Victoria Hotel in Saigon , many of the Correspondents would stop by MACV headquarters pickup a handout and became inventive while having a drink at the bar .:camo:
 
I saw a film showing how 2 of the "Big 3" TV news shows covered a battle, you'd think they were completely different battles from the coverage.
 
Errol Flynn's son and buddy took off on bikes headed into Khmer Rouge darkness against the best of advice.
I have heard they were possibly murdered by the Cambodes who had been part of the
cidg program in my camp.
They were returning to Cambodia after the program was discontinued.
They joined Pol Pot's gang who in turn murdered them because they had become "too Vietnamesed."
Cambodians are great warriors, but savage fighters as well.

The only time they let the press come out to see us was during the siege of 69.
The guy went on about how he was going to tell our story and be with us, blah blah.
A couple hours later his camera guy had lost a leg and the reporter had a minor arm wound.
He was crying like a little girl begging for a medivac.
 
Cambodians, Montagnards, Some Viets were part of the CIDG program.
Civilian Irregular Defense Program.
They were part of a scheme to secure the remote border and highland areas. Incentives were that they could stay near home and not be drafted into the Saigon army. Also, specifically for the Montagnards, they were offered political autonomy, education, and medical care.
This is how we manned the defenses for the remote A Camps. We had Cambodia on two sides of my camp and spent time patrolling and securing the area. Mission was to interdict supply routes.
Mike Forces also used a lot of Cambodians as they were dependable, loyal and fierce mofos.
Not technically mercenaries, some refer to them as such.
By the end of 1970, SF was leaving VN and the program came under RF/PF and ARVN Rangers. They took over the old camps.
Most of the Cambodes chose to go back home. They wanted to kill Sihanouk and joined up with Pol Pot. The Khmer Rouge did not trust them and basically murdered all of them and their families.
I spent 17 months in an A Camp with about 8 to 10 other guys and a couple hundred strikers.
Quite an adventure for a kid off the farm. Highly recommended.
 
Back
Top