thedrifter
02-17-08, 08:18 AM
Marine recollections featured in documentary
February 17, 2008
By Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com
On TV
National Geographic Channel will air "Inside the Vietnam War" at 7 p.m. Monday.
The three-hour special will take an exhaustive look at the origins, strategies and legacy of the war.
The film uses interviews with more than 50 veterans interwoven with archival audio and video footage and photographs.
LAFAYETTE — He was a member of a Marine Security Guard, with duty at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. Compared to comrades in action in the jungles, Warren Caudle's position seemed to be danger-free.
"It was the best military job in the country."
That was before the Tet Offensive of 1968, a North Vietnamese surprise attack timed to celebrations for the lunar new year. It was an action that had limited military impact yet helped swing the tide of public opinion in the United States against the Vietnam War.
"We didn't have any helmets, flak jackets or rifles before Tet. It was not our duty to engage."
That role changed quickly the night of Jan. 31, when 19 Viet Cong commandos blew a hole in the outer walls of the embassy and overran five military police on duty.
Caudle, armed with a .38-caliber special, was among Marines who responded to the attack. Forty years later, his recollections are among those gathered for the National Geographic special "Inside the Vietnam War," which will premier in Washington, D.C., and will be aired Monday.
"I don't know what kind of role I'm going to have in the documentary," Caudle said. "I think they will do a decent job. I remember at the time being told that I was going to be on the nightly news."
Images on the news that night, and erroneous reports about the impact of the attack, were unsettling to U.S. viewers.
"It was the first time an embassy had actually been attacked with a ground assault," Caudle said. "If we hadn't already been in a state of war, it would have been an act of war. It was something you just didn't do.
"Saigon had the largest group of embassy guards in the world. Most had five to 10. We had 80 Marines there."
Two MPs were killed immediately as the commandos tried to blast their way through the main embassy doors with anti-tank rockets. They failed and were soon pinned down by the Marine guards, who kept the VC in an intense firefight until a relief force of 101st Airborne landed by helicopter.
By midmorning, the battle had turned. All 19 VC were dead, along with five Americans and two Vietnamese civilians. The security of the embassy was not in serious danger after the first few minutes and the damage was slight, but the attack on "American soil" captured the imagination of the media and the battle became symbolic of the Tet Offensive.
"Two days before, we had gotten an alert," said Caudle, who was three months into his role as duty NCO at the Marine house. "They were expecting problems. Those who had been out on patrol the day before found that downtown was desolate. There were no street vendors. They knew something was not right.
"The afternoon of the 30th, standing post, some of the old timers were saying they had been put on alert so many times, they wished something would happen," Caudle said. "I worked from noon to 4 p.m. and was back on for 8. By the time I got off my post, there were serious attacks elsewhere. They kept getting closer and closer.
"I stayed up to watch a movie — "The Guide for the Married Man" — with my buddy, Dean Spears, around 1 or 1:30. About 2:30, we got a call that the embassy was actually taking hostile fire.
"About 10 or 12 of us got the ammunition we could, then hopped in an old van and a jeep. We were stopped a block from the embassy by Army MPs. At that time, they were dropping mortar rounds into the embassy compound. So our staff sergeant, Banks, said, 'We're going to the embassy.'"
Events of that night remain as clear for Caudle as if they were yesterday.
"We were moving down a wall when a Marine shouted 'Grenade!' It was very dark, and we shoved it toward the street. It was next to the curb, and the concussion went away from us.
"We got to the compound next to the main embassy yard, and I was sent around back to a gate in the wall," Caudle said. "We still didn't know there were people in the yard. We were going to go in and find out what was going on.
I went to a small office building and, all at once, somebody shot at me a few times. I still didn't know those were bad guys out there. I told my buddy to tell the Marines to quit shooting at me.
"I heard some Vietnamese voices. And a group came walking out of a room next to me. There were two guys in back with AK-47s, and I thought (the others) appeared to be surrendering.
"All I had was my .38 special revolver, and I was trying to make up my mind which one to shoot," Caudle said. "Then one stepped out and lowered down on me. I jumped back into the room and started to exchange fire. The next thing I knew, two RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) were fired into the room.
"About that time, my buddy said, 'Hey, Warren, those aren't Marines shooting at you.' I said, 'I just figured that out!'"
Caudle made his way back to report to his group and spent the rest of the night helping regain control of the embassy. The compound was secure, but deeper damage had been achieved.
"All the stuff coming out of Vietnam, the PR (public relations) buildup, was that we were winning the war," Caudle said. "We saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The enemy was whipped. They can't go on much longer.
"Then (Tet) hit the streets, and we had been told the war was over. The people had been lied to so much. It was a pivotal point in the war," he said.
"After that, the U.S. systematically decided to betray a nation. The rank and file pretty much gave up. Congress cut funding. Soldiers quit. It was one of the saddest chapters in our history.
"The U.S. lost the will to fight, and America just quit."
Ellie
February 17, 2008
By Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com
On TV
National Geographic Channel will air "Inside the Vietnam War" at 7 p.m. Monday.
The three-hour special will take an exhaustive look at the origins, strategies and legacy of the war.
The film uses interviews with more than 50 veterans interwoven with archival audio and video footage and photographs.
LAFAYETTE — He was a member of a Marine Security Guard, with duty at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. Compared to comrades in action in the jungles, Warren Caudle's position seemed to be danger-free.
"It was the best military job in the country."
That was before the Tet Offensive of 1968, a North Vietnamese surprise attack timed to celebrations for the lunar new year. It was an action that had limited military impact yet helped swing the tide of public opinion in the United States against the Vietnam War.
"We didn't have any helmets, flak jackets or rifles before Tet. It was not our duty to engage."
That role changed quickly the night of Jan. 31, when 19 Viet Cong commandos blew a hole in the outer walls of the embassy and overran five military police on duty.
Caudle, armed with a .38-caliber special, was among Marines who responded to the attack. Forty years later, his recollections are among those gathered for the National Geographic special "Inside the Vietnam War," which will premier in Washington, D.C., and will be aired Monday.
"I don't know what kind of role I'm going to have in the documentary," Caudle said. "I think they will do a decent job. I remember at the time being told that I was going to be on the nightly news."
Images on the news that night, and erroneous reports about the impact of the attack, were unsettling to U.S. viewers.
"It was the first time an embassy had actually been attacked with a ground assault," Caudle said. "If we hadn't already been in a state of war, it would have been an act of war. It was something you just didn't do.
"Saigon had the largest group of embassy guards in the world. Most had five to 10. We had 80 Marines there."
Two MPs were killed immediately as the commandos tried to blast their way through the main embassy doors with anti-tank rockets. They failed and were soon pinned down by the Marine guards, who kept the VC in an intense firefight until a relief force of 101st Airborne landed by helicopter.
By midmorning, the battle had turned. All 19 VC were dead, along with five Americans and two Vietnamese civilians. The security of the embassy was not in serious danger after the first few minutes and the damage was slight, but the attack on "American soil" captured the imagination of the media and the battle became symbolic of the Tet Offensive.
"Two days before, we had gotten an alert," said Caudle, who was three months into his role as duty NCO at the Marine house. "They were expecting problems. Those who had been out on patrol the day before found that downtown was desolate. There were no street vendors. They knew something was not right.
"The afternoon of the 30th, standing post, some of the old timers were saying they had been put on alert so many times, they wished something would happen," Caudle said. "I worked from noon to 4 p.m. and was back on for 8. By the time I got off my post, there were serious attacks elsewhere. They kept getting closer and closer.
"I stayed up to watch a movie — "The Guide for the Married Man" — with my buddy, Dean Spears, around 1 or 1:30. About 2:30, we got a call that the embassy was actually taking hostile fire.
"About 10 or 12 of us got the ammunition we could, then hopped in an old van and a jeep. We were stopped a block from the embassy by Army MPs. At that time, they were dropping mortar rounds into the embassy compound. So our staff sergeant, Banks, said, 'We're going to the embassy.'"
Events of that night remain as clear for Caudle as if they were yesterday.
"We were moving down a wall when a Marine shouted 'Grenade!' It was very dark, and we shoved it toward the street. It was next to the curb, and the concussion went away from us.
"We got to the compound next to the main embassy yard, and I was sent around back to a gate in the wall," Caudle said. "We still didn't know there were people in the yard. We were going to go in and find out what was going on.
I went to a small office building and, all at once, somebody shot at me a few times. I still didn't know those were bad guys out there. I told my buddy to tell the Marines to quit shooting at me.
"I heard some Vietnamese voices. And a group came walking out of a room next to me. There were two guys in back with AK-47s, and I thought (the others) appeared to be surrendering.
"All I had was my .38 special revolver, and I was trying to make up my mind which one to shoot," Caudle said. "Then one stepped out and lowered down on me. I jumped back into the room and started to exchange fire. The next thing I knew, two RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) were fired into the room.
"About that time, my buddy said, 'Hey, Warren, those aren't Marines shooting at you.' I said, 'I just figured that out!'"
Caudle made his way back to report to his group and spent the rest of the night helping regain control of the embassy. The compound was secure, but deeper damage had been achieved.
"All the stuff coming out of Vietnam, the PR (public relations) buildup, was that we were winning the war," Caudle said. "We saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The enemy was whipped. They can't go on much longer.
"Then (Tet) hit the streets, and we had been told the war was over. The people had been lied to so much. It was a pivotal point in the war," he said.
"After that, the U.S. systematically decided to betray a nation. The rank and file pretty much gave up. Congress cut funding. Soldiers quit. It was one of the saddest chapters in our history.
"The U.S. lost the will to fight, and America just quit."
Ellie