I spent two full tours of duty (1 year each) in South Viet Nam. I made some good friends there and lost some good friends there. This album will show you some experiences I had, and some of my favorite snapshots.
Date(s): August 2, 2003. Album by George Williams. Photos by George Williams. 1 - 95 of 95 Total. 2597 Visits.
I was with 303rd when it deployed to Viet Nam in 1966, from Fort Wolters, Texas. I was with the ASA from Oct 1963 to Oct 1967. Served in Korea, before Ft. Wolters and Viet Nam. Worked in CommSec. Sp5 and SSGT while in Viet Nam. - Terry Rosga | www.tgrpaw.us, Thu, 30 Mar 2017 7:27AM
Great photos. I too was stationed at the 303rd Radio Research Battalion from April 1967 to April 1968. I was there during the Tet offensive and when the ammo depot was blown up. I also helped building some of the huts. I also received a Bronze Star medal from Captain Robert Clay. Thanks for sharing your photos. Ed - Ed Harrington, Mon, 17 Nov 2014 4:08PM
SP5 Kenneth M. Ellis, June '68 - June '69. Came in as 98C but became battalion artist & photographer. Worked with MSgt E. Blackadar and Ops CO was Maj. Pfister. I used to paint the longhorns on all the jeeps and trucks and designed the crossed pistols patch for the MP guys. I think the Sig Maint guy's name was Suddath - WO, I think.
Primary MOS was IRAQI LINGUIST.......Go Figure! - Skip Ellis, Tue, 19 Mar 2013 4:07AM
At 303rd, September, 1968-January, 1969 At 372nd, February, 1969-September, 1969.
Some Cu Chi photos: http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&biw=1366&bih=600&tbm=isch&tbnid=G1tkoehq03FF4M:&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/photolibrarian/sets/72157630644255720/detail/&docid=7ooh8SZKeayRnM&itg=1&imgurl=http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7600529760_73155c2ae1_m.jpg&w=240&h=162&ei=V6GpUKO1H4ePrgH8kIHAAg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=1&sig=111383480239471129925&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=192&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0,i:106&tx=1113&ty=393
I have not yet posted any 303rd pictures yet or any of the orphanage where I took water every day in Ho Nai
Hank Zaletel - Hank Zaletel, Sun, 18 Nov 2012 7:08PM
1 303rd Radio Research Batallion An aerial view of my unit for both my tours in Nam. My first tour, I was commanding officer of Headquarters Company "Those neatly arranged alum..." View Comments...
2 My home away from home I started to put this in the "Home Places" album as a joke. I lived here for a full year in Viet Nam, 1966-67 "Picture taken during a lig..." View Comments...
3 Relaxing on my front porch Viet Nam 1966
4 I spent a lot of time on the porch.
5 Passing time in Viet Nam
6 We even had a theatre
7 CO, HHC 303rd Me, as Commanding Officer, Headquarters Company, 303rd RR Bn. Long Binh, Viet Nam 1967
8 HQ Co. Orderly Room This is it where I had my office my first tour of duty in Nam. "303rd was tent city during..." "I was stationed there clos..." "You never forget that red ..." View Comments...
9 A little extra trim was added... You can see the enlisted men's club under construction in the background.
10 Same Building, second tour As you can see, they made some improvements while I was away in Europe.
11 The entrance to my office
12 My Office as Commanding Officer
13 I kept a very clean desk
14 Home Sweet Home Work was completed on the permenant barracks 45 days before I left to come home. I got a 2 room "suite" in the new quarters because of my position as commander. "Served under LTC John J. M..." View Comments...
15 My living room.
16 The other side of my living room
17 My closets.
18 ....and the bedroom.
19 My wall decor This was typical decor for the GI in Nam, pictures of family and a "short timers calendar" where each day was marked off. "Believe it or not, I remem..." "Believe it or not, I still..." View Comments...
20 My pin up World War II had Betty Grable, Korea had Marilyn Monroe, and I assume Ann-Margaret was for Viet Nam, but I had my own. Her name was Barbara.
21 Receiving Bronze Star Medal Awarded for "outstanding achievement" during my Viet Nam service. "Barbara was not with me in..." "Served w/Hq Co, 303rd as T..." View Comments...
22 Christmas Decorations This sign was in front of the mess hall.
23 Ammo Dump Exploding Shortly after my arrival, the Viet Cong blew up the nearby ammo dump. Can you believe someone took time to take a picture. "This was my introduction t..." View Comments...
24 Cpt, Trevor Richards I worked closely with the Royal Australian Army and became good friends with Cpt. Richards. We later served together in Berlin, Germany. "You will be pleased to kno..." View Comments...
25 I saw Billy Graham.......
26 ...and Nancy Sinatra....
27 ....and some nobody ever heard of. But we enjoyed them anyway.
28 I took this aerial view of the batallion "The first picture was an o..." View Comments...
29 Monsoon Season You could almost set your watch by the rains during the rainy season. Then for the next 6 months, you got no rain at all.
30 But between rains, we had lots of fun.
31 Me, Trent Stewart & Bob Betts Bob Betts was my commander in Panama, we wound up as peers in Nam. Bob died this year of cancer.
32 Ken Wendt & me We were waiting on transportation to the airport, leaving Nam to come home, Sept. 1967 "I had a sinus infection an..." View Comments...
33 The transition.... My old tent on the left, my new quarters under construction on the right.
34 Vietnamese workers If I recall correctly, we paid them ninety cents a day to work for us. It was rumored that some of them were Viet Cong by night.
35 Papa San This little guy was a fixture during both of my tours in Nam. He did just about any job that we needed done. I can't remember his name, we always called him Papa San.
36 A better picture of Papa San
37 my09#006
38 Construction continues My Excutive Officer, Lt Alan Fitch, with back to camera.
39 I helped with some of the manual labor too "Actually, this would proba..." View Comments...
40 Chain of Command photo 1970
41 Tan AN, RVN 1970 My second tour, I was Asst. Plans & Training Officer for the Batallion, then later was moved to Tan An to command a Detachment with the 9th Infantry Division.
42 Me at Tan An again As the war wound down, the 9th Division was phased out, with only one Brigade left in country, and it was made subordinate to the 25th Infantry Division. I then moved to the 25th Div. to command the Intelligence company there. "I was recommended for anot..." View Comments...
43 George W. Williams, Cpt. U.S. Army Commanding Officer, 372nd Radio Research Company 303rd Radio Research Batallion Cu Chi, Viet Nam, 1970 "Enjoyed you site..It seems..." View Comments...
44 Xuan Loc , Viet Nam, 1970 This is the "before" picture. See the next one for how I looked after I got back to base camp.
45 RVN, 1970. It gets dusty out there "after" a 15 mile convoy through Viet Cong territory.
46 Deros, the company mascot DEROS is a military acronym for Date Expected Rotation from Overseas, the date every GI dreamed of. Thus the name of the mascot.
47 A typical street scene
48 The Water Buffalo A common beast of burden in Viet Nam.
49 A good picture of a rice paddy
50 Working the rice paddy
51 Sampans on the Mekong River This is one of my favorite pictures that I took in Viet Nam. I think I got it at just the right time of day.
52 Bien Hoa, RVN
53 Saigon suburb
54 The crowded streets of Saigon
55 jy07#032
56 The coast of Viet Nam Somewhere near Cam Ranh Bay
57 jy07#039
58 A sidewalk market place
59 jy07#036
60 jy07#045
61 jy07#044
62 The local car wash I think the kids charged a dollar to wash a jeep, a little more for a truck. Of course, if you didn't watch them closely, they would steal your spare tire and half of the engine.
63 Black Horse Base Camp Located near Xuan Loc, SVN, it bordered the Michelin rubber plantation.
64 The Capitol, Saigon, Viet Nam
65 The "Huey" helicopter The one single thing that in my mind, allowed us to stay in the war as long as we did.
66 jy07#050
67 Operations Bunker, Tan An, RVN
68 A Vietnamese village
69 Another Village
70 A Viet Namese farm
71 Nui Ba Dinh That's me in the foreground, but it came out too dark. But the mountain was the target. That is Nui Ba Dinh, the Black Virgin Mountain. "It could be seen for miles..." "The country was so flat we..." View Comments...
72 Flying over Viet Nam Nothing special, I just thought this made a neat picture.
73 my08#062
74 my08#068
75 Viet Namese War Memorial
76 A Fire Support Base This one was within yards of the Cambodian border. "Fire bases were usually lo..." View Comments...
77 my08#066
78 MIchelin Rubber Plantation It was said that the famous tire company paid untold fortunes to the Viet Cong as protection money to allow their operations to continue without interuption.
79 Outskirts of Saigon
80 Another street scene "I took this picture to cap..." View Comments...
81 An armored convoy
82 Open Air Market Place The fish were still alive
83 my08#092
84 my08#093
85 Operations area, 303rd Radio Research Bn.
86 Officer's living quarters This was my first tour there.
87 Tu Do Street , Saigon
88 Thanksgiving, 1966, Viet Nam
89 Viet Nam 1966 I was so new that I had not even gotten my jungle fatigues yet.
90 Main Street, 303rd RR Bn. Early in my first tour, 1966
91 Tan An, RVN, 1969
92 Tan An, RVN, 1969
93 Rascal I raised him from the day he was born. I planned to bring him home, but he developed health problems and couldn't get through quarantine to enter the U.S.
