C 2/27th Inf Wolfhounds, 25th ID 1966

[New Romantic]

In a uniforms post I had mentioned that my father had saved some items from his first tour of duty in South Vietnam in 1966. Nguoi tien su requested that I post some of those things.

 

Some background on my father SFC Frank A. Gollub, retired US Army, Born 8/31/1946-

Served in the US Army from November 1963- November 1984. He was assigned to C 2/27th Infantry "Wolfhounds" in Nov 1965 and arrived with his unit in South Vietnam on Jan 3 1966. His was with the 25th ID when Cu Chi was a rugged, hostile area and his unit was one of many of the 25th who were faced with the daunting task of pacifying the area to aid in the creation of the Cu Chi base camp. Assigned to C Co.'s weapons platoon he initially was a 11C Mortar crew member and eventually moved on to other roles including RTO for a Forward Observer team and in Aug 1966 he became an FO himself. In November 1966 his company was the unfortunate unit that was isolated and pinned down by the enemy for a day during Operation Attleboro, an action in which his company commander and battalion commander were killed. SLA Marshall wrote about this incident in his book "Ambush."

On Jan 3 1967 my father's tour of duty ended but he volunteered to stay in SVN til Sept 1971 and during that time he served in various support roles.

 

Here are a few things my father saved from his time with the Wolfhounds.

 

This first photo may be familiar to those who have Martin Brayley's recent book "US Web Equipment 1910-1967". However in the book Mr. Brayley mistakenly named my father "W.H. Shack", which is the name of the photo's file. In this Dec 1965 photo my father stands outside the Wolfhound Shack- the kennel were his unit's mascot, Afghan wolfhound Kolchak V lived.

[New Romantic]

I recently had 17 slides from 1966 scanned and transferred to CD. Here are a few of those images, many never posted on the internet before.

 

My father's 81mm mortar in early 1966 at the Cu Chi base camp.

[New Romantic]

Another photo of my father, fall 1966 outside his unit's living quarters/ hooches. Though the area is very primitive looking it was an extreme improvement of the living conditions at Cu Chi in early 1966. His unit slept on the ground with sleeping bags, no shelter halfs. He said it was the dry season so they got lucky it didn't rain.

[New Romantic]

I'm assuming this is 2/27th's Chow hall at Cu Chi. I still need to verify that with my father.

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A kid at Trang Bang, one of many area's within the 25th's Area of Operations.

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This is one of my favorite photos showing soldiers from my father and his platoon hitching a ride on an M48 (?) tank. The photo was taken by the platoon's medic Doc Kropp. June 1966.

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Close up of the soldiers on the tank. My father sits under the wheel/tire, hunched over talking on his PRC-25 that he carries. He said he tried to stay as low as possible since RTO's made inviting targets for enemy snipers.

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This is a list of C Company Wolfhounds who were awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge in March 1966. If you look at the group who received the CIB, 2nd Award, you will see the name Floro Rivera. Those who have read "The Tunnels of Cu Chi" will recognize that name as his exploits in tunnel exploration are written about.

[New Romantic]

The reverse of that paper, my father underlined his name at some point in his career when he was having his service records updated. I also have similar papers for the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, but obviously the files do not look too good when I shrink them down.

[New Romantic]

I'll most several more items later today, the battery on my camera needs to be recharged!

[VALERY]

Bonjour,

Thank you to share us these documents and photos. Did you father received "dust catchers" such plaque at the end of his tour? As one of the first of the 25th to have been deployed, it could be interesting to see the early models available in VN. Some of us are very keen on plaques and other semi-officials awards, if you have...

Regards

Valery

[New Romantic]

Bonjour,

Thank you to share us these documents and photos. Did you father received "dust catchers" such plaque at the end of his tour? As one of the first of the 25th to have been deployed, it could be interesting to see the early models available in VN. Some of us are very keen on plaques and other semi-officials awards, if you have...

Regards

Valery

 

I'll ask my dad if he ever recieved a plaque. Most likely such an item would have been presented to individuals such as the battalion commander, battalion command sgt major, perhaps even at the company level.

 

Here are a few additional items.

 

This is an awards folder my father recieved with one of the Purple Hearts he was awarded. The folder has fallen apart b/c my father used it to store his service records, and other award certificates.

[New Romantic]

Members of the 25th ID recieved a copy of the "Blue Book"-official title "Tropic Lightning The 25th's 25th In Combat", printed October 1966. As you can see my father's copy shows plenty of wear- the photos in it can't be matched by any current publication and it's an extraordinary reference about the 25th ID in 1966. Every now and then I post photos from the book here showing an interesting documentation of uniforms and accouterments in use during 1966.

 

Another great feature of the book is a complete roster, unit by unit of the soldiers who arrived in South Vietnam in early 1966. This is a great reference for researching patched uniforms that show up every now and then. I used it to verify the service of SSGT Digno Abella, a 1st Battalion Wolfhound whose two 1966 uniforms were recently on eBay. See topic-

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=17040

 

This book really is a true treasure and I'm fortunate my father kept his copy.

[New Romantic]

Finally here's my father's "Wolfhound Scroll" which was presented to Wolfhounds as their tour of duty neared completion. It's printed on faux antique paper. My father had it displayed in a frame for years til it broke sometime in the 1980's. He had pinned his CIB from 1966 to the scroll, below where it reads "Wolfhounds". My father added a few things to it-middle initial "A", number "19" to 66, and info about the C Co. commanding officer in the lower left hand corner.

 

I plan to have this reframed to preserve it since it is rather delicate.

[New Romantic]

Detail

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Detail

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Detail

[Andrei]

Frankie, hi mate !

Thats a very nice display of your father's souvenirs. Thanks a bunch for sharing with us.

I also have a copy of the "Blue Book". A true Bible for those interested in the exploits of the 25th.

I have at least IDed 4 uniforms of my collections with the roster.

 

Andrei

[New Romantic]

Frankie, hi mate !

Thats a very nice display of your father's souvenirs. Thanks a bunch for sharing with us.

I also have a copy of the "Blue Book". A true Bible for those interested in the exploits of the 25th.

I have at least IDed 4 uniforms of my collections with the roster.

 

Andrei

 

Hi Andrei, any other Wolfhounds? You should post the other uniforms, I'd love to see them. Anything from the 25th ID during 1966 interests me.

[Andrei]

I have two members of the 25th Aviation Battalion, pathfinders. One Wolfhound captain, one Wolfhound E-5 and a medic. Plus several other uniforms post 1966, a Manchu 1LT, several SP4s, LRP, etc...

I will try to post some pics next week but I am a poor photographer and my mate JJ the expert is out of town for 10 days.

[New Romantic]

I have two members of the 25th Aviation Battalion, pathfinders. One Wolfhound captain, one Wolfhound E-5 and a medic. Plus several other uniforms post 1966, a Manchu 1LT, several SP4s, LRP, etc...

I will try to post some pics next week but I am a poor photographer and my mate JJ the expert is out of town for 10 days.

 

Sounds great, I look forward to seeing your uniforms!

[nguoi tien su]

Thanks for sharing your father's stuff ! Very interesting !

 

NTS

[Mr-X]

Very interesting stuff, thanks so much for sharing.

[Patrick.]

Hello Frankie,

 

 

just noticed the thread.

 

Superb photos and scroll. Thanks for taking the time to share such personal family memories.

 

Utterly fascinating.

 

 

 

Patrick.

[seanmc1114]

Members of the 25th ID recieved a copy of the "Blue Book"-official title "Tropic Lightning The 25th's 25th In Combat", printed October 1966. As you can see my father's copy shows plenty of wear- the photos in it can't be matched by any current publication and it's an extraordinary reference about the 25th ID in 1966. Every now and then I post photos from the book here showing an interesting documentation of uniforms and accouterments in use during 1966.

 

Another great feature of the book is a complete roster, unit by unit of the soldiers who arrived in South Vietnam in early 1966. This is a great reference for researching patched uniforms that show up every now and then. I used it to verify the service of SSGT Digno Abella, a 1st Battalion Wolfhound whose two 1966 uniforms were recently on eBay. See topic-

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=17040

 

This book really is a true treasure and I'm fortunate my father kept his copy.

I have the following 25th Infantry Division unit histories:

 

1. 1941 - 1966 (This is the blue book you posted)

2. 1966 - 1967

3. 1967 - 1968

4. 1969

5. 1970

 

I assume these were all of the ones printed while the 25th was in Vietnam. Does anyone know if there are other volumes?