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Vietnam war era 3/22 Recon motorcycle patch


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Patchcollector

Now here is something truly unusual,a Nam's Angels patch from my collection.It seems that the Army used motorcycles in Vietnam,

for recon purposes in the marshy areas of operation for this unit.Needless to say,it is a seldom seen patch,I have never seen another.

 

There's not too much info about this small unit out there,but I found some photos,and some info regarding this unit online,here is the link to the site:

Nam's Angels article

post-13386-1312676766.jpg

post-13386-1312676806.jpg

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Patchcollector

I'll add the pics and info I found online here,in case the website it came from disappears.

post-13386-1312676838.jpg

post-13386-1312676847.jpg

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Patchcollector

Article

 

 

 

WILD ONES – Shades of Brando are recalled as Regulars ride through War Zone C. They are (l to r) Specialists 4 Dennis Verbrigghie, Rock City, Mich.; James Linder, Indianapolis; Specialist 5 Scott Anderson, Balsin Lake, Wisc.; and Specialist 4 James Tomusco, Lorain, Ohio.

 

 

 

You Meet The Nicest People On the Trails of War Zone C

 

TAY NINH - Like Hell's Angeles, the Rat Patrol, and the Wild Ones all rolled into one, the Reconnaissance Patrol of the 3d Battalion, 22d Infantry Regulars prowls War Zone C with 175-cc motorcycles leading the rest of the patrol.

The four motorcycles were introduced into the patrol by the Regulars' battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Carmichael, who wanted a fast and efficient way for his reconnaissance element to investigate the swarm of trails that twist through the marshes and jungles of what used to be a reliable sanctuary for enemy troops.

"Knowing where the enemy is not is almost as good as knowing where he is," Carmichael says. "This mobile unit can cover a great deal of territory in a very short time, which enables us to gain information on the whereabouts of the enemy.

In addition to the motorcycles, the reconnaissance unit includes Rat Patrol Type vehicles equipped with machine guns.

Patrol Leader First Lieutenant Stephen Campbell, Falls Church, Va., takes his men out at dawn every morning, with the flack jacket, crash helmet-clad cyclists leading the way. The unit has already uncovered several mortar and rocket sites used by enemy forces.

Major Jospeh Hacia, the Regulars’ executive officer, is convinced of the value of using the motorcycles. "At first I was very leery of the whole idea, but now I am confident it was a good one," Hacia says. "Recon has provided us with valuable information which normally we would not have."

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bootsandbooks

Cool.

 

I haven't seen one of those for more than 40 years.

 

There is another photo in this thread:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...40&start=40

 

in post 55 and another of some similar bikes imported in post 51.

 

If you go back to the beginning of the thread you will see a shirt of the Echo 3/22nd Company Commander to which the Recon Platoon was assigned and some other details about the unit.

 

Other units in the 3/22nd Infantry commonly wore a "Regular" rocker just as the 1/27th and 2/27th wore the "Wolfhound" rocker.

 

May I ask where you acquired the scroll?

 

 

M C

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Patchcollector
Cool.

 

I haven't seen one of those for more than 40 years.

 

There is another photo in this thread:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...40&start=40

 

in post 55 and another of some similar bikes imported in post 51.

 

If you go back to the beginning of the thread you will see a shirt of the Echo 3/22nd Company Commander to which the Recon Platoon was assigned and some other details about the unit.

 

Other units in the 3/22nd Infantry commonly wore a "Regular" rocker just as the 1/27th and 2/27th wore the "Wolfhound" rocker.

 

May I ask where you acquired the scroll?

M C

 

 

 

Thanks M C!I'll check out the thread.I won this in an eBay auction some years back.I can't remember what I paid for the patches,but I do remember it really was'nt

very much,considering the scarcity of the piece.I remember not too many people bid on it,most probably did'nt even realize what it was,but I really enjoy collecting

the unusual units,so it caught my eye right away!

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This past Wed I got from Amazon Vol.10 of Ballantines Illustrated History of the Vietnam War and it has an entire chapter devoted to these guys. Lots of pictures.

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Patchcollector
This past Wed I got from Amazon Vol.10 of Ballantines Illustrated History of the Vietnam War and it has an entire chapter devoted to these guys. Lots of pictures.

 

 

Thanks!I'll have to check that out!

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Sweet! And it seems the use of motorcycles comes and goes every few years. I have been in two Cav units where the SCO formed ad hoc platoons, with the Scouts being pulled from the line troops, and formed around the bikes. Then right up until OIF/OEF began, in addition to the Div Cav, and Scout platoons in the Armor & Inf battalions there was an additional "short" troop established at BDE level, known as the BRT, or Brigade Recon Troop. Many of them used bikes to.

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Patchcollector
Sweet! And it seems the use of motorcycles comes and goes every few years. I have been in two Cav units where the SCO formed ad hoc platoons, with the Scouts being pulled from the line troops, and formed around the bikes. Then right up until OIF/OEF began, in addition to the Div Cav, and Scout platoons in the Armor & Inf battalions there was an additional "short" troop established at BDE level, known as the BRT, or Brigade Recon Troop. Many of them used bikes to.

 

Hi Hoovie,

Yes,I have heard about this happening on and off since Nam.In the article I linked to,it says" The four motorcycles were introduced into the patrol by the Regulars' battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Carmichael, who wanted a fast and efficient way for his reconnaissance element to investigate the swarm of trails that twist through the marshes and jungles of what used to be a reliable sanctuary for enemy troops.

"Knowing where the enemy is not is almost as good as knowing where he is," Carmichael says. "This mobile unit can cover a great deal of territory in a very short time, which enables us to gain information on the whereabouts of the enemy.

In addition to the motorcycles, the reconnaissance unit includes Rat Patrol Type vehicles equipped with machine guns.

Patrol Leader First Lieutenant Stephen Campbell, Falls Church, Va., takes his men out at dawn every morning, with the flack jacket, crash helmet-clad cyclists leading the way. The unit has already uncovered several mortar and rocket sites used by enemy forces.

Major Jospeh Hacia, the Regulars’ executive officer, is convinced of the value of using the motorcycles. "At first I was very leery of the whole idea, but now I am confident it was a good one," Hacia says. "Recon has provided us with valuable information which normally we would not have."

 

Here you have a classic example of a man,who as a mid level officer,used common sense and creative initiative to better bring the fight to the enemy.

It is just one of many examples of the ingenuity and innovation that our soldiers can,and have implemented,adjusting to battlefield conditions in a fluid,

unconventional war such as was Vietnam.

We need more outstanding individuals like Lieutenant Colonel Robert Carmichael,men with vision,and the ability to change tactics if the course they are on

is not working.And our military needs upper level commanders that are willing to give these men the room to make these decisions as well.

Who knows,maybe the outcome in Vietnam would have been different if more freedom was given to commanders on the ground,and less

interference by the politically motivated upper echelon of our Armed Forces.

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There's not too much info about this small unit out there,but I found some photos,and some info regarding this unit online,here is the link to the site:

Nam's Angels article

 

Here is the original publication the online article was taken from :

 

post-467-1312726177.jpg

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Patchcollector
Here is the original publication the online article was taken from :

 

post-467-1312726177.jpg

 

 

Wow!!Looks like a cool book!Thanks Andrei!

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Patchcollector
Cool.

 

I haven't seen one of those for more than 40 years.

 

There is another photo in this thread:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...40&start=40

 

in post 55 and another of some similar bikes imported in post 51.

 

If you go back to the beginning of the thread you will see a shirt of the Echo 3/22nd Company Commander to which the Recon Platoon was assigned and some other details about the unit.

 

Other units in the 3/22nd Infantry commonly wore a "Regular" rocker just as the 1/27th and 2/27th wore the "Wolfhound" rocker.

 

May I ask where you acquired the scroll?

M C

 

 

 

Hi M C,

Thanks for pointing me to that thread,I read about Mike,and found him to be an interesting person who had an outstanding military career.I think he was the perfect choice to head up an unconventional unit such as the 3/22 Company.

I went online and found a few other names of soldiers that served with the Nams Angels.Maybe you knew them?

Here is the contact info that they posted.

 

Name: Gene ladnier aka Floyd Huff

Website: http:///

Referred by: SimpleNet

From: Walnut, Mississippi,USA

Time: 2000-04-28 20:58:21

Comments: Keep up the good work gang! Still looking for guys from Recon 3/22 E Company 1968-69. Nam's Angels. Also, check out the bookstore there are some 'great' ones there. Deeds not Words!

 

 

Ronald G Jones

How did you find our site? net search

What unit did you serve with?

When did you serve? 1968/1969

Please enter your comments: Looking for anyone that was with the Nam`s Angels 1968/1969 Fire Base Buell `Cook`and Washington

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Hi M C,

Thanks for pointing me to that thread,I read about Mike,and found him to be an interesting person who had an outstanding military career.I think he was the perfect choice to head up an unconventional unit such as the 3/22 Company.

I went online and found a few other names of soldiers that served with the Nams Angels.Maybe you knew them?

Here is the contact info that they posted.

 

Name: Gene ladnier aka Floyd Huff

Website: http:///

Referred by: SimpleNet

From: Walnut, Mississippi,USA

Time: 2000-04-28 20:58:21

Comments: Keep up the good work gang! Still looking for guys from Recon 3/22 E Company 1968-69. Nam's Angels. Also, check out the bookstore there are some 'great' ones there. Deeds not Words!

Ronald G Jones

How did you find our site? net search

What unit did you serve with?

When did you serve? 1968/1969

Please enter your comments: Looking for anyone that was with the Nam`s Angels 1968/1969 Fire Base Buell `Cook`and Washington

 

OK, I'll sacrifice myself and ask the dumb question for a lot of members. What is the illustrated publication "Thunder"? I see that it says it was Vol 1, No. 4, summer, 1969. That presumes three previous issues and potentially more to come. Was this a 9th Div pub?

 

Patch Johnson

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OK, I'll sacrifice myself and ask the dumb question for a lot of members. What is the illustrated publication "Thunder"? I see that it says it was Vol 1, No. 4, summer, 1969. That presumes three previous issues and potentially more to come. Was this a 9th Div pub?

 

Patch Johnson

It was a quarterly magazine published by the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam. Many of the units had similar publications on either a monthly or quarterly basis and some had newspapers as well. I think they were mostly for morale purposes to keep the troops aprised of what was going on in their unit as well as the opportunity to highlight the unit's achievements. I also think they tended to be printed in Japan.

 

I know the 101st Airborne published a quarterly magazine "Rendezvous With Destiny", the 3rd Brigade 82nd Airborne had a monthly newspaper called "Pacific Paraglide", I believe the 1st Cavalry Division had a quarterly magazine and a newspaper that was published either monthly or maybe weekly but I can't remember their names. I believe II Field Force, Vietnam's monthly magazine was called "Hurricane". The 173rd Airborne Brigade had one but I can't remember it's name. I'm sure there were lots of others but these are the ones I know off the top of my head.

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bootsandbooks

Thunder! was a publication of the 25th Infantry Division, aka Tropic Lightning.

 

I have Vol 2 # 2, Winter 1969 and Vol 2 # 3-4, Spring Summer 1970.

 

Most of the articles were written by the enlisted correspondents of the weekly Tropic Lightning newsletter cited above.

 

The Hurricane was a similar monthly publication of II Field Force Vietnam and Uptight was a quarterly pulication of the US Army Vietnam. I have seveal issues of those.

 

The 3rd Brigade 9th Division was OPCON to the 25th during its last year in Vietnam and when the Brigade returned to the US in late 69 / early 70 many of the personnel were reassinged to the 25th Division.

 

The 3rd Bde 9th Div operated generally south and west of Saigon while the 25th was west and north.

 

Re former members of Nam's Angels I know a few now but they mostly served prior to my tour. Vietnam Veterans of the 3rd Battalion 22nd Infantry have formed associations at company level and have located the majority of former members of the units who served in Vietnam from 1966 tao 1971, and hold semi-annual reunions. The 1st and 2nd Battalionsa 22nd Infantry also have battlion associations and there is a 22nd Infantry Regiment Society for all eras wtih current membership from WWII to present active duty.

 

M C

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Patchcollector

I hope M C does'nt mind if I post a copy of his cool Nam's Angels image in my thread!I like this color version!

post-13386-1312982249.jpg

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  • 8 months later...
River Patrol

Rat Patrol Beercan DI

 

"....In addition to the motorcycles, the reconnaissance unit includes Rat Patrol Type vehicles equipped with machine guns."

A81.jpg

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manayunkman

Has anyone heard from Patchcollector ?? The last heard from him was Nov. 2011.

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  • 1 year later...

This past Wed I got from Amazon Vol.10 of Ballantines Illustrated History of the Vietnam War and it has an entire chapter devoted to these guys. Lots of pictures.

I have posted a Flickr set on Nam's Angels which has the photos and text from this book in the Ballantine series (the volume is titled "Rangers"). You can see the set on Flickr using this URL:

 

Nam's Angels

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Patchcollector

Hi imjin,just looked through this,very cool,very interesting and unusual unit.Thanks for posting it! :)

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  • 8 years later...

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