Veteran Interview with Charles Brown (B)
(6:38) Mr. Brown describes being shipped out to Vietnam.Florence-Lauderdale Public Library Digital Archive Interview with Charles Brown June 27, 2011 Florence, Alabama Conducted by Clint Alley and Rhonda Haygood Clip 2 Charles Brown: On Christmas Eve of ’65 I was notified to report to work and I wen...
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| Format: | Electronic |
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Florence-Lauderdale County Public Library
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| Online Access: | https://cdm15947.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/war/id/174 |
| format |
Electronic |
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War Years at Home and Abroad Collection |
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Florence-Lauderdale County Public Library |
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Florence-Lauderdale County Public Library |
| topic |
Military life |
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Military life Veteran Interview with Charles Brown (B) Florence-Lauderdale Public Library |
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Military life Military service; Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975 |
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(6:38) Mr. Brown describes being shipped out to Vietnam.Florence-Lauderdale Public Library Digital Archive
Interview with Charles Brown
June 27, 2011
Florence, Alabama
Conducted by Clint Alley and Rhonda Haygood
Clip 2
Charles Brown: On Christmas Eve of ’65 I was notified to report to work and I went to my unit—they, the unit I was assigned to, we knew we were going but two other brigades were on alert and the unit I was in was gonna stay behind and close the post. So for this five weeks we were in no hurry to see the island because we had three or four months that I knew I was gonna be left behind and, you know, to get everything on post closed up and make sure everything was shipped to Vietnam and then we would go over about April of that year and then on, like I said, on Christmas Eve they called me in and transferred me to another unit to bring that unit up to strength because they were going and they wanted all of the units being deployed to be at full strength. And so I went over to the next unit, reported in there and the guy looked at my orders and he said, “No, there’s been a mistake. You have been transferred to another unit.” So I went from the 1st Brigade to the 2nd Brigade to the 3rd Brigade and it was the best thing ever happened to me. Now, it just—there, there’s a whole lot of history with this 3rd Brigade that I ended up with. And was in the 2nd Battalion of the 35th Infantry Regiment, it was C company, I reported in there. I met my company commander and the other officers and from the 24th, two weeks later I was on a plane headed for Vietnam. And I can remember sitting on the plane with a manifest in my hand, a list of the passengers, they were my platoon members, my platoon sergeant sitting beside me and I’d say, “Now, who is he? Which one is that one?” You know, “What’s his name?” I didn’t even know the people. And when we, well actually before we left I told the squad leaders in the platoon, I said, “Guys, it’s up to y’all. Y’all know who can do what. You’re gonna have to help me until I learn everybody.” And I just ended up with a great bunch of guys. The non-commissioned officers were just wonderful. They helped me through some hard times, but we, we managed to survive. We landed in Pleiku and what I, what I was talking about this being a blessing, the division headquarters and other two brigades went to just outside of Saigon and that’s in the Delta in the southern part of South Vietnam. I went to the Central Highlands, up in the mountains. At night, it would just get chilly in the mountains. That was at our base camp and, we’d, we’d actually have to wear field jackets. And course in that part of the world, you know, there’s the wet season and dry season and when it rained it rained, and it rained days on end. And then during the dry season it would not rain for days on end. Very harsh climate. The unit, for the guys that had been in Hawaii for some time were acclimated to the tropical weather. I was not. It, it really shocked my system to go from North Alabama to South Vietnam and that was my first exposure to the tropical climate like they have, the wet season and dry season. And daytime temperatures could be 112. That’s why I feel so sorry for the guys now that are in Iraq and Afghanistan. I saw a seven day forecast for Afghanistan the other day and 112 was the lowest for the seven days. Clint Alley: Whew. Um.
CB: And the equipment and uniform that they have to wear. It, it’s just—I feel sorry for the guys. It’s unreal. And I, I’ve had several friends that’s been, I’ve talked to them and it’s just unbelievable, the conditions. And, and of course I always compare that with what I went through. And then talking to World War II veterans and in my mind I can see the guys in Europe and it’s so cold. In Korea, during the Korean conflict, bitter, bitter cold winters. And how the men tolerated that, I don’t know. Hot, you can live with it. And by hot, I’m saying, you know, upper 90s, lower 100s. But when it gets into that 112 and 116 degrees, I don’t see how they function.
CA: Yeah.
CB: I, I just admire them for it. Especially today and it a all volunteer Army. And the guys know what they’re getting into when they volunteer and, they, they just have my admiration. |
| title |
Veteran Interview with Charles Brown (B) |
| titleStr |
Veteran Interview with Charles Brown (B) |
| author |
Florence-Lauderdale Public Library |
| author_facet |
Florence-Lauderdale Public Library |
| id |
FLCPLwar174 |
| url |
https://cdm15947.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/war/id/174 |
| thumbnail |
http://cdm15947.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getthumbnail/collection/war/id/174 |
| _version_ |
1705462192959127552 |
| spelling |
Veteran Interview with Charles Brown (B)Military service; Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975(6:38) Mr. Brown describes being shipped out to Vietnam.Florence-Lauderdale Public LibraryFlorence-Lauderdale Public LibraryCharles Brown2011-06-27sound; textaudio/mp3; text/pdfEnglishPart of the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library CollectionMay be protected by U.S. Copyright laws. Contact the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library for permission to use.Florence-Lauderdale Public Library Digital Archive
Interview with Charles Brown
June 27, 2011
Florence, Alabama
Conducted by Clint Alley and Rhonda Haygood
Clip 2
Charles Brown: On Christmas Eve of ’65 I was notified to report to work and I went to my unit—they, the unit I was assigned to, we knew we were going but two other brigades were on alert and the unit I was in was gonna stay behind and close the post. So for this five weeks we were in no hurry to see the island because we had three or four months that I knew I was gonna be left behind and, you know, to get everything on post closed up and make sure everything was shipped to Vietnam and then we would go over about April of that year and then on, like I said, on Christmas Eve they called me in and transferred me to another unit to bring that unit up to strength because they were going and they wanted all of the units being deployed to be at full strength. And so I went over to the next unit, reported in there and the guy looked at my orders and he said, “No, there’s been a mistake. You have been transferred to another unit.” So I went from the 1st Brigade to the 2nd Brigade to the 3rd Brigade and it was the best thing ever happened to me. Now, it just—there, there’s a whole lot of history with this 3rd Brigade that I ended up with. And was in the 2nd Battalion of the 35th Infantry Regiment, it was C company, I reported in there. I met my company commander and the other officers and from the 24th, two weeks later I was on a plane headed for Vietnam. And I can remember sitting on the plane with a manifest in my hand, a list of the passengers, they were my platoon members, my platoon sergeant sitting beside me and I’d say, “Now, who is he? Which one is that one?” You know, “What’s his name?” I didn’t even know the people. And when we, well actually before we left I told the squad leaders in the platoon, I said, “Guys, it’s up to y’all. Y’all know who can do what. You’re gonna have to help me until I learn everybody.” And I just ended up with a great bunch of guys. The non-commissioned officers were just wonderful. They helped me through some hard times, but we, we managed to survive. We landed in Pleiku and what I, what I was talking about this being a blessing, the division headquarters and other two brigades went to just outside of Saigon and that’s in the Delta in the southern part of South Vietnam. I went to the Central Highlands, up in the mountains. At night, it would just get chilly in the mountains. That was at our base camp and, we’d, we’d actually have to wear field jackets. And course in that part of the world, you know, there’s the wet season and dry season and when it rained it rained, and it rained days on end. And then during the dry season it would not rain for days on end. Very harsh climate. The unit, for the guys that had been in Hawaii for some time were acclimated to the tropical weather. I was not. It, it really shocked my system to go from North Alabama to South Vietnam and that was my first exposure to the tropical climate like they have, the wet season and dry season. And daytime temperatures could be 112. That’s why I feel so sorry for the guys now that are in Iraq and Afghanistan. I saw a seven day forecast for Afghanistan the other day and 112 was the lowest for the seven days. Clint Alley: Whew. Um.
CB: And the equipment and uniform that they have to wear. It, it’s just—I feel sorry for the guys. It’s unreal. And I, I’ve had several friends that’s been, I’ve talked to them and it’s just unbelievable, the conditions. And, and of course I always compare that with what I went through. And then talking to World War II veterans and in my mind I can see the guys in Europe and it’s so cold. In Korea, during the Korean conflict, bitter, bitter cold winters. And how the men tolerated that, I don’t know. Hot, you can live with it. And by hot, I’m saying, you know, upper 90s, lower 100s. But when it gets into that 112 and 116 degrees, I don’t see how they function.
CA: Yeah.
CB: I, I just admire them for it. Especially today and it a all volunteer Army. And the guys know what they’re getting into when they volunteer and, they, they just have my admiration.http://server15947.contentdm.oclc.org/u?/war,174 |