Sorry to hear of your Dad’s passing. Sadly our ranks are getting smaller every day.

👍 that's a great story, I really enjoyed it. Personally, I felt better having my feet on the ground and not being up in the air. i'm glad you got the experience of being able to smell the jungle.

@@michaelschaefer3124 A lot of guys said that about flying, It was risky. I never want to see another green tracer. But hey, pilots usually could count on a hot shower, a hot meal, a cold beer and a nice OD cot. The only C rats I ate was a lunch courtesy of some ACAVS and a command track circled up in a clearing. Tropical chocolate, what a delight. I have a picture somewhere of those tracks and of the guys who lived in them. I know a fellow who was a scout for one of the squadrons. He walked in that jungle. He told me once how he reacted when his wife asked him if they had tents and sleeping bags. He described the wagon wheel, how at night they would lie in a circle, heads out and boots touching. How they drew reassurance from that contact. I know firsthand what a bullet or a near miss from an RPG can do to an OH-6 and I saw what a mine can do to an M-48. We all ran risks every day.

Thank you

Thanks, you guys were much admired in the regiment.

Hopefully you got to talk to him about some of his experiences in Vietnam. I'm sure he had some pretty good stories to tell.

@@michaelschaefer3124 I certainly did he's Still alive to this day, I'm definitely Thankful that i got to hear his Stories on how it was over there, and sum he just don't want to talk about and I respect that. Maybe I'll get to see Him in a video on KZfaq I already have him in a news paper clipping

Thanks, other than being a little smaller and having the 90 mm gun , the M60 and M48 were not all that much different. The 60s were used in Germany as front line tanks against the Russians and due to the fact that we weren’t really fighting other tanks in Vietnam the M48 was more than adequate. Most of our engagements were at less than 100 yards with some being less than 50 feet, and usually canister was the round of choice. There were also a lot of M48’s in the inventory that needed to be used. We usually had the M48a3’s, but even used some the old M48a2c models that had a gasoline engine which certainly added to the danger. All in all I really liked the M48 tank.

@@michaelschaefer3124 Thanks Mike , a good answer that explained about this . I was a crewman on both tanks during my time with the California National Guard .

@@gordonlandreth9550 👍 Then you know that the M48 was easier to get up and down on I’d rather be picking up and loading that 90mm round in a firefight…

no I didn't know him

It would help more if you knew which troop & what years he served.

I was there from 67 to 68. Was he on a Patton or Sheridan tank?

@@michaelschaefer3124 M48, I think 1/11 ACR and 3/4 CAV had most of the M551's early to mid 69.

My dad was M Troop, 69-70.

@@user-zb9gi3fd3z no I don't recall that name

I wouldn’t go that far but it certainly was exciting. Hopefully my pictures brought back some memories. I know my memories are fading.

My uncle Bobby Wright (WIA) was the loader on D15 until they were hit 29 March '69. RIP Lyle Aston.

Sorry to say no I didn’t. Have a good day…

Foxtrot

I can probably answer your questions right here, although with my failing memory, I don’t know how much help I can beat you.

@@michaelschaefer3124 1 How many tanks were in a platoon 2 what tactics did you guys use to fight the VC/NVA. 3 What uniforms and gear did you wear and carry 4 how long did you guys stay in the field 5(last question) how was unit morale generally speaking

@@noface4176 1. I was with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. The regiment had three line squadrons and each squadron had one tank company and three ACAV troops. Each tank company had 17 M48 tanks, five in each platoon and two headquarters tanks. 2. Our tactics were basically search and destroy which meant that we actively went out to look for the enemy, based on intelligence that was gathered by various methods. That being said, the most of our contacts, with the enemy war, being ambushed by them. Our motto was find the bastards and pile on. Once we made contact we could call in artillery and air support. 3. Jungle fatigues, jungle boots, tankers helmets, flack jacket and a steel pot. Carried a 45 auto. 4. I was in Vietnam for one year and spent about 10 months in the boonies. We basically lived on our tanks. 5. I was there from July 67 to July 68 and for the most part morale was pretty good but I know that as the war dragged on and the protesting against the war increased morale suffered.