Currahee!! __ Welcome to Charlie Company! A Brotherhood of Vietnam Vets
This website is dedicated to a veterans group of "Field Grunts" that served together in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War with Company C, 2nd Bn, 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division (C/2nd/506th) during the years of 1970 and 1971. After many years of looking, we have been fortunate enough to find each other again. And our little "Band of Brothers" is still growing at 96 men found. We continue to seach for and reachout to many of our "unfound" brothers that we served together with, and their families, that may be looking for us. To that end, we hope this website may help. We want to invite all of the members of Charlie Company to participate in the development of this website. We need your help in collecting all of the missing information needed to fill in the blanks on these pages. Names of Officers, NCO's, and men from the platoon's that you served in. Think of this website as a "on-going work in progress" and we are always looking to you, our brothers, for information, comments, and suggestions on the content of this website....your website. Let us know what would be helpful to you? What would you like to see here? And how can we reach more of the men that we served with? Add this website to your favorite's list and check back ofen, we are constantly adding new members to the group, posting new material of interest, and adding new photo albums into our Photo Gallery pages (now over 1200 Vietnam War photos).
View our site along with some great music of that period on each page. So be sure to turn on your sound system, and you may need to accept the active X controls for the player if you get a notice pop-up at the top of the viewing window... The audio piece that your are now hearing on this page is how Infantrymen feel about the Chopper Pilots that supported us in the field. "God's Own Lunatics" is narrated by Joe Gallaway (The only civillian to earn a Bronze Star) who also co-wrote the book "We were Soldiers Once and Young" with Gen. Hal Moore which became the movie "We were Soldiers" with Mel Gibson. This audio is a very powerful and healing piece. It is our hope and desire, that here on our website, you will find a sense of veteran brotherhood, joy in the days of ole, and healing.... A place where you can be proud of the job that you performed for your Country. And re-connect with your old buddies and come full circle to find peace of mind!!
!! Our Newly Re-located Charlie Company Vets !! Give a big "Currahee Shout-out" to Doug Olson 1st Platoon, Ronny Middlebrook 3rd Platoon, Ron Effler HQ, Dave Simonds 3rd Plt, Duane "Slim" Sickert 2nd Plt, Rolland "Chris" Christiansen 2nd Plt, Bill Orsak 1st Platoon, Jim Pontzloff 1st Platoon, Glenn Boniedot 2nd Platoon, Steve Manthei 2nd Platoon, Mike Ludwig 1st Platoon, Alan Essex 1st Platoon, and Lt. Bob Leibecke 1st Platoon.....Welcome back men, to the old Company C group! You can now find these guys on our "Roster" page.
To all Vietnam Veterans, many who have emailed us with praise for our website, the men of Charlie Company wish to say "Thank You" to all veterans that have served our country. And we would also like to add a very special "Welcome Home" to each of you!!!
Send your comments and info to randy.parmley@verizon.net
Vietnam Duty out of Camp Evans (I-Corp) __ During our deployment in RVN, Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division was stationed up near the DMZ at Camp Evans, located between the cities of Hue and Quang Tri in the I Corp sector of South Vietnam. We worked in the steep mountainous area, covered with dense jungle canopy. This area was located to the west of Camp Evans from the lowlands to the rim of the "A Shau Valley" where the Ho Chi Minh trail was a re-supply highway for the NVA. We patrolled this area from the Song Bo River on the south, to Quang Tri on the north. This mountain area was designated as a "free kill zone" with no civilians to deal with (all friendly's had been removed from this area). We didn't need to have permission to engage our enemy. It was just "Us" and the "NVA" to slug it out. If there was some "unaccounted for" movement around us, we fired it up. Most of our many fire-fights were quick and intense encounters. When fighting stopped and the smoke cleared, the enemy would have faded away back into the jungle. Many of us prefered it this way, easy and quick to pull back and disappear into the dense jungle. But it was very tough moving and living in this steep and heavily covered terrain. We did, however, have several on-going sustained battles. The "Siege of Firebase Ripcord" and "LamSon 719" were a few to mention. These were real hard times. But during our time in Nam, the deepest bonds of friendship that you could ever imagine developed. You see, we didn't need to worry about guys around us when trouble struck....Why?....Because we were then, and still are today....Currhee Brothers!!! _We had each other's backs covered and we knew that we could count on the men that we served with! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was an incredible group of men (Officers, NCO's & Enlisted Men) that pulled together with one common goal; "Get as many guys home in one piece as we could." The Enemy Forces in this area had us outnumbered by 12 to 1 at times. Our longest period in the bush without a rear-break was 102 days. When the small arms and mortar fire of the NVA weren't raining down us. The US Military's "Agent Orange" rained down on us while we humped through the mountains cutting our way through the thick jungle, and much of it ended up in the water that we drank and bathed in daily. Who knows?? Maybe in the end, the Agent Orange will take a far larger toll on us than the NVA could never accomplish!!! We have already lost many good friends to the various effects of Agent Orange. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another big problem for many of us Vietnam Combat Veterans was the untreated PTSD. Due to the fact that we were deployed into the Vietnam War Zone as individuals. Then thrust into an unimaginable reality of hostility and brutal survival where we quickly learned to only rely on each other for protection. Over the course of the next year we endured things that we couldn't have never imaged. _We witnessed and participated in some very unreal actions. _Afterwards, when our tour in Hell was over, we were returned home and processed out of the Army, again as individuals. _This happened very quickly without any time for the proper decompression from the trama's and horrors what we had experienced for a year. We were released back into a US civilian population which was at the time very hostile to Vietnam Veterans. _Many of the misinterpreted PTSD issues among us combat vet's were simply mocked or ridiculed by society and never treated properly. This forced us to suppress and deeply bury our re-occuring bad thoughts and feelings about our experiences in the war. -We just tried to fit back into society the best way we could. Our families and friends couldn't understand us, or help us in dealing with these feelings.__And many of us only pushed them further away from us. _These issues within us never really went away and would surface from time to time only to get us into trouble or send us deeper into the pit of isolation. -Even forty years after the war, our minds are still trying to make some kind of rational sense of what we experienced. -Here is one of the best explainations that I have come across, written by a Militray Chaplian, Richard Davis. . . . AFTER THE WAR - AN INSIDERS LOOK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These are a couple of reasons why we are reaching out to support each other today, and why it is so important for us to locate our unfound friends and brothers. Nobody can understand how a combat veteran feels like another combat veteran!!!
THE AVERAGE WW II COMBAT SOLDIER HAD 40 DAYS OF COMBAT IN FOUR YEARS - THAT'S THE AVERAGE..., AND THE AVERAGE COMBAT SOLDIER IN VIETNAM HAD 204 DAYS OF COMBAT IN JUST ONE YEAR. . . YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT THAT DID TO THE MINDS OF THE YOUNG MEN THAT SERVED!!
"Rendezvous at Ripcord" a VFW article by Charles "Chuck" Hawkins
Read the complete 2/506th history of 1970 here . . .Wow!
LamSon 719 - Operation Dewey Canyon II - Battlefield Diaries, Feb 8th to Mar 24th 1971
Have you ever thought about taking a trip back to Vietnam . . . . ???
Our Charlie Company buddy "Bob Smoker" has created "Viet Nam Encounters" which is now offering Return Trips to Vietnam. Helping our Vietnam Veterans heal by replacing the old haunting mental images of war with new memories. __ You can find out more and contact Bob by clicking on the Logo.
Here is a great link to a very large in-depth resource of the Vietnam War with History, Stories, Maps, and info. All cataloged in a easy format. Thanks to, Bob Seitz for the addition...Vietnam Resources...http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Thomas.Pilsch/Vietnam.html
A short video article of the (2009 WOE) three day weekend honoring Vietnam Veterans with a long overdue "Welcome Home Celebration" held at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky by the 101st Airborne Division.....Not a dry eye in the building, young and old alike.... http://www.army.mil/media/amp/?bcpid=6981683001&bclid=0&bctid=40921056001
A TRIBUTE TO A VIETNAM WAR VETERANS ....... http://www.v-prod.com/trailer_vietnam.html
A TRIBUTE AND THANK YOU TO OUR AGING VETERANS AND
DEDICATED TO VETERANS WHO HELPED TO PRESERVE OUR FREEDOM.
“FINALLY, A LONG OVERDUE THANK-YOU TO VETERANS OF THE VIETNAM WAR”....http://www.beforeyougo.us/play_byg_vn
Vietnam Vets Welcome Home #2..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P2JSzjMpWI&feature=player_embedded
Vietnam Vets Welcome Home #3..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy7a83WGstA&feature=player_embedded
Vietnam Tribute #1...... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMOmF7lBrDE&feature=player_embedded
Video #1 on "FSB Ripcord"....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYLm18PFcwM
FSB Ripcord Video #2 ......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w67-YKbVOog
FSB Ripcord Statistics Video #3.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u28K54oZ1k0
The Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord in July of 1970 marked the last major confrontation of U.S. military ground forces against the North Vietnamese Army. This prolonged fight, which lasted 23 days, was a destructive, deadly event that cost many American causalities. There were many battle confronation events which happened during this period in the area around and below FSB Ripcord. Hill 805, Hill 902, & Hill 1000 battles were all part of this major NVA attack. Hear some of the actual Veterans recount the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord.... http://video.wpt2.org/video/150047097
The 101st Airborne in the A Shau Valley 1969-1971....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWUphwnDvHs
A Pictorial History of the 101st in action....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J94JKYMGVCk
The Man In The Doorway – Very Powerful . . . . . .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH2vbYs6ebc
And while we were all off keeping freedom safe....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBdeCxJmcAo
Here is a link to the “Bob Hope Holiday Tour 1967” in Vietnam locations at Army Bases, Air Force Bases, Navy Ships and the Marine Base at Da-Nang. It is about 1 1/2 hour long, but WOW, Bob is a very funny man and it is worth watching every second of it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJWiMApO6ks&feature=sub
50,000 Names Craved Into the Wall (George Jones). . . .http://home.comcast.net/~singingman7/TNOTW.htm
Good Ole Boy, Toby Keith. . . .THIS'LL GET YOUR BLOOD PUMPIN'!!!
--http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=wbV3lf1HzQI&vq=medium#t=18
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Support of today's 2nd Bn/506th Regiment returning to Ft. Campbell from their Afghanistan deployment Our group continues to have a close relationship with the young men and women of today's 2nd BN, 506th Regiment. We attend many of their functions at Fort Campbell to show our support for them in the job that they are doing and to demonstrate the rich history of our unit to them. And you would not believe how much they enjoy us being there with them. It's a great relationship! Our very own Capt. Bob Seitz (Retired Colonel Bob Seitz) is the newly appointed "Retired Colonel of the Regiment". He, along with LTC Don Hill, the current 2nd BN 506th Reg. Commander (4th BCT) work closely together to develope new ways for us veterans to support todays troops. And of course, Charlie Company holds a special place in our hearts, but we call all the regiment currahee's our brother's... If you haven't made it out one of the events yet, you really need to. You will come away with a chest full of unit pride and feeling absolutely great! That' a promise! Seeing old friends and making new young friends. It doesn't get any better then that....once you go, you will be back again & again. I will see you there at the next event....
See the latest News here on our "Charlie Company Today" webpage....Charlie Today
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Check out the new "Charlie Company Store" page. ...Click Here...
Here is a great way to show your unit pride and help out the families of men currently serving with the 2nd/506th. You can also find many other fantastic Currahee items for sale at the 506th Association "Quartermaster Sales" page and support a great veterans organization.
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UP-COMING EVENTS & NEW REUNION OPPORTUNITIES
Keep checking back here for the lastest info on coming events. We will try to give you the earliest news of what is coming up so you can make plans to join us...See you there! ...Our next planned event will be......
Announcement: Charlie Company 2012 Reunion Plans, Sept. 26th - Sept. 29th, Ft. Campbell KY
We have been in working to coordinate with CPT Oglesby the new Charlie (Fox) company commander to have a day with the troops in Ft Campbell. This takes a lot of requests through the Brigade and Battalion levels to get it accomplished. We have not had a official confirmation as of yet but it looks like we will be able to make preliminary plans for September 26th through 29th for our reunion. Once we get his confirmation we will begin to set things up with the Holiday Inn Express. We will keep this website updated with the latest information.
Tentative Plans as of today, 4/22/12 (if no changes from CPT Oglesby):
Wednesday September 26th: We begin to arrive. Hospitality room at the Holiday Express will be open in the afternoon and evening.
Thursday September 27th: Tour of Ft Campbell, Charlie Company Area, Battalion and Brigade, Division headquarters, 101st museum. Hospitality room open all day.
Friday September 28th: We will accompany Charlie Company to a day on the range. Yes, if all goes well we will be going to the firing range and handling the new weaponry of today’s Currahee’s and getting to send rounds down range. This is to be followed by an evening with Charlie Company and their families at a BBQ/cookout where we can have some personal time with the men and women who like us 40 years ago are putting their life on the line for our country. They will be going back to Afghanistan in February.
Saturday September 29th: _A time set aside just to visit and share with one another in the hospitality room. We will hold an Evening Memorial Dinner where we will remember and honor our brothers lost in RVN and those who have passed since we returned.
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"PAST EVENTS"..... OUR WRITE-UP's AND REFLECTIONS
To help our homepage download speed. The lastest event will be displayed here on the homepage for a period of time, then moved over to the Reflections Page as they are replaced with newer articles. Thanks for your understanding...RP
Currahee Rendezvous 2011 at Ft. Campbell in November 2011....The "Charlie Company" Group.
See the full photo album in the Gallery....Currahee Rendezvous 2011
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Our "Photo Gallery of Albums" now has over 1200 Nam photos, have a look! You can find a menu-bar button on this page, and each of the platoon pages. During our reunion in late May at the "Rendezvous 2009" we had our 1st chance to pass around our individual photo albums for all to see. We found that everyone is in everyone else's pictures. It was really neat to see photos of yourself (from 40 years ago) that you have never seen before. We all agreed that there should be a central place for all of us to place a copy of our pictures for all to enjoy. This web based PHOTO GALLERY is the perfect solution. Heck, you can even get photo printouts sent to your home in the mail. We can easily setup a photo album for each person that submits their photos. So get yours sent in soon! If you need any assistance in scanning and converting your old film photos, I will be happy to help you..... Just send me an email with your questions. You can reach me at: randy.parmley@verizon.net
