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Video LogBob SkeelsVietnam WarU.S. Marine CorpsBorn: 05/14/1944Interviewed on 11/30/2012Interviewed by: George Jones00:00:00Introduction00:01:10Served in I Corps in "the DMZ War"00:01:14Skeels enlisted in the Marine Corps after finishing his bachelor's degreeat Niagara College and completing his Masters of Education. All of hisbuddies were serving in the military to he decided to "step up" and jointhem. Thought the training would be best in the Marine Corps.00:01:45Skeels joined the Marine Corps in November 1967 and graduated fromOffice Candidate School (OCS) in August 196800:02:04Skeels joined because he had buddies over their; did 2 years of ROTC.While in graduate school, he had some friends in the Army that he wascommunicating with and this helped fuel a patriotic surge. Mentionsthe SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) Treaty; thought it washonorable to honor that treaty.00:03:18Knew nothing of Vietnam prior to enlistment other than what hisbuddies shared with him. He describes his friends as being verycommitted to the war, that it was heating up via increased troop levels.Characterizes the zeitgeist of this period as a time when the warseemed winnable and that the U.S. military was trying to win it.00:03:18Knew nothing of Vietnam prior to enlistment other than what hisbuddies shared with him. He describes his friends as being verycommitted to the war, that it was heating up via increased troop levels.Characterizes the zeitgeist of this period as a time when the warseemed winnable and that the U.S. military was trying to win it.00:04:35Skeels discusses training in the U.S. Marine Corps., inclusive of bootcamp, OCS, and six-month basic infantry school. Talks aboutreceiving his second lieutenant bars or "butter bars."

00:05:40Skeels selected armor as his MOS ("Military Occupational Specialty").Went to tank school in Camp Pendleton, California for six weeks.Graduated in September 1968 as an 1802 Tank Officer. M48 A3, witha 90 mm tube, was the tank he trained in.00:06:35He was surprised that when he deployed to Vietnam at the end ofSeptember 1968 he was assigned to command an infantry platooninstead of a tank platoon because infantry officers were needed. Thiswas a Temporary Active Duty assignment (3 month term).00:07:00Served in 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines in the 3rd Marine Division as aninfantry officer. Last 9 months were spent as a tank officer in BravoCompany, 3rd Tank Battalion, 3rd Marine Division in the same generalarea where he served as an infantry officer.00:07:20Skeels describes his area of operations with the tank battalion; thegeography and about how far the tank could operate within it.00:07:50Skeels talks about preparing for basic training. Trained on the M-14;did not see the M-16 until he arrived in Vietnam in the fall of 1968.Characterizes the M-16 as "a terrible rifle" that "jammed all the time."Refers to a 1 inch thick file he had identifying problems with the M-16.00:09:20Discusses weapons being handed-off by other high-ranking enlisted orofficers as they rotated out of Vietnam. Skeels mentions have a 12gauge shotgun, M-79 grenade launcher (also know as a "blooper"), andadds more commentary about the unreliability of the M-16. In a latersegment, he will discuss having a Thompson sub machine gun withineasy reach on his tank.00:10:28Arrives in Vietnam September 28, 1968. Arrived in Da Nang and wentto Quang Tri where he was issued his rifle, pack, and everything elsehe would need. Took a chopper from Quang Tri to Vandegrift CombatBase (also known as "LZ Stud"). Spent one night there, butexperienced incoming friendly fire - about 10 rounds - which destroyedhis tent, so he spent his first night in Vietnam sleeping in a trench.Learned to not go to bed without being fully clothed and ready forcombat, including having his M-16 on his chest. Flew from LZ Stud thenext day to meet his platoon out in Khe Sanh.

00:10:28.Arrives in Vietnam September 28, 1968. Arrived in Da Nang and wentto Quang Tri where he was issued his rifle, pack, and everything elsehe would need. Took a chopper from Quang Tri to Vandegrift CombatBase (also known as "LZ Stud"). Spent one night there, butexperienced incoming friendly fire - about 10 rounds - which destroyedhis tent, so he spent his first night in Vietnam sleeping in a trench.Learned to not go to bed without being fully clothed and ready forcombat, including having his M-16 on his chest. Flew from LZ Stud thenext day to meet his platoon out in Khe Sanh.00:11:55Skeels arrival in Khe Sanh was approximately 6 months after the Battleof Khe Sanh. Describes Khe Sanh Combat Base and the geography ofthe area.00:12:45Skeels mentions first contact with the enemy in December 1968. Hisopinion is that the bombing campaign that President Johnson haltedwas effective - that the absence of this bombing led North Vietnam tosend troops and supplies through or near the DMZ and Khe Sanh area.00:13:10Skeels describes the type of medical issues that would cause hisplatoon of 48 to be under strength, some times as few as 34 combatready Marines. These medical issues included non-combat issues likeimmersion foot, rat bites, heat stroke, dysentery.00:13:30Skeels describes patrolling through a jungle landscape - length ofpatrol, distances covered.00:15:00Skeels discusses using "harassing and interdiction fire" (H&I) fromnearby fire bases (like Fire Support Base (FSB) Russell, FSB Alpine,FSB Argonne, FSB Neville) to keep his patrol safe from enemyencroachment.00:17:04Skeels talks about Tactical Area of Operations (TAO) and seeing 10individuals fleeing into Laos.00:17:15Skeels indicates the maps provided to him were accurate. Describeshow he would use artillery fire to keep his platoon safe.00:18:20Skeels describes finding evidence of enemy being in his TAO and thathe most often faced NVA, but occasionally came across Chineseadvisors.00:19:00Skeels offers his opinion on the military capabilities of the NVA hefaced, General Westmoreland's use of body counts to indicateprogress, and the use of 'search and destroy' missions.

00:19:00Skeels offers his opinion on the military capabilities of the NVA hefaced, General Westmoreland's use of body counts to indicateprogress, and the use of 'search and destroy' missions.00:20:43Skeels discusses the challenges in maintaining morale with his platoonand the tactical strategies he employed as the leader of the platoonincluding managing listening posts, getting situation reports (sit-reps).00:22:43Skeels talks about company-size operations such as the creation of aFSB (such as FSB Russell, Alpine, and Argonne).00:25:37Skeels mentions losing approximately 40 lbs. in 2 months. Talks aboutthe travails of an infantryman in combat.00:26:26Skeels talks about jungle rot, immersion foot, leeches, sleepdeprivation, poor dental hygiene, and other privations of jungle warfare.00:28:25Skeels discusses light-hearted moments and communicating withfamily back home.00:30:21Skeels talks about "letting off steam" at Coogee Beach in Sydney,Australia.00:31:48Skeels talks about being in touch with some members of his platoonand that his interest in reconnecting with them was inspired after theterrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Mentions attending a reunionand visiting web sites such as http://www.lzrussell.org00:33:37Skeels talks about the fate of LZ Russell and his replacement, SecondLieutenant William H. Hunt.00:36:47After 3 months in the infantry, Skeels was assigned to 1st Platoon, 3rdTanks in the area of Dong Ha, a hill referred to as Vin Dai, and a villagecalled Cam Lo where Bravo Company had its CP.00:37:20Skeels discusses hitting mines with his tank and the damage this wouldcause.00:38:30Skeels discusses operating with the ARVN troops and his assessmentof them. Mentions the mines encountered on the dirt roads along theway to Con Thien and Ocean View and the complications of having adisabled tank - especially if it was part of a reaction force. Mentionshaving a diary of this activity.00:39:58Skeels discusses receiving enemy mortar and rocket fire. Mentionsobserving North Vietnamese tanks along the DMZ and that the ParisPeace Talks were a complicating factor in getting permission to fireupon them.

00:41:45Skeels discusses getting permission to fire and firing on a set ofcoordinates where he'd received fire from.00:42:37Skeels discusses rounding up suspected Viet Cong troops in the areaof the village of My Loc. Speculates that some lieutenants wouldsimply kill suspected Viet Cong troops instead of taking them in.00:43:20Skeels discusses the morale of U.S. troops and how the war strategyaffected it. Mentions the cessation of bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trailand its impact.00:46:10Talks about the Second Battalion of the Fourth Marines being sentback to Vandegrift to rest and resupply. Mentions how much water andhow many grenades each troop would carry.00:46:50Skeels discusses the battalion being ordered back to the jungle and thescuttlebutt that his division was being tasked for an invasion ofHaiphong. Believes we decided not to win the war on November 1,1968 when President Johnson ordered a cessation of the bombingcampaign and mentions that the North Vietnamese resumed violatingthe DMZ almost immediately after this.00:48:26Skeels responds to how they would react to an ambush. Mentionsinadequacies of troop strength, the M-16 rifle, and other equipment.Mentions the different fighting doctrines of the U.S. Army and U.S.Marine Corps. Mentions use of A-4 Skyhawk and North AmericanRockwell OV-10 Bronco aircraft to fight an ambush and locate missingtroops.00:52:38Skeels did not observe any atrocities during his time in Vietnam.Discusses the concept of body counts and that some troops wouldcutoff ears of enemy troops as evidence of a kill. Mentions puttingenemy bodies on bamboo poles.00:54:20Discusses the volatility of the command structure and how the cyclingof individual troops in and out of the platoon complicated the mission.00:57:38Discusses getting out of Vietnam. Skeels was part of the initialreduction of U.S. forces in Vietnam in August 1969; he took a wholecompany (Charlie Company of Third Tanks) out of the field. Thecompany went to Okinawa via a LST (Landing Ship, Tank) named"Litchfield County" (USS Litchfield County (LST-901)) after embarkingfrom Vietnam.