May 19, 1969-May 23, 1970 |
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Vietnam Bio of Richard P. (Rick) Grimes
I graduated Texas A&M University in 1968 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. I attended Infantry Officer Basic Candidate school (IOBC), U.S. Army Ranger School and Airborne School. After a three month stint as a platoon leader in Fort Hood, Texas (2d Armored Division), I was shipped off to Vietnam...How did I feel about the war at the time? Irrelevant. Just accomplish the mission and get everyone home alive and in one piece. These photos were taken by me (or taken of me) during my Vietnam tour. I welcome your experiences, memories, any corrections or comments in general. (Comments above; Forums below.) |
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Ranger Teams went on missions in the Central Highlands three or four times a month for 3 to 5 days at a time. Ranger Teams were surreptitiously inserted by helicopter (flying at tree-top level) into 'enemy' territory. A Command and Control aircraft flew high above directing the helicopters to their landing zones. The helicopters would be on the ground for 15-30 seconds while the team scrambled off and into the jungle.
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My Story
On February 1, 1969, the Merrill's Marauders unit from the Burma Campaign in WWII was re-commissioned in Vietnam as the 75th Infantry (Airborne) Rangers. They formed 13 companies that were attached to various units throughout Vietnam. I was assigned to C Company which was attached to the First Field Force in the Central Highlands. There were 4-5 Ranger Teams (of 5-6 members each) in each of 4 platoons. All the team members had earned their jump wings (with 5 parachute jumps or more) and had special training in jungle warfare and long range patrol tactics. They were all hand-picked from volunteers who stepped up from infantry line units for these special operations: hunter/killer and long range patrol. 
Sitting in the co-pilot's seat, I took the stick of an Air Force 0-2 Skymaster so the real pilot could take my picture (!) We are reconnoitering landing zones to insert Ranger Teams.
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P.S. Follow this link to other photos of C Company Rangers.
Do you know someone in any of these photos? Is this you? Let me know.
During 1969 and 1970, C Company, 75th Rangers (Airborne) was detached to, among other places, An Khe, Pleiku, and Phan Thiet. This photo shows the C Company headquarter near Phan Thiet. The company sat on the edge of LZ Betty (overlooking the South China Sea) from which all Ranger operations were staged.
More about Keith Parr here and Walter Burkhart here.
