Eldon Bargewell was raised in the Hoquiam-Aberdeen, Washington area. After a football injury in junior college, he joined the Army, did basic training at Fort Lewis, Washington then AIT infantry at Fort Gordon, Georgia, then jump school at Fort Benning. He was selected for Special Forces (SF) training, and reported to Fort Bragg in July, 1967. He was initially trained as a radio operator, was assigned to 7th Special Forces Group (SFG) at Fort Bragg, then volunteered for Vietnam. Bargewell arrived at Nha Trang, 5th SFG in August 1968, and was assigned to Command and Control North (CCN), Special Operations Group (SOG). He did the combat orientation course on Hon Tre Island. Bargewell remembers his introduction to Vietnam (“a black bus all shot full of holes”), the Eldest Son program, quitting the Army after his first tour, missing his buddies too much, rejoining the Army, and volunteering to return to SF Recon Company at Da Nang. He recalls finding “a map that showed every logistics support base on the Ho Chi Minh Trail,” the actions that earned him a DSC, and “people that died for senseless reasons,” not combat related. Bargewell also discusses the early leadership of Delta Force.
Key Words: Tacoma, Washington, Hoquiam-Aberdeen, Fort Lewis, basic, Fort Gordon, AIT, Fort Benning, jump school, Fort Bragg, Special Forces, 05B radio operator, Morse code, AN/GRC-109, 7th Special Forces Group, Cam Ranh Bay, 5th Special Forces Group, Nha Trang, Command and Control North (CCN), Special Operations Group (SOG), Hon Tre Island, Phu Bai, FOB 1, Mai Loc, Cam Lo, LZ Vandergrift, Khe Sanh, Chase ship medic, Ben Hai River, DMZ, Montagnard, Laos, Eldest Son program, Quang Tri, Da Nang, FOB 4, RT Bushmaster, isolation NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge), Hatchet Force, Oscar 8, 593d NVA Support Group, trung sĩ (sergeant), AK-47 vest, map, Ho Chi Minh Trail, 24th Corps, Distinguished Service Cross, RT Kansas, Russian RPD machine gun, RON (remain overnight) perimeter, RPG, A-1E Skyraiders, Covey, Prairie Fire, 95th Evac, PSP pad, M14 toe popper mine, Claymore, Bright Lights, South Vietnamese special forces, LLDB, Route 9, MARS station, Fort Devens, Massachusetts, 10th Special Forces Group, OCS, 9th ID (Infantry Division), Fort Lewis, Ranger Battalion, Fort Benning, Troy State, Delta Force, OT (operator training course), SOTFE (Special Operations Task Force Europe), SOCEUR (Special Operations Command, Europe), Project B-52, Project Delta, Phoenix Program, Wexford Group, Columbus, Georgia, Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG), CACI, JET ( Joint Explosive Technology), General Dynamics, Eufaula, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)
Key Names: Mrs. Alexander, Captain Frank C. Willoughby, David Robinson, First Lieutenant Joseph John Slifka, Jr., Clyde Sincere, Major Shelton, General Richard Giles Stilwell, George Cottrell, John Plaster. George William Casey, Jr., Master Sergeant Billy Boggs, Captain Joe Conlon, Rod Pascal, Bo Baker, Sherman Williford, Bill Garrison, Peter Schoonmaker, Hank Kinnison, Bill Reno, Dave Maurer