"I ended up doing very well in my job in Vietnam, but at the same time I never was a particularly ardent supporter of the war."
Description of Interview:
David Smale received a draft notice as a 19-year-old after quitting community college to ski for the winter. He enlisted in the Navy in May of 1968 in an attempt to avoid Vietnam. He arrived in Vietnam in 1969 as an Aviation Ordnance man and volunteered to be a door gunner aboard Navy Hueys protecting the Mobile Riverine Force. In this interview, Smale describes his daily routine, his living conditions, social tensions and racism, music, and recreation. He was against war, but extended twice, ultimately serving 26 months in Vietnam with HA(L)-3, the storied Seawolves.
Key Words: P-3 Orion; Draft; Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape school (SERE); Annapolis Hotel; Tay Ninh; Nui Ba Den (Black Virgin Mountain); 25th Infantry; Parrot’s Beak; Cambodia; M-60 machine gun; Flex Guns; Landing Ship Tank (LST); Sea Float; Nam Tan; Song Ong Doc; Rach Gia; Ca Mau; Sappers; Solid Anchor; SEALs; Armed Forces Radio; MEDEVAC; tourniquet; “helicopter trap” at VC Lake, 95th NVA Regiment.
Key Names: Stan Coldsnow, Thurman Hicks, Jack Ludwick, Tom Obie, Dr. Spence, Nesbie, Adrian Carr, Mike Eltman; Simon & Garfunkel, LCDR Merle Scott, Lieutenant Petrovic, Dr. Art F. Schmitt, Freddy Stark, Lieutenant Lambert; 1Lt Kenneth Ledford Jr., William “Bill” White, Mike Brinck.
Unit:
Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) Three (HA(L)-3) "Seawolves," Detachments 7 & 1 (Det 7 and 1)
Specialty:
Aviation Ordnanceman Second Class (AO2), helicopter door gunner (UH-1)
Service Location:
III Corps: Bien Thuy, Tay Ninh, Ben Luc; and IV Corps: Mekong Delta, Nam Cam, Moc Hoa, Sea Float, Solid Anchor
Read the Complete Transcript of this Interview.