Much older than the average active-duty soldier, Vietnam vets serving in Iraq bring a wealth of experience to the battlefield.
By Al Hemingway
Warrant Officer John Sharkey, a member of the 185th Aviation Group, a National Guard unit from Mississippi that returned from Iraq in late 2004, may hold a unique distinction. At 61, he may have been the oldest serviceman in the war zone.
While serving in the Marines in Vietnam (1968-70), Sharkey flew F-4 Phantoms in support of ground troops. Today, he is flying CH-47 Chinook helicopters for the 185th Aviation Group, also known as the "Catfish Brigade."
Various outfits from Mississippi, Illinois, Louisiana and Hawaii make up the brigade. Not only does the unit possess UH-60 Blackhawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters, it also flew fixed-wing aircraft such as C-23 Sherpas and C-12 Beechcraft in Iraq. It was the first National Guard unit of its type to be ordered into combat.
Brigade member Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) 5 John Hunsicker flew with the 57th Assault Helicopter Company in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970. At age 56, he was the Air Division tactical operations officer based in Baghdad.
"Like Vietnam, the threat of getting shot down was always present," he said of his time in Iraq. "The insurgents used a lot of RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] and small-arms fire as well. They also possessed some hand-held SAMs (surface-to-air missiles) we referred to as manpads.
"Part of my job was to investigate downed aircraft. I would inspect the fragments from the aircraft to determine what weapon brought it down. The fragmentation patterns were different if the enemy used a SAM or a manpad. SAMs knocked down a few choppers."
Brigade tactical operations officer CWO 5 Don Clayton explained, "Our tactics were similar to Vietnam. Just like Vietnam, you couldn't tell the good guys from the bad guys."
Clayton, also 56, flew OH-6A light observation helicopters in Vietnam with the 25th Infantry and the 101st Airborne divisions.
"Many of the younger pilots I saw in Iraq were gung-ho," he said. "I tried to advise them. I guess you get protective. I remember how I was in Vietnam. I thought I was invincible and nothing could kill me."
There are advantages that the older veterans now have that they did not possess in Vietnam. For example, with the computer age, keeping in contact with one's family back in the States is much easier.
"It is always tough being away from home," commented CWO 5 Craig Boydston, 57, the "Catfish Brigade" safety officer. "But e-mail and accessibility to telephones made up for it. It was also a great morale booster."
Despite these conveniences, terrorism is constant. "With certain exceptions, such as the initial invasion and the Fallujah offensive, we are in a guerrilla-type war now," remarked Air Force Col. John Cirafici, an anti-terrorism expert who recently returned from Iraq.
"The various factions are using roadside bombs and indirect fire--mortar and rocket fire. They primarily are using 107mm rockets as well as the 122mm used in Vietnam. I was at Khe Sanh as an NCO during the 1968 siege, and some days we took more than 1,000 rounds of incoming. You don't see that in Iraq. However, whether it be 10 rounds or 1,000--if you take casualties--the number of rounds is irrelevant."
"Violence has escalated," continued Cirafici, now 59, who served in Vietnam as an Air Force combat controller. "They are not fighting us. They are fighting their own people who want a democratic form of government. These different groups are just plain selfish and self-serving."
Boydston served aboard the USS Bennington and USS Coral Sea during his tours off Vietnam.
"In Vietnam, I supported the war effort," he said. "In Iraq, I was in the middle of it. I flew CH-47 Chinooks for G Co., 1st Bn., 185th Avn. Grp. Because of the threat of RPGs and SAMs, we only flew at night. Every time we went out we took fire. One time, insurgents were firing a machine gun at us from the back of a pickup truck. We flew under 100 feet and at 120 knots to evade their missiles.
"Most of our missions consisted of ferrying troops and supplies to various locations. We flew a lot of people to the airport to keep the trucks off the road. Apaches and Scout helicopters were always in the air around Baghdad International Airport to keep the terrorists off balance."
The "Catfish Brigade" was stationed at a base called Camp Anaconda in Balad, just north of Baghdad. Similar to Vietnam, the reservists experienced incoming mortar and rocket rounds.
"Some of the incoming rounds we took struck our flight line," Boydston said. "Sometimes there was significant damage."
Nearly 5,600 of GIs who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan were 50 or older. At least nine soldiers and one Air Force reservist in that age group have died in Iraq. The oldest was Staff Sgt. William D. Chaney, who was 59. Of the 10, three were killed in action and the remaining seven died due to accidents or medical problems.
"With an expanding role for full-time soldiers and no draft to replenish it, the nation's armed forces have had to reach deeper into the Reserves and National Guard, where men in their 50s typically train and serve alongside soldiers in their teens," Edward Wyatt wrote in the New York Times.
National Guard and Reserve troops now make up 40% of GIs serving in Iraq. They are older than their counterparts in the active service. Retirement age in the reserve component is 60. Compare that to the 20-year retiree and you can see why 22% of the Guard is over 40 and just 6% of active-duty personnel are that old.
"We were a good unit," Clayton said. "We knew why we were there, and we wanted to be there. It's always hard being away from home. This time, however, it wasn't as bad for me as it was in Vietnam. The younger guys were homesick, but I told them that we will spend Christmas here so, hopefully, our kids and grandkids will be safer back home."
Al Hemingway is a Vietnam veteran and a frequent contributor to VFW.
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