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SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
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The section mentioning barbers and picking up information of working with the Viet Cong bring back a memory of mine from Da Nang Vietnam in 1968. We had a group of 45 Viet Cong that penetrated a weak part of the perimeter of only a few hundred feet through an Army 41st Signal BN and were running right down the middle of the road n a group not even spread out. (they weren't getting through us or the 1st MP BN Marines which had most the perimeter Their compound was approx a quarter mile from the front of of compound which fronted that same road to the West. We had just changed shifts so We had vehicle going to and from posts when the got tour compound area We had a APC with a 50 caliber upon it and two jeeps with M60s and all of us on foot with M16s. Right away We killed a 45 of them and lost none of our own. One of our guys wanted called, "Hey, come and look at this guy" We didn't know what He wanted to show us but found it was one of the barbers from our own hut area. We looed and found a 2nd barber ,also dead. We looked and looked for the third barber but didn't find Him. Not sure if it's cause He was shot up to bad or not there but He never came back to work. If not killed I'm sure He heard of the demise of His fellow Viet Cong/Barbers.

Even before that We didn't trust them and were real careful of what We said in the barber shop. Often We had someone not getting a haircut that was armed and We decided if they did something esp with a razor that was life threating We would have killed them right there. Until that night they were out with the Viet Cong on a attack We didn't know for sure until We Identified their bodies after killing them right in front of our own hut area.

About eight years ago per chance I was talking to a member of the 37th ARRS, (Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service) who shared the compound with us in the 366th Security Police Squadron at Da Nang remembers us APs (Air Police which We used to be called) killing the Viet Cong barbers just out side our hut are. (about 45 feet from My hut) Turns out His hut was approx 100 feet from mine. We talked a bout a few thing that You would not have known unless You were actually there which both of us were. Sometimes it's also a small world and just a chance meeting.
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SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
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SGT Charlie Lee - Very true, in this case they came to us, rather do that though rather than looking for Charlie in his area.
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SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
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SGT Charlie Lee - We worked directly also with Vietnamese Military people, especially the QCs, Quan Cahn ( Vietnamese military Police) and I wonder often about them. I hope they are ok but I don't know especially as many others didn't make out very well once the Communist were in control.
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SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
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SGT Charlie Lee - Yes, such a shame these people were all abandoned and all support disappeared while from the US while the Communist North Vietnamese had full support from both China and Russia on money and supplies. Aircraft and weapons do no good when there is no fuel to fly the aircraft and no ammunition for the guns. Not only was future funding gone but even $350 Million that was already theirs was taken away. That was outright shameful on the part of the US Administration,.
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SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
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SGT Charlie Lee - No question about both of those being major factors. A lot of self serving politicians also prolonged a war that could have been wrapped up years before it was just abandoned altogether. Micro management from Washington's Johnson Administration accounted for a lot of that and the result were NOT good.
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LtCol Robert Quinter
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Nothing new except for the mostly pacifist slant of the narrative.
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