Just found this.
Boy does this bring back memories. Some of my 'Nam' history.
3rdMarDiv HQ SubUnit 2 Dong Ha. Was my Admin Rear.
Some dates are a little fuzzy today, along with the names of some units I was attached to.
I was an enlisted Marine FAC. (not airborne certified) Important because our FAC(A)'s used O1C birddogs and later were supplemented with the suburb OV-10. We also got support from an Army Birddog unit 220th Aviation company call sign KatKiller. We often didn't have enough airborne certified controllers to fill their back seats. So they would use any of us enlisted T*rds in the rear when a flight came up. The trick was we were only allowed to work "red Line" or better said, over North Vietnam.
Some one said they had a hard time with an M14 in an O1. Well I was rather proud of my confirmed KBA (Killed By Air) firing out the window full auto with my M14, the pilot kept saying over and over again, "Don't hit the prop, Don't hit the Prop." We also used M26A1 Frag and W/P grenades in peanut butter jars or real glass water glasses.
I got two Purple Hearts, neither one to bad. Not as easy as Ole John sKerry's, but I didn't get pulled out of 3rd Med for either of them either. Both got me about a week or week+ in the hospital there.
To the subject. I carried an M14 with a selector for most of both tours. Was Forced to get an M16 in mid 69, BrigGen had his aide get my name, unit and service #. No choice at that point.
I was getting to the Nam in 67 just as the Corps was forced to accept the M16. I bagged and tagged a bunch of Marines because of that widow Maker. Believe me if cleaning the rifle was the primary problem, we wouldn't have had a problem of consequence. Just more myth and AR/M16/M4 koolaide folks selling their BS. I will stop here because I can go on this rant for hours, about factual problems with the M16 then, and the family today. Some of the problems haven't changed in 45 years.
For a handgun I carried a M10 'Victory' model S&W. The 1911's I had available to me were not reliable, many were less reliable than the M16E1's we were issued. No where near as reliable as my 1911's I carry today. Given the choice and if I could have afforded it, I would have gotten a High Power P-35.
I was in Khe Sanh for Tet. I thought we had gotten over. Then 2-4 days after Tet the boss wanted me to take a team to Hue. My immediate response was "Why the f*** do I want to go to Hue???" Unlike some of the services today, it may come as a shock to you, but I didn't have an option. We flew to Hue and I was attached to 5th Marines for the first time.
That wasn't fun. At that point they weren't allowing us to run air. Lucky for me and my guys, they didn't put us in the assault elements. They used us with the security elements. We swept the buildings after the guy's doing the heavy lifting had taken the next street of Buildings. 2-3 weeks later they pulled us out for some R&R back in Khe Sanh.
I am glad that I had an M14 instead of a SMG of any caliber 45,6, 7.62X25 etc. Or an M16, but nobody wanted one of them, us or the NVA. The AK was reliable and worked well, but firing an AK at the wrong time would get you wasted by your own guys, because of the sound signature of the AK is so unique. I would still stick to my M14. Not particularly handy, but it could shoot through a lot of stuff, and it NEVER JAMMED. When I finally got hung with an M16 nobody wanted to borrow, steal, or trade for it. M14 was always popular with the other troops, the only problem they had is it was mine and not theirs.
Not much finish on it, but it never rusted either. I had given it a direct and legal order not to rust, and cleaned it twice a day religiously. My 38spl never failed to fire either.
For the Air-Dales, we called all AD1's "spads", and they were great for CAS, their problem was they were so slow, that in really heavy AAA missions or Ground Fire they often got blown out of the air.
So I could hang onto my M14, I could never take my M14 to Danang. So when ever I did any runs to Danang I would take a non standard weapon.
Thompson, M2, AK, SKS, Swedish K, etc. I liked the Swedish K best. Light & reliable. I enjoyed the Thompson, but went on one patrol with it. 347 Rounds of 45 ammo weighed a "ton" I had a drum, in the weapon, and 10 thirty round stick magazines in a mag bag. Bad Mojo.
Oh yea, ammo load outs. For the S&W I would carry 6 in the revolver of course, and an extra 50 rounds of ball. Also carried 12 tracer rounds for the S&W too.
When I carried the M14 I carried 15 Magazine loaded with 20 rounds and one of them was all tracers. Total 300 rounds. Only 9 of the magazines were on my belt.
When I was forced to carry the widow-maker, I carried 33 loaded magazines with one of them 100% tracers. Only 16rounds per magazine, a pair of slip joint pliers to straighten them when they would get tweaked and not fit in the mag-well of the widow-maker. 528 rounds.
Regardless of the ammo carried, I would take the M14 every time over any AR15/M16/M4.
My belt and flack jacket weighed 67 lbs. I weighted them in Sick Bay one time.
Anyone remember 45.5 FM? Medivac net.
Sorry for the rant. But sometimes I get diarrhea of the memory, such as it is. That's when I can remember.
Go figure.
Fred
. He pushed hard to get a 5.56mm CAR-15 and put rifle mags where he had his old sidearm, 
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