What entailed getting assigned to a Long-range Recon Patrol during Vietnam?

2021-08-05T13:01:53-04:00

Basically, I question a veteran I am related to in regard to his service in Vietnam. Yes, they served in Vietnam. Was drafted. Was Infantry. Did an extra tour to get out early. Was in the 4th ID. Was there in 1967-68. There is an LRRP tab on his Vietnam tiger fatigues. Did they really have their own tab?

But I question his being assigned to an LRRP. From what I can find about LRRP's of that era they are quasi SF, but not really SF in terms of the selection process and coordinated training.

So, were Vietnam LRRP's simply hand selected Infantry soldiers compiled into a team to go out and Recon the jungle. In which case I cannot dispute the vet's claims. Or was there more to it than that. I can't tell either way.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Aug 5 at 2021 1:06 PM

2021-08-05T13:06:25-04:00

https://www.k75ranger.com/unit-roster/#:~:text=4th%20I.D.%20Combined%20LRRP%20Units%20Rosters%20The%20men,the%204th%20Infantry%20Division%20from%201966%20to%201972.

Page not found - K75 Ranger

Don't fret, you didn't do anything wrong. It appears that the page you are looking for does not exist or has been moved elsewhere.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Aug 5 at 2021 1:18 PM

2021-08-05T13:18:10-04:00

Posted a roster below, don't know how complete. But to answer your question, yes, they were hand picked soldiers out of the line companies. Each Division was authorized a company sized element for LRP. My understanding is that the divisions set up individual training programs for the LRP units. Most of these units were briefly consolidated into the 75th Rangers, but then de-activated it during the Vietnamization period. The roster below shows the patches for LRP, LRRP, Ranger Co and the 4th ID.

Response by Patricia Overmeyer made Aug 5 at 2021 1:56 PM

2021-08-05T13:56:50-04:00

Hubby was in Nam in '69-'70 (25th ID, 2/12 Bravo, Iron Triangle). Since he had gone to helicopter training prior to shipping to Nam, he held a high security clearance. He ended up being the RTO and had an encoder, so he could listen to all radio traffic. He was approached on one occasion to be an RTO for a colonel and he was approached on three occasions to be an RTO (replacement) for one of the LRRP groups attached to the 25th ID. According to him, by early '69 the LRRPs were all under one division and were part of the 75th ID, Rangers. Didn't have to go through Ranger training in order to be chosen but could be "chosen" by officers. He said there were several LRRPs that worked out of FSBs Pershing and Stuart that he interacted with so he was familiar with the different ones, including their RTOs.
BTW, he would have made Sgt. if he had gone to the colonel or to the LRRP. He politely declined as he said he was needed more by his guys in Bravo.
This has a short history of the LRRP, just scroll down to United States.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-range_reconnaissance_patrol

Long-range_reconnaissance_patrol

Response by MAJ Ronnie Reams made Aug 5 at 2021 1:58 PM

2021-08-05T13:58:18-04:00

MACV had a school for them and the final exam was actual missions, and there were casualties among students and instructors. They had what rangers today call a long tab. The LRRP with my 199th Inf Bde was M company/3rd Batt/75th Infantry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recondo

https://coffeeordie.com/macv-recondo-school/

Recondo

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Aug 5 at 2021 2:03 PM

2021-08-05T14:03:24-04:00

I only saw a couple in Vietnam and didn't believe them

Response by SPC David S. made Aug 5 at 2021 2:28 PM

2021-08-05T14:28:34-04:00

You might be able to contact someone over at LRR Association as these guys might be able to connect the dots with this individuals service. Email addresses are listed at the bottom.

https://lrra2015.org/history

History of LRRP, LRP, and LRS

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 5 at 2021 2:35 PM

2021-08-05T14:35:49-04:00

Who made you overseer of awards veterans wear. What businesses is it of yours.
The US Army does things they don't let a lot of people know about.

So why don't you just mind your own damn business and quit worrying about others.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 5 at 2021 2:36 PM

2021-08-05T14:36:36-04:00

Thanks all. I’ll leverage the provided info.

It’s very plausible now in retrospect.
Additionally:
He did make SGT in 6 months
He was an infantry brigade top shot (military award plaque stating as such)
He didn’t do drugs

So I can see now he might be of interest to leadership be part of the patrols

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 5 at 2021 4:58 PM

2021-08-05T16:58:11-04:00

CPT Private RallyPoint Member Captain, here is what I found on Wikipedia.

In Vietnam

April 1968. LRPs at LZ Stud near Khe Sanh combat base, Vietnam.
In December 1965, the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, formed a LRRP platoon, and by April 1966, the 1st Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division and each of the four Battalions of the 173rd Airborne Brigade formed LRRP units as well.[21][24] On 8 July 1966, General William Westmoreland authorized the formation of a (LRRP) unit in each infantry brigade or division in Vietnam. By 1967 formal LRRP companies were organized, most having three platoons, each with five six-man teams equipped with VHF/FM AN/PRC-25 radios. LRRP training was notoriously rigorous and team leaders were often graduates of the U.S. Army's 5th Special Forces Recondo School in Nha Trang, Vietnam.[1][25]

Tiger Force was the nickname of an infamous long-range reconnaissance patrol unit[26] of the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade (Separate), 101st Airborne Division, which fought in the Vietnam War, and was responsible for counterinsurgency operations against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong. [27] In the course of their duty, they were found responsible for the deaths of hundreds of noncombatant civilians who were marked as “enemy KIA”. These high bodycounts were recognized and encouraged by military officials, who were unaware of or simply didn’t care about the atrocities committed by the unit, which included the abuse of POWs, the mutilation of dead soldiers and civilians, sexual abuse, destruction of property and the planting of weapons on deceased civilians. Their commander Col. Morse ordered troops to rack up a body count of 327 casualties in order to match the battalion's infantry designation, 327th; by the end of the campaign soldiers were congratulated for their 1000th kill.[28]

The platoon-sized unit, approximately 45 paratroopers, was founded by Colonel David Hackworth in November 1965 to "outguerrilla the guerrillas".[29] Tiger Force (Recon) 1/327th was a highly decorated small unit in Vietnam, and paid for its reputation with heavy casualties.[30] In October 1968, Tiger Force's parent battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation by President Lyndon B. Johnson, which included a mention of Tiger Force's service at Đắk Tô in June 1966.[31]

Since satellite communications were a thing of the future, one of the most daring long-range penetration operations of the war was launched by members of Company E, 52nd Infantry (LRP) of the 1st Air Cavalry Division, against the North Vietnamese Army when they seized "Signal Hill" the name attributed to the peak of Dong Re Lao Mountain, a densely forested 4,879-foot mountain, midway in A Shau Valley, so its 1st and 3rd Brigades, who would be fighting behind a wall of mountains, could communicate with Camp Evans near the coast or with approaching aircraft.[32]

Response by SPC Joseph Kopac made Aug 5 at 2021 5:26 PM

2021-08-05T17:26:08-04:00

Nam 1971. We grunts were occasionally asked if we would like to volunteer to be a door gunner or a LRRP. As I remember, all you had to do was to was pass some PT Tests to be LRRP. To us, being a LRRP meant you only spent 5 days in the bush instead of 15. And the door gunner choice wasn’t a very good one. My buddy found out.

Response by SSG Bill McCoy made Aug 5 at 2021 6:29 PM

2021-08-05T18:29:21-04:00

Wasn't Army back then, but in the Marine Corps, Navy Corpsmen upon arrival were typically asked if any wanted to volunteer for Force Recon. In my group of around 25, four of us raised our hands and two were picked ... but I didn't raise my hand fast enough and missed out.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 5 at 2021 9:28 PM

2021-08-05T21:28:44-04:00

They usually volunteered. They were small scout units at the Division or Field Force level. They started in 65 and were rolled into the 75th RGR RGT in 1969. 4th ID LRRP was known as E co, 58th IN. Here is a link of the roster of that unit in Nam. I was in F co, 51st IN (Long Range Surveillance) when I joined in 2000. LRS trace their lineage to the LRRP units of Nam. I hope this helps. I have ran into a few guys there were LRRPs in Nam. They are a very small group. There is also the LRRP association. They have been able to validate people that have said they were LRRPs in Nam.

https://www.k75ranger.com/unit-roster/

4th I.D. Combined LRRP Units Rosters - K75 Ranger

The men on this roster are some of the bravest men that served in Vietnam. These men served on a volunteer basis for one or more of the special operation units of the 4th Infantry Division from 1966 to 1972. These units were Division LRRPS, LRPS, E/58, 1st Brigade, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Brigade LRRPs, Company […]

Response by SPC Kurt Hesselden made Aug 5 at 2021 9:38 PM

2021-08-05T21:38:30-04:00

In the 199th Light Infantry Brigade it started with no LRP elements.
On 20 December 1967, the 71st Infantry Detachment (Long Range Patrol) was activated by sixty one troops chosen by General Forbes from the ranks of Company F, 51st Infantry (II Field Force Long Range Patrol) Within a month the unit was fully operational and acquainted with it's Long Binh sector.
On 15 January 1969, Lt. Robert Eason Jr. took over the 71st with an assigned priority to reorganize it into a brigade-level ranger company by the end of the month. In conformity with this schedule on 1 February Brigade commander Brigadier Gen. Frederic Davis activated Company M (Ranger), 75th Infantry.

No idea how other units built or trained LRRP in their units.

Response by CSM Thomas Ray made Aug 5 at 2021 9:49 PM

2021-08-05T21:49:24-04:00

I was a LRP in Viet Nam and was put in a LRP unit when I arrived in country, you could elect to go back to the line companies , but very few did after working as a team. There was a Recondo school taught by SF, that members could go to, but with most being understaffed, few got the chance. We worked in 5 man teams with a sniper attached and some of the missions were: prisoner snatches, stay behind ambushes, as well as recon and sniper missions. There was one LRRP unit attached to all Divisions, and usually one LRP unit attached to battalions. The difference in LRP and LRRP was the different missions assigned. The MOS assigned was 11F, infantry operations intel. we had no medics and each mission was usually 5 days, so we packed for that. Difference from line companies, was they were usually resupplied every three days, which we could not because of detection.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Aug 5 at 2021 10:44 PM

2021-08-05T22:44:32-04:00

My uncle was in a LRRP unit in 1969/1970…4ID, when they changed from LRRP to Ranger Companies affiliated to 75th Ranger Regiment but assigned to Brigades and Divisions.

Prior to early 1970, they were numbered infantry companies and detachments designated as Long range recon. Similar to LRSD/LRSC after the war.

The scroll was unofficial, likely locally produced.

He may have the Recondo badge, in country 2 week course. My Uncle said the “graduation” patrol was live. LRRP and Ranger Co personnel were routed directly to it.

Response by SGT William Cannon made Aug 6 at 2021 3:11 PM

2021-08-06T15:11:17-04:00

I WAS ASKED TO EXTEND 6 MOS. I REFUSED...ANOTHER GUY IN MY BATTERY ACCEPTED THE OFFER...I HOPE HE MADE IT...

Response by SPC Richard Stengline made Aug 10 at 2021 10:20 AM

2021-08-10T10:20:21-04:00

Read Phantom Warriors by Gary A Linderer he was in a recon unit.