Disturbing Facts about the Vietnam War You Never Knew

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."This subterfuge was carried out with such finesse that even those handling the tampered cartridges couldn't discern any foul play. Agents would discreetly replace gunpowder in the cartridges with high-explosive compounds. When these were fired, not only would the bullet not reach its intended target, but the weapon would often explode, injuring the shooter. To the uninformed observer, it appeared as a mere malfunction or manufacturing flaw. But in reality, it was a silent whisper, reminding the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army that nothing was truly safe.

Word of these "accidents" spread through the ranks like wildfire. Soon, rumors took on a life of their own. Some whispered tales of sabotage within their own ranks, others believed that they had purchased faulty equipment. The air grew thick with suspicion. Brothers in arms began to doubt one another, wondering if the next round of ammunition they shared might be their last. As Colonel Sidney Berry, an observer of the times, noted, "Nothing is more terrifying than the unknown." And Project Eldest Son was the embodiment of that unknown."...

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel just finished... my network is slower than Mitch...

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.