Vietnam War

U.S. Army

Video Log

Michael Momparler

Born: 03/05/1947

Interviewed on 11/20/2012

Interviewed by: George Jones

00:00:45 Momparler was living in College Point, NY when he enlisted in the Army on 4/18/1966. He joined because he was a wild teenager with legal problems and few other options

00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:23 Michael Momparler’s highest rank was 1st Lieutenant. 00:00:35 Momparler served in III Corps in Vietnam

00:01:45 Momparler discusses first days in the U.S. Army and his thoughts about the experience and the military experiences of other family members; specifically a cousin who suffered the loss of six fellow Marines.00:03:23 Momparler discusses basic training experiences like using monkey bars, the mile run,

and KP.

00:05:50 Momparler transition from basic training to advanced infrantry training to OCS.

00:06:24 Momparler discusses experiences with the M-14, M-15, and M-16 rifles.

00:07:00 Momparler discusses the experience of Officer Candidate School.

00:10:32 Momparler mentions that one of his commanding officers was in the Bay of Pigs invasion. Discusses the amount of combat experience, or Vietnam experience of his commanding officers at OCS.

00:11:00 Momparler discusses how OCS candidates used the OCS experience to limit their amount of time in the Army or avoid having to serve in Vietnam.

00:11:30 Further discussion of OCS and specifics of training topics.

00:04:40 Momparler discusses being selected for Officer Candidate School - OCS. Mentions the testing and that he was encouraged to tell the interviewing officer that thewar in Vietnam should be escalated. Entered OCS at age 19.

00:14:30 Momparler discusses skills needed for combat and the skills typically found in a combat squad leader or platoon sargeant in Vietnam. Also discusses what actions would be taken in a firefight, including the importance of smoke grenades.

00:17:30 Momparler discusses OCS combat training.

00:17:45 Momparler discusses first assignment after OCS in Fort Campbell, Kentucky as an infantry training officer.

00:19:50 Momparler discusses being transferred to Fort Jackson, South Carolina before shipping to Panama for jungle training.

00:20:07 Momparler discusses jungle training at Fort Sherman in Panama along the western bank of the Panama Canal, inclusing map reading, escape and evasion, rappelling, crossing water obstacles like streams and rivers.

00:21:23 Momparler mentions being put on alert after the capture of Che Guevara in Bolivia.

00:20:07 Waited for orders at Bien Hoa for about a week before being assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, aka the Big Red One.

00:20:07 Momparler discusses flying out of Panama City on a jumbo jet that had twin decks - presumably a 747; however, the first 747 did not fly until a year later, 1968. The plane made stops in Los Angeles, San Francisco (Travis AFB), Guam, and Honolulu before flying to Bien Hoa Air Base in Vietnam. It arrived on December 2, 1967.

00:23:29 Momparler discusses first ride in a helicopter, found that his battalion commander and two companies were at Bu Dop (a Special Forces outpost near the Cambodian border) where they had just survived a ground attack the night before. He observed dead bodies of Viet Cong attackers hanging in the razor wire. He estimates about 110 Viet Cong were attacked.

00:24:07 Momparler discusses meeting his company commander, a West Pointer with a first name of Mortimer, but was unable to recall his last name. According to this link http://www.vvmf.org/thewall/anClip=310346 it seems clear that Momparler's company commander was Lt. Col. Mortimer Lenane O'Connor. MORTIMER LELANE O'CONNOR is honored on Panel 47E, Row 35 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

00:24:50 Momparler is assigned to Alpha Company. Alpha Company was not part of the battle where Momparler met Lt. Col. O'Connor; Alpha Company was back at the home base of Quan Loi near the village of An Loc, straight north of Saigon on Highway 13. The brigade that Momparler belong to had recently relocated to Quan Loi from Lai Khe which was the home base on The Big Red One division. Momparler describes Quan Loi.

00:26:05 Momparler describes the Iron Triangle and the general areas of operation of I Corps, II Corps, and III Corps.

00:26:59 Momparler is assigned to provide leadership to Lima 6. There were 3 platoon leaders in total; mentions Mike 6 and November 6 as the other platoon leaders. His captain was Alpha 6; Battalion Commander was Drac 6 (think Dracula). They were called the Black Scarf battalion. Makes reference to black scarves they used to wear around their necks.

00:28:14 Momparler talks about taking over the platoon and some of the challenges - such as a new captain being assigned, two other new lieutenants (Carl Perry and one named O'Hara). When he took over the platoon he had about 28 men, several NCOs and one unforgettable Sergeant Martinez. Sergeant Martinez was memorable because he had fought in the Battle of the Bulge (with the 101st Airborne), Korea, and was on his third tour in Vietnam, entering his 30th year of military service.

00:29:15 Momparler provides more detail on Sergeant Martinez and talks about qualities of leadership needed to lead someone like Martinez who had much more combat experience.

00:30:40 Momparler discusses leading combat patrols and their strategies and techniques in executing them properly. One of the techniques was a "cloverlear" patrol.

00:33:00 Momparler discusses air assaults and the use of artillery to prep the landing zone with both explosives and Agent Orange.

00:34:14 Momparler discusses the challenge of keeping troops assigned to listening posts alert and the use of an Article 15 procedure to reduce their rank or pay as punishment.

00:34:14 Momparler discusses how he dealt with a soldier who habitually fell asleep when on listening post duty. The soldier apparently smoked a lot of marijuana and this interfered with his ability to maintain vigilance.

00:34:45 Momparler discusses the risks of being on a listening post and how listening postsand the platoon or company maintained contact.

00:35:35 Momparler discusses his first firefight where they engaged and killed one of two snipers that had fired on a daily minesweeping operation in the area between Quan Loi and An Loc.

00:36:40 Momparler discusses having an overly ambitious commanding officer who often forgot what maneuvers he'd ordered Momparler to perform.

00:33:30 Momparler discusses overnight operations that would require them to dig in and build fortifications to defend themselves (use or barbed wire and Claymore mines) and establishing "listening posts" to alert the main body of the platoon or company of approaching enemy.

00:36:40 Momparler discusses being on an nightime ambush patrol near Song Be airstrip when they encountered a North Vietnamese force firing 60 mm mortars at the airstrip. It was a mere coincidence that the North Vietnamese happened to be at the exact checkpoint that Momparler's patrol was heading for. The firing of mortars by the North Vietnamese gave away their position and provided Momparler's platoon with a tactical advantage of surprise.

00:39:00 Momparler discusses how the pace of combat accelerated after 1968 Tet Offensive. He participated in a lot of clean-up patrols north of the Iron Triangle. Discusses the loss of this commander and a fellow platoon leader, Mike 6.

00:40:15 Momparler discusses encountering ambushes from spider holes and encountering a North Vietnamese base camp with bunkers and tunnels. Reveals that his efforts to get an enemy soldier out of a spider hole earned him a Bronze Star award. Suggests that the person he got out of that spider hole and killed appeared to be a Chinese military advisor.

00:41:29 Momparler discusses losing two close friends in combat in 2 days and the emtional toll this took. A new company commander took over that had no combat experience and Momparler mentions that this cost lives which exacerbated his personal distress.

00:42:10 Momparler discusses 'search and destroy' missions and the 'hit and run' nature of this type ofwarefare. Reviews the scenario in which Lt. Carl Perry, one of Momparler's friends, was killed.