Terry McIntosh 1966-67

Terry McIntosh: D-17 LRRP 1966-67

Great Picture of Company Sign

Christmas 1966







D-17 LRP Scroll

Typical D-17 LRP Uniform and Gear

 

History of D-17 LRRP

Company D, (LRP), 17th Infantry was activated on 15 MAY 65 with the issue of the new TO&E. The company continued with the same personnel, mission, barracks, and continued to wear its unique crest.

But the TO&E did result in an increase of authorized strength to 208 men, 24 five man patrols (formerly four man), and a new transportation section (the company formerly used 2.5 ton trucks from the 35th Transportation Company located in the same barracks at Gibbs Kaserne. Who could forget "Romeo" the bespectacled truck driver who fell hopelessly in love with everything in a skirt and once got hypnotized by the windshield wipers on his own truck and had to be brought to by the LRRP riding shotgun as he started to run off the road?).

The TO&E also formalized the trend towards Ranger status with a requirement for 24 Patrol Leaders, three "Killer" Platoon Leaders, the Ops Officer, Exec Officer, C.O. and 1st Sergeant to be Ranger qualified. All 208 LRRPs had to be parachute qualified.

The company continued its constant training cycles of Soviet Order of Battle, camouflage, CW radio operator training, and frequent FTXs, most of them in winter but big changes were happening in the Army as the Vietnam war escalated.

In 1967 popular C.O. Charlie Wertenberger announced a "levy" of the company for Vietnam. Carl Mancini recalls, "When Khe Sanh got hit (Marines and 173rd) they had a levy come down for airborne personnel. The C.O. got the entire unit down to the theater and told us what was going on. He made the married personnel and the people who were short leave. That left about 60 guys and they need 50 so he asked for volunteers. He got killed after about three weeks in country but to me he was a great guy. I looked him up at the wall."

In 1968, the Army began a massive pullout from Europe as part of a mutual reduction of forces with the Warsaw Pact. It was code named " OPERATION REFORGER ". (Redeployment of Forces Germany) and the company relocated from Frankfurt, Germany to Fort Benning Georgia in July, with Captain Harry W. Nieubar as the company commander.

The Ft Benning barracks was on Kelley Hill and the company was the only active duty Airborne unit on the post. They still wore the V Corps patch with airborne tab and were used as Aggressors at all three Ranger Training sites. "Our patrols used to make life miserable for the students", Terry Roderick recalls. "And we had legg outfits all around us on Kelley Hill and we thought we owned the place." Commanding Officers there included Thomas P Meyer and Dennis Foley. About half of the company consisted of Vietnam combat veterans at that time, most of them from the 101st and the 173rd.

The company also ran the RVN Orientation at Ft Benning. Walter Buchanan says the Orientation gave the troops opportunities to run obstacle courses including a rope bridge built by another LRRP, Daniel Pope. Half of the troops would fall off the bridge and the Captain would say, "Congratulations. You've just passed the Orientation", and tell them to always remain on their toes in 'Nam and expect the unexpected, never drop their guard. Then they would all get in the back of their trucks and head for the barracks. "We used to ambush them on the way home in the back of the deuce and a halfs", Walter says. "We used a LOT of det cord and artillery simulators on them." Walter and Daniel later did a 'Nam tour together in C/75.

The company also assisted Indiana National Guard LRP Company D/151 to get ready for Vietnam in 1968. Calvin Everhart remembers about a dozen who were short timers or otherwise ineligible to go who stayed in D/17 when D/151 left for 'Nam.

The company had left its long range AN/TRC-77 Morse Code radios behind in Germany and carried only AN/PRC-25s in the field. CW capability rapidly atrophied until 10 LRRPs were sent to Ft Jackson for CW training at the end of 1968.

By that time, D/17 was training for both European and RVN operations and then the Army added Riot Training. The latter caused some spectacular events which made the Army re-think LRRP suitability for crowd control and that task was dropped.

FTXs supported the RVN mission and in 1969 the company began sending trained LRPs to other LRP Companies in Vietnam weekly. By this time the company was fielding six man teams as had become standard practice in RVN.

Co D, LRP, 17th Inf underwent a name change to A/75 Rangers on 1 FEB 69 with Captain Thomas P. Meyer as Commanding Officer. There was no ceremony according to several people who were there. Ranger unit crests were issued and the company was required to adopt a 197th Infantry Brigade shoulder patch with Airborne tab and a new jump wings background.

Despite those changes, the company retained its REFORGER mission as V Corps LRRP and that is the main reason why it was never deployed to Vietnam.