Vietnam Vet Story

[Bob Sawyer]

I took the Charger out for a spin yesterday afternoon and noticed a white SUV following me for a few miles. I finally pulled into an Advance Auto parking lot and the driver pulled in right behind me. The guy gets out of an Autozone delivery vehicle and came up to my car and started a conversation.
He complimented me on my car and started telling me his story. He bought a new one while he was on his 2nd tour of Vietnam while in the Air Force. He said a representative from Chrysler came to Vietnam and took orders for vehicles from soldiers getting ready to be discharged, and the vehicle would be delivered to the nearest dealer of the soldier's hometown, waiting for them when they got home.
He ordered a dark green '68 Charger R/T with a black interior and black stripe. It was a 440/4 speed car. He said he remembers it weighing 3,700 lbs. and he paid $3,700.00 for it. He sold the car several years ago and I believe he said it was in Florida.
We talked for a while and I thanked him for serving our great country. It was a neat experience, especially on the eve of Veteran's Day.

 

[GetX'd]

Great looking ride to

 

[1 Wild R/T]

He said a representative from Chrysler came to Vietnam and took orders for vehicles from soldiers getting ready to be discharged,

I can confirm that... Nice Charger... & Cool that ya stirred some memories for an old vet...

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

That’s what these cars are all about!

What a fantastic story!

 

[MoparMitch]

Great story. My Dad served in Viet Nam between 1968 and 1969. But he didn't buy a new Mopar when he came home. He already had a family and was already 35 when he fought in Viet Nam. We had a 1964 MG 1100 that he bought when we were stationed in Vienna Austria. After Dad returned from VN, he retired in 74, but became Ill with cancer, due to his exposure to Agent Orange while in VN. Dad died at the early age of 56, in 1989. R.I.P. Dad...

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

I hope it’s ok to post my Vietnam vet story with yours. I never met my moms real dad, she was adopted and the family kept it a secret. After both of her adopted parents passed, a long time family friend, well she’s family, but she’s really into genealogy, and spent a year tracking down family members. finally in 2018 they found out she had a brother. Turns out my real grandfather trained at Fort Wolters in Mineral Wells, he flew helicopters in, IIRC the Army 110th helicopter division (I probably got the name wrong, I know it was the 110th.) He was a highly decorated pilot, unfortunately his second wife stole his medals when they divorced. He passed in 1994 because of agent orange

 

[JoePole]

While working yesterday, the wife and I stopped by at a restaurant to pull a water sample and decided to have lunch. The place was empty but pretty soon a Veteran came in and sat at the bar so I bought him a drink. Soon thereafter 2 more fellow veterans joined him so I bought them a drink as well. As we were waiting for our food to come out, the first Vet (Bruce) came over to the table to thank us. He went on to explain that he was a member of the Seawolves while serving in Vietnam and handed me a card with information about a documentary that was made called "Scramble the Seawolves". It was a little hard to find on smart TV but here is the link below. Worth the watch
but basically a Navy Helo group that was the most highly decorated group ever. They Were commissioned and decommissioned in Vietnam. Never done before or since. They supported the swift boats and Seal Teams along the Mei Cong Delta. Bruce was a door gunner. Badass!
Thank you to all of the Veterans on FBBO!

GI Film Festival San Diego | Scramble The Seawolves | PBS

 

[6PK2GOBEE]

Very cool story! We have a family friend that is a combat Vietnam vet and was in country from ‘67-‘69.
Just before he went in he bought a ‘66 Hemi Coronet 500 4spd brand new identical to the one pictured. The only person that he said could drive it while he was in Nam was his mother!
That’s one of many mopars he owned that he said he wished he’d kept.
Having these cars and sharing history with vets that owned them is a big part of what it’s all about.

 

[GetX'd]

That one earlier post was pretty cool about the car mfrs going to Nam to take orders from the guys that were short. I could see that being a winner for pairing the guys up with their favorite muscle car. They'd be getting out with some cash in the bank. What better idea than to buy the ride of their dreams during the peak of the golden muscle car era. For some reasons my VN Vet brothers were more into the 57 Chev look than the 68,69 Hemi, Six Pak Bee, X, RR or whatever floated their boat. **** at $3500 a pop..... wow. I never really thought about that until I saw that post. I guess they were more into what was then old iron rather than the current stuff. But they really had some ultra sweet AMercian Graffiti rides - just not Mopar let alone the best that was ever made. Altho my oldest brother (of the 4) did buy a brand new 68 Charger. But it couldn't have been more brown bag in terms of color and options. Didn't do anything for me at the time. Back then I would see a Six Pak or a Hemi and get and instant woody.....Lol

 

[MoparMitch]

While working yesterday, the wife and I stopped by at a restaurant to pull a water sample and decided to have lunch. The place was empty but pretty soon a Veteran came in and sat at the bar so I bought him a drink. Soon thereafter 2 more fellow veterans joined him so I bought them a drink as well. As we were waiting for our food to come out, the first Vet (Bruce) came over to the table to thank us. He went on to explain that he was a member of the Seawolves while serving in Vietnam and handed me a card with information about a documentary that was made called "Scramble the Seawolves". It was a little hard to find on smart TV but here is the link below. Worth the watch
but basically a Navy Helo group that was the most highly decorated group ever. They Were commissioned and decommissioned in Vietnam. Never done before or since. They supported the swift boats and Seal Teams along the Mei Cong Delta. Bruce was a door gunner. Badass!
Thank you to all of the Veterans on FBBO!

GI Film Festival San Diego | Scramble The Seawolves | PBS

Yes, They were part of the " Brown Water Navy" in the Mekong Delta region of South Viet Nam. I am in country now in the City of Vinh Long, on the Co Chien river. The Army had an airfield here and the runway has been converted into a wide new thoroughfare road. The Seawolves jumped of of barges just offshore of Vinh Long as part of the Brown Water Navy. I live here six month out of every year when its cold in the US. Love it here. Beautiful area..

 

[Challenger340]

What a fantastic era of American hero's...