Jack

Jack

IBI GROSSMAN media type="file" key="Vietnam war speech.mp3"

My grandfather,Rocky Ventrella, was in the Vietnam War. Everytime I go to his house I listen to all of the stories that he tells. I've always been interested in what he did in the army and how he got there. This is his story of the Vietnam War. I survived the worst genocide that has occurred to this day. My name is Ibi Grossman and I was born in Pecs, Hungary in 1924. I had parents that loved each other very much and four sisters. I joined a Zionist group when I was fifteen. I met my husband Zolti at this Zionist camp. One day in 1942 I realized that I was pregnant. My husband told me that this was great news and that we needed a child, but I was worried and confused. On March 19, 1944 Germany invaded Hungary and made every person over the age of six where a yellow star on their shirt. After the stars the Germans made a ghetto in the middle of the city where fifteen people had to live in one room. One morning Arrow Cross bandits marched into our building yelling at us to go in the yard or they’ll shoot. A couple of weeks later my husband, Zolti, had to leave for the Hungarian army so I was forced to live with my son and my mother-in-law. We eventually found a refugee where my son and I were allowed to live. After two weeks someone betrayed the group, so the Nazis took us out to a big field where they kept only children and the elderly. I was sent on a train to Auschwitz but luckily I managed to escape. After escaping I was reunited with my mother-in-law and my son. I ran back to the ghetto where there were 70,000 refugees. Many people starved to death or were killed in some other way. We heard rumors that there would be a bombing of the ghetto to finish everyone off. Eventually we learned that a Swedish diplomat had talked to the German leader saying if he kept killing that he would be tried for murder. In the spring of 1945, Jews who survived started coming back home. Every day I went to the train station looking for my husband. I learned from one of his comrades that he had been sick so the Nazis shot him. I was devastated that he was gone but I had to stay alive for my son Andy. I also learned that my parents and two of my sisters had died in Auschwitz. In the end my son and I escaped to Canada to try and start a new life. I am now happy where I live with my new husband, hoping to never have to go through such horrible things.

6. What were your different jobs in Vietnam? 7. How old were you when you left Vietnam? 8. Did you have to return to Vietnam? 9. How did you feel about the war when you were in it? 10. How did you feel about the war when it ended? 11. What was the difference between your experiences? 12. What were the biggest challenges? 13. Do you think that Vietnam is better off because of the war? 14. How do you feel about the fact that you survived?
 * 1) When did you first decide you wanted to be in the Army
 * 2) What did your parents think about you joining the Army?.
 * 3) What was your first assignment as an army officer?
 * 4) How old were you when you were sent to Vietnam?
 * 5) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">What was your first thought when you went to Vietnam?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> I grew up fascinated by airplanes, and as a teenager during WWII I wanted to be a fighter pilot in the Army Air Force (there was no separate US Air Force then). My goals were to be an Army aviator and get a Mechanical Engineering degree from theUniversityofMichigan. I made my decision to go into the Army in 1949 when I was in college studying for an engineering degree. I found the opportunity to reach both goals by going toWest Pointwhere I could get my engineering degree and be commissioned in the Air Force. All went as planned until I did not pass the Air Force eye exam during my senior year atWest Point. Upon graduation, I was commissioned in the Infantry as an Army Officer.

My parents were delighted that I was going to the US Military Academy and into the service of our country. They were focused on the education and service as a great opportunity for me. One also has to understand that this was shortly after WWII, and there was a patriotic fervor in theUSA, and also economic recession. After my Infantry, Airborne and Ranger qualifications, I was assigned as a Platoon Leader in the 350th Infantry Regiment located inSaltzburg,Austria. My platoon had forty-four men organized into ten man squads and my assistants. I was responsible for their training and discipline—basically everything they did or were supposed to do. Due to a shortage of Army Officers, I was also assigned as the Company Training Officer, Mess Officer, Communications Officer, Motor Officer, and Supply Officer. These were additional duties for which I was responsible for the proper operation of each of these functional areas. Note- a Company had one hundred-eighty six (186) men. I first went toVietnamin 1967 when I was thirty-eight years old. I had just finished graduating from The Command and General Staff College. I held the rank of Major, which in the Army is mainly assigned as a staff officer.

I knew I was eventually going to go toVietnama few years before being assigned there which makes it difficult to pick a first thought. I believe it probably was how I was personally going to get best prepared for the assignment. Preparation included personal, mainly settling my family, and professional responsibilities. Professionally, my two immediate assignments before going to Vietnam were helpful in that I monitored the Vietnam war while in graduate school, and then more closely at the Army’s Command and General Staff College. I would generally conclude that soldiers don’t have a “first thought” specifically about going to war, or combat anywhere. Soldiers take an oath to defend our country, and expect to probably have to do their duty, which we could conclude is probably their first thought on the subject?

a. I was first assigned as an infantry battalion operations officer. I was responsible for planning the battalion combat operations with my commander, and then coordinating the combat operation while in progress. For example, I coordinated with other battalions, and always had Air Force and artillery support wherever we went in the jungle. I generally was up in a helicopter during combat operations to keep track of what was going on. FYI a battalion= 700 men. b. I was next assigned as an operations officer and as the briefing officer to the Commander of II Field Force, a Corps level command with a 3 star general. There were 3 Infantry Divisions (27+ battalion sized combat units) in II FF). In this job I worked in the operations center during assigned hours, and then briefed all the generals and the Corps staffs daily at 5PM. The briefing included a description of every combat action in half ofSouth Vietnam(II Field Force area) during the past 24 hours. c. While assigned at II Field Force, the North Vietnamese (NVA) attacked Saigon (TET). I was put on temporary duty with another II FF staff officer to go with General Ware (Medal of Honor recipient-Korean War) into Saigon, where we set up a command center to coordinate the defense ofSaigon. In this job I coordinated command support units (helicopters air support, artillery, supply etc.) needed by our combat units, both ROK (South Vietnamese) and US. TET was a victory for theUS. We were ready for their attack on our installations andSaigon. The US Press wanted the war to end and used TET as an excuse to emphasize the NVA ability to attack us, while downplaying our victory by exaggerating our losses. In reality, the kill ratio was 13 dead North Vietnamese for every 1 South Vietnamese, and we did not lose any installations orSaigon.

I leftVietnamin July of 1968. I was thirty-nine years old.

When I left in 1968, I was destined to return for temporary duty in 1974-75, as the Army Liaison Officer with the US Seventh Fleet. Each of the US Navy Fleets has an Army Officer assigned to the Admiral’s Staff to advise and coordinate Army activities associated with Naval operations. The Seventh Fleet area of responsibility included the South China Sea, and hence sea operations off the coast ofVietnam. The advanced planning for evacuation of US Nationals from foreign shores was an Army job, and I was the Army Plans Officer for the Seventh Fleet. I had to return to Saigon and toThailand(Air Force coordination) to write the military evacuation plan for US and selected Vietnamese nationals.

First, I really didn’t question why we were there. My duty was to do my job to the best of my ability. US soldiers don’t question the civilian decisions that are made in our system of government, they follow orders. Secondly, I had my thoughts from a political science view point that there were social and economic issues which one had to consider beside the military activity. The seeds of war were sown when theVietnampeople were divided after WWII. Personally, I regardedVietnamas a social/economic problem, not a military problem to solve.

I think I was relieved and yet saddened for several reasons. TheUnited Stateswas torn apart by what had become a terribly “unpopular” war. No war should be popular, but this was a war that the US Press lost forAmerica—not a military loss. The loss of 58,000USlives was in vain. The military were scorned. Propaganda in half truths and lies (e.g., students killed atKentState—they were not students) inflamed and misinformed US citizens and the world. Short answer is I was glad it was over. Like GeneralShermansaid in the US Civil War, “War is Hell”. And, I really thought theVietnamsituation was a socio-economic problem, not a military problem.

The major difference was in 1967 when I was with the troops in the jungle where we conducted “Search and Destroy” operations as infantry against the enemy. This was “Frontline” combat where the dirty war is. At this level of the military as a battalion operations officer I was dealing 24/7 with infantry tactics to maximize enemy destruction and minimize friendly casualties. Another difference to mention is that I did get into the Navy Task Force planning for the evacuation ofSaigon. Other than the Navy bit, the high level staff positions with the Army and Navy were similar. I worked for a 3 star flag officer in both cases as a briefing and plans officer. Even though I was with the Navy, my job was Army Planner. I had this responsibility in special operations for both TET (Army) and the evacuation ofSaigon(Navy).

The planning involved The Department of State, Air Force, and Naval forces (Marines & Navy). I worked with the Air and Naval forces, and reacted to the State Department. I ended up coordinating the writing of the basic plan with the Marines and Air force inSaigon. The Marines had the problem of securing the immediate evacuation area containing the Landing Zones for the helicopters. The size of the Marine force required was an issue. The Air Force and Navy Air coordination for Air Cover had to be worked out. The Air Force provided helicopters to be operated off of one of the Navy’s Aircraft Carriers, which arrangement caused interesting operational coordination. The size of the operation was in itself a major coordination effort, being the largest armada of ships since the WWII D-Day invasion. The command structure of the Navy forces became an issue when Unity of Command was divided as the Aircraft Carrier groups remained under separate control. These are some of the challenges that immediately come to mind. Getting everyone on the same page is never easy. An interesting footnote to the evacuation challenges I didn’t deal with was, where all the people we evacuated were going to be quartered. They were brought to the navy ships and put up as best as could be until off loaded in port for return to theUS. The evacuees had not been told of the operation, which was kept secret until it started. Imagine their surprise, which gave cause for some interesting dinner conversation.

This is a complicated question to answer, but the short answer is yes. I previously stated that the situation in the 1950’s after the French were ejected was both economic and social. The basic problem was the “arbitrary” division of the homogenous ethnicVietnamalong a latitude. The country was consolidated after the war, solving a basic social problem, even if it was under communism. The economic situation was improved with the joining of the agrarian south to the manufacturing north. The South Vietnamese would not agree with being better off, as they suffered greatly as a defeated population. But the country is now effectively functioning in the International Community, whereas it was not before the war.