Introduction to Vietnam MARS Stories
Summer 1967
Each new person, who was assigned to radio station AB8AJ, made a contribution to the success of the unit. The Spring and Summer of 1967 brought a wave of new people and major changes. The new people included (rank?)Ed Lyon, SFC Chet Muninger SP4. Jim French, SGT Chuck Wedeen, and SP4 David Mounts. And each person has their own story including how they got there and what they saw and experienced. The following are the first person accounts from as many survivors as we could find. For those that were not found or know to be deceased, we have added a brief statement composed of anything anyone could remember about them. Here is the account written by Ed Lyon.
Introduction to My Vietnam MARS Stories
By Ed Lyon W9ED from New Palestine, IN
Charles Dickens began his classic novel “Tale of Two Cities” with these words:
“It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times”.
How very truly this describes my time spent in Vietnam. War and all that goes with it is truly the worst of times. Away from home, wife, family –worst of times. In some ways though this turned out to be some of the best of times—especially with the friendships that were formed and the experiences we went through. The following stories relate some of these experiences during the time I spent at the MARS radio station in Cu Chi, Vietnam in 1967 and 1968. The following names are some of the soldiers that I served with at least for a while during my time at MARS Station AB8AJ: SSG Chuck Rinehart, Sgt Mike Reagan, SP4 Jim French, SP4 David Mounts, SSG Chester Muninger, PFC Ron Hubbard, SP4 Chuck Rudlofh, WO Flitterman, and one man named “ Lucas “ whose rank and full name I cannot remember. I am sure there were some others that I have forgotten after 40 years. My stories will center on these individuals and the commonality we all share. I am looking forward to stories from other time periods before and after to see how things were for the others.
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Welcome to the 25th Infantry DIV M.A.R.S. Radio OPS BLOG site
This site is dedicated to the comments and stories from the radio operators who from 1966 to 1970 worked at M.A.R.S. station AB8AJ at CU Chi in South Viet Nam
This was our war. For centuries each generation of men have had their own war. When someone says to me “the war” my only thoughts are of Cu Chi and our war. This war, even after forty years, is still central in my thought process. The sound of a helicopter, a radio, a song, or a voice can bring instant introspection. I do not know if this is true for everyone, Viet Nam was different for each soldier, but for me it is. My memories blur into half-truth and half fiction after forty years. All of us soften the reality of our days in Viet Nam with a focus on the positive side. And often the collections of these positive thoughts become our own reality. These stories presents what each of us remembers some forty years later.
While historians speak in terms of campaigns and battle and troop counts and politics, those that were there think in terms of emotions, of people and of friends and of interactions with other soldiers. Our entire tour is eclipsed in two sentences in a history book but for me it is 373 twenty-four hour days packed with emotion, events, and people.
This collection of stories is presented to add to the historical record of what we did and how each of us saw what we did. These stories are also about the soldiers and families that used our telephone service. In the coming months this site will develope. Stay tuned! I hope, as you read through this collection of stories, you may share in that experience.
MIKE REAGAN NI7T
This was our war. For centuries each generation of men have had their own war. When someone says to me “the war” my only thoughts are of Cu Chi and our war. This war, even after forty years, is still central in my thought process. The sound of a helicopter, a radio, a song, or a voice can bring instant introspection. I do not know if this is true for everyone, Viet Nam was different for each soldier, but for me it is. My memories blur into half-truth and half fiction after forty years. All of us soften the reality of our days in Viet Nam with a focus on the positive side. And often the collections of these positive thoughts become our own reality. These stories presents what each of us remembers some forty years later.
While historians speak in terms of campaigns and battle and troop counts and politics, those that were there think in terms of emotions, of people and of friends and of interactions with other soldiers. Our entire tour is eclipsed in two sentences in a history book but for me it is 373 twenty-four hour days packed with emotion, events, and people.
This collection of stories is presented to add to the historical record of what we did and how each of us saw what we did. These stories are also about the soldiers and families that used our telephone service. In the coming months this site will develope. Stay tuned! I hope, as you read through this collection of stories, you may share in that experience.
MIKE REAGAN NI7T
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