March 26, 8 PM Mobile Riverine Force Vietnam For those of you who have read Muddy Jungle Rivers, or are interested in the river war in Vietnam, this History Special will add a new layer of understanding. See the trailer at: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/episodes/brothers-in-war/ Through gripping first-person accounts and digitally remastered archival footage, including the soldiers’ own …
Ambush Survivors Reunited 45 Years Later: Memories from August 18, 1968
From left to right: Larry Reid, Cleve Chick, David L. Cowley, Larry R. McCormick, Wendell Affield (To put this blog post in context, please read the August 18 post.) Reunions can be poignant, frightening, illuminating. This past week my wife, Patti, and I attended the 2013 Mobile Riverine Force Association Reunion held in Indianapolis. I …
Ambush on Hai Muoi Canal, Vietnam 18 August 1968
Within the first twenty seconds of the ambush, Armor Troop Carrier (ATC) 112-11 takes 3 rockets in the well deck, incapacitating a full platoon of army troops A black army sergeant manning this 50 caliber machine gun was severely maimed when a B-40 rocket burned through the one inch armor. He was a true hero. …
Busy Summer for Muddy Jungle Rivers
Armor Troop Carrier Mobile Riverine Force, Vietnam About a month ago I received an email from “Snipe,” the engineman on the boat I was cox’n on, ATC 112-11 in Vietnam. We’ve exchanged a few messages, he has not heard from any of the other crewmembers either. Perhaps one day— June I participated in Bemidji Library …
Memorial Day Speech, American Legion, Bagley, Minnesota PTSD and Writing our Stories
I was honored to be guest speaker. I was surprised at the large crowd on such an overcast windy morning. It was refreshing to see youth groups participating in the memorial service. Bagley residents should be proud of the tribute they pay their veterans. Click on the title and listen to the 11 minute talk. …
Muddy Jungle Rivers Current Events
Tuesday, April 16, will be a busy day: At 8:30 AM I will be on “Coyote Country Radio” KKWB 102.5 FM discussing Muddy Jungle Rivers. At 7:00 PM Fosston Community Library and American Legion have teamed up to host a book reading and discussion. The public is invited. This past month I visited with …
Chickenhouse Chronicles: Whidbey Island, Washington
My great grandfather, Calvin Philips, owned several thousand acres on Whidbey Island, Washington in the early 1900s. Over the course of several decades it was sold. Today his original Greenbank Dairy Farm is a community center. http://greenbankfarm.biz/history/ Ironically, I craweled across the the Naval Base land he once owned during my SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, escape) training …
“Muddy Jungle Rivers” Book Reading and Discussion
Blackduck Community Library and AMVETS have teamed up to host a book reading and discussion by Wendell Affield, author of Muddy Jungle Rivers, a Vietnam War memoir. The event begins at 6:30 PM, March 14, at Blackduck Good Samaritan Senior Living in the “great room.” The public is invited. Muddy Jungle Rivers is a close-up …
Too Late
This afternoon I drove up to Red Lake to say good- bye to a friend. Tom Lussier, Vietnam Veteran and crewmember on a PBR (Patrol Boat, River) had died unexpectedly. I met Tom more than twenty years ago. I enjoyed his quiet way and never-ending stories. Many times, Tom invited me to come fishing a …