V-100 Crew Member Vietnam 71-72

[chvss65]

All I can say Is
WOW !!!!!!!!!!!
small world
welcome home

 

[V-100 Commando]

Sapper141 asked me a questions that might be of interest to others. He asked if there was a theme in the units to the nose art on the V-100s. There really wasn't. It all depended on the crew members ideas. With the rotation in Viet Nam at one year (unless you requested additional tours) not like todays extended stays in the war zones, people came and went. The V-100 was something you volunteered for, not assigned to. The name would also be changed if something negative happened in the field. You tend to get very superstitious in those situations. Of course it also depended on what kind of artistic talent we had in the unit- as you can see from the pictures, pretty amateur stuff for the most part, but it must have freaked the VC out.
Jeff

 

[sapper141]

Okay Jeff
here comes a tough one about markings on Catch 22 I believe the markings under the siren read 89MP, A98 on the left side. Would you be able to remember what the markings on the right side are?
Told ya us model types get to the nitty gritty
Seeya Shane

 

[M813rc]

Quick side bar here-
Shane, I gather you are building the Hobbyboss kit, so by now you have figured out how inaccurate their V100 interior is (seems to be based on V150 and maybe some photo misinterpretation?). If that stuff is important to you, check out David Doyle's V100 Walkaround book for most of the details you might need, and you can PM me or whatever if there is something specific on my 1/1 scale you have questions on. There are some detail shots on my restoration thread already, I will be adding more.

Cheers

 

[sapper141]

hi M813rc
already ahead of you in that dept I ended up cutting the forward glaicious off of the main upper body and attaching it to the lower section. So I could put things like the winch hatch. But yeah I used a lot of styrene to correct and fudge the interior. The plan is to have all the hatches open, including the engine where I've already built a dodge 361 engine and tranie. The thing I find annoyins is HB went to the effort build the V series the least they could do is take pictures of the interior. Don't you just love the steering wheel, I've replaced mine with one fron a Duece kit.
I am taking pictures of the project as soon as I edit them I'll try and get them on
Hopefully V-100 Commando can remember the markings that were on the right side opposite to the markings 89MP-A98 on the left for catch 22
Seeya Shane

 

[M813rc]

Excellent. We have a modeling section here, why don't you start a thread there (so we don't hijack Jeff's anymore) and share what you have done so far? I would like to see your work, I'm sure many others would too.

Cheers

 

[oldrubicon]

I was at Nha Thrang in 69 The AF used them for base defense, cool to watch . There was one for sale in army motors once for 69000

 

[Driver523]

Someone ask if any of the units had a "theme"---I believe there was a MP unit around the Qui Nhon area that had super heros on the front for graphics, but just what unit it was I don't know-----Driver

 

[V-100 Commando]

Tribute To A Fallen V

I finally finished my 69 road runner racecar. I decided to name it after the "IRON WORM" which was destroyed in combat. I'll attach a picture and my website address if you want to look further. I'm sure I will have some "splaining" to do about the name at the race track when I take it tomorrow for the first time.
I wish the guy that did my art work was in Viet Nam with us- would have made some great nose art.
www.TheIronWorm.com

Jeff

 

[Pawnshop]

I finally finished my 69 road runner racecar. I decided to name it after the "IRON WORM" which was destroyed in combat. I'll attach a picture and my website address if you want to look further. I'm sure I will have some "splaining" to do about the name at the race track when I take it tomorrow for the first time.
I wish the guy that did my art work was in Viet Nam with us- would have made some great nose art.
www.TheIronWorm.com

Jeff

THAT looks tough...

Needs to be 383 green

 

[M813rc]

Beautiful car Jeff! Is the artwork on the door from the original Worm, or is that your own creation? It would look very nice on a V.

Cheers

 

[frodobaggins]

Thanks for the cool thread, I bring gifts. Retouched photos.

 

[gsprinkel]

I have information on Proud Mary/Proud Mary II

Hello all from West Virginia. I have a little bit of information on Proud Mary and Proud Mary II for those of you who are interested. My uncle served on Proud Mary II with the 560th MP's based out of Phu Tai from Nov. 69-Jan. 71. I'm not to familiar with the history of Proud Mary I, but from what my uncle told me, Proud Mary I had the front end/axle destroyed when it ran over a land mine. He has some photos of PMI in the base compound after she was hauled back. As far as Proud Mary II is concerned, he said she was still with the 560th whenever he left in Jan. of 71. Driver- to answer your question, PMI and PMII were two different V's. Also, in the picture you have of Proud Mary II posted on the thread, I would almost bet money that the driver is my uncle. I recognize the other two crew members that he served on her with. I will get with my uncle to see if I can borrow his photo albums and hopefully (with his permission) share some photos of some of the other V's that were with the 560th. If anyone has any other questions regarding PMI/PMII, just let me know. I'll try to help as much as I can. To all of you who served in 'Nam...Welcome Home. You are greatly appreciated!!!

 

[V-100 Commando]

Frodo- thanks for touching up those old pictures. I can just make out the little bird from the "Peanuts" cartoon on "Woodstock". Wish that one in particular was better, the art work was actually quite good on that V.
Rory- Thanks for the kind words on the car- it took a long time with a big learning curve. I learned the body & paint work from watching videos and reading books (and doing it over and over again). The artwork lettering is from the original IRONWORM but the worm itself is a creation of my niece and the artist from my pathetic non-artist rendering.
Gsprinkel- Thanks for that info- who would have thunk after all these years you would be reading this. We would all be interested in more info- tell your uncle I said welcome home brother. Take care guys, let's keep this rolling.
Jeff

 

[sapper141]

Jeff
Nice looking Road Runner wish my dad had kept his 69, but he destroyed it on a return trip to CFB Borden from Nova Scotia . My uncle and him were on a beer run they walk away with out a scratch and hid the beer before the Mounties showed up, but car was totaled. Although he almost didn't survive coming home to my mom and had another two yrs of payments.

Were you and Catch 22 part of A Co, 504th MP BN when you did your tour then I can figure out the unit marking for my model of Catch 22
seeya Shane

 

[KaiserM109]

... I was the gunner on a V-100 in Vietnam stationed in Phu Bi 71-72. ... Jeff

Welcome home, brother.

I was in the south, Dong Tam, on the Mekong. The only V's we saw were ARVN units. We mostly had M113s. In the 15th Combat Engr. Bn we had 4 M113s with flame throwers like the Monitor boats had.

We welded the .50 mount on the turret ... We did try a "Honeywell" granade launcher and a mini-gun on the turret, …

Once one of our tracks was called in to secure (destroy) a crashed Cobra. They pulled the 40mm launcher off and we mounted it on an M151. 50's weren't authorized on M37s, but we mounted one anyway. When they fired a broadside the truck would lean.

The song Proud Mary has always been special to me. I was half drunk hanging from the rafters taking pic's when a Philopino band played it. The part where it says "You don't have to worry if you got no money, People on the river are happy to give" made me so homesick I started crying.

I was medivac'd out and most of my pictures didn't follow me.

Arlyn
9th ID, 15th CEB and 1/11th FA, '67 - '69

 

[remember504mp]

Here's a picture of my friend Charlie McKellick from Levittown Pa. after he cut off the end of his thumb while we were mounting a new run flat tire on "Woodstock". That's Paul Mueller from Morton Grove Ill. and Charles "Chic" Daniel from Torrance Ca. (now retired LAPD Detective), I can't remember the Sgt. name- making fun of him.
We had the good fortune to have the Phu Bai airport right behind our MP compound and when we needed tires/parts/motors, we could "intercept" shipments at night before they headed to their rightful owners up north of us (sorry about that Quan Tre V-100s). We were stupid enough to dismount/mount those run flat tires ourselves without an inflation cage. Four or five of us would take off the old one with pry bars and then put the new one on. That's where Charlie lost the thumb when we dropped the new one on the rim with his thumb still on the bead. We would attach a long airhose on it and run behind the sandbags while it inflated waiting for the explosion. None of them ever did, but looking back, studipity can be painful.
Another note on the run flats- the V could do about 65-70 MPH, but... when you had them loaded down like we did, huge amounts of 50 & 60 ammo, m79 grenades w/launchers, LAWS, hand gernades, tools, C-rations, radios, and a bunch of other junk we probably didn't need,- those tires were like huge coil springs. Once it got to bouncing at that speed it was like a bucking bronco for a very eye opening experience. Kids don't try that at home.
Jeff

Great pictures- brought back some good memories - I was the driver of the pictured Catch 22 V-100 during 1971 in Phu Bai. Some good V-100 pictures to post if anyone interested. Rich

 

[Pawnshop]

Great pictures- brought back some good memories - I was the driver of the pictured Catch 22 V-100 during 1971 in Phu Bai. Some good V-100 pictures to post if anyone interested. Rich

Welcome to the site! THANK YOU for your service! And, YES, we love photos! ESPECIALLY photos of vehicles and Steel Soldiers members serving overseas!

Sam R

 

[Stalwart]

Here is one that came on my V-100 when I got it.

 

[M813rc]

Great pictures- brought back some good memories - I was the driver of the pictured Catch 22 V-100 during 1971 in Phu Bai. Some good V-100 pictures to post if anyone interested. Rich

Welcome aboard Rich. As Sam said, we would love to see your pictures.

Anything else about them you would like to share would be welcome too. It is one thing to preserve the vehicles, and quite another to preserve their history and that of their crews.

We get things from books like "the V100 had a difficult shift pattern" but not an explanation. Since the $%^&$# shifter on mine broke right before I test drove it, I still don't know!

Stalwart, any history on that rat?

Cheers