“An Experience That Can’t Be Duplicated”: Service In Vietnam With The 173rd Airborne Brigade

Paul Gillenwater was born in March 1943 and grew up in Alaska. His parents married in the fall of 1941, shortly after his father had enlisted in the Army in June. He served in electronics and communications, retiring 20 years later as a Chief Warrant Officer 2. He was assigned to Alaska Communications, which was responsible for both civilian and military communications in the Territory at that time. During the war, non-residents of Alaska were evacuated to the States, and Paul’s mother returned to her family’s dairy farm in Portland, Oregon, with baby Paul. Her father had been a sharpshooter in the Swiss Army, and he met her mother in Wisconsin before moving to Oregon. While his family was in Oregon, Paul’s father served on Adak Island in the Aleutians. After the war, Paul’s father remained with Alaska Communications and the family lived in Seattle before moving to Petersburg, Alaska, where Paul learned to ski. During this period, Paul’s father was working on the DEW Line (Distant Early Warning), a series of radar stations tracking the Soviets. During his childhood, Paul spent time living in both Fairbanks, Alaska, and Seattle, Washington. When his dad retired from the Army as a CW2, the family moved to Portland. After high school, Paul decided to attend the Military Academy, and remembers flying from Portland to New York City. He recalls living in a state of shock during his first week at the Academy, and even though he does not remember much about Beast Barracks, he recalls shooting well with the M-14. He enjoyed his German classes and translated WWII German AARs from the Eastern Front. He sang in the Protestant Chapel Choir and felt that Sundays were a relief. He also participated on the Mountaineering Team and enjoyed skiing. By the time he graduated, he had taken courses in electrical engineering and international relations and felt that his education was beyond parallel. He commissioned into the Infantry and knew that he would eventually go to Vietnam. His first assignment was at Ft. Hood, where he served in B Co, 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry, in the 2nd Armored Division. In short order, he found himself the Company Commander with a bunch of new Soldiers from New York. Within a year, he deployed to Vietnam and was assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He landed in Saigon in June 1967 and spent a week in the brigade’s jungle school before flying to Dak To, where he joined CPT Willoughby’s B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry. He was assigned to 2nd Platoon, and his Platoon Sergeant, SFC Kitchen, was new as well. He recalls finding a Soldier asleep on watch one night in the jungle and “pummeling” him, noting, “We were scared; we hadn’t seen combat yet.” On one patrol, A Company ran into an NVA Battalion and lost 80 Soldiers. Two of his classmates, Richard Hood and Donald Judd, were killed in that fight on June 22, 1967. B Company linked up with C Company and patrolled to the west to find the enemy. Eventually they found the enemy and assaulted, and Paul remembers taking hours to calm down after the engagement. He learned valuable lessons from his first combat experience. When CPT Willoughby left command, he was replaced by CPT Rogan, and Paul became the Company XO. When he was operating in the “tri-border” area he noticed how well supplied the North Vietnamese were, and he blames President Johnson for stopping the bombing. In mid-November, when 1st Platoon walked into an ambush and the Platoon Leader was killed, Paul was called on to replace him. To relieve pressure on the lead platoon, Paul ordered a counterattack. The combat was intense, and that night, “Puff” (AC-130 gunship) put a ring of fire around the platoon. Paul’s platoon endured a chaotic night, with the Soldiers digging in and working to strengthen their line. A wounded SPC5 medic continued to treat other wounded Soldiers until he bled out. The next day, A Company linked up with Paul’s element, and they made it back to the fire support base. After a three-day R&R in Vung Tau, Paul returned to Dak To. He later realized that he suffered Post Traumatic Stress from the counterattack, and even though his “men did exactly what they were supposed to do,” he “kept wrapped pretty tight.” He then describes guarding bridges on Route 19 to protect convoys to Pleiku in the same location that French Force Mobile 100 was ambushed years earlier (June 24, 1954). Paul was then assigned as the Weapons Platoon Leader and fought during the Tet Offensive, although he was in the field at the time and did not realize what was going on. Paul describes CPT Jim Rogan’s death on March 8, 1968, while trying to defend a convoy on Route 19. Paul then took R&R in Bangkok. After returning to B Company, Paul was again assigned as the Company XO. On his second tour, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Cavalry before becoming the G3 Plans Officer for 4th Infantry Division and planning to send units home from Vietnam. After a period serving as a liaison with the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam), he was assigned to Task Force South in Phan Thiet, serving as an Assistant Brigade S3. After returning from Vietnam, he took command of Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry at Ft. Sill. There, he met his wife on a blind date and they “hit it off.” Next, he was assigned to Army Reserve and National Guard Readiness Region 9, responsible for keeping those forces trained and ready. He then returned to Ft. Sill and encountered numerous challenges facing the Army in the mid to late 1970s, including lack of discipline, drug use, racial tensions, violence, and the transition to the All-Volunteer Force (VOLAR). By 1978, he was promoted to Major and volunteered for duty in Germany, where he experienced the intensity of the Cold War against the Soviets. He was assigned as the G3 Plans Officer for V Corps, followed by duty with EWCAS (Electronic Warfare Close Air Support), and AFCENT (Allied Forces Central Europe). Duty as the Senior Advisor to the Guam National Guard followed, and his final assignment was at Ft. Leavenworth, where he served as the Chief of Studies and Analysis. After retiring, he worked in the North Las Vegas Detention facility, starting out in their supply room. At the end of the interview, he reflects on his service and what West Point means to him.