“Our Guns Glowed Red”: “High-Angle” Tangel In The A Shau Valley

Walt Tangel enlisted in the Army after graduating from Brooklyn Technical High School, and hoped to serve as an enlisted engineer, but he did so well on the Army aptitude tests that he was offered Officer Candidate School. He became a Field Artillery Officer, and by August 1968, he was in Vietnam, assigned to B Battery, 2-11 Field Artillery in the 101st Airborne Division. His guns supported the Division’s operations in the A Shau Valley, to include the Battle of Hamburger Hill and the North Vietnamese attacks on fire bases after the withdrawal from Dong Ap Bia. After returning from Vietnam and leaving the Army, he became a police officer, and served in many law enforcement positions until his retirement after a career of 40 years. In this interview, he talks about his childhood, joining the Army, and his experiences in basic training and OCS. He describes in great detail his service in Vietnam, provides explanations of different techniques of fire support, and recalls the attributes of several of the leaders he served with. He discusses his many years as a police officer, and relates law enforcement to leadership and service in the military. Finally, he pays tribute to many of the Soldiers he served with who were killed in Vietnam.