Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
10:41 | It was his worst day in Vietnam. Tim Orr's unit was breaking camp and the mortar crew was going to fire off some unused ammo so they didn't have to carry it back. Something went wrong and the rounds began to fall right on top of his squad.
Keywords : Tim Orr Vietnam friendly fire Firebase Ross mortar first aid Corpsman Danny Music shrapnel Kurt Collier Da Nang Medical Evacuation (Medevac) court martial
His father was very disappointed. Tim Orr wasn't doing well at college and was about to lose his student deferment. Knowing that his dad was a Marine veteran, maybe becoming a Marine himself would smooth things over.
His Marine MOS out of boot camp was 0331, machine gunner. Tim Orr finished his infantry training and flew off to Vietnam where an overwhelming bad smell smacked him in the face as he walked off the plane. Soon he was standing lone 2 AM watch in the bush.
The Marines in the machine gun squad were great guys. They welcomed Tim Orr into the fold when he arrived in Vietnam and he has kept in touch with some of them through the years.
It was relentless for the Marines. Tim Orr remembers the cycle well. Go into the bush and dig in. Set up ambushes at night and patrols during the day. Then move to another spot and repeat. When the regiment was sent home early, he volunteered to stay as a part of a special unit which moved into a village and stayed there, protecting the villagers from the VC.
The Marines enjoyed robust artillery and air support in Vietnam. They did not enjoy the booby traps, though. Tim Orr recalls an incident in which his squad narrowly avoided a disaster when a trip wire was nearly triggered. Another favorite method of the VC was to put hand grenades in old C-ration cans.
Tim Orr served the last two months of his time at Quantico playing an aggressor for OCS war games. Then he was out of the Marine Corps and in a country that was uninterested in anyone who was in that war in Vietnam. Undeterred, he built a solid career for himself.
