Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
8:21 | Bob Averill remembers Marine Corps basic training and some of the men he served next to while there.
Keywords : basic training Marine battalion brotherhood Vietnam summer 1968 Tour friend 1967
Back in 1967, Bob Averill had the chance to train with the U.S. Olympic team for the biathlon. After refocusing his sights on Vietnam, he pursued his time in the service instead of on the team.
Bob Averill remembers landing in Vietnam and immediately getting shelled upon arrival. Travelling around country, Averill and his battalion had many combat interactions that fortunately ended up mostly successful for him.
After a meeting with his company commander, Bob Averill was tasked with a fire team to push further into NVA territory. While camped outside of Viet Cong territory, they would often take enemy mortars .
Relieving some fellow Marines in what they thought was a calm area, Bob Averill and his platoon were forced to think quickly once they started encountering the NVA.
Pushing to Khe Sanh, Bob Averill and his battalion were able to get their weaponry tuned up which helped them later on as they took more fire.
After some intense time in-country, Bob Averill and his battalion got the chance to take a brief leave to the beach for some recovery time. Following his time on Hill 174, Averill was reassigned to command a Combined Action Company, taking him away from Hotel Company and into a new area of operations.
After joining the 3rd Combined Action Group, Bob Averill and his group were in charge of patrolling villages in south Vietnam. There, they were able to build relationships with the local ARVN forces.
Bob Averill and his battalion had standard protocol for VC interactions and how they would form relationships with Vietnamese that were willing to help them.
There are certain memories and sensations that bring Bob Averill back to the Vietnam War and, though they were hard times, he has some memories that he won't forget. Thinking back on the war, he would like future generations to remember the sacrifices that were made by everyone involved.
After recovering from a firefight, Bob Averill had a revelation that made him feel that he wasn't going to be killed in Vietnam. His company got orders to rotate back to Camp Carroll and faced VC fire while sweeping a Vietnamese village.
Bob Averill remembers one his fellow soldiers, Crash Crattick, who was known as the joker within the division. During one particular drill, Crash had a near-incident that brought them some punishment, but they managed to laugh it off.
After Khe Sanh, Bob Averill and his division shipped down to Cam Lo, where they faced ample NVA fire. Here, he had to take the lead on throwing a grenade into the enemy bunker, leading to a close call as he quickly retreated away from the blast.
