Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
8:12 | Staying on the same page as a unit and as a branch was very important for efficiency. Meetings, communication and listening to superiors was essential.
Keywords : combat enemy fire NVA (North Vietnamese Army) VC (Viet Cong) Firefight gunfire Camaraderie teamwork efficient
Mike Law remembers the climax of his time in Vietnam, when they were facing a lot of enemy fire and firing a lot on enemies. Loss of life was always a problem during training and combat.
Mike Law remembers attending college and joining the ROTC program which prompted his enlistment in the Army.
Mike Law remembers finishing school with plenty of flying time where he felt like he began to get proficient at flying. Operating his aircraft in Vietnam was always difficult with the NVA constantly shifting and having to learn their changing routes.
Mike Law remembers one of the encounters he had trying to help a soldier who he had known from earlier in training. Flying in to a hot LZ with protection from a turret kept enemy fire off of them while they airlifted their men out of there. Locating the source of enemy fire, they were able to take care of the objective quickly.
Mike Law remembers some of the mechanics behind the explosives they used in Vietnam. Learning the intricacies of the aircrafts and detonatives they used was essential. The connections he made during his time in the service are still with him today.
Mike Law remembers some of his more memorable kills over the jungles of Vietnam and some of the funny events that can come from that. Building camaraderie overtime was very easy as the guys got used to serving next to one another.
With not much time left in country, Mike Law remembers being apprehensive about flying with the fear of getting shot down right before he went home. Seeing old friends that he served with was always nostalgic and brought back good memories.
After getting out of the military, Mike Law decided to go to graduate school for computer science and ended up going to a school he initially didn't have on his radar.
