Viet Nam 1970-71
The author held a US Army press pass that entitled him to close-up seating and access to post-event press conferences. This collection of images was digitally scanned from Ektachrome slides thirty-plus years after the event. May God bless the Vietnam veterans on all sides of the conflict! May the Vietnamese people always live in peace! © 1970, MJ Roche.
Mail call in front of the hooch at Cu Chi. The 3/13th Field Artillery basecamp area was noted for having red and yellow accents painted throughout the HQ unit, including rocks lining the walkways. CSM Monsees was a very serious soldier. Since we were all prettied up and directly next to the wire, was the 3/13th a target for VC rockets? Photo by Ed Yocum. Củ Chi Base Camp was established in 1965 near Highway 1, 25 km northwest of Tan Son Nhut Air Base and 50 km southeast of Tây Ninh. The camp was located south of the Vietcong stronghold known as the Iron Triangle and was near, and in some cases above, the Cu Chi Tunnels. © 1970, MJ Roche.
Just outside "the wire" at Di An Basecamp, February, 1971.
Symbolism: The colors red and white are the traditional cavalry colors and the rearing black horse alludes to the "Black Horse" nickname of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
Background: This insignia was approved on 1 May 1967. © 1970, MJ Roche.Overlooking the Michelin rubber plantation just west of Cu Chi a 155mm self-propelled howitzer fires a round in support of 25th Infantry Division troops (3/13th Artillery Battalion). Photo by Mike Roche with an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic, one of the first, popular 35mm single lens reflex cameras, with TriX Pan 400 ISO film (in October 1970). This photo was accepted into the permanent collection of the Veteran's Art Museum, Chicago, IL, 2016. © 1970, MJ Roche.
Homemade Christmas card mailed home, December, 1970. (17th Public Information Detachment, 11 Armored Cavalry Regiment, Di An, RVN). Bottom row left to right Ralph ..., Jack McAllister, Ed Yocum. Middle row Mike Roche, Bob Eveler. Top row Jeff Lowe, Rod Covington, Joe Marchesani, Darrel Jensen.
Taken in the rec. area at the back of the 17th PID hooch, which combined our barracks and our office. Processed in the 11th ACR Photo Lab Duece-and-a-Half at Di An by Ed Yocum. Photo by RJ House 28th Military History Detachment, Di An.The pock-marked countryside outside of Cu Chi where the 25th Infantry Division basecamp was located. Seen from a Huey helicopter in September 1970. Many of these "pools" were later used by the Vietnamese for fish farming. Unexploded US Ordinance is still being found in 2015 throughout the Vietnamese countryside. © 1971, MJ Roche.