Blood Sweat and Tears

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wgtactical
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Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by wgtactical » Thu Sep 08, 2022 1:32 pm

Cleaning up a bit around the shop and ended up giving the V100 a sponge bath. Still searching for some Vietnam era photo's of this machine while it served with the 504th MP C company '69-'72
Any help greatly appreciated!

Image
http://www.youtube.com/OSMWI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.osmwi.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
M114 Modified, turret, VORTEC
M114 Modified, camo, 5.7 TBI
M114A1E1 FULL Restoration
M715 FULL CUSTOM
M548A1
V-100 FULL CUSTOM

GCSO M114 SWAT
GCSO LAV-150 SWAT
SCSO LAV-150 SWAT
CCPD LAV-300 SWAT


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wgtactical
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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by wgtactical » Sat Nov 19, 2022 6:08 am

Making progress on the turret parts. The original finish on this fire control box was removed and white Cerakote and laser engraving/color fill replaced the ink stamped markings. This control box mounted on the traversing gearbox and controlled the twin M73 mg's

We will re-wrap the wiring harness before we reinstall it to give it the final restored touch.

Image
http://www.youtube.com/OSMWI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.osmwi.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
M114 Modified, turret, VORTEC
M114 Modified, camo, 5.7 TBI
M114A1E1 FULL Restoration
M715 FULL CUSTOM
M548A1
V-100 FULL CUSTOM

GCSO M114 SWAT
GCSO LAV-150 SWAT
SCSO LAV-150 SWAT
CCPD LAV-300 SWAT

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Austringer
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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by Austringer » Sun Nov 20, 2022 3:03 pm

Super nice!
Jason Green
Atlanta, Ga

STILL NOT associated with the Georgia MVPA 15 years and counting as long as that one guy is president of the club....

1963 Willys M151 (under resto)
1969 M706E1
1983 M106A2

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wgtactical
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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by wgtactical » Sun Nov 20, 2022 4:03 pm

Austringer wrote:
Sun Nov 20, 2022 3:03 pm
Super nice!
Thanks Austringer I appreciate the kind words. I have to say that considering what I had assumed the size of this site to be, I would have expected more interest in this sort of vehicle. Any tips on what I may be missing? :lol:
http://www.youtube.com/OSMWI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.osmwi.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
M114 Modified, turret, VORTEC
M114 Modified, camo, 5.7 TBI
M114A1E1 FULL Restoration
M715 FULL CUSTOM
M548A1
V-100 FULL CUSTOM

GCSO M114 SWAT
GCSO LAV-150 SWAT
SCSO LAV-150 SWAT
CCPD LAV-300 SWAT

Stefan77
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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by Stefan77 » Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:32 am

I am sure there is a lot of interest! That is a really cool vehicle with a great history, especially after finding the zipo and its owner. Probably the challenge is the title of the post which doesn't really tell/list the type of vehicle.

I enjoy seeing pictures of it.

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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by wgtactical » Tue Feb 14, 2023 4:42 am

Stefan77 wrote:
Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:32 am
I am sure there is a lot of interest! That is a really cool vehicle with a great history, especially after finding the zipo and its owner. Probably the challenge is the title of the post which doesn't really tell/list the type of vehicle.

I enjoy seeing pictures of it.
Thank you. Unfortunately this site doesn't allow edits to posts which would be useful for such oversights. Evidently at some point and time someone left and took down all their posts on their way out...at least now any posts we put up become property of the site and cannot be altered or deleted.

I've followed up on every lead that has presented itself, with some leading to an obituary. I'm hearing that for some Vietnam vets, they prefer the past to remain just that...the past. Regrettably any memories and trivia that they hold will fade when they do, leaving little more than another blank page in history. I will continue to do my part by capturing as much as I can relating to this project, but aside from finding Don Tillman and being able to place his long lost zippo into his hand in the very spot he dropped it 52 years earlier, I have serious doubts that any more news will happen. Let's face it, every hour that ticks away shrinks the window of opportunity of hearing from another vet that was there and has something to tell. It has been an interesting journey though, at least I can say I tried.
http://www.youtube.com/OSMWI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.osmwi.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
M114 Modified, turret, VORTEC
M114 Modified, camo, 5.7 TBI
M114A1E1 FULL Restoration
M715 FULL CUSTOM
M548A1
V-100 FULL CUSTOM

GCSO M114 SWAT
GCSO LAV-150 SWAT
SCSO LAV-150 SWAT
CCPD LAV-300 SWAT

Bradym114
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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by Bradym114 » Tue Feb 14, 2023 10:21 am

It's really hard to find information on some of this stuff. I have an m76 otter that i was lucky enough to talk to a gentleman who crewed one in Vietnam and got some awesome pictures of them in use. But to try and find the exact crew and service history is another story. I also talked to a guy who crewed a m114 that was in the same unit as my m114 but not the exact machine.

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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by Stefan77 » Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:07 am

Sadly our Vietnam Vets are dwindling. I knew a man (Rocky Stone) that was one of six survivors of Hill 875 in Dak To. I never got to meet him in person sadly, but there is a famous picture of him with his head up against a tree. He said that was taken when he realized how many of his fellow Soldiers had been lost.

Sad to see us loosing that history.

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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by wgtactical » Wed Mar 08, 2023 4:14 pm

Bradym114 wrote:
Tue Feb 14, 2023 10:21 am
It's really hard to find information on some of this stuff. I have an m76 otter that i was lucky enough to talk to a gentleman who crewed one in Vietnam and got some awesome pictures of them in use. But to try and find the exact crew and service history is another story. I also talked to a guy who crewed a m114 that was in the same unit as my m114 but not the exact machine.
Yes it is hard and getting worse by the day. I read in some of the Facebook groups relating to the 504th where veterans are passing all too often. What A.O., PTSD and other causes didn't pick off, natural causes are now taking. Really sad that so many stories will never be repeated.
http://www.youtube.com/OSMWI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.osmwi.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
M114 Modified, turret, VORTEC
M114 Modified, camo, 5.7 TBI
M114A1E1 FULL Restoration
M715 FULL CUSTOM
M548A1
V-100 FULL CUSTOM

GCSO M114 SWAT
GCSO LAV-150 SWAT
SCSO LAV-150 SWAT
CCPD LAV-300 SWAT

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wgtactical
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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by wgtactical » Wed Mar 08, 2023 4:21 pm

Stefan77 wrote:
Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:07 am
Sadly our Vietnam Vets are dwindling. I knew a man (Rocky Stone) that was one of six survivors of Hill 875 in Dak To. I never got to meet him in person sadly, but there is a famous picture of him with his head up against a tree. He said that was taken when he realized how many of his fellow Soldiers had been lost.

Sad to see us loosing that history.
Yes sir, very sad indeed. At least this soldier was able to explain past the proverbial 1000 words that a picture tells.

I had to search for that photo as I had never heard or seen it before...incredible now that I know what was going through his mind.
Image
http://www.youtube.com/OSMWI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.osmwi.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
M114 Modified, turret, VORTEC
M114 Modified, camo, 5.7 TBI
M114A1E1 FULL Restoration
M715 FULL CUSTOM
M548A1
V-100 FULL CUSTOM

GCSO M114 SWAT
GCSO LAV-150 SWAT
SCSO LAV-150 SWAT
CCPD LAV-300 SWAT

Stefan77
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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by Stefan77 » Thu Mar 09, 2023 11:31 am

wgtactical wrote:
Wed Mar 08, 2023 4:21 pm
Stefan77 wrote:
Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:07 am
Sadly our Vietnam Vets are dwindling. I knew a man (Rocky Stone) that was one of six survivors of Hill 875 in Dak To. I never got to meet him in person sadly, but there is a famous picture of him with his head up against a tree. He said that was taken when he realized how many of his fellow Soldiers had been lost.

Sad to see us loosing that history.
Yes sir, very sad indeed. At least this soldier was able to explain past the proverbial 1000 words that a picture tells.

I had to search for that photo as I had never heard or seen it before...incredible now that I know what was going through his mind.
Image
Rocky told me that picture was taken after he realized that he was one of six survivors of his platoon.

Knowing that really brings context to that picture. It you look at those trees in the picture you will notice how badly damaged/destroyed they are. By the accounts that was all triple canopy at the beginning of the fight for Hill 875. The accounts from that fight are pretty moving from the 500 lb bomb that was dropped into the casualty collection point killing Chaplain Watters after he had been moving under fire to collect and help treat the wounded and the dead. To PFC Lozado who stood alone with an M60 to deny a Vietnamese Army Company the ability to flank them. To the radio operator who was crying and begging the field artillery to if I remember the quote correctly "please, please stop helping" as the rounds landed short.

I researched that battle a long time ago. Lots of post humous medals of honor out of that fight and a lot of that stemming from peoples own hubris, sadly. But, hindsight.

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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by bharr45 » Thu Mar 09, 2023 2:03 pm

When you contacted Don Tilman, was he not able to furnish any leads with former veterans. Surely they have some type of reunions. How about where the unit was based stateside? Area Veteran Hospitals near the base? While I'm not computer savvy and don't do Facebook, there seems to be hundreds if not thousands of groups there. Find some young person to help you search there. In 2016, I was fortunate to locate a group that consisted of Veterans assigned to Quad 50's, Dusters and Searchlight jeeps (I have one) during Vietnam and was invited to bring it to their Washington, DC Reunion. I'm not a veteran, but the stories those guys told made for an incredible weekend!!!! You might try contacting Army Motors magazine and offer your story for publication, that might bear fruit. Think outside the box and keep digging!!!!! Another magazine is History in Motion, the magazine of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association- MVPA. that would be another good article for submission. I know I'm rambling, but I keep getting ideas. Sooner or later you will get gold!! Your story about returning the lighter to Don is worthy of a documentary!!! Don't give up.........

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wgtactical
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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by wgtactical » Thu Mar 09, 2023 2:17 pm

bharr45 wrote:
Thu Mar 09, 2023 2:03 pm
When you contacted Don Tilman, was he not able to furnish any leads with former veterans. Surely they have some type of reunions. How about where the unit was based stateside? Area Veteran Hospitals near the base? While I'm not computer savvy and don't do Facebook, there seems to be hundreds if not thousands of groups there. Find some young person to help you search there. In 2016, I was fortunate to locate a group that consisted of Veterans assigned to Quad 50's, Dusters and Searchlight jeeps (I have one) during Vietnam and was invited to bring it to their Washington, DC Reunion. I'm not a veteran, but the stories those guys told made for an incredible weekend!!!! You might try contacting Army Motors magazine and offer your story for publication, that might bear fruit. Think outside the box and keep digging!!!!! Another magazine is History in Motion, the magazine of the Military Vehicle Preservation Association- MVPA. that would be another good article for submission. I know I'm rambling, but I keep getting ideas. Sooner or later you will get gold!! Your story about returning the lighter to Don is worthy of a documentary!!! Don't give up.........
Thank you for your input! Don has reached out to a lot of folks and even placed an ad in Vietnam Veterans of America magazine. He ended up with a few leads that we have since exhausted. We've both frequented every relevant Facebook group and have yet to find anyone that can assist, but we're not giving up. I feel pretty confident that we could have hit pay dirt if we could have started as little as a year earlier as at least two promising leads passed away within a couple months of us getting this project underway. I look through youtube videos along with each and every album or random photo from the Vietnam war hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive V100...we know they're out there somewhere.
http://www.youtube.com/OSMWI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.osmwi.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
M114 Modified, turret, VORTEC
M114 Modified, camo, 5.7 TBI
M114A1E1 FULL Restoration
M715 FULL CUSTOM
M548A1
V-100 FULL CUSTOM

GCSO M114 SWAT
GCSO LAV-150 SWAT
SCSO LAV-150 SWAT
CCPD LAV-300 SWAT

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wgtactical
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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by wgtactical » Thu Mar 09, 2023 2:19 pm

Stefan77 wrote:
Thu Mar 09, 2023 11:31 am
wgtactical wrote:
Wed Mar 08, 2023 4:21 pm
Stefan77 wrote:
Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:07 am
Sadly our Vietnam Vets are dwindling. I knew a man (Rocky Stone) that was one of six survivors of Hill 875 in Dak To. I never got to meet him in person sadly, but there is a famous picture of him with his head up against a tree. He said that was taken when he realized how many of his fellow Soldiers had been lost.

Sad to see us loosing that history.
Yes sir, very sad indeed. At least this soldier was able to explain past the proverbial 1000 words that a picture tells.

I had to search for that photo as I had never heard or seen it before...incredible now that I know what was going through his mind.
Image
Rocky told me that picture was taken after he realized that he was one of six survivors of his platoon.

Knowing that really brings context to that picture. It you look at those trees in the picture you will notice how badly damaged/destroyed they are. By the accounts that was all triple canopy at the beginning of the fight for Hill 875. The accounts from that fight are pretty moving from the 500 lb bomb that was dropped into the casualty collection point killing Chaplain Watters after he had been moving under fire to collect and help treat the wounded and the dead. To PFC Lozado who stood alone with an M60 to deny a Vietnamese Army Company the ability to flank them. To the radio operator who was crying and begging the field artillery to if I remember the quote correctly "please, please stop helping" as the rounds landed short.

I researched that battle a long time ago. Lots of post humous medals of honor out of that fight and a lot of that stemming from peoples own hubris, sadly. But, hindsight.
I appreciate you sharing that story, otherwise I may have stumbled across the photo but would probably have never known of the significance of it. Pretty powerful when it's put into context.
http://www.youtube.com/OSMWI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.osmwi.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
M114 Modified, turret, VORTEC
M114 Modified, camo, 5.7 TBI
M114A1E1 FULL Restoration
M715 FULL CUSTOM
M548A1
V-100 FULL CUSTOM

GCSO M114 SWAT
GCSO LAV-150 SWAT
SCSO LAV-150 SWAT
CCPD LAV-300 SWAT

Stefan77
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Re: Blood Sweat and Tears

Post by Stefan77 » Fri Mar 10, 2023 6:22 am

It is pretty moving to say the least.

When I researched Hill 875 there wasn't a lot of documentation, even in the records at Fort Leavenworth. What little I did find pointed to 173rd Sky Soldiers relieving 4 ID and 173rd not listening or conducting a proper relief because they believed they knew the enemy in the area better then 4ID who had been fighting the Vietnamese Army did.

Background is that 173rd had been fighting the irregular forces and didn't realize the difference in tactics or capabilities. As a result 173rd basically lost a BN on Hill 875.


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