Oral history interview with Timothy M. McCue, 2000.

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Oral history interview with Timothy M. McCue, 2000.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61285319

Timothy M. McCue, a Madison, Wisconsin native, discusses his Vietnam War service as an airborne ranger with the 11th Light Infantry of the 23rd Division, including leading small patrols of American soldiers who called in air strikes. McCue states he enlisted and had basic training at Fort Campbell (Kentucky). He talks about pre-jump school at Fort Gordon (Georgia), airborne infantry training and officer candidate school at Fort Benning (Georgia), assignment to Alpha Company in the 75th Airborne Rangers, ranger school at Fort Benning and Eglin Air Force Base (Florida), and jungle warfare school in Panama. McCue evaluates the effectiveness and high difficulty of ranger training, stating that it saved his life in Vietnam. Sent to Vietnam, he was assigned as a platoon leader to Delta Company, 11th Light Infantry Brigade, 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 23rd Infantry Division. Stationed near the Laotian boarder at Firebase San Juan Hill, he details recruiting and training volunteers to rebuild a reconnaissance platoon that had been completely destroyed during the Tet Offensive. He talks about leading patrols along Highway 9, fighting with a group of replacements to retake Khe Sanh, and preparations for the invasion of Laos. McCue describes the South Vietnamese Army, characterizing it as "corrupt," with excellent soldiers but poor leadership. He explains why not allowing Americans to fight in Laos was a disastrous mistake. McCue also voices criticism of General Creighton Abrams for dismantling the special forces troops and General Westmoreland for failing to change tactics in a jungle war and halting the Marine Corps' Civil Action Program. McCue states that jealousy towards airborne officers caused unnecessary rivalry, and he reflects on the downside of the military's officer promotion requirements. He praises General Weyand for his tactics during the Tet Offensive. McCue describes training his men with the M16, a typical patrol on "hardball trails," ambushing enemy camps, calling in air strikes on Vietnamese positions, and using guerilla tactics. He reflects on the intense training of the North Vietnamese Army for specific missions and his feelings that Americans were better soldiers because their training was not mission specific. McCue mentions the effect of the anti-war movement on the United State's withdrawal from Vietnam and being treated like a pariah by his former classmates. He analyzes the causes of the war and why, though "tactically and strategically we won the war," the United States pulled out of Vietnam. He compares the corruption in South Vietnam politics to the corruption of the Central and South American militaries. McCue describes the food and equipment his teams used in the field, the necessity of sometimes leaving behind wounded or dead, and the logistics of cigarette breaks while on patrol. He touches on being wounded by shrapnel and his R&R in Hong Kong. McCue mentions using the GI Bill to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Sound recording : 2 sound cassettes (ca. 90 min.) : analog, 1 7/8 ips.Videorecording : 1 videocassette (ca. 90 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.Master sound recording : 1 sound cassette (ca. 90 min.) : analog, 1 7/8 ips.Transcript : 44 p.Military papers : 0.1 linear ft. (1 folder)

Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center

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SNAC Resource ID: 7802023

Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center

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McCue, Timothy M., 1950-

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McCue (b.1950) served in the later years of the Vietnam War with the 23rd Infantry Division. He returned to Wisconsin after the war, eventually settling in Middleton. From the description of Oral history interview with Timothy M. McCue, 2000. (Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center). WorldCat record id: 61285319 ...

Abrams, Creighton Williams, Jr., 1914-1974

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