Plot overview:
The year is 1967. The cold War continues to warm up as both the Communist and the Free World continue to be locked in a conflict known as the Vietnam War. In this small Southeast Asian country, a bloody war rage on. While on the homefront in the United States, the anti-war movement is starting to shake national opinion of the war, in Vietnam the allies of the American forces would begin to launch a series of operations to push deep into the north. However, Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces would begin to entrench and soon some of the bloodiest battles in the war’s history were about to begin.

Rules:
1.This is a realistic war story, I expect everyone to read over this carefully and act as such.
2.Your character could die at any moment, this is a war story.
3.Please, show respect for the plot, this is inspired by real world events where people have died.
4.Fill out your character sheet to the best of your ability.
5.Please work with me as a GM, this is a huge undertaking for everyone in this roleplay and I want everyone to be satisfied, as well as follow along.

Hope I did that right. Posted.

@HeySeuss

So, your character's an air-force pilot?

@HeySeuss

So, your character's an air-force pilot?

Yeah, USAF helicopter pilot, flying rescue choppers. SAR is pretty intricate, dangerous work, particularly CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue.)

@HeySeuss

Ah, so a Huey then?

@HeySeuss

Ah, so a Huey then?

Actually, an HH-3E Jolly Green Giant

Hueys will see use here as well. As will other models of helicopter and some fixed-wing.

@HeySeuss

Oh, a super stallion. Hmm, would that mean you want to be behind the lines?

Actually, the task is to retrieve downed air crew and otherwise perform combat search and rescue functions. So these craft often were behind enemy lines making the pickups. They also had some support in this endeavor. In this sort of situation, they were exposed to a lot of risk, but these were extremely brave, badassed airmen. HH-3's had a lot of range on them and they were faster than Hueys, despite the size. They're armored in key points, including cockpit and engines, which means they are more survivable. There's a number of factors why they are the go-to for CSAR operations in this era.

The CH-53 (or HH-53B's, which are phased in later 1967 and start operating immediately in Southeast Asia) has more speed, which is why they are phased in. They also have more armament for suppressing the enemy on the ground while performing these duties.

For example:

"Due to the nature of combat operations, particularly in Southeast Asia, many of the operational H-3 crews received honors and awards. The highest American military award, the Medal of Honor, was awarded to Captain Gerald Young, USAF, on 9 November 1967. Young piloted an HH-3E, AF Ser. No. 66-13279, of the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron in an attempt to rescue a US Army Special Forces reconnaissance team trapped by enemy fire in Laos. When his aircraft was shot down, he escaped the burning wreckage and, despite severe wounds, evaded capture for 17 hours until being rescued[8]. Six men were aboard 66-13279 when it went down just after midnight on the morning of 09 Nov: four aircrew from the 37th ARRS (Young, Capt Ralph W. Brower, SSgt Eugene L. Clay, and Sgt Larry W. Maysey) and two wounded recon team members from Command & Control Central, MACV SOG (MSG Bruce R. Baxter and SGT Joseph G. Kusick). Late on 09 Nov Captain Young was recovered and a four-man recovery team inserted into the crash site, but darkness precluded a detailed search of the wreckage. On the morning of 10 Nov, three charred remains (two crewmen and Kusick) were removed from the wreckage and placed with MSG Baxter's remains about 40 meters from the wreckage (Baxter had been thrown clear) to permit recovery by a single hoist. However, a combination of weather and renewed enemy action forced the recovery team to leave the crash site without the recovered remains; although the recovery team was picked up safely, the four remains could not be retrieved. The remains of the third aircrewman were not found. "

LTC Kevin F. Murphy is posted in the characters tab. I hope he is acceptable. I dug into my history to come up with a competent service history to include an image of his ribbon rack on his dress green uniform. I also included the BN CSM and staff of 1-503 as I intend to not focus on one character, the BC, but several members of this airborne battalion from youngest private to the Old Man.

@HeySeuss

Ah, I see. Well maybe I can factor that into the RP, but it would depend. I need a perspective so having people doing too many things at once could be possibly difficult to manage, at least with a war going on.

Maybe I could create a scenario where a search and rescue would fit into the story.

@Gunther

Wow, I really liked your character! The only thing is if I don't know if they would directly have a leadership role for the other characters or not, but we can work that out as the plot comes along. Still, very nice and detailed effort!

They would not have a direct leadership role. In fact, everyone would operate independently serving a common goal.

Once we know what units are represented, I can help put something together with you. So far, we have all the components to rewrite the Dak To campaign. It was two brigades of the 4th ID and two airborne battalions from the 173rd.

@Gunther I see, well if I recall two other people had interest. I'm going to try to get at least five people, (one being myself) into here to let everyone get settled in. Oh, and I still have to make our antagonist. I'm not sure if Spetznaz was still a thing back in the Cold War, but I was thinking of instead of a Chinese advisor, it's a Russian.

@Gunther I see, well if I recall two other people had interest. I'm going to try to get at least five people, (one being myself) into here to let everyone get settled in. Oh, and I still have to make our antagonist. I'm not sure if Spetznaz was still a thing back in the Cold War, but I was thinking of instead of a Chinese advisor, it's a Russian.

Spetsnaz existed since 1950 after their formalization by Georgy Zhukov. But of course, before that were NKVD saboteur teams, which were Spetsnaz in all but name.

In other news, I've been a bit sick the last few days, but I'm trying to sit down and properly hash out my character, which will be taking command of Company A, 1-503rd PIR, 173rd Abn.

The word Spetsnaz is simply defined as "Special Forces". The troops who fall under this all encompassing term could be counter terrorist specialists, Long Range Recon troops, Raiders or SF troops who assist indigenous forces. There are several different formations who serve different purposes. But yes, a Russian Spetsnaz trooper or 8 would fit in nicely here in the role of "assisting indigenous forces." That is the same role as US Army Special Forces.

In October, 1967 the 1st PAVN Division with the 32nd and 66th PAVN regiments were operating in the Central Highlands and had drawn the 173rd Brigade and the 1st Brigade, 4th ID into a fierce fight in the Mountains by the end of the month. In November, the 10th PAVN division consisting of the 174th and 175th PAVN Regiments reinforced the 1st Division. The fight over Dak To lasted most of the month. It was some of the fiercest fighting between North Vietnamese and US forces.

Coincidentally, I watched a documentary this afternoon on the battle of Dak To on the Military History channel.

I could swing the Soviet side of the conflict if you’re at all interested. Not that there’s a lot of diversity of units for them. GRU handled the bulk of operations in the region.

@Prizrak That's possible, I was thinking of having the real Soviet leaderhips be officers and advisors. Simply because an all out conflict with the United States and other powers would mean nuclear war. Thus, your character would be on the sidelines, that is until their area becomes under attack. I would suspect the Soviets to preforming under the table operations and not going out on the battlefield to shoot Americans.

During the Korean War, the USSR sent "volunteer" fighter pilots to assist Chinese and North Korean pilots fight against the US. The Soviet pilots primarily served as instructor/advisors. On occasion, the Soviet pilots who undoubtedly had accumulated a wealth of experience fighting against the Germans less than ten years earlier were allowed to fly MiG-15s with Chinese markings against US F-86s. The American pilots could tell when an experienced (Soviet) pilot was flying. They were much harder to get an advantage over. The American pilots referred to these "experienced" pilots as Honchos. Some of these guys were probably aces who had seen abundant combat action fighting against FW-150s, Bf-109s and Me-110s.