"I served in the Army from Sep. 1966 to Aug. 1970. I enlisted in the U.S. Army Security Agency (ASA) for 4 years active duty. The ASA was a branch of the Army; however, I was under the Department of Defense instead of Dept. of the Army. Our parent organization was the National Security Agency (NSA). The ASA was not supposed to be in Vietnam, so when my orders for Vietnam came, I was transferred to the 509th Radio Research Group, Saigon, which was made up entirely of ASA personnel. That was one way to get around it, I guess. I ended up in the 335th Radio Research Company (RRC), supporting the 9th Infantry Division. I spent 3 months in the field in support of the 2nd Brigade of the 9th east of Xuan Loc along Highway 1 and about 7 months with the 3rd Brigade of the 9th as part of the Mobile Riverine Force operating in the Mekong Delta. It was the only joint Army and Navy unit in existence. Since I couldn't wear my ASA shoulder patch in Vietnam, I wore the 9th Infantry Div. patch. I spent my last 2 years of service in the U.S. and wore both patches on my uniforms. The ASA unit patch was worn on the left shoulder denoting my current unit and the 9th Inf. Div. patch on the right shoulder, denoting a past unit I served with. You could only display unit patches on the right shoulder if you served with that unit under combat conditions. In 1977, the ASA was combined with several other intelligence groups and became the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). "
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Today we honor all who have served our great nation. God bless you & thank you for your service and your sacrifice.
Great photos from times past. This was current to me as I lived and watched TV during this time. It was on the news every evening at supper time. Thanks again. RKHarm24
ReplyDeleteThank you, RKHarm24.
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