Alan Basham enlisted in the Navy in 1967 and trained as a hospital corpsman with a special emphasis in air-sea rescue and medical evacuation. In Vietnam, Basham was among an elite team of Fleet Marine Force medevac corpsmen (MAG-16 Flying Docs) who flew medevac missions with USMC helicopter crews. After returning to the United States, he left the military and embarked on a career in psychology, training students in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Eastern Washington University for twenty-two years.
Chapters:
0:00 – Training with the Marines
2:33 – Hand to Hand Combat
3:12 – Aviation Medical Training
6:38 – Surprise Orders to Vietnam
8:30 – “Welcome to the Nam, Doc”
10:42 – Volunteering to Fly
12:04 – “The Wild Bunch”
13:10 – Marble Mountain Medevac
17:35 – Scariest Guys in the War
18:27 – Fighting with the Marines
18:43 – My Worst Mission
24:44 – Saving 7 Marines
33:54 – An Unbelievable Scene
36:28 – “I had Become the War”
42:00 – Marine Brotherhood
42:52 – Call Signs, Friendship, & War
46:18 – Types of Wounds
47:08 – Booby traps
48:05 – Street Fight in the Jungle
48:20 – A Grotesque Day
53:02 – Homecoming & PTSD
56:47 – Reflections
36件のコメント
This was so powerful. God Bless you Sir. Tears filled my eyes listening to his descriptions of his time there are palpable.
WOW Thank you all .god bless you all 🙏🙏🙏👍❤
Did anyone ever find out what these brave men were doing in Vietnam ?
Thanks to all these men who gave it all for so little in return!
Thank you for your service and I salute you for your courage.
we flew Flying Tigers, from some base in Washington, USA to Cam Ron Bay, via Alaska, and Japon…
God bless you, sir. Great talk and brave service.
Mjr
Tokyo
Lam Son 719. Huge ARVN losses. Beaucoup helicopters shot down.
A great individual who performed a tremendous service. But as is obvious by his last few sentences he was not cured of his ptsd , but merely gained some temporary coping skills.
After reading Robert Mason's 'Chickenhawk' he stated his 'slick' troop carrying HU-1 deck would get pretty grim looking after carrying wounded for a week and he'd land on a sandbar on a river so the crew chief could wash the deck off of blood and various pieces of flesh. He said the Dustoff's had it the worst as they carried no defensive gunners and the VC used the Red Crosses on them as targets.
ST JOHN 3:16! ❤
50 years ago I was atheist. But PAPA GOD sent HOLY GHOST to touch me on CHRISTMAS EVE in 1972, when I asked Him in the name of JESUS! I woke up CHRISTMAS MORNING, BORN AGAIN! HALLELUJAH! 🎄❤️✝️❤️🎄
I had joined LORD'S ARMY! GLORY! ❤️❤️❤️🙏🏼🙌🏼✝️🎺💃🎺💃
"And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness."
1 John 5:19!
In the LORD'S ARMY, we stand in the gap before GOD for the land that He might not destroy it! Principalities and demonic powers come against us, but we have the whole armour of GOD for protection!
"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
Ephesians 6:11-13!
THIS is LIVING! JESUS IS LIFE!
JESUS IS RETURNING SOON!
THANK YOU DEAR LOVELY LORD JESUS! ❤❤❤
MERRY CHRISTMAS! 🙏🏼🙌🏼👏🏼🎄✝️❤️🎄❤️✝️🎄
Magnificent man
Your mention of the compass course in Marine training reminded me of our one week program in basic in the Women's Army Corp in 1967. We were sent out on a compass course and timed on how long it took us to finish it. Of course, we were not nearly the first to use it, and they apparently did not change the course, so there was a well beaten path through the course. I had almost immediately noticed the path, and told the other girls to follow the path, which we did, and we finished in record time; We managed to keep a straight face when congratulated on our record time. None of us were particularly worried about learning combat skills, since back then women were still treated like women in the military and when we enlisted we were guaranteed to not be sent to combat zones against our will. They did not change that until the invasion of Panama years later.
Did you ever fly any air-evacs with POWs? Some of my Army friends at Ft Sill had flown air-evacs while in Vietnam. One of them had told me about a couple air-evacs where they were sent to evacuate North Vietnamese POWs, and military intelligence officers flew with them. They were trying to question the POWs and when none of them were responding, they told my friend to start shooting air into the veins of the POWs who would not talk, to intimidate the others into talking. Rob said he refused, that he was serving to save lives, not to take them. So the military intelligence officers started throwing the POWs out of the helicopter, one-by-one, again trying to intimidate the others. They tossed all but the last man to their deaths before giving up. We were still friends after Vietnam, he and his wife lived near where I lived and I used to go over to visit with them. I did not really understand why, after Vietnam, his drug use had not only continued but kept increasing. It was not for several years that I realized he had PTSD from what he had seen and lived through in Vietnam.
Lam Son 719
This is what a hero looks like. Alan, you are a very special man. There are guys who have lived a full life thanks to you. I salute you, sir.
As poignant & gut wrenching an interview as I’ve yet seen. Forty years without effective treatment for the psychological wounds means that many years of hell on earth. Thanks almost to an eternal degree to that gentleman for sharing!
Holy Cow!
THIS guy!
America!
🇺🇲
Wow, what an amazing man… an amazing human. This is the most powerful (and articulate) veteran testimony I’ve ever heard. 🤯😢🥹
This has got to be one of the most significant interviews of a soldier I've ever seen or heard. Not just his experiences and insight, but his self-awareness and psych perspective. I'll be sharing it. Thank you.
At 35 years old I have never had a single thought or desire to be in the armed forces, and frankly, don't like a lot about how the services function. HOWEVER, I have found myself the last 5 years or so, taking in as much of this kind of content and war documentaries as anyone could ever fit in their brain. The people (the good people) are truly amazing human being. Tons of respect and admiration for the feats they accomplished and everything they've had to deal with since then.
This is a good man.
This guy, probably saves as many military personnel after combat, due to his psychology skills, as he did during his time in combat. Bravo too you Sir!!
Today i am 55. I'm embarrassed when i say that i never served our country
It's men and women like this…..
You are my heros.
The hairs on my arms standup and my stomach churns, when i think about how many did their service only to be fucked over by ungrateful pieces of shit.
I guess i'm a hypocrite. I shouldn't even be able to comment.
I just want to say….
WELCOME HOME
Baby boomers (some beaners) fought that war.200 million extra kids going through society.
Funding also helped rebuild Japan as a powerful partner.
Personally i believe the government was scared of this generation and needed to ground this energy.
All your gangs come from this generation as well as most serial killers.
Rock and roll music must of also scared the movers and shakers.
The man did his job and let this be whats done when America calls on you.
You did good buddy!
Thank you so much for this fantastic interview!
I took care of some of your Marines while an USAF Nurse while in Japan & I have praised you phenominal Corpmen ever since. I saw the incredible results of yours & other Corpmen's work. You were the top of our "medical society" during that VN war. My respect for you is stratospheric!
Thank you for serving, Sir.
I was Corpsman with Marines in 1965 & 1966. in Viet Nam In I Corp.
Early Viet Nam we CH -34's, they were a basket case, in 65 with the grunts 2/1/1.
Thank you for your service to our nation. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. That was very insightful and touching. God bless you .
What an extraordinary human. I learn and gain so much by listening to these people telling of their experiences.
Your last comment, " there"s a bunch of names not on the wall, because We Were There", gave this old ex Air Force Nurse a great eyewash. Thanks Twig, for "being there". .
Bravo Zulu, brother. Former HM1 HM-8506 (Medical Laboratory Technician) 1972 – 1980.
Welcome Home Doc. Semper fi… I would have sent you on your missions, but I was several years before you.