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About the 3/26 Project
In 1998 I attended my first reunion
of the unit I had been assigned to during my first tour Vietnam. I
attended reluctantly and was prepared to “bust out” if things were not
going right.
The reunion was very right; I had a
great time and was glad to see others whom I had experienced war with,
and more, as a direct result of attending the reunion, I developed a
very strong need to find out where I had been in Vietnam, how I arrived
there, and what I had contributed to the war effort. I wanted to know
'How did I fit into the big picture?'
First came the books about Vietnam.
Then I discovered the Marine Corps’ Command Chronologies (CC)--a list of
daily significant events which had taken place during the Battalion’s
field operations.
Reading the CCs was informative, yet
frustrating. It was hard to read multi-generation copies, and more, I
realized that what was significant to me in the field, was not
necessarily what was perceived as significant by the people who had been
producing the CCs 'in the rear'. Eventually disappointment and anger turned into gratitude, for if it
had not been for the clerical work of those
who wrote the CCs, this project would not have been possible.
Eight years later, eight years of
typing into the wee night hours, transcribing more than 5,000 events
which took place during the Vietnam tour of the 3/26, all the CCs are
now cataloged in a searchable and sortable database. What once had to be
done manually, sifting through thousands of documents, can now be done
with the click of a few buttons.
More than just a fancy database, the
3/26 project is offered as a platform to those who served in 3/26 to
share their “Nam” experiences, points of view, or opinions with others.
This is an opportunity for us to tell our own story, to share our
experiences, from our point of view. The project is also open to unit
members’ family members, their friends, or just those who were somehow
affected by events of our Battalion’s combat tour. Others are welcome to
browse, comment, or ask questions as well, however please keep all
comments relevant to the 3/26 Marines.
Twenty some years after our Vietnam
tour, a friend of mine and I met up and discussed our memories of a
particular battle, and although the distance between our positions was
only about 60 meters, our recollections of events were very different.
The 3/26 project is my effort to provide the opportunity for us all to
share similar encounters with our fellow Marines of the 3/26. Please
make yourself comfortable, and stay as long as you want.
Our life experiences before, during and
even years after the Vietnam War, help paint our minds picture of what
was important, on our fateful days, so long ago.
Semper Fidelis
~ Nik
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