| The Original 4/503rd PIR "Geronimo Battalion" June 66 - June 67 |
4/503 Battalion HHC Company Company A Company B Company C Company D Medal Of Honor Recipients Our Medics Eternal Chapter Battalion News Current Sky Soldier Magazine Guest Book Sign in The Creed Unit History Media Page Vietnam Our Photo's, History & Stories The Later Years We are starting to compile a list of everyone who served with or was attached to the 4th Battalion until the 173d returned to CONUS. We have 125 from the 2d year (6/67 to 6/68) and many from later years. Contact Jack Tarr for the lists and if you have names to add. jtarr5@verizon.net |
| Last Webmaster update 12-12-2010 376 Contacted, 47 States, 4 countries |
| Original Geronimo Battalion. In early 1966, the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Brigade, Ft Campbell, KY, was ordered to Vietnam. The famous nickname of the 1/501st was "Geronimo" and we even had a wooden Indian mascot, cigar- store vintage, at Battalion HQ. Under command of LTC “Iron Mike” Healy, we deployed to Vietnam as the 4th Battalion, 503d Parachute Infantry, to join the 173d Airborne Brigade in country. Though we changed crests and shoulder patches, we still called ourselves, “The Geronimo Battalion.” June 6, 1966. On June 6th, 1966, (WW II 'D' Day) 820 troopers of the newly-constituted 4/503d departed Ft Campbell enroute to Vietnam. The advance party flew to Vietnam on a C-124. The main body flew by C-130s to Oakland, CA, where they embarked on the SS John Pope, a WW II troop ship. Three future Medal of Honor recipients were on that ship: Don Michael, Glenn English and Lazlo Rabel. Don Michael’s MOH was for actions in April 1967 and the others in later tours. After 18 long days at sea, the Pope landed at Vung Tau and the troops went to the sprawling Bien Hoa Air Base complex north of Saigon. Combat Missions. During its 12 months in Vietnam, the original 4th Battalion participated in numerous missions throughout I, II and III Corps. involving air assaults, blocking, search and destroy and reinforcement Our AO ranged from Bien Hoa to the DMZ. On one of its first missions, a 4/503d MEDEVAC was captured on camera and became the best-known photos of the Vietnam conflict - The Agony of War. The ultimate sacrifice. In the 12 months that the original troopers were in country, 52 of our buddies died. Another 15 were KIA on later tours. At each 4/503d reunion, the names of those KIA are read by their surviving comrades. The wounds of war have caused the premature deaths of many of our fellow troopers. And, PTSD and Agent Orange have changed the lives of scores of once-healthy young men. The Geronimo Battalion today. One third of the original battalion were teenagers, 18 and 19- year-olds who quickly became men under fire. Today, most of us are grand-parents, yet our memories of being in one of the finest fighting units ever assembled remain vivid. Anyone who served with the 4/503d between June 6, 1966 and May 30, 1967 is a member of the original battalion. We are in touch with 360 brothers in 46 states and 3 overseas countries who served with the 4/503d in that year. Annual Reunion. Each summer, the Original Geronimo Battalion gets together for one day, usually during the annual 173d Brigade Association reunion. For more news of our unit, contact Jack Tarr, Jack Tarr |
173rd Links 173d Airborne Association Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 7 Chapter 9 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 17 Chapter 23 Chapter 28 Chapter 30 Chapter 173 Casper Aviation Sue Quinn's Website |
| Max Sprague's Truck |