FINDING YOUR OWN ‘NAM

YOU’VE COME TO A POINT IN YOUR PERSONAL AIRSOFT JOURNEY THAT YOU WANT TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT, THAT JUST A SUNDAY SKIRMISH WHILST FUN LEAVES YOU WANTING MORE. YOU’VE WATCHED SOME MOVIES AND ON YOUR FAVOURITE ONLINE AIRSOFT PAGE YOU’VE SEEN THAT THERE’S A THING CALLED “NAMSOFT”; YOU LIKE THE SOUND OF A LITTLE “NAM-INSPIRED” GAMING, BUT HOW DO YOU FIND OUT MORE, AND WHERE CAN YOU FIND INSPIRATION AND INFORMATION? BILL AND THE MEMBERS OF THE AA LEGION CAN HELP!

We all come to a point in our personal “airsoft journey” that leaves us wanting just a bit more from our beloved game, don’t we? For many a simple skirmish day on a Saturday or Sunday is enough and all power to you if this is the case, but for some the lure of something bigger is right there, front and centre! Some will turn to BattleSims and MilSims, but others, especially those whose airsoft marries up with an interest in Living History look for something a bit more “themed”.

But where on earth do you start? For a while the screens of our TVs and movie theatres were full of Nam-oriented series and movies, and I can point you to things like the three series of “Tour of Duty”, and more popular movies such as Apocalypse Now”, “Platoon” and “Full Metal Jacket”, but in honesty there’s so much more out there both on-screen and in print that can these days be at your fingertips!

All airsofters of a “certain age” will remember the television show “Tour of Duty”, and probably own the DVD box sets of all three seasons as I do. I remember tuning in late at night to watch the exploits of “Bravo Company” as they progressed through the war, starting out as “green grunts” and ending up as part of Special Forces “Team Viking”; the wisdom of Sgt “Zeke” Anderson, the patriotism of Lt Myron Goldman and the tenacity shown by all the young infantrymen just won you over.

Not only that, but in general the weapons and equipment were pretty spot on too; whether it was the basic M16 or the more esoteric “Carl Gustav” SMG used by Cpl Danny Purcell in Season 3 the firearms were pretty much spot on. Uniforms and equipment, from the basic olive green 3rd Pattern fatigues and M56 Load Bearing Equipment through to “Tigerstripes” were all nailed. Yes, the acting was at some points dubious and the storylines increasingly sensational but you really got the feeling that “Bravo” were usually in country and in the mire!

If you head onto Amazon though and simply type “Vietnam War” into the search box you’ll have pages and pages to work through of movies, TV series, documentaries, books and other media… it can seem daunting to say the least! Even if you head to Osprey Publishing for their excellent “Elite, Warrior, or Men at Arms” reference books then you’ll be slightly overwhelmed… and then there’s the “good stuff”, the old books and comics like “The Five Fingers”, “The Nam” and “Fighting Mann” that whilst complete fiction are actually very cool, and have a bit of a cult following…

So, where to start? If you have a general interest but know little about the Vietnam War then I would direct you to “Vietnam: An Epic History of a Divisive War 1945-1975” by eminent (and eminently readable!) historian Max Hastings, which “blends a political and military narrative of the entire conflict with heartstopping personal experience”

This is a truly insightful overview, and sets the scene comprehensively.

Movie Time

Once you have an idea about the war itself, then you can start to delve deeper into things before deciding upon a direction for your own personal NamSoft journey and for this I personally would get into the movies for this, and not just the obvious ones! By all means watch (or rewtach!) “Platoon or FMJ”, but then search out some others like...

• The Green Berets – Early War Special Forces

• Go tell The Spartans– Early War Special Forces

• We Were Soldiers – Early War Airmobile

• The Boys in Company C – USMC

• Hamburger Hill – 101st Airborne

• The Odd Angry Shot – Australian SAS in The Nam

• 84 Charlie Mopic – An unusual perspective!

• Tigerland – A different viewpoint

• A Bright Burning Lie – Another different viewpoint!

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and nowhere near comprehensive, but it’s one that covers a lot of bases and will give you a grounding in lots of different perspectives. The difficulty I guess for new NamSoft players is “how far do I go?”, and this movie list gives a lot of different timescale, and hopefully some inspiration!

The Written Word

Now I know that the big thing these days is not to actually, you know, READ! With things like Audible even the written word can be lapped up more easily, but I’d urge you to actually pick up some books in this instance, and there are some absolute corkers out there that are jam-packed not just with some superb story-telling, but also with a cornucopia of useful information and nuggets of “operational gold”! Where you begin with will be largely dependent on what “role” you wish to play in a NamSoft scenario, and believe you me there’s probably been as much written from the soldier’s perspective about time “in country” from so many viewpoints, and in so much detail that you’re going to be spoilt for choice! To give you an idea, my favourite loadouts centre around MACV-SOG, MIKE Force, and SEAL, so a good starting point for these might be...

• SOG: The Secret Wars of America’s Commandos in Vietnam – John L Plaster

• Covert Ops: The Cia’s Secret War in Laos –James E Parker

• Blackjack 34: Mobile Guerrilla Force – James C

“NOW I KNOW THAT THE BIG THING THESE DAYS IS NOT TO ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, READ! WITH THINGS LIKE AUDIBLE EVEN THE WRITTEN WORD CAN BE LAPPED UP MORE EASILY, BUT I’D URGE YOU TO ACTUALLY PICK UP SOME BOOKS IN THIS INSTANCE, AND THERE ARE SOME ABSOLUTE CORKERS OUT THERE”

Donahue

Good to Go: Seal Team

Two - Harry Constance and Randall Fuerst

The Element of Surprise: Navy SEALS in Vietnam – Darryl Young

And if you’re interested in anything LRRP then anything (and I mean anything and everything!) by Gary A Linderer and Larry Chambers!

Once again, this is by no means at all an exhaustive list, and concentrates on my own specific interest areas, but it IS a starting point, and these are five books that are rammed full of information from some of the men that were actually on the ground! As this was my own list of “faves and mustreads” I also asked the members of the AA LEGION what inspired them.

Team Talk

Li’ Stu: “Without doubt “Chickenhawk” a book written by Robert Mason; I could not out it down, it’s the raw honesty of the writing!”

Jimmy: “For me it has to be film- orientated. Having seen many a Nam film there are two that really stand out: “Full Metal Jacket” which will probably rate high on many people’s list, but my all-time favourite has to be “We Were Soldiers”.

“Based on the book ‘We Were Soldiers Once and Young’ it starred Mel Gibson, an actor I have grown up watching and an actor who many love to watch; you become attached to certain actors and it doesn’t matter what film they are a part of, you just enjoy their presence on the screen. This is a film I can watch over and over.

“The odds were stacked against the 400 US soldiers who landed in Ia Drang, and it fast became apparent that they were out-numbered massively! This didn’t phase Lt Hal Moore, a guy who instilled courage in his soldiers and led them from the front.

“One line stuck with me and at this point of the film I was honestly on the edge of my seat; Vietnamese soldiers had broken their lines and were literally on top of them, and Sgt Major Basil Plumley (played by actor Sam Elliot), draws his side arm and yells “Gentlemen, prepare to defend yourselves!”

“WOW! what a moment in the film, a genuine goose-bump moment among many might I add. For the majority of the film it was very intense.”

Stewbacca: “On the book front, I spent a lot of time reading Nam-era sniper-related materials when I first got into NamSoft back in my early days as I wanted to understand the mentality and deployment of snipers in Vietnam. The Marine Corps used them more as independent teams out in the field alone or lone operatives for HVTs, whereas the army tended to embed them more like modern designated marksmen or unit force multipliers for example.

“Thus “Silent Warrior” and “Marine Sniper” charting the legendary Carlos Hathcock III’s activities were of

VIETNAMESE SOLDIERS HAD BROKEN THEIR LINES AND WERE LITERALLY ON TOP OF THEM, AND SGT MAJOR BASIL PLUMLEY (PLAYED BY ACTOR SAM ELLIOT), DRAWS HIS SIDE ARM AND YELLS “GENTLEMEN, PREPARE TO DEFEND YOURSELVES?” WOW!” great interest and I can’t believe that as far as I know they still haven’t made a feature film of his exploits.

“13 Cent Killers” was another I enjoyed in a similar theme.

“Movies-wise, of course the classics like “Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, We Were Soldiers, and Apocalypse Now” (although the redux edition did put back in a lot of slow paced ‘meh’ which I can understand being cut out to be honest) are all favourites.

“The music of the era is also something of great interest to myself and my teammates here, many of whom are also “of a certain age” and I love listening to the tracks from Creedence, the Stones, and myriad other artists whose works were synonymous with one of the most divisive conflicts in US history, an aspect of history I take an interest in in my own ways too... “Sympathy For The Devil” just started playing as I am writing this as it happens...”

Dan: “Movies; Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Born on the 4th of July, Flight of the Intruder, We Were Soldiers, and Oats Studios Firebase!

“For me, “Platoon and Apocalypse Now” are the quintessential Vietnam films; dark, gritty, and full of brutal moral quandary with many standout characters. “We Were Soldiers” stands tall for its vivid depictions of bloody aerial insertions, the horrors of napalm, and leaves you exhausted in the end. Despite being sci-fi, “Firebase” gets honourable mention for its spooky horror concept set amidst the Vietnam war. I would love it to get a full length film treatment.

“Books; Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes, CW2 by

YOU BEGIN WITH WILL BE LARGELY DEPENDENT ON WHAT “ROLE” YOU WISH TO PLAY ...THERE’S PROBABLY BEEN AS MUCH WRITTEN FROM THE SOLDIER’S PERSPECTIVE ABOUT TIME “IN COUNTRY” FROM SO MANY VIEWPOINTS, AND IN SO MUCH DETAIL THAT YOU’RE GOING TO BE SPOILT FOR CHOICE…”

Layne Heath, Chickenhawk by Robert Mason, Time to Kill by Stephen Hunter, and The Nam’ comic series!

“There’s many novels I read long ago, but since forgotten the titles of, but the above are all in my collection and all excellent reads. “Matterhorn” might be my top pick for the definitive Vietnam war novel. “CW2” hit differently, sort of in the vein of “Apocalypse Now”, and maybe even “Rambo: First Blood”, which follows a helicopter pilot who refuses to give up on the war after it’s been declared over. “Time to Kill” is fictional, but it has an excellent segment (almost a novella in its own right) that infills the background for the main character, Bob Lee Swagger, himself heavily inspired by Carlos Hathcock

“My dad was a bit of a comic collector years ago, and one of the series he had was “The Nam’”, which I devoured as a kid. Some of the best ones were the depictions of MACV-SOG operations or just day-today life as a grunt. I actually need to track down a few of the missing issues still.”

Boycie: “I just love books! Unfortunately I get little time to read at the minute. I like the “Vietnam:

Ground Zero” series by Eric Helm. I was big into the “Tour of Duty” TV show when it was on so it sort of followed for me. There are also a number of factual ‘Nam books that I like. The most recent one I read was one on Carlos Hathcock.”

So there you have it, a lot of “intel” on where to find information and inspiration for any Vietnam-era role that you want to get into for NamSoft games!

I know that we’re light on the OPFOR side, but as much of this is still written in Vietnamese it is a little harder to access, although you can find some excellent translations of personal wartime accounts online.

As I’ve stressed several times this is on no way whatsoever meant to be a comprehensive list of what to read or watch, as the subject is just too utterly vast. However, I hope that the team and I have given you some insight of where to start and trust me, once you do get started, you won’t be stopping any time soon!

Please note that some images shown in support of this article were sourced in the Public Domain. AA