Larry's Service
After joining the army in 1956, Larry Trimble served with the 187th airborne in Lebanon, and completed his first combat tour in Vietnam in 1966. He then volunteered for US Special Forces and returned to Vietnam assigned to CCN (MACV SOG) where he ran two recon teams: Recon Team Asp and Spike Team Rattler. His SOG radio codename was Gambler. He retired in 1978 as E7 (SFC) after 22 years service and worked for the government until his retirement in 1999. After joining the Special Operations Association in 1986, he now serves as a director of the SOA Riders.
On the night of 22-23 August 1968, the VC R20 sapper battalion attacked the CCN compound below Marble Mountain in Da Nang, South Vietnam. From 21 August, Larry was in the OP on the high eastern peak of Marble Mountain with ST Rattler, comprising indigenous Nungs. His team detected an enemy mortar firing from the western peak, and he moved them to engage and destroy it using M79’s and CAR-15s. He then fought all night to defend the mountain OP from sustained VC assaults, with the aid of a Spectre gunship, and recovered a VC rucksack containing vital enemy plans about further planned attacks.
The plan of attack from the VC R20 battalion after-action report.
You can hear Larry’s personal account of the battle in this SOGcast interview with John Stryker Meyer.
Xuan's Service
Xuan Vu joined MACV SOG in 1969 at age 17, and served at CCS on a Thunderbolt team (all indigenous recon troops). In 1970 he transferred to CCN where he joined Recon Team Idaho. He served under Noel Gast, Robert Castillo and later Frank Pulley (August 1971) and was eventually led by Ken Bowra (September 1971) until SOG was ended in May 1972. After this he became an ARVN Ranger, until he was wounded in early 1975. He remained in Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in April 1975.
Xuan (seen here back left) and Larry never met during the war, but both men have similar memories of their time serving at CCN, on Marble Mountain, and running missions into the DMZ and Laos.
The Idea
The original idea to go back to CCN and Marble Mountain sprang from a conversation between Larry and Bruce Christensen. Bruce is a MACV SOG historian, whose father Paul served 3 tours in MACV SOG.
At the Special Operations Association Reunion in 2023, the idea was discussed, and Rob Graham, CEO of Savage Game Design, agreed to cover Larry’s expenses for the trip. Rob works closely with MACV SOG veterans on a number of media projects including Arma 3: S.O.G. Prairie Fire www.sogpf.com. His mentor and adviser is Major General Ken Bowra, who served with Xuan in Vietnam. Rob contacted Xuan and arranged to meet up during the trip.
The Team
The team from left to right:
Hayden, a New Zealander, Savage team member, and lives in Nha Trang. He served as a local guide in Da Nang, and as our drone camera pilot.
Rob, arranged some link-ups with people in-country including TV producer Ngo Thi Bich Hien, whose father served in the PAVN (NVA), Xuan Vu, who served with MACV SOG, and Joss Huot a Canadian historian living in Saigon. Joss made an excellent local guide.
Xuan (age 73) is a MACV SOG recon veteran. He served from 1969 including many missions with Recon Team Idaho, until being badly wounded in 1975.
Bruce organized the travel and accommodation, recorded interviews, and recorded film for a short documentary film due out soon.
Marianne works as a model, assisting the team on the trip, helping with research and interviews and taking pictures and notes.
Larry (age 84) is a 22 year veteran of US Special Forces, who led MACV SOG Recon Team Asp and Spike Team Rattler in 1968.
Arriving in Saigon
Rob ran point, arriving first from the UK in Saigon on January 5th 2024. Larry, Bruce and Marianne arrived the next day, and “Team Gambler” rallied together at the hotel.
After a day of rest after the long flight, the team set out first to visit the Vietnam War museum on January 7th. It was a hot day and Marianne made sure Larry was hydrating and fanning himself regularly - a team effort!
Rob photographed useful NVA equipment for his team to recreate in their game and film projects. Team Savage includes 6 former MACV SOG members, their game is at www.sogpf.com
Larry enjoyed posing in front of the BLU-82 15,000lb daisy cutter bomb that was occasionally used (under the Commando Vault program) to create LZ’s for recon team insertions. This was useful sometimes to clear an LZ, as SOG teams knew their insert coordinates were being leaked to the enemy, who would lie in wait for them.
The team enjoyed a meal at a nice hotel followed by a few drinks at their rooftop bar.
Letters from the Battlefield
January 8th was a quiet day of rest for the team. After a pleasant dinner with Ngo Thi Bich Hien, discussing TV and movie production in Vietnam, Larry was presented with a copy of her fathers book “Letters from the battlefield” by Tu Nha van Ngo Thao and LTCOL Donald Lindquist. Larry was thrilled to make friendly contact with a former adversary, and build new bonds of peace.
First Interview - 101st Airborne
On January 9th, Larry sat down with us for the first of several detailed interviews about his first combat tour with the 101st Airborne starting in 1965, his SOG tour in 1968, and his life after Vietnam. These will be released soon.
Meeting Xuan
Xuan came to Saigon and met with Larry - two recon brothers meeting for the first time, but with so much shared experience and esprit de corps.
At his request, Rob presented General Bowra’s personal challenge coin to his former team-mate Xuan, in a firm handshake, traditional to the Special Forces Regiment.
The team enjoyed a feast together at this hotel before heading back to theirs.
China Beach Calling
On January 10th, the team took a plane to Da Nang, which, during the war, was the home of MACV SOG Command and Control North (CCN) FOB4 just below Marble Mountain, and right beside the magnificent China Beach, which runs for miles north to Monkey Mountain with it’s famous Buddha statue and pagodas.
At the airport Larry posed in the Range 37 cap that Rob brought over from a recent trip to Fort Bragg. The picture was sent on to the range team, which trains today’s Green Berets in assault skills.
Rob had a chance to catch up with Hayden (NZDF_Crash) - the pair have worked together on Vietnam War related video games for 15 years, but never met in person. Time for a beer or two.
Getting around in Vietnam is kind of wild, with mopeds weaving around each other like a shoal of fish. Hayden was happy to ferry some of the team around on the ubiquitous moped.
Larry gifted his challenge coins and RT Asp patches to the younger members. We ate seafood at a nearby restaurant.
SOG House 22
On January 11th, the team went to visit the historic site of House 22 in Da Nang, where, back in the day, the SOG guys would relax in relative safety, often sitting out on the upstairs balcony and calling across the street for soup from the Chinese cafe.
Later the team hit the Esco beach bar, where Larry had them all doing shots and dancing. Airborne!
Monkey Mountain
During the war Larry, Xuan and Ken had all trained at Monkey Mountain, at the northern end of China Beach. On January 12th, the team visited the beautiful pagoda and giant Buddha statue.
The monkeys were friendly enough, until one tried to steal Bruce’s ruck. Team Gambler won that fight easily enough.
Larry points out the far coast of Monkey Mountain where his team were dropped in by Kingbee (ARVN H-34 helicopter).
Hoi An
The beautiful town of Hoi An lies about 15 miles inland from Da Nang. Some of the team took the chance to visit its waterside bars and market, and catch the spectacular Hoi An Memories show.
The Time Capsule
On January 13th Larry sat down to record an interview with Rob about his experiences in SOG, with Monkey Mountain in the background. This fascinating interview will be edited and released on “Savage Game” YouTube soon.
Larry and Bruce had an idea for this trip, to bury a time capsule near to the CCN base.They prepared the time capsule with all of the items Larry had chosen to put inside it. These included a MACV SOG RT Asp patch and challenge coin, a US flag patch and a US dime from Larry.
Rob brought along a Medal of Honor challenge coin he had received from Special Forces Colonel Paris Davis. On behalf of his British airborne team-mates Pete and Ben, who work on their MACV SOG history projects, Rob also brought two British Airborne Forces patches - Pegasus and 2 Para - and a union flag, to show solidarity with their US airborne brothers.
A former SOG warrior, Parker Auburn, sent back the grenade shrapnel removed from his body after the 23 August sapper attack. Bruce added a CCN challenge coin and patch on behalf of his father Paul Christensen, who served 3 tours in SOG, and a subdued MACV SOG patch often worn by SOG veterans stateside in more recent years.
The team then enjoyed a Thai meal and a boat trip to see the dragon bridge breathing fire.
Hai Van Pass
Situated in the sprawling rugged hills that sit between Da Nang (SOG CCN FOB4) and Phu Bai (SOG FOB1) is the beautiful Hai Van Pass. On January 14th, Team Gambler stopped here to admire the scenery and old French bunkers.
During the war, the hills were dominated by the VC, who would ambush Allied convoys and vehicles on these roads. Rob told the team about the time during the war when SOG 1-0 Lynne Black drove south in the dark from FOB1 to FOB4. They were detained by US Marines in the pass, and made to wait until daylight before proceeding on.
Phu Bai (FOB1)
The team arrived at the site of the old FOB1 camp, near the airport at Phu Bai. All that remains are a few old bunkers, and a possible minefield - we were glad we translated the sign!
Ken and Xuan launched missions into the DMZ out of Phu Bai airstrip in 1971. Xuan is back right, next to Ken. Frank Pulley is back left.
Hue Citadel
After a stop for the lovely local dish Bun Bo Hue, the team visited Hue Citadel, the ancient home of the Nguyen dynasty, and the site of a fierce month-long battle in February 1968 during the Tet Offensive. You can clearly see bullet and shell holes in many of the walls.
Rob and Hayden were especially keen to visit this wonderful landmark, as they previously worked for many months on recreating it in their SOG video game.
Our team driver Mr. Tan was an outstanding local host, and took excellent care of us.
Marble Mountain (FOB4)
Xuan rejoined the team for this part of the trip. Team Gambler was now complete. We’re now at the key moment of the trip, where, on January 15th, Larry and Xuan revisited Marble Mountain and the site of the CCN camp beside it.
The top secret CCN camp used to sit beneath Marble Mountain, with a helicopter landing area abutting the highway, then the isolation area for teams preparing to run a recon mission, then the HQ and TOC and commo buildings, the motor pool, and recon team hootches and the popular recon bar. Past that were the mess halls and quarters for the indigenous troops. The whole camp was surrounded by bunkers and wire, and there was a rifle range facing the mountain.
You can see how much has changed from wartime bases built along an empty stretch of beach to today’s bustling tourist destination.
The team walked around the base of Marble Mountain, exploring the environment and reminiscing.
Hayden captured some great drone footage, and then they took the new elevator to the Pagoda area about halfway to the peak. After exploring some of the caves, they moved up to the saddle area between the eastern high peak, and the western lower peak. This was the area Larry was fighting in in the early morning of 23 August 1968. Xuan also had many memories of manning the Observation Post (OP) on top of the high peak.
After some of the team finished taking photos at the top, they explored the CCN site, and reminisced about where each of the buildings were, and all the friends they had served with here.
Next the team moved to a suitable location to carry out the time capsule dedication ceremony. Each team member took their turn digging the hole, and the time capsule was placed into it. Larry and Xuan exchanged some moving words about it, saluted each other, and hugged. The rest of the team called out “Airborne!” and the box was safely buried, to remain near the site where 16 US Green Berets and about 100 indigenous warriors lost their lives in the sapper attack. You can watch the Team video of the ceremony here
Team Gambler’s work was done, and they hit the beach bar to share a meal and a few beers, and friendship.
Ba Na Hills
On January 16th, the team headed up to Ba Na Hills, to visit the mountaintop resort perched high in the clouds. The weather there is much cooler, almost temperate, and the team enjoyed the cool air, good friendship and jokes as they walked around this sprawling and seriously impressive site.
Larry and Xuan had visibly grown closer since the previous days walk around their old base, taking each other’s arm or hand as they casually strolled and chatted together. This is something that US Special Forces soldiers became used to back in the war, as a hand offered is a sign of the deepest respect by a Vietnamese.
After a team lunch, the team crossed the Golden Bridge which bows out high over the jungle below, held on two giant stone hands and rode a cable car down the mountainside.
During the ride down, Xuan put on “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals and the team enjoyed a sing-song together. Bruce then put on “The Ballad of the Green Beret” and everyone enjoyed this moving moment of brotherhood, singing with a former SOG 1-0 and a brave indigenous warrior who both survived some of the most perilous missions of the war.
In the evening, it was time for a video call with our mystery guest. Rob called Major General Ken Bowra, former 1-0 of RT Idaho and Sidewinder, and Xuan’s team leader in 1971-2. Apart from emails, the two former comrades had not spoken or seen each other for 52 years, so it was a truly moving experience for everyone to witness.
In the evening, the team enjoyed a cup of Black Rifle Coffee and went out for an Italian meal locally.
Farewell Part 1
On January 17th the team split, and returned to Saigon, leaving Xuan and Hayden behind in Da Nang. The farewells were very moving, with personal items exchanged and gifts presented.
Rob and Joss met up in the late afternoon and went for a tour of the back-alleys and boutiques of Saigon.
SOG HQ
On January 18th the team visited SOG HQ, to discover the building remains the same as it was during the war. This is the site from where Chief SOG ran the secret war. Recon Team leaders like Larry would occasionally come into Saigon, stay at House 10, and then visit SOG HQ for debriefings on unique or important missions. We ate Thai in the evening.
The Last Stand
With local expert Joss in tow, the team managed to visit the site of the last evacuation helicopter from the CIA residences near the City Hall and the Cathedral.
Joss told us about how the last people escaped as the NVA stormed City Hall only a block away, and in sight of the helicopters landing on the roof. The soldiers below showed some mercy and did not engage the fleeing people.
SOA Riders
As a dedicated Harley Davidson man, and a director of the SOA Riders, Larry had to visit the Saigon Harley Davidson shop to buy gifts for his family - who all ride too. This was January 19th, and soon it would be time to return home.
Farewell Part 2
The team went out for a farewell pizza and a few last drinks together, and reflected on a memorable trip, and new friendships made.
Epilogue
Team Gambler built lasting friendships on their trip. They are reuniting in Northern California, at Larry’s home in March 2024 as Rob is visiting for a game design conference. They will also attend SOAR in October 2024 in Las Vegas.
Rob and Ken, with the help of Tilt Meyer and the SOA, are working on a plan to invite Xuan to the US in October so he can attend SOAR and meet his former team-mates in person.
The Green Beret family is strong and timeless, and the stories of their courage and sacrifice will be told forever. Team Savage, working with the Special Operations Association, is developing a TV show, graphic novels, a second MACV SOG video game and a documentary to aid this cause. De Oppresso Liber.
