What They Never Told You About Firefights in Vietnam as a Marine Grunt

Seven grenades with the pins pulled. A Marine he'd never met shaking beside him in the hole. Forty minutes of fire, a lull, then forty more. Then the word came down the line: "Fix bayonets."

Amadeo Robert "Stef" Stefanelli grew up in South Brooklyn in a family of Marines. He enlisted at 17, started boot camp at Parris Island in April 1966, and survived a plane that nearly went down over the Pacific before he ever reached Vietnam. In 1967 he served as a machine gunner with the Marines, moving north from Dai Loc to Phu Bai, Dong Ha, C-2 and Con Thien, within sight of the DMZ. He lost friends, carried mortars and an M14 when the new M16s jammed, and earned a spot promotion to corporal in under a year.

Now 78, Stef talks honestly about the friend who told him "I'm so lucky" the day before he was killed, coming home to protesters at Port Authority, years of nightmares, and the seven years of PTSD group at the VA that helped him come through the other side.

This episode is dedicated to the Marines Stef served beside who never came home, including PJ Smith, Sgt. Solomon, James Trusha and Herbie Rogers, and to every Marine and Corpsman who fought along the DMZ in 1967.

Content advisory: This episode includes descriptions of combat, the deaths of friends, wounded prisoners, the destruction of a village, racial violence, physical abuse in boot camp, a mention of suicide, PTSD and alcohol use. Veterans Crisis Line, 24/7: call 988 then press 1, text 838255, or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

01:27 A Family of Marines and Parris Island

05:40 Infantry Training and the Plane That Almost Went Down

09:43 Stories from Vietnam: Hastings, Prairie and Starlite

12:39 Dai Loc, Mortars and China Beach16:19 Learning from the Veterans and Losing His Gun Team

19:55 Seven Grenades and “Fix Bayonets!”

23:32 Heading to Phu Bai and Ambushed on the Way to Dong Ha

26:22 Mortars, Rockets and Con Thien Near the DMZ

30:07 Ambushes, Losing Friends and a Spot Promotion

35:12 Life in the Field, a B-52 Strike and a Captured NVA Soldier

42:11 Leadership, Coming Home and the Aftermath of War

47:05 Nightmares, R&R and Facing His Fears

50:11 Coming Home to Protests and Racial Violence

52:29 Life After Vietnam, Family and the Marine Corps

57:23 When the M16 Jammed and the Weapons He Carried

1:01:34 Looking Back at 78, Remembering Fallen Marines and Finding Healing

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