What They Never Told You About Search and Destroy in Vietnam

Thanksgiving Day, 1967. Lieutenant Douglas Greenlaw's platoon was supposed to land, pop green smoke, and mark a safe zone for the rest of the company. Instead, the helicopters set them down a thousand yards too far, at the edge of a North Vietnamese battalion. Forty-five Americans against roughly four hundred. They fought for five hours.Doug grew up in a steel-mill family on Lake Michigan, survived being thrown from a car at four and struck by lightning at thirteen, flunked his way off a college baseball team, and was drafted. The Army turned him into an infantry officer. In Vietnam with the 196th Infantry, he led a platoon and then, at 23, a company of 158 men on search and destroy missions along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. He was wounded twice, earned the Silver Star and the Purple Heart, and survived a booby trap so devastating that he says he died on the table.Then he came home and went to work: straight A's at Indiana University on the GI Bill, radio ad sales in Indianapolis, building The Family Channel, taking MTV to Madison Avenue, and running a 100-year-old media company. At 82, he says he's the luckiest man you'll ever meet, and he's not done yet.📖 Read Doug's book, Forged by Lightning: From Boyhood to the Battlefield to the Boardroom: https://www.amazon.com/Douglas-Greenlaw/e/B0D6ZC5KPK⚠️ CONTENT ADVISORY: This episode contains graphic descriptions of close combat, killing, severe battlefield wounds, the death of a child, and the lasting effects of war. Viewer discretion is advised.If you're a veteran in crisis, or worried about one, help is available 24/7. Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net.⏱️ CHAPTERS00:40 Growing Up in a Steel Mill Town02:10 Thrown From a Car at 65 MPH03:55 Struck by Lightning at 1305:38 Indiana University and Back to the Mills06:30 Drafted06:51 Basic Training at Fort Knox07:24 Selected for OCS08:06 On Detail With Sergeant Street14:53 Officer Candidate School16:44 Training Officer Candidates19:14 Jungle School in Panama20:42 Shipping Out to Vietnam21:18 First Command: Firing the Platoon Sergeant25:25 Search and Destroy29:48 90 Days in the Field33:31 Booby Traps, Snipers and Walking Point34:53 Firefights Nearly Every Day38:24 The Weapons He Carried39:18 Night Patrols Under a Full Moon40:39 "Call Me Law": Leading Like a Brother42:43 Thanksgiving 1967: 45 Against 40046:03 Surviving the Ambush46:50 Face to Face With a North Vietnamese Lieutenant49:11 Into the Tunnel53:44 The Purple Heart and the Silver Star54:50 Losing Fear and Faith55:45 R&R in Bangkok58:46 Company Commander at 2359:44 The Men He Led1:00:40 Arnold Bittner, the Medic Who Wouldn't Get Down1:04:06 1968 and the Tet Offensive1:06:10 Patrolling the Ho Chi Minh Trail1:07:43 Face-First in a Rice Paddy1:09:39 The Booby Trap1:12:27 "Dying Is Not That Bad"1:13:51 Recovery in Da Nang and the Bob Hope Show1:16:33 Yokohama and the Red Cross1:19:05 Rehab at Fort Sheridan1:19:54 Coming Home Without Fear1:23:20 Selling Radio Ads in Indianapolis1:27:58 Building The Family Channel1:31:31 Taking MTV to Madison Avenue1:33:30 CEO of Multimedia1:36:23 Marriage, Family and an Only Child1:37:02 The Nightmares and How They Stopped1:40:26 What Vietnam Taught Him1:42:41 The Wounds He Still Carries1:43:45 82 and Not Done Yet1:44:11 The Greenville Journal🎖️ SUBSCRIBE for new veteran interviews every week.Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UvdMjkOkOgoHM2yIckhlhListen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-a-vet-podcast/id1854840136Read the blog: https://curioushumanography.com/Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/curioushumanography/If you're a veteran with a story to tell, or you know someone who should be on the show, reach out at [email protected]#AskAVet #VietnamVeteran #VietnamWar #ArmyVeteran #InfantryOfficer #SilverStar #VeteranStories #MilitaryHistory