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Terry Knox - Vietnam War
Terry Knox served as an M551 Sheridan light tank driver in Vietnam in 1970-1971, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Squadron. The unit conducted patrols near the demilitarized zone with North Vietnam, participating in both mounted and dismounted patrols. After a few months in country, Knox had the opportunity to attend a Bob Hope USO show in Phu Bai, and after his in-country R & R several months later, Knox was reassigned to work in the Dong Ha Post Exchange. He shares detailed memories of those experiences, including his childhood and Basic Training.
Interview Links
Feature Excerpt
Selected to go to Bob Hope show
Abstract
Interview Session 01 (Audio)
Early life and service in Vietnam as a M551 Sheridan driver
Interview Session 02 (Audio)
Reflections on his year in South Vietnam, 1970-1971
Photos
Caption
Terry’s father and six brothers. His father, Don, is 2nd from the right. Howard, Larry, Paul, Joe, Carroll, Don and Louis are outside the family’s Springfield home after the war, circa early 1946. They were at a Chicago Bears game on Dec 7, 1941.
Where:
Springfield, Illinois
When:
Circa early 1946
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Peggy Ann Knox, Terry’s mother, joined the WACs shortly after Pearl Harbor and briefly served in the Philippines before being evacuated. This photo was taken after the war.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Circa 1945-1946
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
This map of South Vietnam appeared in the Illinois State Journal, Springfield’s newspaper, on January 12, 1968.
Where:
Illinois State Journal, Springfield, Illinois
When:
January 12, 1968
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the Springfield State Journal-Register or the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
This map of South Vietnam appeared in the Illinois State Journal, Springfield’s newspaper, on May 22, 1970.
Where:
Illinois State Journal, Springfield, Illinois
When:
May 22, 1970
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the Springfield State Journal-Register or the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
John Gentkowski was a newbie (having newly arrived in Vietnam) when this picture was taken in late November 1970 at the C Troop’s company unit’s base in Dong Ha.
Where:
Dong Ha, Vietnam
When:
November 1970
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Phil Gender outside the entrance to C Troop’s hooch at Dong Ha in late November 1970.
Where:
Dong Ha, Vietnam
When:
November 1970
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Photographer David Burnett took this photo of the enthusiastic crowd at Bob Hope’s Christmas show at Phu Bai in Dec 1970. Terry is center-right with his hands clasped near his face, with no hat and long hair, and above the soldier with a clenched fist.
Where:
Phu Bai, Vietnam
When:
December 1970
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact David Burnett/Contact Press Images.
Caption
Terry attended Bob Hope’s USO show when the famous entertainer came to Phu Bai in December 1970. That’s Hope, from the neck down with his famous golf club. Terry was bumped while taking the photo.
Where:
Phu Bai, Vietnam
When:
December 1970
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Terry was the driver for C Troop’s Sheridan Tank #37, but his friend Roger Ingram was driving at the time. The unit was traveling on Highway 9, the northern most east-west road in South Vietnam, in December 1970.
Where:
South Vietnam
When:
December 1970
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Terry attended Bob Hope’s Christmas show in December 1970 when the comedian brought his show to Phu Bai.
Where:
Phu Bai, Vietnam
When:
December 1970
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Miss World, Jennifer Hosten from Grenada was one of the many celebrities who accompanied Bob Hope on his tour. The troupe visited Phu Bai in December 1970.
Where:
Phu Bai, Vietnam
When:
December 1970
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
This military topographic map shows the region along the DMZ separating North and South Vietnam that Terry’s unit, 3/5th Cav, 9th Infantry Division, patrolled in 1970-1971.
Where:
North and South Vietnam
When:
1970-1971
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain
Caption
Terry Knox (bending over) with John Gentkowski and another soldier are on top of a hilltop bunker near the Cam Lo Valley in northern South Vietnam in late January 1971. The position took a rocket attack one evening while the unit was there.
Where:
South Vietnam
When:
January 1971
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
John Gentkowski during Operation Lam Son 719 in February 1971. C Troop was supporting a Combat Engineer unit building a road in northern South Vietnam. Gentkowski had only been in-country for a few months, but was already showing the strains of combat.
Where:
South Vietnam
When:
February 1971
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tank #38 during a halt on a road that the Engineers were building during Operation Lam Son 719 in February 1971. Terry’s friend John Gentkowski is in the tank commander’s seat.
Where:
South Vietnam
When:
February 1971
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The unit’s medic, Doc Lehman, sits on a bunker the unit built during Operation Lam Son 719 in February 1971. According to Terry, Doc Lehman saved lives, and was “a hell of a medic.”
Where:
South Vietnam
When:
February 1971
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Terry, sporting the beginning of a mustache, with a Vietnamese civilian who helped in C Troop’s office in early 1971. The unit was based in Dong Ha at the time.
Where:
Dong Ha, Vietnam
When:
Early 1971
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Terry with a young Vietnamese orphan named Hill who often visited his unit and traded bananas for C-rations. The orphanage where she lived was near the unit’s position in northern South Vietnam.
Where:
South Vietnam
When:
Early 1971
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
One of B Troop’s tracks shows the damage it suffered in early 1971 after hitting a mine. The Sheridan was taken back to the 3/5 Cav Squadron’s Motor Pool in Dong Ha. Nobody was hurt in the incident.
Where:
South Vietnam
When:
Early 1971
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Another tank with track damage suffered in early 1971. Damage like this could usually be repaired.
Where:
Vietnam
When:
Early 1971
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
By April 1971 Terry Knox was assigned to the Dong Ha PX. He’s standing next to a load of beer he had just unloaded.
Where:
Dong Ha, Vietnam
When:
April 1971
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Terry Knox is driving a fork lift while unloading beer at the Dong Ha PX in April 1971.
Where:
Dong Ha, Vietnam
When:
April 1971
Ownership:
Unknown