The PACV was by far one of the strangest patrol vehicles used in Vietnam.

Built from a military version of the Bell SK-5 hovercraft, it was used by the Navy and Army in marshy river areas where regular boats and ground vehicles struggled to operate. Its air cushion let it move over water, mud, rice paddies, and swamp terrain that would stop almost anything else.

U.S. crews called them “Pac Vees” and the Viet Cong reportedly called them monsters.

Only a handful were built, and they never lasted past operational testing. However, for a short time they gave U.S. forces a fast, heavily armed way to chase the enemy through terrain most vehicles could not touch.

How and why did this decorative cord become the most common and the universal decoration for the Soldier?

I found this General MNF I coin several years ago in Salt Lake. Didn’t realize what it was until recently as I was going through my finds. Not much info online. Is there any way to determine who may have lost it? Thanks

Hi guys! I've been really into studying Khalid ibn al-Walid lately— Yarmouk, Mu'tah, the early Islamic conquests — and honestly it's more fun with someone to talk it through with instead of just reading alone.

What I find most interesting is looking at both sides of these battles — not just Khalid's tactical genius, but what the opposing commanders were thinking, why their strategy failed or held up. That back-and-forth is where it actually gets interesting.

If you're into this stuff too, would love to just casually go through it together — chat about a battle, argue about a commander's choice, build a reading list, whatever. No pressure, just want to dig into this with someone who's actually curious about it.

Drop a comment or DM if you're down.

I’ve been studying the opening phase of the 1999 Kargil War, and one aspect that really stands out is how brutally asymmetric the terrain was.

Indian troops often had to climb exposed, steep approaches at extreme altitude while enemy positions were already established on dominating heights overlooking key routes.

What makes this especially interesting is that the scale of the intrusion was still becoming clear during the early patrols. So the problem wasn’t simply “capture the heights” — commanders first had to understand how extensive the occupation actually was.

For those who have studied mountain warfare:

How much of India’s initial difficulty in Kargil was caused by the tactical disadvantage of attacking uphill, versus the incomplete intelligence picture during the first weeks?

I recently researched this phase in depth while reconstructing the May 1999 events for a documentary, so I’d also be interested in comparing sources people here recommend.

Hi everyone,
I recently found this dogtag in Vietnam.
The tag appears to read:
Last name: MORDAK
First name: RONALD
Number: 3722377
USAF
MEN
A
I’ve searched online but couldn’t find any information on Ronald Mordak or the service number.
A few questions:
Does this look like an authentic USAF Vietnam-era dog tag?
Is the format normal?
Is there any way to identify the owner from the service number?
I’ve attached photos of both sides.
Any help or information would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

It seems that this is not exactly a laurel wreath since the leaves are thicker and there are some kind of circular things that were coloured in silver.

Therefore, it seems that the IJN only used the basic frame of the laurel wreath and created something new with modeling the domestic plant.

So what is that exactly?

Is that still a laurel wreath or something different?