VIETNAM PALS

They are Vietnam buddies forever.

Ken Vermilyea and his wife, Elaine, recently played host to the Shamrocks Guns. The Guns were four U.S. Army helicopter crew chiefs, with now only three remaining, who fought in Vietnam. They pulled duty on Cobra helicopters or gunships.

Attending the reunion this summer in Blooming Prairie were Ken Vermilyea, Blooming Prairie; Dwayne Mattson, South Haven; and Ron Schnorenberg, Hartford, Wis. The men were accompanied by their wives or significant others.

The deceased member of the Shamrock Guns is Ron Dahlke, Belle Vista, Ark. He passed away six years ago.

Removed uniforms

Every year since 1972, these Army buddies have gotten together to relive old memories and create new memories. They remember not being treated so well when they returned to American soil from their duty in Vietnam.

“They told us to place our uniforms in the trash bin at Fort Lewis, Washington, and put on civilian clothes,” recalled Mattson.

Mattson said he got two questions from people when he returned: 1) How good was the marijuana in Vietnam? 2) Did you kill any babies?

Reunions like the one held in Blooming Prairie help dispel misunderstandings about those who fought in Vietnam. The Vermilyea reunion featured lots of card playing, good food, and sharing of family history.

All four of the Shamrocks were drafted. They all ended up in the same unit that went to Pleku, Vietnam. All four attained the rank of E-4 and all served on the Cobra gunship, a Cobra two-man machine.

Each member of the Shamrocks carried grenade launchers and a 7.62 mini gun. It had six barrels that would allow the weapon to fire 6,000 rounds a minute.

“We put the rockets together,” said Schnorenberg.

Mattson revealed that they lost men on their helicopter missions.

“In one night, we lost 18 helicopters that were bombed by the enemy,” he said.

“We went to Vietnam for the right reasons but found out they were the wrong reasons,” commented Mattson.

The three members of the Shamrocks said there were times when they received special benefits. “I went to Australia,” said Schnorenberg.

He said he wired home to his parents and directed them to order him a gold GTO upon his discharge from the Army.

“I paid $5,200 in cash for that beauty,” he said.

Separate ways

Following their discharge from the Army, the Shamrocks all went their separate ways.

Vermilyea went to vocational school and worked at a Ford garage.

Mattson went to college and finished his degree.

Schnorenberg returned home to work at Sears.

Dahlke was married with a child and lived in Oshkosh, Wis.

The surviving Shamrocks attended a 50-year reunion in Hartford, Wis., in 2022.

Schnorenberg is the most talkative of the group, and he loves to tell stories, some true and some not so true.

Mattson is more reserved and was called “Gramps,” because he was the eldest of the Shamrocks.

Vermilyea is still recovering from a four-wheel accident not on Army time.

Dahlke was said to have been the most physically fit of the group. He later suffered from cardiac issues.