Joe
Kint
Kint
· Cat · 11B · Light Weapons Infantryman
In-Country Service
10 Dec 1970 – 8 Dec 1971
Home of Record
Manchester, IA
Character of Service
Honorable
Archive Status
Active
Full timeline compiled from Veterans History Project oral history interview (Segments 1–5, 2024). Arrived and departed dates confirmed from interview. Post-service detail complete. If you served with or knew Joe Kint, please use the contribute form to share what you remember.
1970-12-10
Arrived in Vietnam — D Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry
Arrived December 10, 1970. Confirmed in VHP interview. Bob Hope Christmas show was the week after — still a "cherry," pulled duty while old-timers attended. Standard one-week in-country tactical update on booby traps and current VC methodology before deploying forward to a triangular firebase. Initial assignment: D Company, 1/8 Cavalry, MR3.
1970
Assigned to walk point — first week in-country
Assigned point during first week in-country by squad leader; went to CO to argue against it. CO from Eldridge, Iowa explained Army policy: no orphans or widows — unmarried soldiers with no children walk point. Kint was unmarried, no children. Three platoons rotated point daily, so he walked point roughly one day in three. Platoon lieutenant, a Dartmouth graduate, called the tactical column the "OD Circus."
1970
First firefight — VC uniform factory, MR3
Early in tour; platoon was not lead element. While conducting a sweep, the platoon walked onto an active Viet Cong black-pajama uniform factory concealed in the bush: treadle sewing machines, bolts of black cloth, garments sewn and cut — abandoned moments before their arrival. A VC rear guard opened fire (ran off a magazine) to cover the withdrawal. Kint went down on his back — the exact training error from Fort Polk — and watched green enemy tracer rounds converge on his position from directly above. Rounds stopped; he assumed he was dead. They resumed; he rolled prone and achieved fire superiority. His first "I just missed it" moment. Exact date and precise location unknown. No US casualties confirmed from this account.
1971
Unit redesignated — D/1-8 Cav consolidated into D/2-8 Cav
1971 drawdown consolidation. While operating in the bush, Kint's unit was administratively folded from D Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry into D Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry. The troops were so isolated in the field they had "no clue" the battalion designation had changed until well after the fact. Approximate date; exact transition date not yet confirmed.
1971
Issued M16/M79 over-under grenade launcher
Sometime during tour, issued M16 with M79 40mm grenade launcher underslung ("over-under"). Could fire standard M16 magazine or single-shot 40mm rounds — HE, buckshot, marking, etc. Wore a dedicated vest with low pouches for the 79 rounds. As a point man carrying this configuration, his ammo load was lighter than the riflemen behind him.
1971
Received 8th grade letters from Iowa — morale lifeline
A few times during 1971, received packets of 8th grade English assignments forwarded by a former teaching colleague (an older female English teacher). The letters were formal assignments — complete sentences, proper punctuation — which other soldiers also wanted to read. Reading structured student writing was the closest thing Kint had to a sense that surviving the war was worth it. He had no wife or children to think about; the letters from his former students were his one psychological anchor.
1971-10
Reassigned to Biên Hòa — company clerk typist
After approximately 10 months in the bush. Pulled back to Biên Hòa Air Base. "I think I'm going to make it home" — the first time he allowed himself that thought. Hot showers, mess hall, movies on building sides. Stayed within the 1st Cav compound; did not venture into the town. Typed his own DEROS paperwork.
1971
Vũng Tàu — R&R trips (2 from bush) + logistics run (as clerk)
Three total Vũng Tàu trips during tour. Two were in-country R&R passes while in the bush, granted after contacts (quickly helicoptered to a strip, steep C-130 climb out, 3 days each). One was a logistics run as clerk: drove a jeep with supply trailer of clean uniforms and supplies from Biên Hòa to the military R&R welcome center at Vũng Tàu. The center had tents, cots, mess hall, and surfboard rentals. Could wander the streets, ride public transport. "The French Riviera of Vietnam." Has photos from Vũng Tàu (mentioned in interview). NOTE: Possible photo overlap with other D/2-8 Cav soldiers' Vũng Tàu collections.
1971-12-08
Departed Vietnam — two days short of 12 months
Approximately December 8, 1971. "I went home the eighth" — two days short of his December 10 arrival anniversary. Standard compression policy for Christmas-season DEROSes. Left before the 1971 Bob Hope Christmas show (had also missed the 1970 show as a "cherry").
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