Welcome to USMC
Vietnam Tankers Association
Welcome to USMC
Vietnam Tankers Association
Welcome to USMC
Welcome to USMC
About Us
The U.S. Marine Corps introduced the M48A3 Patton Tank and the M50A1 Ontos Anti-Tank vehicles to the Vietnam War in March of 1965, a war that many, including the Commander of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), Army’s Gen. Westmoreland, said armor had no place in. Marine armor proved so effective that the U.S. Army later followed suit. Today the USMC VietnamTankers Association keeps alive that brotherhood and history of Marine armor of the Vietnam War.The USMC Vietnam Tankers Association is a non-profit fraternal organization (brotherhood) of United States Marines and Navy Corpsmen veterans who served with any of the three Marine Corps tank battalions (1st, 3rd and 5th Tank Battalions) or anti-tank battalions (1st, 3rd and 5th Anti-Tank Battalions) in Vietnam between 1965 and 1970. Membership is open to any and all military occupational specialties (MOS) that were assigned to a Marine tank battalion including: tank crewmen and officers, Ontos crewmen and officers, tank repairmen, optics repair, ordinance, armorers, supply, office clerks, cooks, motor-t, and our beloved Navy Corpsmen. Our motto is “Ensuring our legacy through Reunion, Renewal and Remembrance.”Every other odd-numbered year we hold a Reunion in a different U.S. city to Renew and reestablish the friendships and experiences we shared during the Vietnam War. And thirdly, we Remember those fallen heroes who perished on the battlefield as well as those that have passed on since. In addition, we actively record and publish our personal and unit histories for future generations to ensure our legacy making certain that the contribution made by tanks and Ontos in the Vietnam War is not lost in the writing of U.S. Marine Corps battle history.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Mini-Reunion – We are going to (again) visit Columbus, Georgia in September 2024
We have been invited to visit a brand new (and yet not open to the public) Tank Collection at Ft Benning (aka Fort Moore). If you remember, back in 2018, we conducted our first (ever) mini-reunion where we visited the (now closed) USMC Tank School and a very special Tank Restoration Project located at Ft Benning. While we were there, we learned that the Tank Restoration Project was being conducted with the idea that the US Army would eventually open a massive and all-inclusive Armor Museum. Many of the tanks have now been fully restored and are housed in a very large building on the Army base.
One very interesting point was the fact that the Tank Restoration Project has at least one of every tank that was ever produced at any time, by any nation in the world. The one and only exception is a tank that was produced by the Nazi during WW-2 which is the super-heavy “Panzer VIII Maus” tank. We understand that only five of those German monster tanks were ever produced and only one survived after the war. That one and only model is now housed in the Russian Tank Museum in Kubinka.
Next September when we visit Ft Moore, we will see a very impressive collection of international armored vehicles. Another interesting note is that the M-4 Sherman tank had 19 variants built over the years. The collection will have one of each variant. Below is a photo images of some of the restored tanks.
The mini-reunion hotel will be the Hampton Inn (2870 Lumpkin Road, Columbus, GA 31903) where we stayed in 2018. The dates for our gathering are September 12 – 15, 2024. The special hotel room rate is $139+ tax per night with a free breakfast each morning.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT OUR 2024 Mini REUNION, GO TO REUNION NEWS or CLICK HERE
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, A 50th ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE
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Our Organization
We hold a national reunion every odd numbered year. We rotate the reunion site around the country to give people a better chance to attend one close by. We try to keep it near an area of military interest. We have have taken side trips during each reunion such as the U.S. Army Proving Grounds in Aberdeen, MD, MCRD Parris Island, the battleship USS New Jersey and The Wall in Washington, DC, etc.
