MACV-SOG veteran recalls a kill that still haunts his nightmares

November 11, 2026

In a video from Mike G., the host reacts to a clip of a MACV-SOG veteran recounting close combat from the Vietnam War, pulled from a Shawn Ryan Show clip. The veteran describes killing an enemy soldier with an entrenching tool during a chaotic firefight, and a recurring nightmare tied to a teenage enemy fighter he killed, a memory that has stayed with him for decades.

Snapshot

The veteran walks through hand-to-hand combat and close-quarters weapon use during MACV-SOG recon missions, including an account of killing a teenage NVA soldier with an entrenching tool after being thrown into a group of enemy fighters by a grenade blast. Mike G. frames the story around how differently Vietnam-era operators and modern special operations veterans process combat trauma, and why some memories never fully fade.

Key points

Weapon preferences varied: the veteran describes shotguns and modified loads used for close-range contact, while John Stryker Meyer told Mike G. the CAR-15 was his favorite weapon despite its known ammunition reliability issues.
A killing that still haunts him: the veteran says a 16-year-old NVA soldier he killed with an entrenching tool returns in nightmares, sometimes appearing as a ghost figure tied to a scene from his book, which the veteran calls "Vagabond's Guys."
MACV-SOG by the numbers: Mike G. cites roughly 250 Americans killed, 30 to 50 listed MIA, 12 Medal of Honor recipients, and 22 Distinguished Service Crosses tied to the unit's covert Vietnam-era operations.
Treatment was not available: the veteran says PTSD was called "battle fatigue" at the time and that he avoided psychiatric care, worried it would get him barred from future service.
A parallel to today: Mike G. connects the veteran's experience to modern special operators, including a DEVGRU sniper he interviewed who carries similar nightmares from a hostage rescue mission.

Quick take

This is a raw, first-person look at what cross-border recon work cost the men who did it, and Mike G. treats the material with the weight it deserves rather than turning it into spectacle. Viewers who want the full story, including the veteran's own account of how he manages the memories decades later, should go to the source.

Watch the full video: Mike G.