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Radio First Termer

Vietnamese pirate radio station

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ7280788
Source-derived summary

Radio First Termer was an underground pirate radio station that operated in January 1971 during the Vietnam War. The station was fronted by United States Air Force Sergeant Clyde David DeLay (August 15, 1948 — January 20, 2012), under the on-air pseudonym of "Dave Rabbit". The two other members of his crew were called "Pete Sadler" and "Nguyen."

After serving three tours in Vietnam, DeLay and his friends launched Radio First Termer from a secret studio located inside a Saigon brothel, with the format centered on "hard acid rock" from bands such as Steppenwolf, Bloodrock, Three Dog Night, Led Zeppelin, Sugarloaf, James Gang, and Iron Butterfly, who were popular among the troops but largely ignored by the American Forces Vietnam Network. The music was mixed with antiwar commentary, skits lampooning the Air Force and former President Lyndon B. Johnson, and explicit sexual and drug-oriented jokes. Radio First Termer broadcast for a total of 63 hours over 21 nights from January 1 to 21, 1971.

During the mid-1990s, sound clips from the station that were posted on the Internet renewed interest in the station. In 2006, DeLay went public with his broadcasting history, and was interviewed in a bonus feature on the DVD release of the 2005 documentary Sir! No Sir!. In February 2008, station clips were aired on Opie & Anthony.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Radio First Termer” is vietnamese pirate radio station. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Radio, First and Termer, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1971, 1948, 2012, 2006—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Radio, First and Termer is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “vietnamese pirate radio station” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7280788. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1971, 1948, 2012 and 2006.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Radio First Termer”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Radio First Termer primary sources, Radio First Termer archive and Radio research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Radio First Termer”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Radio First Termer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.