Sgt. Mike Viet Nam Humor

[AJ]

I was about 50 yards from one when it hit. Made a he_ _ of a boom!! Have pictures somewhere........

Found the pictures. The first shows the point of impact in front of a steel conex box (the door was blown off). The second shows the revetment wall next to the conex box. I was about 50 yards behind the conex box when the 122 hit. The third shows the Group Headquarters Building. That rocket hit in front of the flag pole and shrapnel hit the concrete and the end of the Headquarters Building. That corner that shows shrapnel impacts is the Group C.O.'s office. Luckily it was about 0300 and he was in his hooch at the time.

 

[Retired W4]

VC Say Goodby to PHILCAG, 1969

The Philippine Civic Action Group, based at Tay Ninh East built roads, bridges, hospital, etc. and had been involved in retrograde operations beginning in early 1969. Their final departure date was sometime in late 1969 (I forget the exact date) and the night before I was on OD (Officer of the Day, meaning I had bunker duty). On our section of the perimeter that night I had 10 enlisted guys to man our main bunker and three two man bunkers (fox holes). I was trooping the line to make sure the guys on watch shift were awake when the VC farewell party began. They started out by rocketing and mortaring the fuel dump and FARP which was about 100 yards from us. After they started that fire they turned their attention to the PHILCAG area on the other side of the active. Next, sappers (don't know where they got in) ran down our revetments, tossing satchel charges under out helicopters. The whole thing lasted several hours. We had a few VC try to probe our sector but command detonated claymores took care of them. There was a village just beyond our wire so our fire was restricted. That was the closest I got to experience how a grunt feels in a combat zone.

We always had the day off after pulling OD and I needed that day off. What a night. BTW, none of the sappers made it out alive.

 

[AJ]

The Philippine Civic Action Group, based at Tay Ninh East built roads, bridges, hospital, etc. and had been involved in retrograde operations beginning in early 1969. Their final departure date was sometime in late 1969 (I forget the exact date) and the night before I was on OD (Officer of the Day, meaning I had bunker duty). On our section of the perimeter that night I had 10 enlisted guys to man our main bunker and three two man bunkers (fox holes). I was trooping the line to make sure the guys on watch shift were awake when the VC farewell party began. They started out by rocketing and mortaring the fuel dump and FARP which was about 100 yards from us. After they started that fire they turned their attention to the PHILCAG area on the other side of the active. Next, sappers (don't know where they got in) ran down our revetments, tossing satchel charges under out helicopters. The whole thing lasted several hours. We had a few VC try to probe our sector but command detonated claymores took care of them. There was a village just beyond our wire so our fire was restricted. That was the closest I got to experience how a grunt feels in a combat zone.

We always had the day off after pulling OD and I needed that day off. What a night. BTW, none of the sappers made it out alive.

Sounds like Chu Lai when the Head Barber was found dead in the wire after an attack. He had been one of the sappers. Heard about that from friends who were there.

 

[bgrafsr]

Ah yes, the old immersion heater in a trash can trick. Very sanitary.

Our hooch maids in Tay Ninh did the laundry and polished our boots. The boots looked great. The laundry...not so much. Bien Hoa laundry service was first class. Of course we had hot water and flush toilets in Bien Hoa, a hold over from the Air Force.

1st picture: Bien Hoa. 2nd picture: Tay Ninh.

We didn't have sand bags surrounding our hooches in Bien Hoa, although we did get rocketed there on occasion. Big smiles on these stone cold killers.

We had a sand bag bunker behind our hut.
I forgot that the hut girls also shined our shoes/boots.
We had a new latrine/shower facility built shortly before I got there.
Our food was for the most part very good. When I first arrived, the cooks were excellent. We got steak and french fries a couple of times a week.
Had a movie theater with popcorn too.

 

[bgrafsr]

The "Rose Garden"? nice name anyway.

Here is a shot I took during an over flight of the runway at Bien Hoa. Looks like an A-1E SkyRaider parked near the Hurcs. The fast movers are under the their Quonset looking bunkers. I saw a couple U-2's land and take off from that runway. No pictures!!

Worked 2nd & 3rd shift at Bien Hoa, humped the flight line most of the time, or else did security at the TACAN site between the runways.
One night I was at the site and was sitting on the ground with my back against a wheel of the TACAN truck. Suddenly I got a chill and became very nervous. I shined my light towards the field where the concertina wire was laid, and I saw two huge green eyes looking at me. It was a tiger and it kept pacing back and forth along the wire.
I immediately got into the cab of the truck and called headquarters, and they sent a squad out, but by that time it had left. I stayed in the truck the rest of the night and the tiger came back, pacing along the wire. In the morning a squad came out and wanted me to go with them to look for the tiger. I declined.
After returning to Clark Air Base, PI, I got word that another AP on duty at the TACAN site shot and killed a tiger.

 

[Retired W4]

Bgrafsr, I don't know when you were at Bien Hoa but exactly one month after I returned to The World my good friend Fitz Fitzsimmons, who had just started flying OH-58's for battalion was called up one night (AUG 1970) to check out an incursion of the perimeter. A platoon of VC opened up on him and shot him down. Rest in peace Fitz.

 

[bgrafsr]

Bgrafsr, I don't know when you were at Bien Hoa but exactly one month after I returned to The World my good friend Fitz Fitzsimmons, who had just started flying OH-58's for battalion was called up one night (AUG 1970) to check out an incursion of the perimeter. A platoon of VC opened up on him and shot him down. Rest in peace Fitz.

Sorry to hear about your friend. I was TDY from Clark Air Base, PI, and arrived at Bien Hoa on October 31st, 1964. I left Bien Hoa sometime in February 1965. Our Squadron Commander at Clark would let 3 AP's go to VN for 3 month stints only. I asked if I could stay longer, but was told no.

 

[AJ]

Bgrafsr, I don't know when you were at Bien Hoa but exactly one month after I returned to The World my good friend Fitz Fitzsimmons, who had just started flying OH-58's for battalion was called up one night (AUG 1970) to check out an incursion of the perimeter. A platoon of VC opened up on him and shot him down. Rest in peace Fitz.

Sorry about your friend. We lost three A6-A's in six months. Two to SAM's on night missions (FAC controlled) and one to manual 100MM anti-aircraft fire and a daylight mission. Five out of six aircrew were lost, the sixth was a POW.

 

[Retired W4]

Sorry about your friend. We lost three A6-A's in six months. Two to SAM's on night missions (FAC controlled) and one to manual 100MM anti-aircraft fire and a daylight mission. Five out of six aircrew were lost, the sixth was a POW.

Some hard times over SEA.

 

[Greyman50]

Sad posts. Not enough ARC Light strikes on N. Vietnam…..

 

[AJ]

Sad posts. Not enough ARC Light strikes on N. Vietnam…..

A friend of mine that spent a couple of tours in 1/9 and 3/9 in the DMZ saw quite a few ARC Lights. He said they always knew what they were going to do the next day after one............BDA's!

 

[AJ]

New guys shopping list...............My CO saw us tasking the new guys to find stuff one time. He laughed and said just don't hurt them. They did the same thing to the new officers too.

 

[AJ]

Never really saw this happen, but I can suppose it did somewhere.....

 

[bgrafsr]

My introduction to Bien Hoa was a mortar attack. I was sleeping after getting settled in at the base, and was awakened by loud booms. After getting fully awake, I heard someone on the loud speaker saying the base was under attack, and everyone report to their stations.
I ran over to AP headquarters and on the way tracers were going over my head. I came across a guy sitting on the ground and he had a gaping wound on his left upper arm. Turned out he was hit by a machine gun round from an army gunner. The army had a compound by the flight line, and they were hit by the mortars, and the gunner got confused and turned his gun towards the base and let loose.
There was an AP guard near the wounded guy and he told me an ambulance was on the way to get him, and I should beat feet to AP headquarters, which I did.
I was put in charge of 20 Airmen and it turned out we were stationed along the fence in the rear of my hut.
It was a long night, but the VC left after firing off the mortars.
They destroyed several B57's and several more needed repair.
The runways were pockmarked from the mortars, so planes could not take off. They finally got a helicopter into the air and it had the electric cannon aboard. It lit up the sky with tracer rounds from when they fired into the jungle.

 

[Greyman50]

New guys shopping list...............My CO saw us tasking the new guys to find stuff one time. He laughed and said just don't hurt them. They did the same thing to the new officers too.

LOL, we had a guy that fell for," hey, ask how much air pressure is needed in a M-60 road wheel"

 

[AJ]

Thanksgiving dinner in a chow hall/mess hall/mess deck/dining facility was usually very good. The folks that dined with you were/are your "family".

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

[AJ]

Very rarely are the words "The Skipper wants to see you" a good thing! Sometimes it is, but mostly it is not.Just remember that 10,000 "atta boys" are wiped out by one "Aw ****!"

 

[Retired W4]

Very rarely are the words "The Skipper wants to see you" a good thing! Sometimes it is, but mostly it is not.Just remember that 10,000 "atta boys" are wiped out by one "Aw ****!"

My advice if there is an Article 15 involved...don't sign it. That is unless a Courts Marshal is a slam dunk.

 

[AJ]

Words that you never want to hear for real!! That said I had a 1stSgt. when I was the Guard Chief at a Marine Barracks that thought it was funny to hide practice grenades in various places with the pin pulled as a practical joke. Did you know that a practice grenade will fit in a coffee cup upside down on you desk? Or in the center desk drawer of a desk? And numerous other places! I kept a spare pin in my pocket, and on my duty belt all the time while I was there....

 

[AJ]

Your Monitor/Detailer will always take care of you! Yea right............