A
Anonymous
Guest
We were leaning back against our rucksacks out on the flight line in Phu Bai, waiting for the choppers to come in, and we heard them long before we saw them. It was time to take a look/see across the border where no US forces were supposed to be operating, all 29 of us in Scouts. We knew there was some serious numbers of NVA, and Victor Charles involved.
We were flying about 90 mph, nap of the earth- treetop level. When you are that low it seems REAL fast. The doors were open, and it was kinda cool, with no sound except the blades beating the air. We were sitting on the edge of the sides, with our feet hanging down, warpaint on, no flak vest, no steel pots, just 'boonie' hats.
[Made me think back to my first time out. We were in the seats, and the doors were open, and nobody was wearing seatbelts. Then we banked 90% and I'm looking straight down, and suddenly I decide maybe that seatbelt would be a good idea. Only I can't find the 2 correct ends, so I just tie them in a knot. I look up and the 'heads and 'lifers' are laughing their asses off, hell the crew chief is even grinning. Then I remember "centrifical force", and thats why we didn't use the belts, but those words did not make me feel any better.]
Anyway we are starting to make some touch downs; we do several so charlie won't know which place we get off at. On no. 3 the LT. motions for us to get ready, and about 5 feet above the ground we jump out. We are in Charlie's house now, and if we screw up we're going to be in a world of hurt. WE are now the hunted.
We break up into 4 groups, me with the LT., because I
have the radio. Our platoon sgt, SFC "Rock" goes with 1st squad, and we go with 2nd. That way if we get hit, we won't risk Rock & the LT getting hit at the same time. There is some mist, but its already starting to get hot, and its just 6 am. Second squad is kinda command & control, but "the kid"-LT, has to see everything for himself. I'm humping a [PRK]#####
77, with a scrambler on the bottom, and 2 extra batteries, so that is 40 more lbs than anyone else. But no matter how tired I get, NOBODY touches my radio. Stuff is starting to come in, Charlie all over the place, but thats cool because we're not supposed to make contact [initiate a fire fight] just collect info. What we find is not what we expected. There's more NVA than we've ever seen except on tv in downtown Hanoi. And these guys are dug in, with lots of heavy anti-aircraft guns, and SAMS-7. These are the ones that if they miss you on the way up, they get you on the way down. Looks like the biggest turkey hunt ever staged, and we're the turkeys.
Everyone who comes back in says the same thing. We haven't used the squad radios because they are real short range, and if someone hears us they know we're close. Then it comes time for me to enter the net, and I hand the headset to the LT. HE stays on the horn about 15 minutes with brigade, and then we head out.
Our LZ is about 3 miles away so we have some humping to do. About 45 minutes later we take a breather because its REAL hot. Sgt Rock is telling the LT, maybe we better get Battalion
on the horn, because Brigade didn't want to hear all the particulars, or they didn't believe us.I think the chicken colonel at brigade wanted a star, real bad, and didn't care how many k.i.a or w.i.a were on that check he was writing to buy that star. The colonel at battalion is on and he is hearing from the LT that there is some serious heavy firepower waiting, even
TRACKS, with the 4 barreled 23 mm guns. But the colonel says all he can do is talk to brigade. We're still walking, and I get battalion on the horn, so I hand it to the LT, and off in the distance you can hear the choppers coming. Must have been over 100. I get the handset back and all the LT does is point straight ahead with both hands, toward our LZ. Sometimes these things are just too big to stop.
Well the first group has landed and the second group
we hear off in the distance. After they pass overhead about 5 minutes later, just as they are about to land, HELL BREAKS LOOSE. We can hear gunfire and explosions, and the radio is nuts on every channel I hit. There are birds down all over the place, and everyone is screaming for a dustoff. I'm hearing reports of 40+ choppers down, and units being cut off and shot to pieces. It's bad. REALLY BAD.
We still have our orders but we know there won't be
any choppers available, not now. We are stopped, and Rock and the LT are talking with our 3 squad leaders, Sgts Jaycock, Fitzgerald and Thibodeaux.
We already know whats's about to happen. We're going back. Twenty nine scouts, all with M-16s, 3, .45s, some hand grenades, smoke grenades and star clusters,
6 Claymore mines, and 200 rounds of ammo per man, not counting the .45s.
It's about to get interesting.
We were flying about 90 mph, nap of the earth- treetop level. When you are that low it seems REAL fast. The doors were open, and it was kinda cool, with no sound except the blades beating the air. We were sitting on the edge of the sides, with our feet hanging down, warpaint on, no flak vest, no steel pots, just 'boonie' hats.
[Made me think back to my first time out. We were in the seats, and the doors were open, and nobody was wearing seatbelts. Then we banked 90% and I'm looking straight down, and suddenly I decide maybe that seatbelt would be a good idea. Only I can't find the 2 correct ends, so I just tie them in a knot. I look up and the 'heads and 'lifers' are laughing their asses off, hell the crew chief is even grinning. Then I remember "centrifical force", and thats why we didn't use the belts, but those words did not make me feel any better.]
Anyway we are starting to make some touch downs; we do several so charlie won't know which place we get off at. On no. 3 the LT. motions for us to get ready, and about 5 feet above the ground we jump out. We are in Charlie's house now, and if we screw up we're going to be in a world of hurt. WE are now the hunted.
We break up into 4 groups, me with the LT., because I
have the radio. Our platoon sgt, SFC "Rock" goes with 1st squad, and we go with 2nd. That way if we get hit, we won't risk Rock & the LT getting hit at the same time. There is some mist, but its already starting to get hot, and its just 6 am. Second squad is kinda command & control, but "the kid"-LT, has to see everything for himself. I'm humping a [PRK]#####
77, with a scrambler on the bottom, and 2 extra batteries, so that is 40 more lbs than anyone else. But no matter how tired I get, NOBODY touches my radio. Stuff is starting to come in, Charlie all over the place, but thats cool because we're not supposed to make contact [initiate a fire fight] just collect info. What we find is not what we expected. There's more NVA than we've ever seen except on tv in downtown Hanoi. And these guys are dug in, with lots of heavy anti-aircraft guns, and SAMS-7. These are the ones that if they miss you on the way up, they get you on the way down. Looks like the biggest turkey hunt ever staged, and we're the turkeys.
Everyone who comes back in says the same thing. We haven't used the squad radios because they are real short range, and if someone hears us they know we're close. Then it comes time for me to enter the net, and I hand the headset to the LT. HE stays on the horn about 15 minutes with brigade, and then we head out.
Our LZ is about 3 miles away so we have some humping to do. About 45 minutes later we take a breather because its REAL hot. Sgt Rock is telling the LT, maybe we better get Battalion
on the horn, because Brigade didn't want to hear all the particulars, or they didn't believe us.I think the chicken colonel at brigade wanted a star, real bad, and didn't care how many k.i.a or w.i.a were on that check he was writing to buy that star. The colonel at battalion is on and he is hearing from the LT that there is some serious heavy firepower waiting, even
TRACKS, with the 4 barreled 23 mm guns. But the colonel says all he can do is talk to brigade. We're still walking, and I get battalion on the horn, so I hand it to the LT, and off in the distance you can hear the choppers coming. Must have been over 100. I get the handset back and all the LT does is point straight ahead with both hands, toward our LZ. Sometimes these things are just too big to stop.
Well the first group has landed and the second group
we hear off in the distance. After they pass overhead about 5 minutes later, just as they are about to land, HELL BREAKS LOOSE. We can hear gunfire and explosions, and the radio is nuts on every channel I hit. There are birds down all over the place, and everyone is screaming for a dustoff. I'm hearing reports of 40+ choppers down, and units being cut off and shot to pieces. It's bad. REALLY BAD.
We still have our orders but we know there won't be
any choppers available, not now. We are stopped, and Rock and the LT are talking with our 3 squad leaders, Sgts Jaycock, Fitzgerald and Thibodeaux.
We already know whats's about to happen. We're going back. Twenty nine scouts, all with M-16s, 3, .45s, some hand grenades, smoke grenades and star clusters,
6 Claymore mines, and 200 rounds of ammo per man, not counting the .45s.
It's about to get interesting.