I always get a kick out of people who claim to know exactly what they will do when facing any situation. I look back at decisions I have made and it is a grab bag of good and bad. The fact that I am still alive is more probably due to luck than to decisiveness and great decisions on my part.
About late 66 or early 67, I was sent to Cam Ranh Bay in Viet Nam as maintenance supervisor of a C-130 outfit. Cam Ranh was considered about the safest base in Viet Nam because it was on a finger of land, a pennisula, surrounded on three sides by water and well defended. Our C-l30 parking ramps were on the other side of the main base and airstrip. That part of the base still had a lot of small jungle growth and was guarded by ROK (South Koreans) marines. We were warned not to step off into the overgrown bushy areas near our ramp to do a winky-tinky because the ROK,s were known for shooting first and sorting out the results later.
My mind was so saturated with the maintenance problems we faced that I never considered the possibility of getting into any kind of ground combat situations. It just wasn't my kind of thang. Making airplanes fly was my thang. Untill the night I was rousted out of my bunk and told that I was needed on the flightline as we were having trouble getting airplanes to make their missions. I jumped in my truck and drove around the end of the runway toward my area. Imagine my shock when I saw some air policeman manning a 20mm gun there at the end of the runway and ripping off some shots along the sea shore. I stopped and was told that some VC had tried to breach the barbwire barriers along the shore. They pointed out the vauge moonlit scene of a small boat and what looked like 3 bodies about 150 yards up the shore. I asked if that was all of them and they said they didn't know.
The Air Police gunners made radio contact with someone and said it sounded like it would be OK for me to proceed on down the road. They cautioned me strongly about being careful of the ROK marines. I still had over a mile of road to traverse yet, all of it thru jungle growth type small trees and bushes. I didn't make it very far before all hell broke loose in front of me and behind me, rifle fire and some muzzle flashes. I stopped, thinking damn, damn, damn, decision, decision, decision! What the hell do I do now? The only thing I could think of was making sure the ROK marines knew who I was and that I was one really freindly dude. For some reason, any danger from infiltrating VC didnt cross my mind. I set my emergency brake, got out and went to stand in front of my pickup truck....right there in the bright headlights. I immediately began to doubt that decision as the firing in the road about 50 yards in front of me increased in intensitiy while all I could do was just stand there and vibrate. I kind of was wishing I had a rifle but then was wondering what the heck I would be shooting at if I had one. The only real good target I knew of in that area was me. Then the firing stopped, followed by a few minutes of the Koreans shouting back and forth.
I heard running footsteps coming up behind my truck, looked back that way, and watched an air policeman with a guard dog run up and stop beside me. He was out of breath and breathing hard so we both just stood there and listened to the ROK's yelling back and forth some more. Finally, I said, "I guess you think Im stupid standing here in front of these headlights?" He just grinned and said, "Ahhh, you are doing allright."
The Air Policeman's radio mumbled something. He said he needed to take his dog up ahead to do some searching. I asked him if I should leave my lights on. He said ahhh what the hell and took off. After about 15 minutes, the Air Policeman with his guard dog and a ROK lieutenant came walking back down the road and told me it was OK to go on my way. I watched the ROK,s dragging two bodies out of the bushes as I eased on up the road.
So if you think you are the decisive type, in full control of everything that happens in your life, maybe you can advise me. Did I make the right decision? What would you have done? I sometimes ask myself if I would do different if I faced the same situation again. My answer is I dont know. I guess Im just not the decisive type.
About late 66 or early 67, I was sent to Cam Ranh Bay in Viet Nam as maintenance supervisor of a C-130 outfit. Cam Ranh was considered about the safest base in Viet Nam because it was on a finger of land, a pennisula, surrounded on three sides by water and well defended. Our C-l30 parking ramps were on the other side of the main base and airstrip. That part of the base still had a lot of small jungle growth and was guarded by ROK (South Koreans) marines. We were warned not to step off into the overgrown bushy areas near our ramp to do a winky-tinky because the ROK,s were known for shooting first and sorting out the results later.
My mind was so saturated with the maintenance problems we faced that I never considered the possibility of getting into any kind of ground combat situations. It just wasn't my kind of thang. Making airplanes fly was my thang. Untill the night I was rousted out of my bunk and told that I was needed on the flightline as we were having trouble getting airplanes to make their missions. I jumped in my truck and drove around the end of the runway toward my area. Imagine my shock when I saw some air policeman manning a 20mm gun there at the end of the runway and ripping off some shots along the sea shore. I stopped and was told that some VC had tried to breach the barbwire barriers along the shore. They pointed out the vauge moonlit scene of a small boat and what looked like 3 bodies about 150 yards up the shore. I asked if that was all of them and they said they didn't know.
The Air Police gunners made radio contact with someone and said it sounded like it would be OK for me to proceed on down the road. They cautioned me strongly about being careful of the ROK marines. I still had over a mile of road to traverse yet, all of it thru jungle growth type small trees and bushes. I didn't make it very far before all hell broke loose in front of me and behind me, rifle fire and some muzzle flashes. I stopped, thinking damn, damn, damn, decision, decision, decision! What the hell do I do now? The only thing I could think of was making sure the ROK marines knew who I was and that I was one really freindly dude. For some reason, any danger from infiltrating VC didnt cross my mind. I set my emergency brake, got out and went to stand in front of my pickup truck....right there in the bright headlights. I immediately began to doubt that decision as the firing in the road about 50 yards in front of me increased in intensitiy while all I could do was just stand there and vibrate. I kind of was wishing I had a rifle but then was wondering what the heck I would be shooting at if I had one. The only real good target I knew of in that area was me. Then the firing stopped, followed by a few minutes of the Koreans shouting back and forth.
I heard running footsteps coming up behind my truck, looked back that way, and watched an air policeman with a guard dog run up and stop beside me. He was out of breath and breathing hard so we both just stood there and listened to the ROK's yelling back and forth some more. Finally, I said, "I guess you think Im stupid standing here in front of these headlights?" He just grinned and said, "Ahhh, you are doing allright."
The Air Policeman's radio mumbled something. He said he needed to take his dog up ahead to do some searching. I asked him if I should leave my lights on. He said ahhh what the hell and took off. After about 15 minutes, the Air Policeman with his guard dog and a ROK lieutenant came walking back down the road and told me it was OK to go on my way. I watched the ROK,s dragging two bodies out of the bushes as I eased on up the road.
So if you think you are the decisive type, in full control of everything that happens in your life, maybe you can advise me. Did I make the right decision? What would you have done? I sometimes ask myself if I would do different if I faced the same situation again. My answer is I dont know. I guess Im just not the decisive type.
