1968 Compiled by Hilan Jones
Kenneth Marze was drafted into the army and started infantry training at Fort Pork, Louisiana in July of 1967. If you have ever been to Louisiana in the middle of summer you can appreciate the miserable heat and humidity, if not you can only guess. About the only good thing to say about it is that you were acclimated to the conditions of South East Asia with out having been there. This was a plus as most all of the infantry trainees would be going to Vietnam upon completion of their training.
Marze was no exception and after a 30-day leave, he arrived at the Bien Hoa Airfield in the Republic of Vietnam on the January 5, 1968. Marze was an 18-year-old, full of piss and vinegar, anxious to get the war over with. Stationed at the 9th Infantry Division base camp at Bearcat with the 2/47th Infantry he learned that the LRRPs were looking for volunteers. He threw his name in the ring to become a LRRP and by the end of January 1968, he was accepted.
It had been almost a year since the first casualty, Leroy Lynn Miles, of the LRPD. Kenneth Ray Lancaster of Silver Spring, Maryland, became the second while in the final phase of training, the combat patrol, at the MACV Recondo School. There are varying accounts of that fateful morning of 3 January, 1968. Following is the most accurate as seen through the eyes of a man that was on that mission, Tony "Ape" Hanlon.
"I feel I need to set the record straight concerning the events regarding Ken Lancaster's death. The excerpt from 'Rangers at War LRRPs in Vietnam' is not the truth. There was no fire fight that morning. The following account of the events that day is as accurate as I remember them.
I had the misfortune of being with Ken Lancaster on the student patrol when he fell from the chopper skid. There were seven men on the team: Special Forces Sergeant First Class Jason T. Woodworth, one Korean liaison officer Lieutenant Chi Keun Hong, Kenneth Lancaster, George Kozach, William Rudge, Tony Hanlon, and a Korean student. We had inserted at dusk into a very small landing zone halfway up a mountainside. The chopper couldn't land forcing us to jump five to ten feet to the ground. As point man I was first out, then Woodworth and Lancaster, followed by the remainder of the team. We grouped, set a perimeter, monitored the area for a bit, and then proceeded down the mountain. Near the base of the mountain we found super high speed trail four to five feet wide. We crossed the trail, got to the bottom of the mountain and started up the other mountain. I don't remember how far or how long we traveled but we did take a break.
I need to regress to shortly after I arrived in the Nam. I cut one or two coils off the spring that held tension on the selector switch so I could flip my 16 to auto easier and quicker. While moving in the dark, somehow my selector switch was moved to semi. During our rest stop I was moving slightly to adjust my position, my M16 resting against my left shoulder, the barrel near my cheek when it discharged. After I got my night vision back we were told to move out. We moved up the mountain for the remainder of the night. At daybreak we came upon a somewhat level area overgrown by elephant grass. The team prepared the pick up zone while the SFC Woodworth called for extraction.
Now here's the really f-----d up part. Three birds came into view from behind the mountain , the pick-up bird and two Cobras or Gun ships, I don't remember for certain which. I do remember all three choppers were firing everything they had. The pick-up bird came in, set one skid near the ground and hovered while the team loaded on. To our amazement there were two men riding on the pick-up bird. We scrambled onto the chopper and it lifted off unaware that Lancaster and Kozach were still on the ground. I'll never forget the look of sheer terror on the door-gunners face as I boarded. He was firing his M60 into the tree line. We didn't know Lancaster and Kozach hadn't gotten on board and were holding on to the skid as we lifted off the ground. I don't remember how high we were when we became aware of Lancaster's grave situation. The team members on that side of the chopper tried to pull him in but were unable to. When Ken fell, it was as if time had stopped.
This was a F-----g nightmare and shock. I need to go back up to the extraction. We (the team) didn't know there were two pick-up birds, the second one picked up Kozach without incident. Why were there two men in the first bird? Who knows? I don't. Why wasn't the team informed of two pick up birds? Who knows? I don't. SFC Woodworth was the most learned man on the team. He should have been the last one into the chopper. However, Ken Lancaster did what we were all about; making sure his team was safe, costing his life. 'Rest in peace Ken."
Marze was a husky lad and certainly looked the part in his camouflage battle dress, hands and face painted black and green to blend into the surrounding jungle. He was indoctrinated into the LRRPs fast and was selected to fill in on a ten-man ambush patrol. Preparing for his first mission, he was thankful for the training at Fort Polk, as the weather was hot and sultry.
The ambush was set along a trail that showed visual sign of recent use and gave a high probability of success. The patrol barely got the claymores in place and settled into position when 10 NVA came walking down the trail. The guy that was supposed to set off the claymores missed the signal so the patrol leader hollered out for him to detonate the ambush. The NVA were well into the kill zone when the ambush was initiated and in the excitement of battle, Marze stood to get a better line of fire. The concussion (back blast) from the claymores threw him about 10 feet, slamming him to the ground. Stunned by the force he quickly got to his feet, thankful to be alive. On his cherry mission Marze helped to eliminate ten enemy soldiers, received his indoctrination into the LRRPs, and earned his Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB).
On January 24, 1968, near Binh Son, a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol that included Team Leader Greg Foreman, observers Thomas Wayne Hodge, Edward Chaffin, George House, and Gary Hollenbeck, were moving cautiously along a trail. Indication of heavy and recent use was visible as they came to a crossroads. Foreman and House moved out to investigate the crossing, the other three stayed put to provide security. Chaffin saw four Viet Cong coming up behind Foreman and House preparing to fire on them. Acting quickly and decisively he, Hodge, and Hollenbeck took them under fire. There was an intense fire fight and Hodge was fatally wounded.
The VC was lucky this day as Hollenbeck and Chaffin's weapons jammed. Both men applied immediate action, clearing their weapons, as Foreman retrieved the mortally wounded Hodge. They continued to pour heavy fire on the pursuing enemy, breaking contact using the standard reaction drill. The team began their escape and evasion as the VC regrouped and started to pursue the LRRPs. With the enemy in pursuit it became necessary to leave Hodge. Some members of the team covered his body with leaves and twigs, and then booby trapped it. The patrol continued their E&E. Arriving safely at the pick up zone; the team was extracted and returned to Bearcat. There they were met by a LRRP reaction force that returned to the scene and retrieved Hodge's body. Thomas Hodge was posthumously awarded the Silver Star in recognition of his action that was instrumental in allowing the team inflict heavy casualties on the enemy and make it safely to the pick up zone. Chaffin and Hollenbeck would later be awarded the Bronze Star with V for their action.
The time spent at Bearcat was quite different than what was to be at Dong Tam. Rockets or mortars were seldom spent attacking Bearcat but the opposite was true for the delta base camp It was not unusual for Dong Tam to be hit once a week with rockets or mortars. It was during such an attack on 11 February 1968 that George Jonathan House was killed. A 122mm Rocket came through the roof of the double story barracks and shrapnel from the rocket killed George.
Only the best were called to be LRRPs, including the chain of command. Lieutenant Dale L. Dickey received his tutelage while performing as one of the operation officers under the best commander at the company level in Vietnam, Captain Clarence Matsuda. Upon Matsuda's departure in February 1968, Lt. Dickey took command and the LRRP Company never missed a beat. "There were no precedents for protracted operations in a water-filled land five feet above sea level. The trackless, inundated wastes south of Saigon, required learning on the job as the VC were pursued. Their first forays and contacts being history, the LRPD had gained a reputation among friend and foe alike. An elite, cohesive, determined, hard charging unit, they proudly carried the nick name of "Reliable Reconnaissance" into their second year of combat."
When the division base camp moved to Dong Tam, located in the Delta, an opportunity came for some of the LRRPs to cross train with the Navy Seals. Marze was one of the first to go on a mission with a seal team. It was an experience he will never forget. Only if you have been there and smelled the stench of death could you ever imagine what it was like.
Most seal insertions were at night, dropping of navy patrol boats (PBR) and walking in to a predetermined objective. This particular night the seal team, with Marze as a member, was inserted and walked about six kilometers. They came to an area with several hooch's scattered in the nipa palm. What the patrol thought to be a small village turned out to be a large NVA base area. It was near 0100 hours when two seals opened the door to one of the hooch's and stepped in. The hooch was lined with cots on both sides, occupied by about 30 sleeping NVA. Marze was providing rear security as the two seals opened fire with their Stoners (an automatic weapon with 150 round drum). A young VC girl wounded two seals and the interpreter when she threw a grenade thrown from the hooch. As she tried to escape out the rear of the hooch, Marze shot and killed her.
As the patrol pulled out of the area, Marze picked up the wounded interpreter in a fireman's carry. The wounded seals were able to move on their own, as they waded and swam numerous canals making their way back toward the river. The surviving NVA were yelling and firing their weapons as they searched for the seal team.
The team made it to a rice paddy, about 1500 meters from the contact area, before they were pinned down by automatic weapons fire and occasional mortar rounds. With the wounded men it was impossible to get back for extraction by boat so the team leader called for a helicopter pick up. Marze was later quoted as saying, 'I never will forget, while we were pinned down, I was laughing while this seal was crying."
The helicopter was sent in at about 0230 in the morning to pick them up. The LZ was hot and initially the pilot refused to go in and make the pick up. The navy chief told him if he didn't come in, they would shoot him down. There was a short lull in the firing and the Pilot came in to pick up the team. The chopper hovered just off the ground as the seals scrambled onto the chopper. The navy chief was the last one aboard and took a round that was fortunately stopped by the battery in the radio on his back. The chief submitted Marze for an award but the paperwork was lost and nothing came of it.
A team led by Staff Sergeant Johnston Dunlop spent some tense moments in Long Thanh Province as the team observed the movement of about one hundred Viet Cong. It was late afternoon when the team entered the Binh Son Rubber Plantation about eight miles South of Bearcat. Within thirty minutes after the insertion the patrol spotted ten Viet Cong soldiers moving along a well used trail. "As time passed, we continued to see uniformed enemy soldiers," related SSG Dunlop, of Auburn, New York. They were well armed with AK47 rifles and 81mm mortars. Over 100 enemy were counted in the next couple of hours. At dusk, Dunlop called artillery on the trail as the enemy passed. "As the shells hit the enemy would move off the trail. They would wait, and then move on after the shelling stopped."
After the patrol was extracted, SSG Dunlop flew over with an Air Force forward air controller and pinpointed the enemy location. Division artillery bombarded the location.
The VC used various ways of communicating and was forced to improvise due to a shortage of radio equipment. Some used single shots to communicate, sometimes they struck bamboo sticks together, and lanterns were sometimes used at night to communicate as well as navigate. Marze was to learn this on his second mission out, a five-man reconnaissance patrol.
Normal insertions took place early in the morning or near last light. This seemed to be the times that contact was least likely to happen. Most times LT Stetson would be on the chopper used to put the LRRP team on the ground. He and the team leader would make sure the correct LZ was used. This day was no different than many before. It was an hour or so before dark and the huey was flying at tree top level. A cobra gunship was providing support from near by. The insertion chopper came upon the LZ and briefly touched down. The five LRRPs hit the ground and moved into the treelike even before the huey was back in the air. The choppers would remain in the vicinity long enough for the team to get settled into their night position.
The team moved into the jungle some 300 meters and circled for the night. They had been on the ground for thirty minutes and all was quiet. The team leader gave Stetson the all clear saying, 'the steak is cold', the LRRP code that meant all was clear. If the 'steak was hot', the team would have been extracted for an insertion into the alternate LZ. As the darkness engulfed the five men, all that could be heard was the 'Fuk U Lizard' calling out, fukuuuuu, fukuuuuu.
The following morning the team was up and moving early. Things were uneventful most of the day. After traveling a couple of thousand meters through thick jungle, stopping several times to listen for any sound of the enemy, at 1100 hours they stopped for 'pot time'. Pot time was 1100 to 1300 hours when the VC would stop for lunch and an afternoon rest. If you moved during this time you were at a disadvantage as the VC being stationary would be more apt to hear your movement.
Late in the afternoon the team leader started to look for a good place to spend the night. The vegetation thinned and they found themselves in a complex of trails. Before they could move out of the area there was VC on both sides. All they could do was lay low and wait for an opportunity to escape and evade. As darkness fell they could hear the VC knocking bamboo sticks hitting together signaling that the team was in the area. Fortunately the patrol found some dense under growth and watched the entire night as lanterns glowed all around them. Thinking the patrol had moved out of the area the VC gave up their search and moved on. The remainder of the patrol was uneventful and the team was extracted two days later. Once back at base camp there was time to relax, drink some beer, and swap stories before the next time out.
Prior to the TET offensive there were several sightings of large groups of NVA and VC units moving to and from Saigon through the Binh Son rubber plantation. The LRRP commander put two LRRP teams together for a special ambush mission. On February 17, 1968, ten LRRPs were inserted into a landing zone just inside the plantation. One of the teams consisted of Staff Sergeants Hilan Jones and Elbert Walden, Sergeant Mike Rohr, along with Specialists Four Donald Dupont and Dave Long. The other team was made up with a group of team leaders, Specialist Four Tom Eggleton, Sergeant Ed Rasen, Staff Sergeant's James Glaze, and David Sellens, and a Private who had just joined from the 101st Airborne. The patrol was designed for the teams to work in concert while at the same time independently in the event that escape and evasion became necessary.
The LRRPs were inserted early that morning without incident. They moved quickly to stake out a major trail and set up the ambush. Jones and his team set up on the right, facing the trail. Eggleton set his team up on the left with about forty meters separating the teams. Walden, Rohr, and Dupont provided security on the right flank while Glaze, Sellens, and the 101st guy secured the left. Eggleton and Rasen strung Claymore mines in their portion of the kill zone as Jones and Long set up the other side.
Shortly after the wiring of the ten claymores was finished and the ambush was in place, three NVA soldiers came moving down the trail from the right to left of the patrol. The ambush was not quite set and they were allowed to pass. Soon to follow was the main force (in excess of 50 NVA soldiers) in full battle gear. The three that passed earlier turned out to be the point element of the larger group.
The NVA soldiers were moving quickly along the trail with only a meter or so between soldiers. Each had a weapon. One carried a mortar tube, another an RPG rocket launcher. All carried rifles, with several carrying rocket grenades and mortar rounds. As the NVA passed into the kill zone Rasen blew the mines on the left and Jones followed blowing the right side.
All hell broke loose as team one came under heavy automatic weapons fire from the trailing enemy that were not caught in the kill zone. Unaware that team one was engaged in a heavy fire fight, Rasen, Sellens, and Glaze ran out to search the kill zone and capture any NVA soldiers that might still be alive. Eggleton and the other guy secured the left flank. In the confusion of the battle, the handset cord on Jones' radio was pulled of at the connection to the PRC25 radio. The remaining NVA broke contact and retreated back down the trail in the direction that they had come. Team one then engaged in securing the right flank and assisting in the search of the bodies on the trail. Specialist Long discovered an NVA soldier tossing a grenade in the direction of Sellens and Rasen. The grenade exploded and shrapnel hit Sellens and Rasen before Long could cover the NVA and take him prisoner.
The LRRPs completed the search of the kill zone which produced the capture of a wounded NVA soldier, an RPG7 rocket launcher with rocket, an 81MM mortar tube, several RPG rockets and mortar rounds, several small arms, plastic explosives, and several pounds of documents. Eggleton called for extraction as the teams completed their search and moved to the pick up zone.
It wasn't long before the choppers were on the scene with the first Huey on the ground making the pick up. Dave Long carried the wounded NVA to the chopper as Rasen, Sellens, Glaze, Dupont, Rohr, and the 101st guy filled the chopper. Jones, Walden, Eggleton, and Long remained on the ground to wait for the second chopper. The four men left on the ground came under automatic weapons fire from the near wood line and Eggleton took a round through both legs.
Walden threw a white phosphorous grenade marking the wood line the NVA were firing from, secured the radio from Eggleton and directed the fire of the gun ships that by then were on station. The cobras immediately fired into the wood line with their rockets and mini guns, suppressing the enemy fire, forcing the enemy to retreat. Jones carried Eggleton to the waiting chopper while Long, Walden, and Glaze provided covering fire into the wood line. Once Jones and Eggleton were safely on the chopper, Long and Walden followed. The chopper lifted of without further incident. Division followed up with an infantry company who found twenty nine dead NVA soldiers on and around the trail. Sellens wounds were superficial but Eggleton and Rasen were seriously wounded. They spent months in the hospital undergoing physical therapy while recovering from their wounds. Fortunately both men would fully recover. Today, Rasen is a successful writer and Eggleton is an executive with Baush and Laum.
Radio relay was conducted using choppers, fixed wing, or anything else that would carry a LRRP and a radio to maintain communications with teams on the ground. Roy Barley had that duty on 17 February. The morning had been a chore because the day before the fellow who was doing the radio relay for the first (and last) time had really fouled things up, having teams plotted way out of position.
After checking the team's location and correctly plotting them on the map, they flew to assist Jones and Eggleton. Since the large LZ was real close to their location, Roy knew that he had to be real close on that. Jones came up on the radio and told Roy that they had "rough peanut butter" (meaning enemy activity) and that they should leave the area because they were spooking them. They flew a short distance away and continued to monitor the situation. Barley doubled checked the other teams to insure they were fine and then flew around the location for about 45 minutes monitoring in case of contact.
Barley was told by the pilot that they needed to return to Bearcat and refuel. Roy told him he was not happy to be returning to the landing strip while there was a team with bad guys around. He was told that if we did not refuel we would be on the ground with them shortly. Roy advised the TOC and down they went.
The fixed wing was in the middle of refueling when a jeep came roaring up and told them that they had to get back in the air ASAP. There was a team in heavy contact and Jones and Eggleton needed support right away. The pilot had barely put in half of the needed fuel. Barley was in the back seat of the aircraft double checking the team locations. He noticed when they landed the pilot had taken the firing levers off the white phosphorus rockets. He had no time to mention to him that he forgot to re-arm the rockets. There were only 4 left as that morning they made a run on a bunker.
When they got back in the air Barley called for Artillery and advised that he would direct. The only guns that could reach the location were in Bear Cat and guess where the gun ships and pickup ships were coming from. Yep, same place. Roy was advised that they would not fire over the birds so he requested some fast movers but their ETA was considerably longer than the gun ships. Talk about frustration! He could see the fire team and slicks but could not make them move any faster.
Roy asked the pilot to fire some WP rockets and that is when he realized that the rockets were not armed. He directed the pilot to fly over the wood line where, based on the radio traffic, the bad guys were. When he did Roy pulled the pins and threw out a couple of fragmentation grenades. The aircraft took a couple of hits by small arms fire but nothing close to any serious damage. The gun ships hit station about then and really worked the bad guys over.
The rest of the day was uneventful and the other teams had no problems in the areas. As soon as they touched down Roy wanted to find out if everyone was all right. That is when he learned Eggleton was hit by AK47 fire in both legs.
Latter that night Roy was back in the air for radio relay check of the teams. All was fine. When they landed he reached to put on his beret and it was not there. It had blown out of his pants pocket while sitting in the door of that slick. Some little dink is probably still wearing it. It was, all in all, a real shitty day. A couple of day's latter Roy was headed to Nha Trang for Recondo School.
Enemy mortars and rockets struck Bearcat for the first time on February 27. Casualties and damage was extremely light as nine rockets and 2 mortars hit the base camp between 1:00 a.m. and 1:15 a.m... Small arms contact was reported from one sector of the perimeter. The division's reaction was quick with light fire teams on station and 256 rounds of artillery fire returned.13
One of the benefits that came with membership in the LRRP unit was slipping off for R&R in Mei Tho or Saigon. All cities were off limits, but if you stayed out of trouble, the military police would generally ignore you. One afternoon in May, Lieutenant Henry Hester, J. W. Boles, Hilan Jones, Herbert Vaughn, along with Kenneth Marze, drove to Mei Tho in the Lt.'s jeep. They were in one of the local bars when the local police made a raid. All except Vaughn were apprehended. The rest were taken to the local police station and told to wait in the courtyard for the MPs. Vaughn had escaped but had the key to the padlock securing the chain locking the steering wheel on the jeep.
Not wanting to answer for a report from the MPs, Lt. Hester took his pistol and shot the lock off the chain (it took three rounds). Everyone jumped in the jeep and headed out of town back to Dong Tam. Vaughn made it back to base camp on his own, long before the others. All is well that ends well and no reports were filed that day.
When First Lieutenant Dale Dickey took command from Captain Clarence Matsuda the company was still designated 9th Infantry Division LPRPs. A few months after that it was changed to Company E, 50th Infantry, Airborne/ Ranger and stayed that way for just short of a year when it was again re-designated. The company was now Company E 75th Rangers. Dale has the bragging rights of being the last LRRP commander, the only E 50th Infantry commander and the first E 75th Ranger commander. The missions really started to change when General Ewell took command of the 9th Infantry Division. He believed in the unique capabilities of the Rangers and knew that they could be his eyes, ears, and yes muscle, when he needed it most. The G-2, Colonel Spiro (?) was also a believer and supporter of the Rangers.
Dale's earliest memories of being the commander was that of being alone without Rick Stetson's calming affect and of not having Captain Matsuda's confidence, vast experience and leadership to fall back on in a tight spot. Here he was almost all alone in charge of guys like Jones, Frost, Dunlap, Nizialek, Walden, and the rest of the mob. One very peaceful morning sitting in his office thinking how great it was that all the teams were quiet, he was interrupted by First Sergeant Melvin Jones who announced that a very angry Major wanted to talk with him. As the Major entered the office he was yelling at the top of his lungs that he would have the entire company sent to jail and Dale relieved of his command if he didn't discipline these two disrespectful NCOs.
From the brief description, he knew the Major was speaking of Frost and Jones. Thank God Dunlap was in the field. It appears they had been drinking and according to them it was just a little beer. They were on stand-down enjoying the amenities of the NCO Club and were walking back to the unit. They took a shortcut across the Major's yard, which had been recently seeded and was growing beautiful, lush grass, just like at home in Virginia. When he yelled at them to get off his grass they responded with something like yea! yea! not realizing or caring that he was a Major.
The Major went on to say that Jones became very disrespectful to him. By this time Jones and Frost were standing in front of their commander providing him with the facts as they knew them to be true. Their version in no way or manner matched with the major's story and of course Jones denied being disrespectful. The Major stated that Jones threaten to "smash him if he didn't get out of his face". Jones' version was that he stated, "If he didn't get out of his face, SIR" and Frost remembered the exact same thing, so figure.
The Major was in a T-shirt and Dale asked him how he was dressed when the confrontation happened. The Major went crazy at which time he was invited to leave the company area as it was really off limits to unauthorized personnel. He left and went to division to see Col. Ira A. Hunt who told him to stay completely away from the Ranger compound and to remove his grass. Hunt told him that if dirt and mud were good enough for General Ewell it was good enough for the Major. Jones and Frost didn't get off completely but it set the picture for things to come for a new inexperienced company commander. Dale commanded other units during his military career and no one threw anything at him that he hadn't seen as commander of the Rangers.
Specialist Four William Francis "Ski" Piaskowski was wounded on March 14 while on a routine patrol in Vinh Long Province with Sergeant Herbert Lee Vaughn, Staff Sergeant Hilan E. Jones, Staff Sergeant Herbert Cornelius Frost, and several others. The patrol was inserted from a navy patrol boat (PBR) and was conducting a search for any signs of enemy activity. At mid-day they came upon hooch that gave all appearances of being occupied. It was a normal abode for the area, complete with the hard packed dirt floor and measured about twenty feet by thirty feet. Contained in the hooch were the normal Vietnamese furnishings. You could smell the incense and burnt charcoal, signs that the place was definitely occupied. Security was put in place and the hooch was searched for enemy weapons, equipment, and any other sign that would give an indication as to the status of the occupants.
A lone Viet Cong came down the trail, right into the ranger positions. He fired one round before running from the area. The rangers returned fire immediately, but the VC was able to escape. That one round found its mark and hit 'Ski' in the chest. Vaughn applied first aid to the chest wound and the team leader called for medical evacuation. Piaskowski was dusted off in short order and prognosis from the medical staff at the field hospital was good. We were all relieved to learn that "Ski" would make it. That evening word came from the hospital that he had died. Feelings of sorrow, anger, and frustration ran through the company area that night. The LRRPs had lost their fifth man after getting him home and thinking that he was going to be all right.
On 13 April, team leaders Specialist Four Robert J. Wallace, 19, from Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Sergeant Steven G. Averill, 21, from El Cajon, California were heading up a reconnaissance patrol in a suspected infiltration area near Bearcat. "We were just starting to set up about five yards off a trail when all of a sudden there they were," said Wallace. We were in heavy foliage when four VC came down the trail from the west and four more from the east. When they spotted one of our men we opened up. We usually try to avoid that type of contact but when a VC is looking at you from fifteen meters away, you have to shoot,"
They had watched the trail for two days and nights, charting movement and numbers. On the third day deciding to grab one of the small groups which frequented the area? The four VC coming from the west looked perfect but then four others appeared from the east. They were the point element for about thirty more VC. "We killed five in the first burst and were pulling back toward the landing zone when the larger force hit," continued Wallace.
Wallace said the VC fired small arms and automatic weapons at the team. Averill called in for gunship support. The gun ships were on location within minutes and their fire was devastating. They were credited with killing ten VC. The LRRPs had been pinned down but the quick reaction and support of the choppers allowed them to break contact and escape to the LZ. The team was extracted without incident.
On April 16 First Sergeant Joseph Melvin Jones and Staff Sergeant Johnston Dunlop were killed while on an ambush patrol in the Bien Hoa Province. Team one was made up of "Top" Jones, SSGs Dunlop and Greg Nizialek, with Specialists Four Phil Katsis and James Counts. Team two consisted of Specialists Four Wayne Fentress, Jack Delaney, Eugene Richardson, Richard "Little Jonesy" Jones, and George E. Kozach Jr. filling out the team. Over the preceding weeks, enemy activity and sightings had been heavy in the area around the Binh Son Plantation. The mission was to set up an ambush on a known VC route and disrupt the movement of men and supplies in that area. Initial plans called for a 7:30 am insertion but unforeseen circumstances delayed that until almost 8:30 am. About an hour behind schedule, the team was inserted and moved quickly to the selected position.
Team two was on the left flank of the ambush where Fentress and Richardson began putting the claymores in place as Delaney, "Little Jonesy", and Kozach provided flank and rear security. The claymores on the left portion of the kill zone were in place and armed. Simultaneously Katsis was placing the claymores on the right flank of the kill zone while Dunlop was to insert the blasting caps and arm them. "Top" Jones, Counts, and Nizialek were providing all around security on the right flank.
Before the ambush was completely set the VC came into view of the men on the right flank of the ambush. Normally the VC parade down the trails with an "I own the jungle" attitude, weapons slung over their shoulder, singing and talking loudly. Charlie" was alert this day. They came quietly, weapons at the ready, and spotted the LRRPs before entering the kill zone. Automatic weapons fire from both sides broke the quiet of the morning that day and when the smoke had cleared "Top" Jones was dead, SSG Dunlop was seriously wounded, and SP4 Counts was shot in the forehead.
The initial volley of small arms fire hit Katsis's ruck sack and set off a yellow smoke. The blast of the claymores knocked Delaney into a tree. He turned and began to fire into the smoke on the right flank of the ambush. A VC near "Top" was looking directly at him and Delaney saw him aim and fire. "Five tracers in a horse-shoe shape came at me, I knew I was dead, all I heard was Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop, and Pop! To my surprise, I was still standing" said Delaney. Loading his fourth magazine into his M16 he continued to fire as the smoke was starting to clear. There were six to eight dead V.C. laying on the trail.
Delaney was checking the trail to make sure all the V.C. were dead as the rest of the team was moving Counts and Dunlop to the LZ. Fentress, Nizialek and Delaney then pulled "Top's body down into the riverbed when all HELL broke lose!!! It sounded like 100 VC were on line shooting at them. Bullets were flying every where. Trees were cut down by the heavy volume of small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades, and hand grenades!! The only thing between them and the VC was the riverbed. They dragged "Top's body down the riverbed, placed him under some over hanging brush, then camouflaged and booby trapped his body. They were unable to bring "Top" out and but would return later to retrieve him. They low crawled for over 100 yards to the L.Z.!!
At the L.Z., Fentress had them consolidate our magazines into a pile. Two guys were loading and shooting into the wood line. Delaney carried 31 high explosive (HE) rounds for his M-79 grenade launcher, using it as a mortar with the rounds hitting 50 to 100 yards into the wood line. Specialist Fentress applied a field dressing to Dunlop's wounds and administered morphine as they moved to the LZ for extraction. Delaney carried Dunlop to the chopper. A door gunner shot three VC that ran out onto the LZ. As the gun ships rolled in the team marked the enemy positions with tracer rounds. Rockets devastated the wood line and the pick-up chopper came in at tree top level, swooped down, and successfully extracted most of the patrol. Fentress and Mathews waited on the LZ for the second pick up chopper.
Unaware that there were two LRRPs left on the ground the VC emerged onto the LZ to scrounge any equipment or supplies that may have been left behind. Fentress and Mathews were able to direct the gun ships and called in effective fire on the unsuspecting VC. Once back to Bearcat the choppers were refueled, while a reaction force made up from the Aero Rifle Platoon assembled on the helipad. They were guided back to the "combat zone" by Fentress, Delaney, and Frost. Two additional VC were killed while "Top's remains were recovered. Delaney was hit in the leg with shrapnel.
Souvenirs were a big thing. Everyone wanted to recover a weapon or some other war trophy to take home. Marze recalls the mission on 25 May 1968. He, Vaughn, and four others were tagged for a patrol on Toi Son Island, just a thousand meters or so from Dong Tam in the middle of the Mekong River. Vaughn briefed the patrol emphasizing that there would be a lot of tin VC flags nailed to the trees through out the area and to leave them alone. They would be booby-trapped. Charlie knew that the GI was curious and careless.
That afternoon the navy crew picked the patrol up and would insert them just before dark. Just after dark the team off loaded from the PBR onto Toi Son Island and moved quickly and quietly across a rice paddy for approximately 600 meters. The patrol moved into a tree line, set their security, and continued to monitor the area. The following morning the patrol moved out through some thick nipa palm and came upon a well-used trail. They spotted several tin VC flags nailed to the trees. Marze was about 15 meters behind Vaughn who ignored his own advice, taking one of the flags and pulling it from the tree. It was booby-trapped. The explosion caught Vaughn in the chest. He was killed instantly (he only had 40 days to do before going home.) The loss of Vaughn still haunts Marze today, some 35 years later.
After a couple of months with the seals Marze returned to the LRRPs who, in between missions, were in the middle of constructing their living area at Dong Tam. Having left a super living area at Bearcat; hooch's had tin roofs, wooden sides about four feet off the ground, wire mesh the remaining couple of feet to the roof, and were set on concrete slabs, they were in the process of building even a better one. The LRRPs were a creative bunch and sometimes acquired building material outside of the normal requisition process. The lumber used to build the small club in the company area was gotten by way of the "midnight requisition." Marze (and a couple others) acquired some particle board and masonite that was intended for constructing the base chapel. The Chaplain caught them in the act and required them to attend services or he would report them. They attended the required amount of services, returned the acquired lumber and nothing further was said. Some time during this construction, Marze used the phrase, 'you lantern head-son-of-a-bitch.' He was immediately tagged with the nickname 'Lantern head,' by which he still answers today.
On 14 May 1968, Patrol Leader Staff Sergeant James Glaze, Australian Special Air Service (SAS) trooper by the name of Duffy, Specialists Four Larry J. Styer and Charles Knight, along with two or three others (one was a new guy), were on a mission in the Dinh Tuong Province. They were working with an Infantry Brigade which was being hit by sniper fire as they transported supplies along a highway in the "Pink Palace" area. The mission of the LRRP team was to search for and take out the snipers. Late in the afternoon the LRRPs met up with a line platoon that would be providing support.
Immediately after linking up with the support element, they saw approximately 10 VC moving across an open area in the rice paddy to the front. The team left the line platoon to intercept and block the route the VC was taking. The team moved through a line of woods and along a dike covered in heavy vegetation in their attempt to cut off the VC. As they started to cross the canal, they began receiving small arms fire from across the canal to their right front.
The Australian had gotten across prior to the team receiving fire and was called back across the canal to join the rest of the patrol. As he crossed back to the friendly side, fire was received from the front, the left, and the right of their position. Judging from the volume of fire, there had to be more than the 10 VC originally spotted. The LRRP team returned fire and Glaze called for the line platoon to move up to their position as he simultaneously called in artillery. The line unit was not able to move forward.
The new guy's weapon jammed and Glaze moved over to assist him. Trading weapons, Glaze was able to clear the jam and continued to call in artillery. Shortly after, the enemy fire ceased and the line platoon joined up. The area was searched and blood trails were found as well as other signs that the VC had entered the canal before disappearing. The men searched for a tunnel opening in the bank of the dike but could not find anything. The team was extracted without further incident or injuries.18
It happened on 1 June 1968 in a flat open see-for-miles rice paddy in the Plain of Reeds. Kenneth McConkey witnessed a young buck sergeant by the name of J.W. Boles back down a Bird Colonel who was abusing the use of the LRRPs that day. The Colonel's idea was to send seven LRRPs out a mile to a mile and a half ahead of the rifle company they were attached to for the purpose of drawing enemy fire. They were then to keep the fight going until he foot-slogged with the company across this distance of open rice paddy country to make a full engagement
J.W. spoke quietly and diplomatically, but the message was clear that he considered it a categorically stupid idea & it wasn't going to happen with his team. Boles starting out with 'Sir, I don't know if you've ever worked with the Long Range Patrol before, but'.' This went on for maybe five minutes, with Boles talking sense and the Colonel getting more and more insistent. He realized that Boles wasn't going to budge and he finally just stood and glared. You could just see the dreaded words dangling on the tip of the Colonel's tongue'.but he didn't say it because he knew Boles was not about to be intimidated.
No telling what Boles was ready to say next to the Colonel while they were having their stare-down, but by the way the conversation had escalated, one could guess that instead of the firm but respectful tone he had maintained it was probably going to be along the lines of 'Sir, that's dumb and we're just not going to do it,'..and if you don't like it, call the General see what he thinks of your idea.' They stood eyeball to eye ball for about a half a minute & then the Colonel backed up & walked away mumbling something about 'Well, if you're not going to do your job'' A few minutes later he came back and split the team up and distributed them among the platoons as an insult for him to save a little face out of the deal, but at least the LRRPs didn't provide Charlie with a casual afternoon of target practice like the Colonel wanted.
A few minutes later the word came that 'Somebody spotted a few gooks in some woods and we're going to flush them out and shoot them like pheasants.' They put the company in choppers and flew into the plain of reeds. McConkey hit the ground in the middle of what appeared to be a battalion-sized firefight on three sides of him. That 'leader of men' got a lot of brave soldiers killed for no good reason that afternoon. McConkey personally heard the Colonel give the Company Commander orders to assault. He kept hollering 'You've got to assault those positions.' The company was pinned down and losing more guys by the minute while he was high and dry up 3000 feet in his helicopter right above us. Another of his companies was trapped inside the NVA base camp getting the shit shot out of them. He just kept screaming that they had to move forward. There was no cover and little concealment against well fortified positions and they were chopping the company up at will with .51 calibers.
Without using the word he was calling the guys under Lt. O'Reilly's command cowards and they knew they weren't. What he was telling them to do was simply a military impossibility. At one point McConkey looked up at the chopper thinking, 'You ignorant son of a bitch if you really think this can be done why don't you come on down here and grab a rifle there's plenty of them laying around.' The next morning there were 39 bodies loaded on the choppers.
Gary Beckham remembers that day as it is forever burned deep into his soul. He remembers cradling a young soldier in his arms that day, a bullet through his temple, he was blind, he was in pain, there was no blood, and he was dying. He asked god to help him that day, and god did, and that young soldier died in Gary's arms. He remembers the teams being split up, going into a really hot LZ, watching the face of a black private who was in the same chopper as the 4 man LRRP team, and the look of his pale skin, almost white, told all that soon he was going to die. Not more than 10 minutes later, we helped pull his body onto high ground, a bullet through the head, fired at close range from a spider hole.
Also remembered was the growing row, then rows, of bodies, of the dying, dead, and the terribly wounded. They could not fire in a particular direction because that was where the other company was trapped....but really, no one had a clue which direction they could or could not fire, not knowing exactly where that trapped company was....and all the time AK's firing, not so much as sniper fire, but trying to draw American fire in order to locate forces. Grenades were hanging from trees like ripe fruit, all tied to trip lines.
Beckham remembers being the one that stood up with a strobe light to guide in the Huey's to cart off the dead and dying. He remembers the blue-green tracers fired at him while holding that strobe....That day and night he relives nearly each day of his life...it will stay with him forever.
McConkey has the bullet with his name on it as a reminder of this action. Working along the battle line hoping to link up with some of the rest of the team, (Boles had already gone back to be dusted off after getting hit in the leg) he came upon the scene previously described, with the C.O., a platoon leader and about a platoon's worth of guys all bunched up pinned down getting the shit shot out of them. No LRRPs in sight, so he was first going to try to pass on through and keep looking for Smitty, MacCallum, Marze or Taitano. Then on the opposite side of the group he spotted a kid named Johnny Carpenter that they had met the night before when the Boles team bedded down next to his squad. McConkey had confidence in him, and figured that if he couldn't find any LRRPs, at least he could hook up with him and maybe Mike Chubbuck. The platoon was so bunched up that he didn't want to crawl right through them, drawing attention to the movement and get somebody else shot. That was happening regularly enough as it was. He detoured around the front, crawling and sliding sideways to keep the narrowest profile towards the front and not expose any more target profile than necessary. He would move a couple feet whenever the .51's stopped to catch their breath a bit, (the AK fire remained steady throughout) so it was pretty slow going. As luck would have it, just when he got to the middle of the front, the intensity picked up and he was stuck there for quite a while trying to be small'.you all know what trying to be small means.
While laying there listening to Lt O'Reilly trying to talk this Colonel out of making another futile, suicidal charge, it dawned on him that the top of his head was by default the furthest point of advancement. He had categorically the front row seat, though that had not been his original intent. He was just trying to go around the group. This was not a movie, not a dream, not a drill, it was actually happening. It sounds silly, but it's the God's honest truth'the corny poetic words came into his mind 'At any second a bullet could come crashing into my brain.' Yes, 'crashing''he didn't know what it was all about, just that it happened. It was his own voice he heard in his head, like it was a message from The Man. That kind of woke him up and he felt the need to take some - any - kind of action instead of just waiting for things to happen. Nobody was moving or firing back at them for 15-20 minutes. A few small movements as a new angle of fire came through 'trying to get a little better concealment, but basically they were just laying there getting shot while O'Reilly tried to talk sense to that S.O.B. Col. up in the air. There was so much lead coming through that if you hadn't gotten hit where you were you didn't really want to roll the dice by moving to a new spot.
So the only thing he could think of after the brain crashing vision was to get his head lower. Scooping about a half a basketball's worth of muck out of the ground he made a mini foxhole for his head. It started to ooze water into the bottom of the hole, (this soft mushy ground is what undoubtedly saved his life when he had fallen out of the chopper a couple hours earlier), so he took off his beret and lined the hole with it, keeping his right eye just above ground level to be able to see forward.
No more than a minute later it felt like someone had given his small pack (they weren't carrying rucks) a hell of a kick and it kind of raised him up out of the hole a bit. Knight's platoon leader, Lt. Jones, had been lying with his hand on his thigh with his head behind the pack. He could feel him moving occasionally to peek around during short lulls in the firing. Jones said 'My God, I just got hit in the head with a bullet and I'm still alive!'
McConkey replied, 'Ya, that must be the one that just went through my pack.' It had hit the buckle on the top of his pack, gone through, come out the bottom mostly spent and went 'klink' on the forehead of the platoon leaders helmet and fell straight down and stuck to the back of his hand, burning him. He shook it off onto the ground and then picked it up. He said 'I've got it right here in my hand, it's still hot!' Without taking his head out of the hole he reached back with his left hand and hit him on the shoulder, holding out his hand like a bellboy for a tip. He put it in his hand and it wasn't hot anymore, but still had warmth. McConkey placed it in his shirt pocket. Many further events unfolded and the next day when we were flown out of there to a camp with buildings & stuff, Jones was coming into the toilet/washroom just as McConkey was leaving. He said, 'Say, you still have that bullet? That's my bullet, you know.' McConkey replied, 'Your bullet, sir?' 'Yeah, that hit me right in the head, you know.' He told him 'Well, sir, I look at it this way'If I hadn't dug that hole in the ground, I'd have the bullet, 'I wouldn't know it, 'and you wouldn't care. And since I did get my head out of the way, if it hadn't hit the buckle on the top of my pack & lost its punch,'you'd have the bullet, you wouldn't know it, and I wouldn't care. As it we both know how it all came down, I got the bullet and I'm keepin' it'O.K., sir?' He opened his mouth and raised his finger like he was going to make some point of logic, but then just shook his head & walked away.
McConkey wasn't really trying to ---- with the guy because he truly respected him. He just wanted to keep the bullet. They had been on the scene together 3 or 4 times on June 1, and he really was a good and brave officer. The next day when O'Reilly got killed he took over the company. O'Reilly was a real pro, too. McConkey went to their area a couple weeks later to visit with Knight and Chubbuck to express his remorse for getting their buddy Carpenter killed. That's when he learned from Knight that Chubbuck had gotten killed the same day as O'Reilly'more of that fucking Colonel's doing. McConkey has the last picture taken of Michael Chubbuck. Bumping into Lt. Jones, they talked a minute. Jones said that he had been walking right beside O'Reilly as he got stitched across the chest. He looked at Jones, and as he was falling said. 'Well, you got it, Lieutenant.' The guy held a change of Command ceremony on the way to the ground'now there was a soldier. MacCallum remembers him, too. We'd have been proud to have either of them in the LRRPs.
Intelligence in June 1968 reported that a barge traveling the Mekong River was transporting weapons, ammunition, communication equipment, and other military supplies disguised as rice. Division G2 had a LRRP team standing by on the helo pad, ready to be dropped onto the barge at the first opportunity. The LRRPs wore cut off fatigues or swim suits, each man armed with an M16 and a couple of 20 round magazines taped together. As the first magazine was expended all they had to do was reverse magazines and they were ready to fire again. The team stood ready for five days while the air force provided a spotter plane to patrol the river.
The plan was to drop the LRRP team onto the barge, capturing the cargo and personnel. On the fifth day, the recon plane sighted the suspected barge and the plan was set into action. The LRRPs loaded the chopper and were off. Flying at tree top level, the chopper swooped in over the barge, hovering just a few feet above as the LRRPs jumped from both sides of the chopper onto the barge. 'Lanternhead' was the last to go and as he was set to jump the chopper jerked to one side. He missed the barge and fell into the river. Quick reaction by the door gunner prevented serious consequences as he informed the pilot of the LRRP in the river. The pilot maneuvered into position and a rope was tossed to 'Lanternhead' who was being carried away by the swift current. He grabbed the rope and was lifted from the fast moving water and dropped into a rice paddy at the edge of the river.
"Lanternhead" was defenseless, as his weapon was lost in the river. A lot went through his head as he waited in the rice paddy for the chopper to circle and come in to pick him up. Vietnamese were scurrying around as they watched the LRRPs searching the barge and must have been laughing at the G1 that was fished out of the river and deposited in their back yard. As "Lanternhead" was being picked up from the rice paddy, the LRRPs on the barge were securing it to a navy patrol boat that arrived to pull it into Dong Tam. The barge sank and the crew was detained for later interrogation by the local authorities.
Stand downs (the time between missions) and promotions were excuses to throw a party. "Lanternhead" was promoted to SP4 in early July and to celebrate his promotion there was the usual "wash Tub" full of punch which consisted of a couple quarts of vodka mixed with grape fruit juice, fruit cocktail, and plenty of ice. This concoction was prepared by Lt Hester in recognition of the promotion "Lanternhead" would receive the following day. Everyone had over indulged and was not in the best of shape at the formation the next morning. Lt Hester called "Lanternhead" to the front and told him to hit the ground and start pushing it up. He said it was for swearing at him the night before. "Lanternhead" had done one push up when Hester dropped the SP4 patch on his back and told him to get back in formation. Marze was now a proud SP4.
Lt Henry R. Hester was a fine officer who cared deeply for his men. A lot of effort was made these past few years to locate him. The brotherhood of LRRPs has lasted all of these years. Several reunions have come and gone. More men have been located and communication has continued among those that have been located. It was sad to learn Henry passed away the 15th of September 1997, before he could be located. He will be remembered by those that knew him.
On 15 July, 1968, Sergeant Fred Wheeler led a team on patrol near Khiem Ich. Sergeant James Glaze served as assistant team leader on this day. Another member of E Company along with five or six PRUs made up the remainder of the patrol. The purpose of the mission was to discover why the area was so important to the enemy. The line companies were receiving heavy fire each time they entered the area.
As they approached a canal, the team spotted six VC in front of a hooch on the opposite bank. The VC were armed as weapons were visible to the LRRP team. Sgt. Wheeler directed small arms fire across the canal as it wasn't possible to move closer without being spotted by the VC. During the brief fire fight, three or four bodies fell to the ground in front of the hooch. The other VC disappeared.
SGT Wheeler decided to move the team across the canal and search the area and bodies. He entered the canal first and had only taken a few steps when he became stuck in waist deep mud. The enemy opened fire on the team. One of the VC had crawled up close to the canal bank and was firing towards Wheeler who was trying to get out of the canal. The rest of the team returned fire from the bank of the canal as Glaze moved to the edge of the water to pull Wheeler from the mud. Holding on to a small tree with one hand, he was able to reach Wheeler, giving him enough assistance to pull himself from the mud. The firing became heavier as the two men crawled back up the bank of the canal. Contact was broken and the patrol left the area as quickly as possible, suffering no casualties on this mission.18
It wasn't too long after "Lanternhead" made SP4 that he was given his own team. He ran with one LRRP as the assistant team leader and five PRUs that were well trained and had plenty combat experience. His first mission as team leader would be back to Toi Son Island. The PBR crew picked the LRRP team up at the Dong Tam dock area well after dark, as this was to be a late night insertion. The team was experienced but still had the usual last minute butterflies as the PBR made the short 30-minute run to the island.
The insertion was made without incident and the team moved quickly to nearby concealment as the PBR backed slowly away from the bank. They would monitor the area for several minutes before moving inland to their objective. As they waited and observed, "Lanternhead" had thoughts of the day Vaughn was killed. Maybe they could even the score this night.
Seeing that all was clear, the team moved the few hundred meters to their objective in the center of the island. There they found a small hooch in the wood line that would provide good concealment. Moving quickly to set up inside the hooch, they encountered an old farmer and his wife who both had the proper identification papers. As the team set up to observe they secured them in their sleeping area. Everything would be quiet this night.
The team was instructed to move to the pick up point at first light. The sun was just visible to the east, silhouetting the PBR as the team made their way to the rivers edge. Encountering no problems, the PBR crew maneuvered to make the pick up. Just as the last LRRP was attempting to get on the boat, they came under automatic rifle fire from a distant tree line.
As team leader, "Lanternhead" was the last to board but as he stepped up, his foot slipped and he fell into the water. Thoughts of the last time he was in the water came to his mind as small arms rounds were striking the water around him. The PBR crew returned fire with the twin .50 caliber machineguns, and the Honeywell (belt fed 40mm grenade launcher) quickly suppressing the enemy fire as the crew pulled "Lanternhead" on board.
The PBR crew continued to suppress the fire from the tree line as the LRRP leader was receiving his instructions from the TOC at Dong Tam. They were to stay with the PBR while it rearmed then return to the island and bring out a prisoner. By 1400 hours, the LRRPs were back on the island, sweeping the area for someone to take back. The enemy had dispersed but the LRRPs were able to gather several detainees, which they delivered to the MPs at Dong Tam. Toi Son again proved to be a hostile area to work.
At times the LRRP patrols were misused. An example is a team being used as the point element for an infantry platoon conducting a search and destroy mission. "Lanternhead" and five other LRRPs were doing just that when they spotted an old Vietnamese man counting the soldiers. He sent the other five on ahead as he waited for the infantry platoon, informing the Lt of the old man's activity. Assuming the old man was simply a rice farmer the unit moved on.
Just before night fall they came to a pagoda at the corner of a large rice field. It was bordered on one side by a large canal. Seizing an opportunity to get a good nights rest, the lieutenant chose to set his platoon in a defensive position inside the pagoda. He positioned the M-60 machine guns to cover the canal. The infantry platoon was on fifty percent alert so the LRRPs settled in to get as much sleep as they could.
About one in the morning all hell broke loose. The platoon came under heavy automatic rifle fire and grenade assault. It was a brief, intense attack from what appeared to be an enemy squad of five or six riflemen. The enemy was successful as they wounded three infantrymen, created a fire in the pagoda, and disappeared into the night. "Lanternhead" was sent to recon the area so he and his team low crawled from the pagoda a short distance to a paddy dike. Seeing the enemy squad had departed the area, he informed the Lt that all was clear. Artillery was called in on the suspected route of withdrawal and a sweep of the area was made the following morning.
Some time in the summer, "Lanternhead", J.W. Boles, Doug MacCallum, and two other LRRPs were the point element for an infantry line company in the Plain Reeds. They were conducting a search and destroy mission. The area consisted of very tall grass (over the head of the average soldier) and knee deep water. It was a known infiltration route from Cambodia into the Mekong Delta.
On the fifth day, the LRRPs came across a patch of ground that was above the water table and stretched for a few hundred meters in length and a couple hundred meters wide. There they found a large bunker complex that was unoccupied at the time but showed sign of recent use. They were picked up that afternoon and dropped at a Special Forces camp while the infantry company was taken to a larger area to rest up and get a hot meal. There was quite a lot of excitement at the LRRP Headquarters as they couldn't account for the team for several hours.
After a good night's rest and a hot meal, one platoon from the infantry company was lifted in to destroy the bunker complex they had found the day before. Unfortunately it turned out to be a disaster waiting to happen. An NVA unit had moved into the area from Cambodia the night prior and surprised the infantry platoon, killing all but one.
The LRRP team was inserted with the reinforcing infantry company and was under heavy fire going in. Boles was wounded in an attempt to take out a machine gun position. Heavy fighting continued into the afternoon with the Infantry Company taking many casualties. 'Lanternhead' went to the aid of a wounded infantryman who had been shot in the head. His helmet was full of blood and as it spilled out onto the ground his stomach turned. This day continues to haunt him. The NVA were finally forced to retreat under heavy rocket fire and mini guns from the cobra gun ships as well as artillery from the nearest US base camp. By the end of the day the infantry company had lost close to two platoons and was evacuated to Dong Tam to regroup.
Beer baseball was a memorable event at Dong Tam. Two 55 gallon drums would be filled with beer and ice. The batter would have to drink a beer before he could run to the next base. Needless to say, the guys were feeling no pain by the third inning or so. It was irrelevant who won.
Kenneth "Lanternhead" Marze would return to Fort Polk Louisiana on 5 January 1969 where he would receive a six-month early out. Marrying Chris on 3 January 1970, they would have five children; Kent, Kelly, Angel, Robin, and Missy. The family resides in Port Authur, Texas.
The LRRPs had a reputation that drew people from all over the division to their company area. Barbecuing steak or chicken was a common occurrence and the beer and soda was always ice cold, compliments of the first sergeant Bob "Top" Maushardt. In May or June of 1968, SFC Ray Sonnier started visiting the area as a guest.
Sonnier was with the Division G3 and went to Dong Tam with the advance party. In September of 1968 Ray found himself looking for a job as a MSG came into G3 taking his slot. He was slated to go to a SY-OPS unit but while visiting with the LRRP Commander, Dale Dickey, and 1SGT Bob Maushardt (Sonnier served with Top in Korea) he was offered a spot in the company.
Sonnier's first patrol was with SSG Herbert Pok Dong Cho. The team was compromised early in the patrol and spent the night trying to sleep at a friendly position on a bridge. Someone was constantly throwing grenades in the water and the team got little or no sleep. Ray went out on a few more patrols but do to a hearing profile he was used as a Field 1SGT. His main job with the LRRPs was making sure that they got their mail, and keeping them supplied with beer and soda (which was a very difficult job).
SSG Hilan "Jonesy" Jones, SSG Tom Lindly, SSG Jesse Taylor, and SSG Herbert "Frosty" Frost was helping with construction of the TOC Bunker. Jonesy and Frosty came down off the top of the bunker. Sonnier asked them where they thought they were going, and was told by Jonsey that they were hot and needed a beer. Ray told Jonsey that it was not break time, and for them to get back up there. Jonesy smiled at him and very politely told him that he wasn't big enough to make them go back to work. After the beer break everyone returned to the task of roofing the TOC Bunker.
As a result of this conflict Tom Lindly and Jesse Taylor were told to take over as team leaders or find another job. Frosty and Jonesy received verbal reprimands but were allowed to remain. Lindly went over to the snipers and was honor student of the first class to graduate. Contact with Taylor was lost but he and Lindly were both located in 2000. They both reside in Missouri. Tom in Waynesville and Jesse in Syracuse.
Most of the time Ray could be found working around the company area and unit club but on occasions he would go out with a quick reaction team. A team that had been sent out on VC Island called in and said they were in trouble. A quick reaction team was assembled and he went to the supply room got a rifle and ammunition and went out with the team.
By the time the reaction team got there the team was near the shore. All the reaction team did was provide them covering fire while they got on the boat. When Ray attempted to fire his weapon it wouldn't fire. The firing pin had been removed (Jesse DeLeon has never let him forget this).
Ray resides in DeQueen Arkansas and is very proud to have served with such a great bunch of guys. Looking back on things he has come to realize that they were just a bunch of guys who went into Charlie's A. O. and did their job well.
In the summer of 1968 the unit started doing "Parakeet Flights" patterned after the division's "Eagle Flights" only on a smaller scale. It was meant to discover and disrupt the flow of supplies and munitions via sampan on the delta waterways.
It was mid December 1968 and the Ranger Company had a couple of teams running missions from Fire Support Base Moore. Moore was a battalion sized fire base occupied by the 1st Brigade's 2d Battalion, 39th Infantry. The burm was constructed of a dozed perimeter of dirt topped with concertina wire. It was not a fun place to be even during the best of times. The base came under frequent mortar and rocket attacks. The mud during the rainy season, and the dust blowing during the dry season, made the living conditions beyond miserable. To make matters worse the 2d Battalion S3 was jacking them around and not providing the support needed while in the field. Captain Dickey thought that if an officer was with the teams that would change so he sent Lieutenant Prescott (Puck) Smith to ensure the proper use and support of the elite ranger teams was implemented.
Just before Smith arrived, one of the LRRP teams was in the field, Colonel Geraci (3rd Brigade Commander) was in the command bunker visiting FSB Moore. The team was in contact and was requesting gunship support and extraction. The assistant S-3 was talking to the team leader on the radio, telling him that no support was available and they would have to hold their position as best as possible.
Colonel Geraci heard the transmission, went berserk and fired the assistant S-3 on the spot. Although Smith wasn't there, he later learned from several men that were, that Colonel Geraci questioned the assistant S-3's manhood, called him a coward, and within minutes extraction helicopters and gun ships were in route to support and extract the LRRP team. In his fit of rage Colonel Geraci actually picked the assistant S-3 up and threw him out of the bunker and then said "me and the LRRPs are going to Glory". This sounds corny and hard to believe, but that's what happened.
Smith arrived at FSB Moore a few days later, finding a completely different attitude toward the LRRPs. He pulled his last mission in country from FSB Moore in The Plain of Reeds, finding the support to be outstanding.
Returning to the States in early January of '69, Smith was assigned to the Ranger School Fort Benning. In early May, while working out in the Gym on main post, he ran into Colonel Geraci and was surprised that he remembered him. It was also surprising that Geraci remembered in detail the incident at Fire Support Base Moore. He was certainly one of the most unforgettable characters that Smith met in Vietnam, or the Army, for that matter.
Fire Base Moore--Reacting to intelligence provided by a Long Range Patrol, elements of the 2d Battalion, 39th Infantry and gun ships of the 3d Squadron 17th Air Cavalry killed 86 Viet Cong on November 30th.
It was the second time in a week that the 1st Brigade "Recondos" had capitalized on air cavalry firepower and surveillance to post a large body count.
The Long Range Patrol sighted the enemy force between Cai Lay and Cai Be the night of 29 November. Early the next morning, Troop A of the 3d/17th scouted the area and found the VC near where they had been seen previously.
Within an hour, Company D of the 2d/39th had airmobiled to the west of the enemy and Company A to the northeast. Moving through open areas covered with small, muddy streams, the 9th Infantry Division soldiers swept toward a nipa palm and banana tree line.
As the infantry pressed in from two sides, artillery pounded at each end of the VC position and the gun ships sought out individuals and small groups of enemy soldiers. Each element protected the others as they closed in on the VC.
"The gun ships kept the pressure on the enemy so our ground troops could move and they couldn't put effective fire on us," said First Lieutenant Leonard Sprinkles, of Santa Clara, California, a platoon leader.
"As we swept, the gun ships even pointed out VC that were too close to us for them to shoot at so we could spot and kill them," said Specialist Four, Paul Canetti, of Buffalo, New York. "Later we went into the canals and dragged our feet in the mud to find some of their weapons."
After the final count, gun ships had killed 52 enemy soldiers, and accounted for 16 weapons captured. Company D killed 26 VC and captured 13 weapons, while Company A killed eight and took four weapons.
Nine suspects were detained and one VC rallied to the Open Arms program during the day long operation.
The only U.S. casualty was one man wounded.
"This was not a typical Delta operation," said Captain Bob Stephens of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, assistant brigade operations officer. "We usually have to dig them out of the bunkers and the nipa palm, but this was a turkey shoot. The air cav caught over 40 of them moving in the open in broad day light."
Christmas Eve day started out like any other at Tan An except there was supposedly a cease fire in effect for the holiday. Most of the guys had been through "TET" and knew what a cease fire was all about. 10 am rolled around and Duane "Pancho" Alire told everyone to be at the chopper pad by 4 pm as they would be going to Dong Tam for the Bob Hope Christmas Show. Everyone got all gussied up and loaded their libations to take along for the Christmas party at Dong Tam.
They arrived at the pad about 4 pm. Dan Bien looked around and saw Jimmy "old man" Booth, Ronald Kneer, Michael "Cookie" Cook, Bob Pegram, Richard "Richie" Bellwood (who was just back from the hospital from a shrapnel wound to his neck on one of Webber's missions), Ronald Webber, Jim Thayer, Garth Volbright, Jesse DeLeon and a few others. 5 pm came and went with no ride. 6 pm still no ride. Jimmy popped open his jug of V0 and started to make bubbles! It was almost dark when the chopper arrived. Dan was careful boarding as he had a jug of V0 in each side pocket of his trousers.
Viet Nam at dusk was a beautiful sight from a chopper. It was just a short hop to Dong Tam and as they unassed the chopper Dan went around to the window and offered the pilots a jug. They thought he was offering a drink and refused as they were flying. The pilot finally opened the window and Dan shoved in a full bottle and wished him a Merry Christmas. He smiled and returned the Christmas wish.
The guys walked the couple of blocks from the flight line to the company area arriving at the club to find it full of guys they hadn't seen in ages. This turned out to be better than any high school reunion could ever be. The brewskies and war stories flowed with many an "I can top that one" as the group celebrated. They were keeping an eye out for Cookie's team which was coming in from My Phouc Tay. The rest of the guys from Tan An got there but there was no sign of the group from My Phouc Tay. Word came that they couldn't get a chopper in that late to pick up that team so the party continued without them.
About 11 pm Duane and Dan were well on their way and decided that since this was Christmas Eve what better way to celebrate than with some red and green star clusters, with a few white ones thrown in for good measure. Off they went to the to ammo conex, Dan with his trusty Zippo in hand providing light as he searched among the C-4, composition B, hand grenades, and all types of assorted ammunition, for the sought after flares. He finally found the star clusters and started pitching them out to Pancho who finally yelled out that they had enough. Now, where to launch them from? It was decided that the top of the T.O.C. bunker would suit the need just right.
Once on top of the bunker the countdown began, 5 minutes, 4 .......... Dan popped a red one while Pancho popped a green one, then a white, a green, a red and so on. Sirens started to go off so they ducked down thinking the base was under a mortar attack. A short while later a jeep screamed up the road and stopped in front of the T.O.C. There was a bunch of screaming. The company C.Q. was yelling too. Whomever it was got back in the jeep, pulled up to the corner and was heading away when Dan popped a white star cluster just above his windshield. After that things were blurred.
The next thing Dan remembered was being cold and wet. He was awakened to incessant quacking around his head. About that time he opened his eyes and heard someone say "hey Sarge you'd better get cleaned up. Ernie Banks will be here in an hour". There he was, in the ditch, along side of the road with the ducks. He got out and cleaned up, then headed over to the bleachers to meet the rest of the guys. Sure enough here comes Ernie Banks. Dan couldn't believe his eyes.
"Ernie what the hell are you doing here in Viet Nam?" he asked. He said it was the off season and thought it was a good idea to come over and help boost the troop's morale. Dan had to pinch himself. Being from the Chicago area, Ernie left with one of his trademark slogans, "the Cubs will shine in 69". There was time for lunch before heading over to the show. The place was packed. Dan doesn't remember who opened but Bob Hope finally came out on the stage. There was on an air strike on V.C. Island. After the first bomb hit, Bob crouched down, then jumped up looking over the back of the stage at the big black cloud and remarked, "What the hell was that?' Someone yelled out, "That's war Bob!"
Ann Margaret came on stage and did she ever look bad, like 1,000 miles of bad road, but she finally came around toward the end of her set. All in all the guys felt lucky to have seen the show before hiking back to the company area for the ride back to Tan An.
Someone inquired how the guys were to get back to Tan An before Christmas dinner (one just like home) was served. They were told that some one would take them back in a "deuce & a half ". Loading up with some F.N.G. driving and another one riding shot gun and it was off to Tan An. The bone jarring shifting caused someone to ask the driver if he had a license. He mumbled something none of the Rangers could hear. As they headed out of the gate from Dong Tam a couple of them stood up and rode leaning on the cab of the truck. The breeze felt good.
You can maybe remember Highway 4 as being two paved lanes with a short shoulder and a 6' to 8' drop off to the rice paddies below. Well, they were progressing nicely when up ahead loomed a column of trucks stopped for some reason or another. It appeared to be an ARVN convoy. Dan yelled down for the driver to slow down.
He will never forget the three ARVN soldiers, squatting in the shade at the back of the last truck, eating something from their bowls with chopsticks. The load of rangers was bearing down on them at break-neck speed. The driver yelled that he had no brakes. Someone yelled for him to downshift to reduce the speed. You could see the terror in the eyes of the ARVN soldiers as the "deuce & a half' bore down on them. They finally dove head long into the rice paddy. As contact was made the sound of bumper meeting bumper echoed ahead. The ARVN's were not happy campers. Finally "old man" said "back this thing up and let's get out of here." As they passed the convoy they met stares that were not friendly at all. Somehow they made it to Tan An in time for Christmas dinner and received a "ditty bag" from the Donut Dollies. What a Christmas it had been!
Don't even ask me how or why, but while at Dong Tam, sometime in December. I went to Mama - Sans laundry to pick up some of my clothes. After I got back to the hooch I opened up the freshly starched uniforms and started putting them away when I made the big discovery.
There was the fully embroidered shirt of the 9th Infantry Division's Commanding General, 2 star Julian J. Ewell, right there In front of me. What was I going to do? I found Pancho and Counts. They looked at it and said "hey, let's put it on and take pictures. We can send them home and say we made it to the Big Time." Little Jonesy and a couple of others showed up and wanted their pictures taken wearing the shirt as well.
Do you think he'll miss it? After our photo session I locked it up in my footlocker. After supper Pancho said that he was going to head up to the Donut Dollies compound for a visit and wanted me to come along, but I had letters to write and begged off.
About and hour or so later the C.Q. came and got me. He said someone wanted to talk to me on the born. It was Pancho. He said lets have some fun with that shirt. I asked "how?" He said wear it on over here to the Donut Dollies compound. I told him he was outs and he prodded me on. Finally I agreed. I put the shirt on knowing full well I was going to L. B. J. (Long Binh Jail) for impersonating an officer.
My route took me right through the headquarters area. I was glad it was dark. Someone approached us from the opposite direction and I was glad that the area was dimly lit. We passed but I wasn't recognized. When I got to the compound the place was surrounded by M.P.'s. As I walked up to the gate one of them snapped to attention and saluted. I thought for sure was I in deep trouble. I returned the salute and the M.P. said "Evening. Sir." I told him to "Carry on" as I walked up to the door of the compound. As I opened the door and stepped inside someone shouted "Attention" and everybody got to their feet and saluted. They looked and saw that I was not General Ewell. The salutes fell and I knew my goose was cooked. Everybody started to laugh and I felt better. Our company commander, Dale Dickey, was in attendance as well as other captains, majors, and colonels. To my everlasting relief somebody said "Let me have that shirt. I want to have fun with it". I was glad to relinquish the shirt as I had all the fun I had ever wanted with it. I was looking for Pancho as I fully intended to strangle him right there in front of his beloved Donut Dollies.
Dan was not superstitious but when word came alerting them for a mission by PBR out of Tan An that night he had second thoughts. "Pancho" came with the operations order and they headed for the docks on the beautiful Van Co Tay River. The team was to head up river along the Plain of Reeds almost to Moc Hoa, a stones throw from Cambodia. The mission would be to monitor for any sampan traffic.
Meeting the captain of the lead PBR they went over the plan. The captain pointed on the map to where there was a cut at the narrow end of an ox-bow. He explained they had been ambushed there a couple of nights before. They would take the same route that night. Dan told the boat captain that he was short with only thirteen days to go. The captain commented that he wasn't superstitious. That made him feel better.
At dusk they headed up river toward the destination. Just as the boats entered the ox bow short cut, they drew fire from the South bank. Making it out of the kill zone the boats regrouped a mile or so up river to check for casualties and damage. It was a wonder that no one was hit and the boats survived. Up ahead there was a conflagration going on with gun ships and flares that lit up the night sky right where the patrol was to go.
The mission was aborted and gun ships were called to cover the exit out of the ambush area. None were available. The boats would have to make it out on their own. Knowing about where the ambush had occurred, they would be ready. All available firepower was lined up along the gunwale. The rangers were ready with their rifles as well as the navy machine gunners on both boats. The boat captain told his crew "Let's go" and off they went. When the lead boat hit the area he opened up with all he had and was followed in short order by those on the trailing boat. Dan didn't recall receiving fire at that time.
Making it back to Tan An in the wee hours of the morning the patrol leader called for a vehicle to pick them up. The roads hadn't been cleared so if the guys wanted to get back to camp they would have to walk. Anxious to return and get some sleep they opted to walk the short distance home. As they crossed the bridge over the river the rangers found the GIs guarding the approach fast asleep. They were tempted to take the machine gun but decided to wake them instead. As they neared the gate one of the guards hollered "Halt. Who goes there?" We were tired, upset, and anxious to get some sleep. They were not in the mood to play games. Needless to say they let the team in.
Dan went straight to the tactical operations center (T.O.C.) and was greeted by an "S-2" major who exclaimed, "Oh, you were ambushed by Charlie Company 2nd of the 60th. When Dan heard that he went off to the tune of "with all due respect sir, if we could have gotten gun ships to cover our ass as we broke out of the area you'd be writing a hundred or so letters home to those guys' folks" and walked out.
It wasn't that the route hadn't been cleared to insure that there were no friendly troops in the area. The rangers were told that we were in "Charlie's Country", which seemed to account for the confusion. Dan is bothered to this day of the ramifications if they would have gotten the gun ships. He shudders at the thought.
"Pancho" came in with the operations order for Ron Webber's next mission. Bob Pegram and Dan Bien were scheduled for radio relay. They would set up with Bravo Company 2nd of the 60th at "too-a too-a". Unfortunately their transportation broke down. As they waited for the jeep to be fixed they wondered if they would get set up in time. Once it was fixed they made it to Thu Thua just in time to set up the 292 antennas and radio, then have a "hot pack" supper prior to the team's insertion.
The night passed uneventfully, but as Bob and Dan surveyed the surroundings, they were both glad that they didn't end up in an outfit like that. The trip back to Tan-An was also uneventful. They would make one more journey to Thu Thua before heading back to Dong Tam.
With four days to go, Duane got word to head back to Dong Tam to get ready to DEROS. The next day, Dan finally got word to head back as well. Arriving at Dong Tam, Dan found that Jim Counts and Richard Jones had not received his orders. Dan Bien worried? You betcha! Finally, the next day (two days to go) his orders were cut and he started to clear out. He was given the usual re-up talk and really thought hard about it. Bob Pegram, Gary Beckham, Jim Counts, and Richard "Little Jonesy" Jones decided they would extend the 45 days and get out for good. Pancho had opted to go home. Dan thought about it as he looked around at all the new people who had arrived in recent weeks and felt like he should stay to help out.
Headed for the "club", Dan ran into Richard Bellwood. He stopped him asking, "Ritchie, whose going to keep an eye on you when I leave?" Bellwood replied "Don't worry Sergeant Bien. I can take care of myself". Wondering out loud if he really meant that, Bellwood assured him that he would make it OK. That helped Dan make up his mind. He let Lt. Dickey know of his intentions. Dan would later suffer great remorse over his decision when informed by letter from Pegram of Richard's demise along with a bunch of others.
On 25 January 1969, a long range reconnaissance patrol in Dinh Tuong Province came under an intense barrage of hostile fire from a numerically superior enemy force. As the patrol neared the wood line , they were completely exposed and came under a murderous hail of fire. Specialist Bellwood courageously engaged the enemy with his rifle, quickly silencing two of the nearest hostile emplacements , giving his comrades time to reach cover. As he continued to lay down a heavy base of suppressive fire, he was mortally wounded by an enemy round.
Pancho and Dan loaded up with their gear in a 3/4 ton and were given a ride to Bien Hoa for the appointment with a Freedom Bird and a trip across the pond to a place called home. Words cannot express the torture of the last 24 hours in-country as you waited for your name to be called at "Port Call". When it finally comes you are too exhausted to fully comprehend the joyful feeling of going home. After boarding the plane and taxing down the runway, no one drew a breath until the plane reached an altitude that they all felt safe from being shot down. "What a long strange trip it had been!"
-2-
1969 Compiled by Bill Cheek
"I carried 3 M-14 pouches and 1 canteen on my web belt...The M-14 pouches could hold 5 M-16 magazines. We put a piece of black electrical tape on the butt of each magazine to form a tab so we could pull the first 4 out of the pouch easier and sliced the top half inch or so of the pouches so as to lay the 5th magazines across the top. I generally carried 2 of these pouches loaded with tracer every 3rd round and the other pouch had all ball rounds for penetrating heavy growth or for firing without giving my location away so easily. I also carried 2 magazines in my leg pockets loaded with straight tracer for marking my or the enemy location for the fly boys when the radio could not do the job accurately enough. I also had 2 magazines taped together in a V shape in my weapon for quick reaction reloading at first contact. In the really bad areas, I also carried 1 or more 7 magazine bandoleers made of OD cloth and from 6 to 15 grenades of various types and a claymore as well as the PRC-25. Needless to say, when the mud got thick, I was walking deep. Almost forgot the big starlight scope also!
The following mission explains why I was not a fan of all tracer loads. One night in January of 69, Herb Frost, Roman Mason, Leon Moore, Mark Durham and I were on a mission east of Ben Tre in a populated area with much tree growth separated by small rice paddies and Vietnamese hooch's every hundred meters or so. We were moving from hooch to hooch looking for military age males or any sign of weapons when we spotted a man walking at us from a wooded area. When he was about half way across the rice paddy, we called to him to stop. He took off like a ruptured duck and managed to dodge our fire. That SOB could have been an Olympic champion sprinter.
About 45 minutes later a bunch of his friends came into the area to return our greeting. We were in hooch searching for weapons when a large volume of fire went over the roof. The local VC seemed to know there were 2 women and a small kid in the hooch with us so avoided shooting directly into the place. This gave us a definite advantage. I was on one corner and had cut a slit through the thatched wall just above a short mud wall and could see the VC firing positions every time they popped up to shoot. There was enough star light and a few klicks away someone was shooting illumination rounds that partially backlit their position. One of them must have been a FNG VC because he was shooting almost all tracer and each time he popped up to shoot, he cut loose with all 30 rounds just over my head but still above the roof. Keep in mind that this was not a heavy battle but, rather, just friendly exchanges of lead to let each of us know that the other guy was there.
I saw this guy pop up twice from the same spot and empty his magazine so was waiting when he did it for the 3rd and final time. As soon as I saw his solid line of green tracer start, I was aimed in at that spot and cut loose with a full clip of mixed ball and tracer. I bet 3/4th of my load caught him in the upper chest and face. I watched as his tracer line climbed into the sky before stopping. At that point, the other VC reduced fire and quit using tracer.
A few minutes later they must have decided they had enough of us and pulled their X-FNG off for last rites. We also decided that it was time to go so called for extraction. I remember wondering if any had stayed behind to give us a going away party when the bird came but, if so, they did no more shooting as we pulled out. Tracers were a nice tool but they work in both directions. This also shows the kind of problems we had in the delta with LRP missions. Way too much population and too little solid cover in many areas."
Trapped in mud-walled hooch by a superior VC force 29 years ago one of my team scouts went to sleep on rear security......on a night when 60 or more very unfriendly people were out searching for us in at least 3 groups. Unfortunately, one of their elements found us from that direction first and damned near bagged our whole team. Below is the story of that night. An earlier version of it was published in "Behind the Lines" magazine in 1993. For any of you active duty guys, please kick the shit out of anyone you ever find asleep on guard. It might help save the lives of them and others.
A Lurp team fights desperately for survival.
With half the team KIA and the
team leader blinded,
gun ships and medevacs are the survivors' only hope.
January 27, 1969 started out just like many other days for Team 17, with us preparing for yet another night ambush patrol off the Mobile Riverine Force. I served with E/50 Long Range Patrol from April 68 through January 69. We had teams scattered all over the 9th Infantry Division AO. Several months earlier, our teams were kicked off the Mobile Riverine Force for smuggling beer on board. Shortly thereafter a VC sapper team swam out to the USS Westchester County near Toi San Island with a large quantity of plastic explosives and blew two huge holes in it. We were quickly forgiven and invited to return to the ships. We began running ambush patrols along trails and canals within a few klicks of the MRF. In the previous three weeks, we had pulled several effective missions on the south bank area near a major canal intersection called the "cross roads." This area was roughly between My Tho and Ben Tre and consisted of large sections of heavy forest and jungle swamps bordered by kilometers of wide open rice paddies. About half of these missions resulted in contact with a very active local VC force.
On this mission, I planned to insert by chopper near a heavy wood line and move the team several hundred meters to a position near one of the canals. Late on that afternoon, I flew over the area in a LOH to pick out some possible sites while on the way to drop off George Calabrese and Chuck Semmit at Ben Tre to be our radio relay. Shortly after returning to the MRF, the Huey arrived and carried six of us off into what turned out to be deep shit.
At our first insertion point, we were only on the ground about thirty seconds before a VC strolled out of the woods a hundred meters away with his AK over his shoulder like a hobo's pack. He spotted me and jumped back into the woods just as I cut loose with a burst from my 16. I decided at that point to extract and move a couple klicks to see if we could get a clean insertion. We landed near small hooch I remembered from a previous mission to be a water buffalo shed. It was almost dark as I scanned the wood line. At that point, I decided it was going to be an interesting night, because there was a Vietnamese man in the woods looking right back at me. When I reported this, I was told we were to keep the mission going anyway. I waited until full dark and got the team moving out of there. About an hour later, I heard a brief burst of fire from the vicinity of our last position. I figured we had escaped unseen, but we were not able to get into the woods because of heavy movement of people on their way home. We came to a cluster of five hooch's scattered over an area the size of a football field. All but one appeared to be empty. We entered one that was isolated from the others and found it to be built like a fortress. It had thick mud walls, about four feet high, which ran all the way around except for the door opening and a large above-ground bunker of mud and tree trunks. Because of a dry thatch wall on one side, which would have caused too much noise to remove, I had to deploy two men outside on that corner. This should have caused no problem, as they could quickly jump over the wall and knock holes in the thatching if it became necessary. For the next several hours we waited and watched to see what would happen.
At 2300 hours, I put the team on 50% alert. Richard Thompson, Mark Durham, and Roman Mason took their shot at getting some sleep, while Norman Crabb, Leon Moore and I watched for any activity. Around 2320 hours I thought I saw movement in the woods about 150 meters away. It was a clear night with starlight so bright I could almost read by it. I moved to Moore's position to get the starlight scope. He said there had been no activity on his side of the hooch, away from the wood line. For the next few minutes, Norman Crabb and I observed what appeared to be about twenty people moving around in the woods across from us. I was not overly concerned, because I had claymores set up in that direction.
Just as I decided to wake the team for possible action and to contact base, I heard voices behind me. Thinking it was Mason and Moore, I grabbed my 16 and started around the hooch to shut them up and get them inside. I had just turned the corner of the hooch when I recognized the voices were Vietnamese, and five armed VC stood four feet from me. They were so preoccupied looking down at the sleeping forms of my rear security element; they did not even notice me. I raised my 16 to waste them when I noticed about twenty more VC on the other side of a paddy dike ten feet past Mason and Moore's position. I slipped back around the corner and had Crabb cover the closest VC while I moved inside to wake the other guys. I looked over the wall as I whispered into the radio for assistance. We were unable to figure a sure way to wake Mason and Moore and get them in before they would be hit. There must have been at least twenty weapons trained on them at point blank range. My radio relay people told me that division would not send gun ships until we were in contact. I told everyone to open up at once, hoping that we could put out enough fire to allow Mason and Moore to get inside. It did not work, and they were cut down before they could even start to move.
The mud walls of the hooch held up against the heavy battering from all those AK's, and the thick roof thatching absorbed the blast from several grenades. So far, the people I spotted in the wood line had not started firing. I figured they wanted us to run from the hooch into their ambush, but I was not about to leave Mason and Moore behind, even if I could. I decided to remove my radio and crawl around the hooch to a point where I could fire along the right flank of the attacking force, when I spotted more people on my left flank. We were completely surrounded and taking fire from three sides. About that time, an RPG came in the door and detonated on the ground three feet in front of me. I think the blast caused me to do a complete back flip while flying about fifteen feet across the hooch. For the first few seconds, it felt like someone hit me in the face with a two-by-four, but it quickly numbed into a dull throb. I could not see anything, even though there had been enough light in the hooch before from tracers to see quite well.
I crawled back across the floor, feeling for my 16 and the radio, when I heard another large blast to my right. Thompson fell to the floor and died almost immediately. Only about five minutes had passed since the first shot, and half my team was KIA, and I was blind. I found my 16 and asked my radio relay team where the Cobra's were. I was told they were on the way and Hotel-Volley 27, the call sign of a 105 battery at fire base Claw, came up on my frequency and asked if we wanted artillery support. With VC within 10 to 20 feet away and me blind, I said no. I could not pull one of my last two men off the wall long enough to call in 105's on our own heads.
After about fifteen minutes of heavy firing, Crabb came to me to say he was out of ammo and Durham was on his last magazine. Since I had been blinded so early in the fight, I had plenty left. I started handing magazines to them and then finally handed my web gear to Crabb after removing a grenade to keep just in case we were overrun. I noticed that the VC firing was also slacking off and figured they were also running low. I told Crabb and Durham to start shooting semi-automatic at selective targets to keep us going as long as possible. I called once again to ask where the hell our gun ships were and to advise that in a few more minutes they would only need to send graves registration for a reaction force. One of the sweetest sounds I can remember hearing was when Charger 21 told me to mark my position so his gun ships could open up. I had Crabb throw my strobe light out the door and said anything more than twenty feet from it was all theirs. The VC that could, hauled ass out of there as rockets and mini-guns started tearing up the area. I told Crabb and Durham that we would first drag out our dead teammates when the extraction ship landed, and if there was no effective sniper fire they could go back for our equipment. A chopper crew with balls like King Kong landed in that mess and waited on the ground for us to load. Crabb led me to the bird to keep me from walking into the tail rotor. The gun ships did such a great job of building a wall of lead and fire that we had no problem extracting.
I spent the next ten and a half months recovering from wounds and learning how to live as a blind man. Well, it could have been a whole hell of a lot worse. I recently got back in touch with some of the old gang and it is great. My times at the Ranger reunions and at the Wall have been a terrific way to heal many of the old wounds.
On occasion a LRRP team will get lucky and find something big. That was the case on 25 January when a team led by Michael O'Day exposed an NVA company, called in gunships, were extracted, and turned the action over to the 3rd Brigade. A text book mission, one of many, conducted by the LRRPs.
At dusk on 26 February 1969, the Hunter Killer team was inserted into an LZ in an open rice paddy by two HUEY slicks, escorted by a pair of gun ships. It was a cold LZ.
SGT David Stone was point man and the team leader for the Hunter team. On landing, Stone noticed many places on and around the LZ where the reeds were bent over as if someone had recently been sitting on them. He reckoned a large enemy force had just vacated the area because the reeds were bending back up as he watched.
Most likely, it was a large infiltrating enemy force coming out of Cambodia with orders not to get decisively engaged who were taking ten when they saw the insertion birds, realized trouble was on its way and hightailed it into the woods. Some thing gave Stone an uneasy feeling. The terrain did not jive with the map and the matted down grass bothered him.
Stone was a veteran Ranger leader. It was probably his sixth sense, developed during dozens of such missions, shouting: danger, danger, danger. He quickly moved the force off the LZ and into the nearby woods, stopping when they came to a clearing. He then wisely called for a marking round to check his position, in case he was in the middle of a large enemy force; he'd be able to bring in the artillery big stick. Just at that moment, SGT Wesley Watson, who was at the rear of the column, saw an armed enemy soldier dressed in Khaki about 15 meters from him. Before he could get a shot off the guy disappeared into the darkness. Then a single shot was heard.
Not knowing what was going on in the rear of his column, he realized the team had lost surprise when the signal shot was heard, and trouble was on the way. He set his force up in a tight perimeter and waited for the artillery marking round. Suddenly four dinks walked into the clearing. A Ranger yelled 'La Dai' and when they ran; they joined the ranks of the KIA.
Stone threw a grenade. It hadn't gone more than a foot when an explosion went off behind him and blew him out of the wood line and into the clearing. He was hit in the back by shrapnel and momentarily stunned, his shocked brain trying to connect his grenade with the explosion that came from the opposite direction. Then more explosions clobbered the perimeter as incoming M- 79 rounds, hand grenades and B-40 rockets were fired at the ranger position. The common quote from all the survivors was "all hell broke loose".
Thirty-two years after the saga, Ranger Wesley Watson said the minute the team landed a VC LZ watcher spotted them. "A few minutes later we started taking heavy small arms fire. We returned fire and that brought a barrage of RPG fire aimed at the trees above us, creating air bursts -- which is what caused so many casualties so quickly."
The Rangers blasted back with three M-60 machine guns, an XM-203 Over and Under - combined M16 and M79 -- and a dozen M16s. The intensity of the Ranger return fire probably stopped an enemy attack as they must've realized they didn't have some small LRRP team -- they had a tiger by the tail, a heavily armed Hunter Killer Force.
The enemy backed off fast. Even though Sergeants Stone and Charles Chesser were both hit they worked on the other wounded Rangers. Ranger Warren Lizotte was seriously wounded in the head exposing part of his brain. Stone tended to him while Chesser patched up the others. Lt. Robert Hill, the mission leader, was very badly wounded along with Sgt. Jerry Wilson. All told sixteen Rangers were hit, but all except Lizotte, who was really down for the count, bravely manned their weapons and hammered the enemy with heavy and sustained fire.
The incoming fire had knocked out every Ranger radio. One PRC-25 had a light glowing in the Frequency Indicator box. Stone, hoping that even though it was damaged it could still transmit, called for support.
Meanwhile, back at the Dong Tam Ranger TOC, HUEY pilot Warrant Officer LaPotta heard the "May Day" call. He raced to his chopper and took off not even waiting the required five minute engine warm up time in his rush to fly to his besieged Rangers buddies. Stone turned his strobe light on when he heard the circling bird. LaPotta turned on his landing lights and came in hot on the small clearing, About 20 feet off the ground the bird clipped a tree with its tail rotor and went into a wild spin, crashing onto its side. The main rotor went flying and the turbine raced out of control as the crew unassed the chopper yelling, "It's going to blow" to Stone and Dennis McNally, who'd raced over to the downed bird to help. When things settled down and LaPotta figured the bird wasn't going to explode, he returned to the aircraft and shut it down. The crew then removed the ships' weapons and ammo and joined Stone's people on the perimeter.
Ranger Warren Lizotte died a few hours after he was evacuated back to Dong Tam. Lt. Hill, Sgt. Wilson, Ranger Richard Shimel and a few other badly wounded Rangers never returned to the company.
HUEY pilot LaPotta was almost court martialed for his heroic, but unauthorized and some say reckless flight. Ranger CO Captain Dale Dickey went to General Ewell and got the charges thrown out. Ewell well understood Dickey's defense: "Screw the regulations; he was trying to save my men." Stone and Chesser were awarded the Silver Star for their incredible gallantry.
On 10 April 1969, a hunter killer team was put together and inserted into a large open rice paddy. SFC Jesse Stephens was the new Operations NCO for Tan An and wanted to see first hand how the guys operated in the open areas of the Mekong Delta. Other members of the team were Ray Bazini, Chip Capps, Bill Christiansen, Hilan Jones, Lonnie Evans. The insertion was uneventful but shortly after all hell broke loose. The patrol had only moved inland a few meters when a loud explosion was heard. The Lurps returned automatic weapons fire into the nearest tree line hoping to hit whoever might be in the area.
Lonnie Evans was killed instantly as a claymore pellet entered his back between the shoulder blades and pierced his heart. Jones was hit in the right buttocks as a pellet went through his thigh and lodged in his scrotum. Two others received small shrapnel wounds.
The evacuation was accomplished in short order and the patrol returned to Tan An. Jones was evacuated to Saigon the on to Zama Japan.
Ranger missions were diverse and not always done according to the book, one such was a rescue mission. The call for help came to the Rangers and Sergeant Boudreau quickly assembled a team to assist. A vehicle had been ambushed about half way between My Tho and Dong Tam and the two occupants were wounded. They were rescured by the ranger team just minutes after the call was made.
Team 22 had a busy and successful week. On 31 May they destroyed a mortar squad and on June 2 they teamed with gunships to kill 19 Cong. Just a typical day in the life of a Ninth Division Ranger.
Another successful "Parakeet" mission.
21 June was a sad day for Echo Company 75th Ranger. During the conduct of a "parakeet" mission, Staff Sergeant Herbert "Frosty" Frost was killed doing what he loved to do, killing the enemy any way he could. A suspected VC was spotted and like they had done so many times before the chopper swooped in and the Rangers were off and running, chasing the VC along a rice paddy dike. The fleeing enemy fired a shot over his shoulder as he was fleeing and got lucky. "Frosty" died doing what he did best.
Company "E" executed the coup of the war when Ranger Mike Kentes zapped the highest-ranking VC killed, Lt. General Hat Tram, in an ambush, on 24 August 1969. "A six man team -- SGTs Jessie Stephens, Christie Valenti, Tom Dineen, Ray Bazini, Nguyen Van Kiet a PRU (Provincial Recon Unit, part of the CIA Project Phoenix Program that was -- according to Ranger Cheek - carried out in part by "E" Company) and CPL Mike Kentes -- was operating near the Cambodian border," Ranger Cheek said. "Kentes shot a guy and when their team swept the contact area, they took a POW who turned out to be the personal physician of VC LT General Hai Tram." After the raid, Military Intelligence thought the dead VC might be General Tram and the team was immediately reinserted in the area to find out. Documents found on the body confirmed he was General Tram -- and Kentes recovered his pistol. General Abrams and the American Ambassador flew in to congratulate the Rangers.
This was a big deal. Getting Tram was like Grant getting Lee or the VC zapping Abrams. Cheek recalls, waking up to the sound of someone running through the Ranger barracks back at Tan An saying 'Kentes killed a General, Kentes killed a General.' I remember mumbling groggily to myself "was it one of ours or one of theirs?"
Team 22, Ralph Funk's old team now led by Stu Koontz, was on IRF - Initial Reaction Force status at Tan An. Mid afternoon sometime in the fall of 69' a call came in to TOC about an enemy sighting in a free fire zone in the Plain of Reeds by someone in a chopper. The team was scrambled and was at the chopper pad within seconds and lifted off in pursuit of the elusive foe.
They were vectored into the area by the 'higher-higher' who initially made the sighting and off loaded near some heavy nipa palm. The ''Oscar 5 or 6" (either a Ltc. or full bird) came up on the team freq and directed them to a path that led into some very heavy, thick brush and within two meters made a hard right turn.
Koontz thought "uh oh, this doesn't look too good; I sure could use Pham Van Nhan (Team 22's PRU - a former Vietnamese Marine and SAS and CIA trained). He saw hand painted 'Tu Dia' on a piece of metal somewhat hidden by the foliage, remembering from in-country indoctrination that was Vietnamese for Booby Trap. Koontz was convinced he didn't want to go into that nipa palm without a really, really good reason and the dude in the chopper hovering at 2000 feet just didn't provide a good enough of one.
Next thing he heard was some squawking on the horn about what's going on down there and what's the hold up? He told the Oscar that they weren't going in there without some good prep fire by Spooky or a Cobra and some arty and maybe even a couple 500 pound napalm drops. That sure as hell didn't go over too well with the colonel and he let Koontz know it. Said he had to go into the Nipa and check it out. He backed off when Koontz suggested he un ass that chopper and go into the Nipa himself and they would provide covering fire.
Team 22 was on a daytime patrol in a huey flying along a waterway (with gun ships for cover). Don Andrews was in the process of taking over as team leader and Koontz was along to help with the transition. They were going along a blue, when several NVA in a sampan were spotted. The huey pilot did a quick pull-up and turned to set them down, but when the rotors started chopping tree branches and leaves, the team went ahead and jumped out.
Andrews had on a PRC 77 radio that was previously used by Paul Fitzsimons. The straps were adjusted for him and were caked with dried mud. When Andrews put it on he couldn't adjust it, so the radio hung down low on his waist. When they jumped out, he landed in the mud and sunk knee deep. The radio slammed into the back of his head opening a good size gash in his neck, making a nice cut. We rounded up the NVA and had them choppered off to MI, so they could interrogate them and let 'em go, or whatever they do (that was always the scuttlebutt!).
Returning to Tan An, the team was walking from the chopper pad through the artillery area, to the main street of the Brigade base camp. As they got to the street, right across from the PX, they saw two things simultaneously. One was the 3rd Brigade/9th Div. Commander, the other was two FNG's (------- New Guys), with their still green (bright green) fatigues. The FNG's started saluting for all they were worth (Isn't that all they teach you in basic??). The Colonel hollered a greeting to the LRRPs, and they hollered back.
The FNG's looked at them: Muddy, bloody (the blood had dried on the side of Andrews' neck and collar), half worn-off camouflage, and probably no complete uniform among them. As he recalls, they were prone to wearing cut-offs and going barefooted.
While many of the directives received were deemed stupid, it was truly believed that many were issued simply because many of the officers making the decisions didn't know how to tactically employ the LRRPs. Colonel Hackworth was right on when he said they were fighting the war using WW II tactics. Remember, the LRRP units were on the cutting edge of new war fighter tactics. Many of the things they did hadn't been done before. Then throw in the factor of ticket punches and awards, there were tremendous pressures brought to bear. Had it not been for "Top' Press keeping the LRRP officers straight, they may have gotten into many conflicts as well?
Norm Breece had taken over team #11 after graduating from Recondo School, from Curtis Daniels after he was killed. One of the first missions for his team was a stay behind with a line unit from the 3rd Brigade. During the visual recon Norm gleaned right away that it was going to be extremely difficult to find a good "hide" in this highly populated area. The mission was to collect some high ranking VC/NVA that was meeting in the small ville northwest of Tan Tru. He dropped off the tail gunner into the hide position at last light. Immediately there were children in the area looking for the team. A couple of young girls walked into the position and had to be kept with the team until they were ready to move on the hooch.
It wasn't very long when the night calm was saturated with the heavy noise of mechanized tracks. Norm called to Weids & Stinky who were monitoring the radio at base camp and asked them to identify the mechanized unit to the South. They called back saying there were no friendlies in the area. That was confusing to Breece as he was somewhat confident that NVA armor hadn't traveled that far south. They continued to hear the tracks coming closer and closer, but higher continued to deny their existence. At 2000 hours the team moved into the ville, taking along the kids they had acquired. The hooch was a negative, but the most elaborate one he had seen during his tour to date. The cat had some serious cash. The tracks could be heard moving into their final night position, gunning the Detroit's as they came on line.
Releasing the girls, the team began moving west from the ville and into the night position. Kentes was walking point as they broke from the midst of the last hooch, when a round snapped by his face. He hit the deck and everyone thought he was jacking around. Breece told him to get up and move out, when he immediately received another round right by his snoot. Again, for some reason, Breece hadn't heard the round and summarily chewed on Kentes and told him to get moving. They had only moved far enough for the entire team to get along side a big dike line running east and west when all hell broke loose. The tracks unloosed a major barrage from their 50s. The ground actually felt as if an earthquake was occurring. The ground was being ground away and flying everywhere. Kentes and Valenti had unders, Cheek had his M-79, Root, and Phouc M-16s and Breece carried his Car-15. Everyone with the 40s were told to put as many rounds in the air as possible, they managed 3 in the short seconds before the first round hit the tree line about 400-500 yards to the south. They all fired one magazine of 5.56 to break contact, got up and ran as hard as they could to the west. It worked, as the tracks lit up the area just to their rear. With contact broken, they continued to low crawl along the dike.
Breece had been on the radio with the Fire Support Base trying to get the goofy ARVNs off their backsides, when a marking round went off. Willie Peet, 200 feet up. The big guns were firing from Tu Tua. Norm had previously fired with the Red Legs over there and quickly went up on their push telling them to check fire as it was friendlies they would be firing up. They acknowledged and initiated the check fire.
SFC Jesse Stephens, higher had told him they wanted them to move to a position to the west. He came back much too aggressively and said a few expletives that later got his butt in a sling, but they finally sent a chopper out and extracted them. The run to the chopper seemed like an eternity, knowing the trigger happy ARVNs were just a few hundred yards to the south. Needless to say, SFC Stephens had some choice words for him back at the ranch.
Around that same time, they pulled a security mission with three arty guys, a major and two enlisted guys with the biggest starlight scope Breece had ever seen. They were to set up at the junction of a major dike line. Breece had a good visual recon and planned how they would conduct the mission. The problems began when they hit the LZ, close to last light. Immediately the major had the misconception that he was in charge. He wanted to split the teams and move several hundred yards apart to wait for dark. Breece immediately nixed that idea and told the major in no uncertain terms that if he wanted to split up, he could move his people to an area of cover to their northwest and he would set up security there in a defendable position. The major was ticked off and moved into his position.
It started to rain and for a while it was miserable. Breece had carefully watched where the major had gone and when it became dark he moved out. They circled his position to the south and came in from the west. By now, the moon was giving some good light and they showed the red legs why they were good at what they did. Sneaking up behind them, they watched for a short time as the three were staring to the east, not having a clue the LRRPs were right behind them. Breece slowly moved up behind the major and tapped him on the shoulder thinking he would probably wet his pants. They moved out to the preplanned junction of the dikes, set them up to watch, and all went to sleep. Man that was a big starlight scope!
We pulled another stay behind with a unit from the 3rd Bde. This one was really fun. We took trucks out to the jump off point and once again were the tail gunners of the file. We were moving thru a large Ville, I don't recall which; all of us were at high alert as a whole company had walked through there already. We were walking parallel to a large canal when a gook stood up right in the bushes beside the hardball. I heard 6 M16 safeties, click, click, click, etc. We didn't fire the dude up because we recognized the Chu Hoi from the line unit. That dump almost cost him his life. The interesting thing was the grunts right in front of us seemed oblivious to the guy. They didn't even pull up their weapons.
We continue into the night marching toward the NW. We had been traveling about an hour and a half when I heard something coming from the West. I halted the grunts near me and the team and we lay down. Whatever it was coming, they sounded like a heard of elephants. I called the CO and told him of the movement, and he halted his formation. The noise stopped. Here we are out in the middle of nowhere with a point element of this company lost. I told the CO the noise had quit, that his point element was walking right into his flank element and to pass the word not to fire us up. He clamed he knew where he was at and it couldn't be him. On of the platoon leaders had been listening to our discussion and moved back to my position. We discussed the situation; he called the CO and confirmed the snafu. The COs solution was to have all of the men in the formation continue to follow the man in front of him and come back to the spot we were at. I told him my team would remain and wait for them to wade through two blue lines and link back up. We had a very pointed discussion, but I remained there.
After quite a while, the tail element was back to our position, and we continued north. After another half hour or so the CO called me up to his position. He was under his poncho with a red lens flashlight. We discussed our position and he was lost. I tried to tactfully show him where we were but my patience was really running thin. Finally, I went up on Arty's push and called for two marking rounds on adjacent grids, did a resection, and found out I was about 150 meters from where I thought I was. Man was that young Cpt mad. We dropped off at our mission site shortly thereafter. It turned out to be a dumping point on a major dike line close to a Ville. The rats were as big as house cats. Man to this day I still can't stand rats. They were crawling across our legs and feet. They weren't scared of anything. They would jump when you poked them with the barrel of the 16 but were right back.
This mission really took on another twist. We were to move to an LZ for pick up at first light. So, we move into position and awaited the sun. About 0600 I got a call informing me a 25th ID unit was in big contact and no air assets were available until later. Well we were out of water, and had no rations because this was to be an over nighter. Shame on us. We waited until around 1000 hrs, still no choppers. We were about 700 meters from the blue line that run right by the TOC of the unit we went out with. We moved to the river and after a couple of shots across the bow, Papasan pulled his sampan over to the bank and gave us a ride to the Ville close to the TOC. As I recalled we paid the old boy a few MPC and he was giggly.
The Major we ran into when we walked into the TOC to borrow his land line to arrange transportation back to Tan Ann wasn't very amused. This was the same bugger eater that couldn't get us a ride home, but was really upset we found our own way. He summarily chewed my backside. Well that day he discovered the truth of the axiom, "where there is a LRP there is a way".
-3-
1970 Compiled by Brent Gulick
Many thoughts raced through Lieutenant Walker's mind as he waited in the Naval Operations Center at Ben Luc, Vietnam. The young Engineer officer was contemplating the mission with which he was soon to be involved. He was waiting to meet Lieutenant Toschik, Operations Officer, Company E (Ranger), 75th Infantry. The Rangers had a special interest in Walker; his company could furnish them with small, fast boats (Kinner Ski Barges) which they needed for their operation AQUABUSH. Although he had never participated in the operation, Walker had heard many stories about the missions. Tonight he was going to accompany the Rangers on an "Aquabush" to get a feel of the mission and to determine how his boats and crews would fit into future operations.
Toschik soon arrived and wasted no time in introducing Walker to the aquabush concepts. He began the briefing on the way to the wharf: "We've been giving Charlie hell along his sampan highways and in his Nipa Palm sanctuaries. The Regional and Popular Forces and our 'ground pounders' haven't let the enemy out of the Nipa lately. The 'old man' got with the Navy and worked out a combined operation -the Aquabush- whereby we can go after the VC in their own back yard."
As the two officers reached the waterfront, Toschik pointed to a cluster of small outboard motor boats, similar to those used for fishing and water skiing back in the States. "It took much work to get our boats rigged like we want them, and to get our techniques worked out with the Navy. All of our men are swimmers and each is cross-trained as a pilot; in fact, each man is cross- trained in many other skills. These boats are the Navy's Boston Whalers with fiberglass hulls and twin 40 HP engines which can attain a speed of 30 knots and get on a plane in 10 meters. One boat has its own electric starter - a necessity in our operation. We tried a big 85 HP engine, but it didn't have the power of two 40s, nor did it have a reserve propulsion capability. We designed that M60 mount to give a low silhouette for the machine gunner and to keep the center of gravity down. The pilot's PRC-77 is strapped to the steering console. Thus far, a shortage of repair parts has been our greatest problem. We resorted to cannibalization in an effort to keep two boats operational at all times. Now, the Navy is pulling out of this immediate area. That's why we need your help - they are going to take their boats with them."
Walker thought about his Kinner Ski Barges and compared them with the Whalers. The Ski Barge has a metal hull and is a little larger craft; the capabilities are about the same. His boats also used twin 40s and each boat had an electric starter. The Ski Barges' machinegun mounts were taller than the Navy ones - they'd have to be shortened. He explained to Toschik that the boats would interchange, and that there should be no difficulty making the switch. The Engineers had an outboard motor mechanic, by MOS, and a Prescribed Load List. Maintenance should be no problem. He was intrigued by the mission, however, and quizzed Toschik for more information.
"The whalers are always used in pairs for mutual support. The Navy provides two crewmen -a pilot and a machine gunner. We split a six-man Ranger team between two boats, and we're ready for action. Each Ranger wears camouflaged fatigues, a black shirt, a black hat or head band, and some captured equipment to confuse Charlie, who is rather easily fooled in his watery haven. Virtually all of our boat ambushes are sprung at extremely close ranges. One night while we were listening and waiting to move inland, a VC walked up to the boat and squatted down into the muzzle of a shotgun. We keep plenty of grenades handy on our load bearing equipment and in the boat; all the guys have 50-round magazines filled with tracers for the initial impact - we don't stick around very long after the first magazine."
Toschik explained that even though the Rangers carried a shotgun and an M79 in each boat, they seldom used the grenade launchers: "The Nipa is nearly always too close and thick. We carry Claymore Mines rigged on long stakes but, in many cases, contact is made before we have a chance to put them out."
The Rangers checked load bearing equipment, weapons, Claymore mines, radios and boats before departing on Aquabush missions. "When departing for a mission, we usually follow in the wake of patrol boats or whatever crafts the Navy has going our way. Actually, we don't really need the noise screen because these engines can cut back to a troll speed with less noise than a motorized sampan. Charlie listens for the big boats and makes his crossings as they pass around a bend; we have had a few early evening contacts, on our way to a night location, by following about 500 meters behind big boats," Toschik related.
He explained that the Navy had long known many of Charlie's favorite crossing sites and often received good targets from agent reports of enemy activity along the river. Third Brigade, 9th Infantry Division had patternized NVA infiltration routes which included water paths as well as numerous fords and shuttle points. Also, when airmobile units witnessed Charlie's disappearing act during day sweeps, the small Navy/Ranger task force reacted by slipping back into the area after dark and after Charlie crawled from his crawfish hole.
Walker listened intently as the Ranger Lieutenant explained the actual ambush technique: "The ATL (Assistant Team Leader) sets-up his boat in a supporting position where the stream or canal junctions with the river. The TL (Team Leader) has his pilot slowly back his Whaler up the tributary - never more than 50 meters. That flat bottom boat sounds just like a sampan as the water laps at its hull in the darkness. Once in position, and after a short listening period, the Rangers wade inland about 30 meters and set-up. As movement is detected, the old heart rate accelerates. You would be surprised how freely and boldly the enemy moves in that mud and Nipa after dark - flash lights, whistles, shouts. . .
"The TL initiates the ambush when shadowed figures move up to his position - many times talking or signaling to him. The center Ranger tosses grenades and saves his weapon to cover the hasty movement back to the boat where the machine gunner is firing in support. Once the Rangers tumble into the idling boat, which the pilot starts at the sound of the first shot, the machine gunner shifts to the target. He then signals the support boat to open fire on the tracer impact area.
"The pilot keeps the boat in position against the tide and current by holding onto Nipa branches until his machine gunner opens fire. Then it takes a skilled pilot to steer and throttle a low draft boat into a pick-up position. With all aboard, little time is lost in making a speedy get-away to open water." Walker thought about the Aquabush and mentally evaluated his personnel and their ability to perform this type of mission. His people were good and they had experience, but he would have to devote initial training time to refining extraction techniques.
Toschik broke his thought: "You will have to evaluate tide data. We learned that lesson the hard way; getting stuck in Charlie country can be a nerve-racking experience. Also, you'll want to be aware of moon position - to take advantage of bank shadows.
"The team leader can call for gunship, artillery, or gunboat support with his PRC-77; we will have your support boat radio monitor headquarters' frequency at all times. Prior to each mission, the team leader coordinates directly with artillery, naval gun ships, naval gunboats, and with any units, such as SEALs or Riverine Forces, operating on the river the night of his operation."
"To avoid setting a pattern, we make full use of the hundreds of miles of connecting waterways accessible to us, and we make all reconnaissance by air - never by boat! We never ambush the same location! We use Ranger teams which alternate their nights between ambushing and drying out from the previous sleepless night spent in mud and water.
"Occasionally, we react to a Navy contact as an assault element or blocking force. Also, we have had some luck reacting to radar sightings of sampans crossing the river. We like to leave a sniper on the ATL's boat to scan the opposite bank for easy targets on foot or in sampan. A little light reflection off the water considerably increases a starlight scope capability. The sniper can fire at will; sound direction is not well detected over water."
"The best way to break you into our operation is to show you. I will take Team 17 out tonight and give Sergeant Bryant a rest. He has a knack for this type of operation and has been very successful with it. It takes a team leader with steady nerves to execute the ambush in a timely way and not be caught in a compromising situation. As you will see, this is a risky mission; however, surprise and firepower are our equalizers. You will have to be my machine gunner. The Whaler will carry only five and retain minimum safe power. Don't worry, we'll check you out, and Chief Slater, who helped pioneer our techniques, will pilot and give you assistance if you need it."
After chow, Walker joined the little task force as it checked weapons, motors, radios and equipment. With everything ready, it headed north in the vanishing wake of an Assault Support Patrol boat escorting two Tango boats of Vietnamese Marines. Lieutenant Walker tried to visualize the target, previously briefed as one of several canals in an area of numerous, recent DUFFLEBAG activations. Brigade Operations radio reported that the radar sight at Thu Thua Canal junction reported a sampan crossing into the Eagles Beak from the Plain of Reeds-right on target. The two small craft quickly pulled along-side the Tangos and the pilots prepared to slip into the bank shadows.
The target canal identified and the support boat positioned, Toschik's Whaler sleekly glided under the low hanging Nipa branches. The three Rangers gingerly slid into the water and moved into the pitch stillness of the Nipa grove. Soon, only the slapping of the walking fish could be detected around the Ranger position. Dim lights appeared and slowly moved to- ward the blackened bushwhackers. The radios suddenly came to life.
"17, this is Sword Fish, over."
"Fish, this is 17, over"
"This is Fish, I have a sampan, about thirty meters out, moving in my direction toward 17-ALFA's position."
"This is 17; hold off, I have three lights converging on my position. Standby to blow and make it, wait."
"17 ALPHA, 17, are you monitoring, over?"
"17 ALPHA, roger, over."
Suddenly the blank void of the night became a psychedelic happening as the three Rangers opened fire and took the opportunity to hurriedly splash back to their impatiently waiting cohorts. After clearing the canal, Lieutenant Toschik directed fire and adjusted illumination and HE while awaiting the Navy gun ships which were previously alerted by his ATL.
He remarked to his new friend, "Well Lieutenant Walker, you did a good job shooting up that sampan. Now that you have had a first hand look, what do you think of our Aquabush?"
"A little hairy but it is hard to complain about success," was the reply.
The following incident happened sometime 1970 east of Tan An Vietnam. It involved one ambush team from Echo company 75th Infantry (Airborne Rangers) of the 3rd Brigade 9th Infantry Division and a couple of small navy boats from the Mobile Riverine Force assigned to Tan An along with their navy drivers. To best of recollection each vessel was about 18 feet long, had twin outboard engines and a machine gun turret in middle of each boat.
We boarded the boats in Tan An and headed down river east of Tan An for several miles in broad daylight. After an uneventful ride of several miles the navy dropped us off on the river bank next to a hooch that had a clear beach where we could climb off without difficulty. I say this as opposed to being dropped off of PBRs in the nippa bushes and mud which was a difficult exercise and it could take one or two guys just to assist another person back onto a boat.
After disembarking the navy boats left us and returned to Tan An. Chuck Watson our team leader immediately called in a marker round to verify our location. Also with us on this night was Lt. Gulick, our platoon lieutenant. We waited on the river bank until dark then moved out across a dry rice paddy eventually getting to our ambush location where we set up in typical fashion. As it turned out it was an uneventful evening and in the morning we moved back to the same location where the navy boats had dropped us off.
We ended up spending most of the day on the river bank waiting for the navy boats to return. I have no idea why it took them all day to return but the day ended up to be one of pleasure for us. We spent the day relaxing on the river bank and taking photos of each other. We also kept cool by swimming in the river most of the day just waiting for our ride to return.
Eventually at dusk the boats showed up and off we headed back to Tan An. It got pitch dark right away and navigation became difficult. The first boat turned on a strobe light for the second boat to follow. To this day the wisdom of the first boat displaying a strobe light for the second boat to follow has bothered me for at the time I remember thinking how fortunate I was to be in the second boat. I was also wondering how the driver of the first boat could tell where to go and then realized he was following the silhouette of the tree line on both sides of the river. Between the trees on either side of the river was a beautiful sky full of bright stars or it was this path of stars we were following back to base.
Suddenly the strobe light went out. Immediately the navy driver slowed our boat down and with the decrease in rpms the engine noise became lower and we could hear the guys in the first boat yelling excitedly but we couldn't see anything. Suddenly we hit a rice paddy dike head on just as the boat ahead of us had but at a much reduced speed. The first boat had hit the dike at full speed and went over the dike stopping flat against a second dike. The boat was literally wedged in between two dikes. Fortunately no one had been hurt but they were sure shook up. As it turned out there was no tree line to follow where they hit the dike because the rice paddy came right down to the river's edge and the two dikes separated the river from the paddy. As a result the driver drove into it head on.
So there we were, everyone standing around assessing the situation. I was standing on the second dike to one side of the boat which was wedged in. Another guy, a new kid we had on our team who was a ---k up and became nicknamed Daffy Duck was standing immediately in front of the wedged boat on the same dike as I. When I looked over towards Daffy I saw him throw something at me. It turned out to be a live smoke grenade which hit me on my leg and bounced on the ground resting at my feet. This stupid act of his immediately pissed me off so I picked it up and threw it back at him with the intention of it burning him good. The grenade hit him in the neck, bouncing off and into the wedged boat. Of course the wedged boat was full of nothing but spilled gasoline and tons of ammunition scattered about including but not limited to light antitank weapons, hand grenades, M60 machine gun belts, phosphorous grenades, claymore mines etc. Remember we were still shaking off the cobwebs of the accident when this occurred. Well gasoline, ammunition and hot smoke grenades don't mix and so the fireworks began. All of us immediately ran for cover behind the dikes and watched the fireworks for some time. It was quite a show lasting a long time and of course it goes without saying that the boat was not just a total loss but there was nothing left of it by the time it was over. I thought I was going to LBJ for the incident but nothing ever came of it. Wasn't even reprimanded or even questioned for that matter. It was just another day at the office.
Eventually we got a ride out by chopper back to Tan An for a warm meal and shower.
On 30 April, while serving as Team Leader on an overnight ambush operation assisted by U.S. Navy Patrol Boats, Bryan positioned a three man element of the team about 75 meters from the shore, leaving the remaining members in the boat. Spotting approximately five enemy soldiers 200 meters from his location, Sgt Bryan immediately exposed himself to initiate contact with the enemy, eliminating one instantly. While leading his men through the intense hostile fire he heard someone whistle. Again spotting another enemy soldier twenty meters from his position, he exposed himself to hurl a grenade at the insurgent, eliminating him. He then directed his team back to the boat. Upon reaching the craft, two enemy sampans were observed on the river coming toward them. As the insurgents initiated contact, Sergeant Bryan once again exposed himself to the enemy fusillade to direct the fire of his team.
The four enemy personnel aboard the sampans were eliminated. Later, while sweeping the contact area, the team again received intense fire from an enemy soldier concealed in the nipa palm within ten meters of the ranger team. Reacting instantly to the critical danger, Sergeant Bryan charged forward and eliminated the insurgent at point blank range with rifle fire. The team was extracted without further incident.
On 11 June 1970, while his element was proceeding along a river bank, Sergeant Bryan observed an enemy soldier to his front. The enemy attempted to react, but Sgt Bryan immediately eliminated him. As the team moved further along, Sgt Bryan observed two more enemy soldiers on the opposite shore. Without regard for his personal safety, he immediately moved to an exposed position and eliminated one while another team member fatally wounded the other. Shortly thereafter, the team encountered three more enemy soldiers about fifteen meters to their front. Sgt Bryan and other team members immediately rushed the enemy, eliminating them before they could fire back. When a bobby trap detonated, causing several members of the team to receive fragmentation wounds, Sergeant Bryan, without hesitation, applied first aid, then directed a helicopter to pick up the wounded. Sergeant Bryan's actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army. Sergeant Bryan continued to lead his Ranger Team 1-7 in the warrior tradition, leading by example, encouraging and inspiring his fellow rangers to give 100% and then some.
On 13 July 1970, just 24 days away from Robert's departure from Vietnam, he was killed in action by enemy ground fire, while conducting a visual reconnaissance from a light observation helicopter preparing for yet another mission.
On 11 August 1970 1st Lieutenant Mark Toschik was killed in action in Dinh Tuong Province in the Republic of South Vietnam and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal for gallantry in action as well as the National Order of Vietnam, Fifth Class. The circumstances of the action leading to these awards are as follows: Lt. Toschik had made an aerial reconnaissance by helicopter early in the day to determine night ambush positions. He was inserting one of his teams just before dark and was flying in the insertion helicopter, while his platoon sergeant flew in another cover helicopter.
Lt. Toschik had inserted his team which had moved out quickly to avoid detection. As the helicopter lifted off, it came under point blank fire from the rear. The action was quick and fierce. Lt. Toschik was the only one on the ground or in either helicopter who saw the enemy. He must have seen the muzzle flashes and immediately returned fire. No one knows when he was hit, but because the contact was brief and the rescue swift, he must have been hit with the initial burst. Lt. Toschik fought back savagely with all his resources. He expended his 30 round magazine and 20 round magazines of two additional M-16 rifles in the helicopter. He fired all the rounds of his 9mm pistol and to attest to the relative closeness of the encounter, he threw the empty pistol at them. He then ripped the .38 caliber pistol from the copilots shoulder holster and emptied it before the helicopter hit the around. It is difficult to imagine how quickly this all took place. Lt. Toschik's helicopter had hardly touched down and lifted off when it was brought down, having traveled less than the length of a football field, in a crescent arc. The support helicopter flying in the same arc pattern landed swiftly alongside the downed craft. Upon impact, Lt. Toschik, who was not wearing a seatbelt, dismounted and unstrapped the two wounded pilots and pulled them to safety. He then moved around the far side of the downed helicopter searching for other crew members. He could go no farther and collapsed on the spot where his platoon sergeant found his body.
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