- Joined
- Mar 20, 2004
- Messages
- 270
- Points
- 53
The first couple of weeks of FEB67 we're doing a S&D operation in the southern Central Highlands somewhere around Bao Loc. It was pretty rugged country, but we'd been in rougher further north in The Highlands. It was some beautiful country, and my biggest memory of it is it had several beautiful waterfalls in the area.
My other big memory of it was that we made very little contact with Charlie. There were a few around, but not many. We would jump a small group of them once in awhile, but they never really wanted to stand and fight. We would stay in the area for maybe two weeks, and kill maybe 5-6 bad guys.
One afternoon we stop for a break. The platoon leader tells me and two other guys to gather up some canteens and go to a small waterfall about a quarter mile away and fill them. So, with our 16's slung and each carrying 5-6 canteens each, we head out. We light-up some smokes and go diddy boppin' down the trail that leads to the waterfall.
It's a pretty comfortable Highlands afternoon, and it's kinda like walking through the woods back in the world. We're in single file and talking in low tones about cars, girls, or whatever 19/20 yr. olds talk about. We're kind of watching the trail, but we have seen virtually no booby traps since we've been in the AO.
About half way there, we come around a bend in the trail and there, about 50' in front of us, are two VC walking towards us! They're carrying a couple canteens apiece and a tin bucket with a lid on it. Like us, their rifles are slung on their shoulders. One has an AK and the other one has an M-1 carbine. They were diddy boppin' along like we were. We all stop and look at each other in amazement for about 5-6 seconds, none of us moving. Suddenly they drop their stuff and jump off the trail to their left. They're running diagonally up a not-too-steep side hill. We drop our stuff, unsling our rifles, and chase them up the hill. One of us goes up the middle, and me and the other guy goes to the left and right flank. The trees are pretty thin on the hillside and we get glimpses of them, but never a clear shot.
When we are about halfway up the hill, they start shooting down at us. The guy that went up the middle takes a round in his boot, and goes ass over tea kettle back down the hill. The other guy and I continue to flank them using the trees for cover, trying to make them keep their heads down with the 16's on rock-and-roll. We are soon within grenade distance, and my buddy tosses one. We rush their position before the dust settles. We kill both of them. They had both been hit with some of the shrapnel, but not fatally. They were in a fighting hole at the top of the hill, evidently trail watchers. It's all over by the time the rest of the platoon shows up.
Coz, the guy shot in the boot, was lucky. The round barely nicked the meaty part of edge of his foot, but it blew the sole halfway off the boot. He said it felt like his foot had been blown off and he had a slightly sprained ankle.
So, we learned a tough lesson: no matter how quiet and safe it might seem; how little contact you've made with Charlie; how good things seem to be going; you can't just go diddy boppin' down the trail. These two Charlies learned the lesson too late, and ALOT harder than we did. I never went diddy boppin' down a trail again. Later in the day it really sank in how lucky we were. If they had been in their holes when we first went by, they probably would have ambushed us on the way back, killed a couple of our buddies that came to help, and gotten away.
There were mixed feelings about the incident with our superiors. They didn't know whether to kiss us, or give us an Article 15. I think the Lt. [ a newbie] was glad to have a couple more body counts on his score card. He was pretty good about it. The platoon sgt. wasn't so nice. He pretty much told us we were dumber than C-rat crackers. He was probably right. Coz and I had been in-country about 7mos. by then. Definately should have known better.
I've re-lived that instant of meeting those two trail watchers hundreds of times,....often with a grin when I imagine the looks on all five of our faces. The two VC were about our ages and just as surprised as we were. It would be more comical if it wasn't such deadly serious business.
My other big memory of it was that we made very little contact with Charlie. There were a few around, but not many. We would jump a small group of them once in awhile, but they never really wanted to stand and fight. We would stay in the area for maybe two weeks, and kill maybe 5-6 bad guys.
One afternoon we stop for a break. The platoon leader tells me and two other guys to gather up some canteens and go to a small waterfall about a quarter mile away and fill them. So, with our 16's slung and each carrying 5-6 canteens each, we head out. We light-up some smokes and go diddy boppin' down the trail that leads to the waterfall.
It's a pretty comfortable Highlands afternoon, and it's kinda like walking through the woods back in the world. We're in single file and talking in low tones about cars, girls, or whatever 19/20 yr. olds talk about. We're kind of watching the trail, but we have seen virtually no booby traps since we've been in the AO.
About half way there, we come around a bend in the trail and there, about 50' in front of us, are two VC walking towards us! They're carrying a couple canteens apiece and a tin bucket with a lid on it. Like us, their rifles are slung on their shoulders. One has an AK and the other one has an M-1 carbine. They were diddy boppin' along like we were. We all stop and look at each other in amazement for about 5-6 seconds, none of us moving. Suddenly they drop their stuff and jump off the trail to their left. They're running diagonally up a not-too-steep side hill. We drop our stuff, unsling our rifles, and chase them up the hill. One of us goes up the middle, and me and the other guy goes to the left and right flank. The trees are pretty thin on the hillside and we get glimpses of them, but never a clear shot.
When we are about halfway up the hill, they start shooting down at us. The guy that went up the middle takes a round in his boot, and goes ass over tea kettle back down the hill. The other guy and I continue to flank them using the trees for cover, trying to make them keep their heads down with the 16's on rock-and-roll. We are soon within grenade distance, and my buddy tosses one. We rush their position before the dust settles. We kill both of them. They had both been hit with some of the shrapnel, but not fatally. They were in a fighting hole at the top of the hill, evidently trail watchers. It's all over by the time the rest of the platoon shows up.
Coz, the guy shot in the boot, was lucky. The round barely nicked the meaty part of edge of his foot, but it blew the sole halfway off the boot. He said it felt like his foot had been blown off and he had a slightly sprained ankle.
So, we learned a tough lesson: no matter how quiet and safe it might seem; how little contact you've made with Charlie; how good things seem to be going; you can't just go diddy boppin' down the trail. These two Charlies learned the lesson too late, and ALOT harder than we did. I never went diddy boppin' down a trail again. Later in the day it really sank in how lucky we were. If they had been in their holes when we first went by, they probably would have ambushed us on the way back, killed a couple of our buddies that came to help, and gotten away.
There were mixed feelings about the incident with our superiors. They didn't know whether to kiss us, or give us an Article 15. I think the Lt. [ a newbie] was glad to have a couple more body counts on his score card. He was pretty good about it. The platoon sgt. wasn't so nice. He pretty much told us we were dumber than C-rat crackers. He was probably right. Coz and I had been in-country about 7mos. by then. Definately should have known better.
I've re-lived that instant of meeting those two trail watchers hundreds of times,....often with a grin when I imagine the looks on all five of our faces. The two VC were about our ages and just as surprised as we were. It would be more comical if it wasn't such deadly serious business.
Last edited by a moderator:
