VIETNAM DIARY SKYTROOPERS HOMEPAGE
| After nearly twenty hours on the plane, with short stops in
Alaska and Japan, I landed at Bien Hoa Air Base two days after my 20th birthday on January
22nd. It was late at night and I had seen flares that had been launched upward from some
forward LZs (landing zones) to try to expose the enemy if they were approaching.
When I stepped off the airplane, the heat, humidity and smell made it clear I was far from
the cold white snow covered ground of Michigan. I was at the 90th Replacement Battalion
for a few days before getting my orders for the 1st Cavalry Divison (Airmobile). A
Vietnamese man had a crude stand where he sold flavored drinks with a large chunk of ice
floating in the cup. A good cold drink was just what I needed. It was hard to believe as I
watched the ice rapidly melt before it could cool the drink. From there I was sent to the
1st Cavalry rear area in Bien Hoa for a week of Cherry School which also gives the new
guys (known as "cherries" by anyone who had been in country for awhile) time to
get used to the very hot climate. The sun was so intense that I had sunburn blisters on
the back of my neck and where my sleeves had been rolled up on my upper arms. February 2, 1970 Monday - Got my orders to join Delta Company, 2nd Bn 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Delta Company was being moved from Song Be to Tay Ninh Province. Flew out to Firebase Carolyn and stayed overnight in a bunker. The artillery would get calls for fire missions during the night making it impossible to sleep with all the noise. Something kept running across my legs during the night which I know must have been rats. February 3, 1970 Tuesday - Delta company is operating with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment near Firebase Carolyn which is close to the Cambodian border. Not a good place to be. The NVA would come over the border and fight and then go back into Cambodia to resupply and take care of their wounded, where they knew we couldn't follow. Went back in to Tay Ninh and stayed in a little guard house with some other new guys. There were five of us, all cherries: I, Garry Bruckner, am from Michigan, Danny Bridges is from California, one guy is from Chicago, one from Virginia and the other is from Alabama. February 4, 1970 Wednesday - We flew back out to Firebase Carolyn and then got on the log bird (supply helicopter) to join our company in the field. They were working with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. There was some heated debate about what platoons most needed replacements. Two of us went to Range 2 platoon, one went to Cat platoon and the other two went to Range 1 platoon. The M-16 I was given was very dirty and needed to be cleaned, but there was no time as I needed to get my pack ready with a bedroll, which is a poncho and poncho liner, 3 days supply of food, C-rations, and water. Also got a claymore mine, trip flare, smoke grenades, hand grenades, M-16 ammo and machine gun ammo to carry as I was going to be an ammo bearer with the gun team. I was given an empty M-60 machine gun ammo can in which to put my personal items, such as writing paper and letters from home. The ammo can is waterproof and fits inside my rucksack. The pack is so heavy that I can not swing it up on my back. I have to sit down with my back to it and put my arms in the straps and roll over and then stand up. We ride on top of the tracks (armored personnel carriers and tanks) which is much better than carrying my heavy pack and walking through thick, tangled jungle. The metal of the tracks is very hot from the sun and feels like sitting on a frying pan. It was time to set up our night defensive position so the tracks formed a circle out in an open field, all facing outward. We dug foxholes for fighting positions between the tracks. In front of the tracks they place two metal poles that hold heavy woven wire fence to stop RPG's (Rocket Propelled Grenades) that the NVA (North Vietnamese Army soldiers) fire at the armored personnel carriers and tanks to blow them up. I finally found someone with a bore brush and rod to clean my M-16. As I'm cleaning my weapon there was a "dupe, dupe, dupe" sound and someone yelled, "Incoming!". Everyone was scrambling for a foxhole or any cover, some were crawling under the APCs, while I was trying to get my M-16 put back together and then run for a foxhole. The foxholes were already filled with people so I just dropped flat on the ground. Eight mortars rounds were fired by NVA soldiers but none of them came very close. The tracks opened up with their .50 caliber machine guns and M-60 machine guns. If we had stayed in the same place the enemy would have been able to adjust their mortar fire, so we packed up everything and moved, leaving a platoon in the woodline for an ambush. They had starlight scopes and around 2000 (8:00 p.m.) they saw four NVA soldiers moving around in the open field from which we had just moved. One platoon of tanks and another of our platoon saddled up and started shooting when they saw the NVA. It was starting to get dark and you could see tracer rounds flying everywhere arching high into the sky. One NVA soldier had been killed during the firefight and two AK 47 assault rifles were captured. None of our guys had been wounded. First day in the field, Welcome to Vietnam. |