booby traps, however, and no huge cache either. We considered trying to enter the Vietnamese tombs but decided against it because of the potential political consequences and certain wrath from Staff. Before we departed, Lieutenant Fletcher had me crawl into the bunker and leave a 2½-pound M-5 block of C-4 plastic explosive with an eight-minute time fuse as our calling card.
While we were hurriedly patrolling out to the rice paddy, PO3 Waneous teased Barron by pointing to his discarded bandoleer, which was lying in the mud. Barron only smiled and remained silent.
After the C-4 detonated, we had to move into the rice paddy and set up for our H formations for extraction. Doc was then ordered to notify the slicks to extract us. All of us, plus our weapons and gear, were almost totally covered with mud.
Upon our return to the barracks at Dong Tam, over twenty guys and guns headed directly for the roofless, three-spigot, outside shower adjacent to the barracks. The shower area had sides constructed of three sheets of plywood placed end to end, a door at the entrance, and wooden pallets for its floor.
In the midst of the pandemonium and anarchic methods of trying to clean fermenting bodies, untidy weapons,and entangled gear, Ray, one of our SAS mates, proclaimed, “You bloody blokes can shove this bloody mud up your bloody arses and piss off! We don’t have mud like this at Nui Det, and it’s a bloody good thing. And furthermore …”
Ray’s humorous tirade had everyone in stitches. While he continued his condemnation of the delta’s mud, Chief Bassett was impelled to yell, “We had better hurry up and start the debriefing, sir, if we’re going to have one.”
Dai Uy had already discerned the mood of the rabble and hurriedly replied, “Ray has just completed the debriefing—have at it boys!”
Eberle, who was the epitome of a gaffer, initiated the row by letting go at the down-under guttersnipe with a handful of dunghill mud that was scraped from off his web gear. His aim was perfect, and he hit Ray right on his snot locker (nose). From that point on it was every man for himself until all hands were finally motivated to properly clean up the weapons, gear, and their bodies, in that order, and take the party to the bar.
On the morning of July seventh Bear, Hoan, and I had been tasked to drive to Sam Giang subsector and pick up Tinh and Nghieu, of the Popular Forces, and return to Dong Tam. Tinh and Nghieu were residents of Ba To’s hamlet and were assigned to be our guides for that night’s operation.
At 1230 Dai Uy gave the PLO, followed by all hands gear inspection at 1530. By 1730 we had inserted in the midst of a heavily populated farming area that was near Ap Dong hamlet and approximately two klicks north of Ba To’s hamlet. Tinh, the PF guide, went with Dai Uy’s squad, while Nghieu went with ENS Kleehammer and my squad.
We split up, maintaining visual contact, and quickly searched hootch after hootch, finding only women andchildren. Dai Uy and Tu Uy Kleehammer gained valuable experience in command and control of their squads and especially calling in accurate fire support. When we received occasional fire from the VC hidden in the tree lines, Dai Uy or Tu Uy kept the Seawolves busy suppressing the enemy fire with 2.75-inch rockets, 7.62mm M-60 machine gun fire, and minigun fire.
At 1830 Dai Uy called in both of the Sea Lord slicks to extract Kleehammer and half of the guys and return to Dong Tam. The two PFs, Dai Uy, myself, and six others set up a clandestine “stay behind” L ambush between two hootches. Same Tam and I were inside one hootch on the right flank while Dai Uy and others were located near another hootch that was approximately fifty meters away on the left flank. I set out two M-18A1 claymore antipersonnel mines to cover the right flank.
At last light a woman walked toward the hootch in which Same and I were hidden and stopped at about twenty-five meters. She may have seen my claymore
While we were hurriedly patrolling out to the rice paddy, PO3 Waneous teased Barron by pointing to his discarded bandoleer, which was lying in the mud. Barron only smiled and remained silent.
After the C-4 detonated, we had to move into the rice paddy and set up for our H formations for extraction. Doc was then ordered to notify the slicks to extract us. All of us, plus our weapons and gear, were almost totally covered with mud.
Upon our return to the barracks at Dong Tam, over twenty guys and guns headed directly for the roofless, three-spigot, outside shower adjacent to the barracks. The shower area had sides constructed of three sheets of plywood placed end to end, a door at the entrance, and wooden pallets for its floor.
In the midst of the pandemonium and anarchic methods of trying to clean fermenting bodies, untidy weapons,and entangled gear, Ray, one of our SAS mates, proclaimed, “You bloody blokes can shove this bloody mud up your bloody arses and piss off! We don’t have mud like this at Nui Det, and it’s a bloody good thing. And furthermore …”
Ray’s humorous tirade had everyone in stitches. While he continued his condemnation of the delta’s mud, Chief Bassett was impelled to yell, “We had better hurry up and start the debriefing, sir, if we’re going to have one.”
Dai Uy had already discerned the mood of the rabble and hurriedly replied, “Ray has just completed the debriefing—have at it boys!”
Eberle, who was the epitome of a gaffer, initiated the row by letting go at the down-under guttersnipe with a handful of dunghill mud that was scraped from off his web gear. His aim was perfect, and he hit Ray right on his snot locker (nose). From that point on it was every man for himself until all hands were finally motivated to properly clean up the weapons, gear, and their bodies, in that order, and take the party to the bar.
On the morning of July seventh Bear, Hoan, and I had been tasked to drive to Sam Giang subsector and pick up Tinh and Nghieu, of the Popular Forces, and return to Dong Tam. Tinh and Nghieu were residents of Ba To’s hamlet and were assigned to be our guides for that night’s operation.
At 1230 Dai Uy gave the PLO, followed by all hands gear inspection at 1530. By 1730 we had inserted in the midst of a heavily populated farming area that was near Ap Dong hamlet and approximately two klicks north of Ba To’s hamlet. Tinh, the PF guide, went with Dai Uy’s squad, while Nghieu went with ENS Kleehammer and my squad.
We split up, maintaining visual contact, and quickly searched hootch after hootch, finding only women andchildren. Dai Uy and Tu Uy Kleehammer gained valuable experience in command and control of their squads and especially calling in accurate fire support. When we received occasional fire from the VC hidden in the tree lines, Dai Uy or Tu Uy kept the Seawolves busy suppressing the enemy fire with 2.75-inch rockets, 7.62mm M-60 machine gun fire, and minigun fire.
At 1830 Dai Uy called in both of the Sea Lord slicks to extract Kleehammer and half of the guys and return to Dong Tam. The two PFs, Dai Uy, myself, and six others set up a clandestine “stay behind” L ambush between two hootches. Same Tam and I were inside one hootch on the right flank while Dai Uy and others were located near another hootch that was approximately fifty meters away on the left flank. I set out two M-18A1 claymore antipersonnel mines to cover the right flank.
At last light a woman walked toward the hootch in which Same and I were hidden and stopped at about twenty-five meters. She may have seen my claymore
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