Tales From Nam Continued
Meeting a Former Enemy Soldier
The Saving of MACV by the 11th CAV!
Meeting a Former Enemy Soldier
During my second tour with M Company in 1969 I had an unusual encounter. My unit was set up at Bandit Hill to provide security for the Squadron Command Post. I had just lay down to try to get some sleep when the crew member who was on watch told me that the First Sergeant wanted me on the radio. When I answered the radio, the First Sergeant told me that I was to report to the Squadron Commander, LTC Doyle, at the TOC (Tactical Operation Center). As I put on my helmet, flak vest and weapon, I began to wonder what the Squadron Commander wanted with me.
LTC Doyle and I had served together in 1966 and 1967 with the 11th Cav. He, at the time, was a Major and the Squadron S3. As I entered the TOC, I saw LTC Doyle, the S2 Officer, SGT Sahn (the Vietnamese interpreter) and a Tiger Scout. I did not know the Scout but would soon find out who he was. LTC Doyle asked me if I remembered the ambush at Soui Cat in May 1967. I told him I would never forget it. He then asked me what I would do if he could introduce me to someone who had possibly fired the first round at my tank. They had been talking with the Scout about some of the battles that he had taken part in as a VC. When he mentioned Soui Cat, LTC Doyle stopped him and called for me. He told me to ask the Scout anything I wanted to so as to determine that he had actually taken part in the ambush. I told SGT Sahn to get a pencil and paper, and have the Scout draw the ambush site as he had seen it.
After a few minutes, the Scout handed the paper to me. As I studied the drawing, I soon realized that he had taken part in the ambush. He had drawn the ambush exactly as it had happened. He had fired the first round at my tank, and when asked what had happened next, he said that my return fire had killed the gun crew and wounded him. We continued to talk for the better part of an hour. During that conversation we found out the reason he had "Chou Hoi'd." The VC had killed his brother because he wouldn't join the local VC unit. The Scout informed LTC Doyle that he wanted to work with M Company as a Scout. He turned out to be a real "Tiger." With his knowledge of the area and the VC unit, M Company was able to locate and destroy a large amount of "Charlie's" supplies.
As I was getting ready to return to my tank, the Scout stood up. In very broken English, he apologized for his actions during the ambush. He then offered his hand in friendship. What was I to do? Here I was with a loaded weapon on my hip and a former enemy soldier, who had tried to kill me, was asking for my forgiveness. The question still remains, could I have shot him right there in the TOC?
David Wright
K Troop 1966
M Company 1966-67
M Company 1968-69
MINE ARE BIGGER THAN YOUR'S
We were in Xuan Loc one day, two of us Donut Dollies, visiting the Artillery Units, and the place went on alert. A Sergeant was directed to get the two of us under cover and keep us safe--you could tell be the look on his face it was an assignment he didn't know what to do about! Then he brightened, and hustled us into the NCO club. There we were 2 Donut Dollies, the Sergeant, and one Vietnamese female behind the bar.
She started talking to him, and he got very red in the face, and was trying to calm her down, but she got more and more agitated, and was making a lot of gestures. Then she went in another room, as I recall, and came out with some girlie magazines she shoved under our noses, patted her chest, pointed at our chests (nothing remarkable), pointed at the girlie magazines, and at the Sergeant--who was totally mortified at that point.
Clearly, the Vietnamese gal had been told she couldn't "measure up" to round eyed women....Our next trip to visit the artillery, we brought Redbook magazines, Women's Home Companion, maybe a Cosmo or 2--and sent them over to the NCO club for her. I suspect she didn't take any more crap from the guys about her bust size after that!
Ruth Neher
The Saving of MACV by the 11th CAV!Here is a story, and I do not know if it is really true, or true only in memory---
The 11th Armored Cav was sent to Lai Kai, Opconned? to the 1st Divison--the 3/5th out of 9th Division was again babysitting at Basecamp, dumping their short rounds and losing their ambush patrols--the nicest guys with a truly inept command system--the story was they had been
"in county" 9 months before their first KIA--they were practicing busting Jungle and a banana tree fell on the poor guy.
At any rate, we are at basecamp, out of beer, out of soda, out of munitions, and two separate convoys were deployed to get resupplied, because everyone knew Tet was going to happen. I believe there were something like 250 people left in basecamp, including the company of
Aussie Navy pulling Helicopter Mainetenance, 4 Red Cross Girls, 6 Nurses, a couple surgeons, the Dentist, the CO's at the med unit, the units of 3/5th who were not outside the perimeter, and thus not firing on us,....some replacements, guys coming in from R&R--slim pickings--
One of the radio operators told me this story--I do not know for certain that it is true, but I believe it in my bones--he said he got the call from MACV that they needed 3 squads of armor to protect MACV headuarters in Long Binh.....The radio man said he DID try to clarify the call, but the voice on the other end was so sarcastically superior, and the !!th Cav had been in the weeds for over a month, that he just relayed the request for 3 Squads of Armor....--and 3 SQUADRONS of Armor, plus Hqs, who wasn't going to miss a trip to a big PX--rolled out at a forced field march to Long Binh. In my version of the story, 1/3 of the men set down at the O club, broke in and went swimming and used the phones to call home..including the Red Cross billet at Blackhorse, ..1/3 set down at the PX, broke in, set up cashiers, and bought stuff they'd been without for a long time--and called home, including the Red Cross billet at Blackhorse....the last 1/3, with no radio contact and no idea where they were supposed to go with all those vehicles, pulled into the landing field right in front of MacV headquarters----and when they came under fire, the Major left in command, so bummed out about not being at the O club or the PX said "Return Fire"---nailing aboout 2000 of
the NVA Regulars who were poised to Kidnap the Generals at MACV---that is the story I heard at Blackhorse in February of 68--how the Cav Saved Long Binh--I would like it confirmed or denied--it was long ago and far away--was this a true story or not?