Close shaves?

[rhodesian]

Anyone have any real close shaves. I never had any really close shaves while in the service apart from being shot at a few times in Bosnia and Northern Ireland(all incidents where nothing of any concern) but i did have a major close call when i was charged by a bull elephant while on a hunting concession in Matusadona,Zimbabwe. Elephant halted his charge literally a few feet away from me. My sphincter puckered up like beak of a honey sucker hahahaha, no really anyone have any really close shaves in Vietnam or anywhere else.:D

wayne

(brit para)

[colmurph]

In May of 1968 I was making some "BOOTLEG" jumps at a sport parachute club in Raeford, NC with Bobby "Spider" Wren and his wife. On the third jump of the day we were doing some relative work and somebody bumped into me, flipping me on to my back and at the same time activating my main (A 32' flat circular with a 7 gore TU cut). I watched my pilot chute come up between my body and my right arm followed by the sleeve. It was all in slow motion but must have only been a fraction of a second. I can remember thinking, "It's going to hurt pretty bad if that chute opens with the suspension lines under my right arm." I raised my right arm, also in slow motion, and went over the lines with it. Caught the opening shock on my back but with my arm clear of the lines. At that point everything was ok but I had nightmares of having my right arm torn off or dislocated at the shoulder. Had some close calls in Vietnam but then I think everybody who was there did too. Rather not talk about that stuff.

[Keith_Hixson]

I use a Gillette Sensor, It seems to give me a close shave. My Dad always used an old straight razor, said it gave him a close shave.

Keith:D

[Andy]

On one occasion our fairly new APC (13 tons) ran over an anti-tank mine. Lifted the vehicle about 6 feet in the air. The crew of 5 were either killed or wounded. (I only got wounded, honest.)

Two months before that our APC got hit with 2 RPG-7's. All 6 of us were killed or wounded. Well, that day the ground fire (rifles) was at least light to moderate and caused a some guys pain.

Actually, there was on night in Saigon that was very frightening, but it's a long, long story.

Stay healthy, another guy who is happy to be alive,
Andy

[PHO127]

Have a piece of shrapnel with my fingerprints burned onto it after I picked it up. Hit about 8 inches from me. Was shooting 105s on my position.

[usmcsgt65]

January of 1967, I had been transferred to "A"Co, 1/26th Marines from the 5th Marines. I had been with company less than a month. The company was going to be in blocking position for the sweep the next morning. We moved into a village about 2100 hrs, and watched the villagers put out their cooking fires. Everything was calm for 15 mins. Two VC opened up on us. I was tail end charlie with my partner. He opened up on them. The VC centered their attention on us. I rolled behind some bamboo and tried to find my rifle. The VC basted the bamboo just above my head. After it was all over, I discovered I was laying on my rifle, and the VC bullets were hitting at a level right where I would have been returning fire from.

[Seascamp]

This is about as close as it gets and one from your former neighborhood. I was working a technical representative call in one of the gold mines in Johannesburg, SA. These are very deep mines and are worked mostly by tribal Zulus or Hoaksas. And of course, they don?t get along at all so they worked separate mine tunnels off the main elevator shaft. To make a long story short, a rail car got a hot wheel bearing, caught a chemical explosive constituent part on fire and released some noxious fumes. All the AC/Vent systems are common so the Zulus reckoned the Hoaksas did it and visa versa. So out of the separate tunnels they came and got in a pitched battle in the elevator shaft area (sharpened bicycle spoke is the miners weapon of choice). Not far from the battle area I was working on the A/C refrigeration compressors and figured I was a goner for sure, no doubt in my mind at all. About that time mine security killed the lights and tripped off the A/C compression machinery. Due to heat and darkness, the fight ended rather quickly. Shortly thereafter, mine security came out of the elevator and sorted everyone out. I believe there were three dead and one Yank that was scared spit less, literally. I had never lost so much water so quickly, ever. Without A/C those deep mines get brutally hot almost instantly and that must be what hell is like.

Scamp

[DMZ-LT]

We are all very lucky to be here. Think we did this with Ron once but it's good to remerber just how lucky we aer once in awhile. In a very heavy fire fight when i could not stand or move a chi com landed right by my foot, think i covered my ears - it didn-t go off, Have had Tracks behind me and in front of me hit hugh mines. Had a round hit a inch from my head. Jumped off a track and looked down and saw a mine and in a mid air tango missed it by inches. Got blasted with 120 mm mortors and 1/2 of them didn't go off Won't tell you about whillie pete going off 220 yards above us on my first fire mission or the time we blew that 750lb bomb we had found. Welcome home.

[11echo]

We had pulled the "pack"(engine) out of my M551 Sheridan tank, while we were in the Sqd. motor pool. Problem was "they" wanted ALL the tracks to "toe" a line and angle to make the line look "proper". But with out and engine, we had to drag my track with another tank and a "wish bone" tow bar. Problem here was there was not a lot of room in back of the tank and were pulling at a semi sharp angle. AND we were worried that we would pull around too far and back into the tow bar. This had been none before because there was some damage to the tow bar we were using. I was the back ground guide jumping over the tow bar checking the angle on the tank and watching the tow bar. I would give directions to the front ground guide, who directed the driver of the other tank. We were getting close, and I had just jumped over the tow bar from the far side to the near side when there was a loud "pop" and a BANG. One of the legs on the tow bar had snapped off and whipped around. IF I had been in the spot I was 5 seconds ago I might have been cut in half! The motor pool SGT came over screaming bloody murder that we broke his tow bar and was going to write us up for damaging govt. property! Looking at the break on the tow leg, you could see that there was a crack with some rust for about an inch, the rest was a clean break. Funny immediately after I was just surprised, but realizing what could have happened I had to set down for about 20 minutes ...that or fall down, legs were shaking that bad. We had to write a report telling everything that happened. All 3 of us (front and back ground guides and tank driver) I told my story and added that tow bar was obvious damaged before we got it (because of the rusty crack) and that the motor pool SGT was responsible because his lack of proper maintenance! ...and that was as far as it got. We never heard a thing after that.

[frisco-kid]

Been thinking about this night [one of the top 2 scariest for me] alot lately, since I posted the names of the troopers that were KIA on Memorial Day.

On 31DEC66, somewhere in Kontum Province, we're on the wrong end of an ambush. No one KIA, but a few guys are wounded. We break contact, regroup, and get dust-off in for the wounded. The next day we take the hill that the ambush was sprung from. HAPPY NEW YEAR, MFs! We set-up on the hill for the night.

It's a rainy, windy, and cold night like it can only get in the Central Highlands. Many of us huddle together for warmth to sleep. Sometime in the wee hours [0300 or so] I wake up to all Hell breaking loose. They're inside our perimeter! One of the guys next to me is killed instantly. Another is shot in both legs. Another trooper drags him off, and he dies later. I can't believe I'm not hit! It's pandemonium. It sounds like a Mad Minute. We reinforce the perimeter and finally push them back. It's hours before we can get Med-Evac in. We have 7 dead, including the XO. Come to find out, they came through our perimeter where someone fell asleep on guard about 20-30 yards from my position. Jaysus, what a rough night. Felt good to write it down. I needed that.

[Beau]

Tom, you are right to be thinking of that night on 31 Dec. '66 and wonder how you did not get scratched when to your immediate left and right, two soldiers did: could've been "luck of the draw;" or "not your time." (dang, I was in my mid-Junior year in high school when your perimeter was breeched). I'd be crapping my pants today (something I am not unfamiliar with, as you all know) had that happened: The Perimeter breached; the huddled soldiers lives punctuated.

All "Close Shaves" stories, whether Civilian ("Scamp" --- terrifying story); LT; and all --- scarry is not good and terrified is worse. I can put myself at night in some timeframe and disbelive the facts --- eerie. You guys are crazy for going to Bitnam and staying the night(s).

I still wonder what would've happened to my friend Paul: I was in my mid-Twenties, and he was closing in on 30. I was an experienced and Certified SCUBA Diver, and he was not trained and no equipment of his own. When one dives in salt water, because of our buoyancy in salt water and the use of Neoprene Rubber suits, we were Weight Belts to acheive "Neutral Buoyancy" --- Paul borrowed equipment and had a weight belt on that was much to heavy for him. He and his friend and I were heading out from Monastary Beach in Carmel --- his friend and me were getting farther and farther away from Paul, who was desparately Dog Paddling to KEEP HIS HEAD ABOVE THE SURFACE.

I made the decision to swim after him: his friend stayed put. When I got to Paul, he panicked --- TERRIFIED it seemed, and started climb all over me so that he could stay afloat. I again made the decision to not, as we are taught, push him off to save my life --- I let him do his thing and hung in --- helped/led him to the beach. If I can recall it correctly, I just held him a little while swimming backwards (sorry for the long write folks). We made it to the beach --- exhausted. A man on the beach said, to me, "he would've been in big trouble if not for you." I think Paul would've drowned that day (out far from us Dog Paddling desparately) had I not made the decisions to go to him and to not push him off: Perhaps the only good thing I have ever done.

If you have read this far, thanks,
Beau

[SEATJERKER]

...that are here from THC/Vet's com know about my encounter in Bro's hometown of Natchitoches, La., yes I can spell it forwards , backwards upsidedown, and inside out for just the thought of it...
... but here goes in short story...


...On December 1st 1979 I attended the "Natchitoches Christmas light Festival" before heading off to the Wet Willie/guess Who concert held @ Northwestern Univ...They go around the city for the proceeding month I guess, and hang up all kinds of decorations, and on the 1st of Dec., they heve a biiiiig pary in which about 150,000 people hit the streets, and.....

...fireworks at the end turn on the lights, and more party's, etc,
...I was a senior Airman @ england AFB down in Alexandria, and getting away fishing or a festival once in a while were most of the entertainment for me then...
...while the fireworks ended, and was making my way towards the campus for the show, I started to come upon what I could see were people yelling/arguing/yelling, but seeing it was diffucult due to the masses of people all around dispersing about, I start to see the little circle of them, and now I see this big man, looks like he's kickin' something, and then i realize that there is a fight breaking out, I'm about 10' from it, coming in at a back angle, and about to pass it, when out of nowhere this guy pulls out a 357, and blows a hole through this guy, i watched the back of his coat tatter/shred, and I feel shit hit my face, don't know what it was, and next thing the guy who's shot is launched backwards several feet, airborne for the first few and he goes down across the back of this woman legs, and she is carrying her infant child, clutched in panic, after the first shot, she's ending up her my arms with people by the hundreds screaming in unison, and trying to run when there was no where to run as the crowd was so thick, The man that was shot was 6'8", and was 350, and he pinned her down, I pulled her as hard, but as gentle as I could at the time as I could feel her skin tearing under his weight, and the gravel rock she was pressed upon, as I got her free, I see a 2nd man with a 38 off to my right, so I start to drag her to the left to the nearest car on the side of the road, but I do see a couple of sets of wrists grasping at his, I layed the woman and her infant along side the car, and a second shot blows out the back the the car I'm trying to get up from, I did my best "Kilroy, and stuck my nose up along the trunk line, and the first shooter has his weapon leveled, and starting to circle as he can't run, the crowd is just too much and the second shooter seems to have been contained by others, the first shooter with the 357 attempts to take 3 steps to run, but has to stop, and again he lowers his weapon starts to circle, looking for a hole, it was then that I knew he wasn't gonna get out, and he was gonna shoot others, he got 180'd on me, and I said somebody's got to do some thing now, or some other people are gonna get it bad, when he had his back to me, I made sure my footing was set, and I took 6-7 steps before I blindsided him, I tried to break his back, and kill him...
...He hit the ground hard, and I stripped him of his weapon with a double arm sweep across the chest in the process of going down, (prayed I did anyway), when I rolled him over, and put him in a spread eagle, and I had him at the wrists, and a good low center of gravity on the lower side, then the SOB woke up like 10 seconds after me trying to kill him, now I got the tiger by the tail, he's thrashing, and screaming as everyone else was, but then I see the barrel of the 357 poking out from under his ribs, I think he felt it, but am not sure to this day, I thought that the Police would be there in seconds, but seconds started to turn in a minute, and then a minute turned into 2 etc, he kept saying "let me Up,I didn't do nothing", and I tried to do my best psych, and said "well, if you didn't do anything, then you have nothing to be worried about" that bought me another 30 seconds as he was groggy from his landing, nxt thing was, " let me up, I gotta take a piss" and with my delayed reply came, "what do you think, I fuckin stupid", and then he knew that I knew he did the shooting, and his ass was grass, we struggled, and struggled, and although he was a few lbs. more then me, I rang his bell, and he gave out, he started to piss all over himself, and on me, but I couldn't let go, A guy came up, and he was the only one who started to help by saying "you move n*%$#@& (sorry), and I'll stomp your head, then 10 seconds later he fuckin' walks away, and leaves me alone, I feel my arm givng out as i had prior surgery months before with fresh stiches, it takes 3-4 minutes for the law enforcement to get there, and when they tried to pull us up, I couldn't let go, they peeled my hands off his wrists, I still think they broke my pinky knuckle as they were doing it, scared, and not knowing what to do, I showed the officer my military ID, and said I was gov't property, come back in a day, and give a statement, and I just wanted to get the fuck out of there before any of his friends, or reletives saw me( they tell me now, it was shock), I ran to the river and ran in trying to wash the piss, and screams away, and hide, I figured that I'd be safe back at the base, but that's another story, so I never saw the woman, and her child again, never got the key to the city, got kicked out within 6 months after telling a captian that I didn't want anyone fucking with me (meaning offbase, he took it wrong I guess), when I was trying for a humanitarian reassignment to get away from the base, I get kicked out before he ever went to trial, he got 18 months, and it took me 18 years of nightmares to try to go back, and find out what happened to everyone,, and clear my name, a lot of good people here helped me in doing that with the information, and personal effort...yea, it was a close shave that I live with every damn night...

[Stick]

As you know, I read every post on this site and this perticular post eats at me the most. I try not to remember and I was a REMF so I certainly can't have had any close calls could I?
Just a few months after arriving "in country" I was assigned to a guard bunker about 30 yards from the rear gate of the airfield. It was about midnight when I saw a very young boy walking up the road toward the gate. The boy had something wraped around him and I called the Sgt. of the guard to ask what I should do? I was asked if the boy was armed? How the hell should I know, but he was at easy range and I could have taken him out right there and then. I was told not to by the sarge as I watched the boy get close to the gate and turn into red mist. He took the gate off its hinges and took out the 2 MP's that were at the gate at the time. I easily could have taken the kid out and regret to this day that I didn't. Two names are on the wall today because I didn't protect them but instead followed orders.
A couple of months later, February 2, 1968 a grenade was tossed over the fence of the airfield and into the rear flap of the detachments tent. I was on the top bunk, second bunk in. The guards that were on the bottom bunks were blown away as I quickly rolled off, pulling my matress along with me, hitting the floor with the matress on top and praying like I've never prayed before. Moments later the Sgt. of the Guard crawled into the front of the tent and ordered "everybody out, we're being hit." Duh! like we didn't know that. I was taken from the tent to post #2 which was over the taxiway to the Air VN terminal where I kicked a deadman out of the tower. Two hours later after listening to the ZZZT, ZZZT, ZZZT of AK-47's go by my ears the good Sargent crawled to the bottom of the tower and ordered me to get out of the tower. I was not about to climb down the ladder because I knew that Charlie would have only climbed his 762's up the ladder, instead I jumped on a dead man tearing the cartilage and breaking my left knee cap. I feel that still today. I was moved from post #2 to post #6 where 11 hours later I pulled the triger on an M-60 and dumped a full can through it without letting off the triger once. Whah-Lah, no more ZZZT, ZZZT, ZZZT passing my ears. Sargent told me not to return fire then too but instead I had to call for a replacement barrel for that trusty 60. Oh well!
August 21, 1968, DEROS in 3 days. Scheduled for Seperation physical at the 85th Evac accross the steet from the airfield and walking to make the appointment. Hear it coming and then the BOOM. Mortar round goes off jus a short way away and I catch 3 pieces of shrapnel in that same left knee. Finish my trip to the 85th in the back of a 3/4 ton ambulance. Three days later I'm Med-Evaced to Camp Oji, Japan and eventually to Valley Forge Army Hospital in Pa. where they teach me how to walk again.
Gonna be a tough day today but I got it off my chest and I'm sorry that you had to hear it. Close calls happened but we made it through.

[Tamaroa]

My close shave story may sound silly, but to this day, I remember the terror and the extreme pain in my chest that occurred immediately afterwards. I had a summer job in the Park Service in SW Virginia. We were tearing down a barn that was built in the late 1700's and were going to use its timbers at a park where I worked.

The barn was huge, at least three stories tall. I was standing on the Tin roof when one of our trucks hit the side of the barn. My boots had just enough friction with the rust on the roof to hold me in place. But the truck hitting the side was enough to start me skidding toward the edge of the roof. I was literally sking toward a 30 foot drop trying to figure out how to stop. All I could do was sit down and hope the friction of my jeans agains t the roof slowed me down. IT DID!! I stopped just as my boots reached the edge. My chest was filled with such pain that I could not move for about 15 minutes.

After I finally got down boy did I curse out the driver of that truck.

Bill

[1CAVCCO15MED]

My first was when a 107 rocket hit about 10 feet from me. It blew me down and made a little nick in my elbow. The reason I wasn't hurt worse was the ground where it hit had been dumped there from excavating for a bunker and was relatively loose. I have pictures of it but I don't know how to put them on the site. Second time was when I was going home. I had cleared the company and was at Phouc Vinh clearing battalion and division. The hootch I was in had a television in it and I was watching the first moon landing live. Just as Neil Armstrong was stepping down to the surface of the moon we got mortared. There were about five rounds, each one coming closer. I rolled off the bunk and pulled the mattress over me and from that position heard his famous words. Talked about mixed feelings! "A small step for a man, a big loud bang for Fred." Another time just after I got home I was driving through town and heard a whack hit my car. I didn't think much of it but later found a bullet hole just below the driver's side door. A month or two later I was driving down this curvy road and hit a patch of black ice in a curve. Before I could even react I spun completely around in the road while doing about 40 mph and ended up going in the same direction I started in.

[StoneDogDave]

While I'm not a Military Vet I have looked down the barrel of a 9MM that was pulled in anger.
I worked security at a night club in College. After breaking up an argument inside I sent 2 guys out while the other two were waiting for their chance to leave. As the second couple of guys were leaving I went out with them to make sure the first two had left the premises.... While walking between the two the first dudes pull up in a Ford SUV jump up on the door frame and draw down on the two coming out the door (with me in tow). Its amazing how large a 9mm barrel gets when its only 15 feet from your face! Someone yells GUN ! we dive for cover and the two perps haul-a. The local cops pass them on the way to the scene.
YOW!
Those of you who made combat a daily have my utmost respect..