War Trophies

[DMZ-LT]

I wore an AK round, taken from the chamber of an enemy AK , around my neck for good luck. I still have it. Also have an NV postal stamp and some NV folding money and a NVA belt and pith helmet. NVA soldiers would mark the front lip of their pith helmets with their name and the date they crossed the DMZ. In the past I had thought of sending it back to Vietnam so maybe his family would have some closure but decided to let old dogs lie.That was a long time ago and his was not a pretty death.We stacked him and four others in a pile with a frag with a smoke fuse in it under them and left them for the maggots. Anyone else keep a war trophy or send one back ?

[splummer]

A piece of sharpenel from one of the rockets that hit near us. I mailed it home but it must have bothered the family they tossed it out. [I wish I had it.]

[Packo]

someone at MACV HQ Nha Trang stole my SKS. Been told many times that it's easy to replace and cheap, but what's the point of putting up one on the mantle then have to explain that it's store bought. Got a AK magazine taken by the MP's when I left country. Did get to keep an EOD approved Chi-Com which I eventually gave to my first Boss I had with the VA as a gift. Brought back some bloody HoChiMinh's and gave them to my brother. He can't remember what ever happened to them. (My guess is his ex-bitch, "The Sea Hag", probably through them away.) Still have my P-38 and St. Michael, but they are on their way overseas again. Both have been to Vietnam, Iraq, (twice), and in March will be going to Afghanistan.

Lt, keep the Pith Helmet. Don't know how thrilled I'd be to get a steel pot in the mail from some Gook that killed my son. Think about it.

Pack

[SuperScout]

In October 1967, my Mech platoon found what turned out to be the largest weapons and ammunition cache of the war. Photos of some of the weapons were on page 1 of the Stars and Stripes, with GEN Westmoreland sighting down the barrel of a Russian sniper rifle, one of the many types of weapons we found. I found a Browning 9mm pistol, and like a good soldier, turned it over to the 9th Division MP's, who were to register it, safe-keep it until my DEROS. When I went to the MP hqs to retrieve my trophy, the only thing I heard was, "What pistol?" I was scheduled to leave the very next day, and had to get to the 90th Repl Depl, so I didn't have time to argue. So some REMF MP has my pistol.

That incident, plus a more deadly encounter with MP's in Widows' Village during Tet '68 has permanently soured me on MP's.

[DMZ-LT]

Brice, was B Troop 3/5th Cav working with you that day ? B Troop says they were the ones that found the cache of weapons in our unit history.

[SuperScout]

Originally Posted by DMZ-LT

Brice, was B Troop 3/5th Cav working with you that day ? B Troop says they were the ones that found the cache of weapons in our unit history.

John,
In all actuality, Troop B was nowhere near that site when we started exploiting it. All I had was my three APC's, an understrength platoon, and way too many VC for my comfort zone. The remainder of Company B, 2-47th Inf (Mech), my parent unit at the time, did show up almost at nightfall, and we secured the cache site. Throughout all the next day, more and more Engineer units showed up, some to clear a huge landing zone in the jungle that could handle 2 Chinooks at the same time, and other engineers with reels of det cord, pounds and pounds of C-4, and a wicked look in their eye. B Troop, along with other elements of the 3/5th Cav, stayed out on Hwy 15, where they started claiming credit for the find. According to the "Old Reliable" newspaper, the credit was given to my platoon.

[DMZ-LT]

Thank you Sir. Tiny and I were two feet away from each other when a track got hit and burned , Tiny sweares 4 guys died and he could hear them screaming. One guy died and we found a leg bone , but I could never convince Tiny that was what happened. Next reunion BTroop will continue to claim that capture. I'll mention your platoon. SCOUTS OUT !

[SuperScout]

At the last reunion of the 47th Infantry Regiment, held down at Columbus, GA, someone had brought original copies of the "Stars and Stripes" newspaper with the stories about the weapons cache. Trust me: B Troop was nowhere near the cache site, either before, during or after the find and exploitation. Most of the 3/5th Cav Sqdn was loggered in on Highway 15, about 10 miles south of the entrance to Camp Bearcat, home of the 9th Infantry Division at the time.

The engineers (I think from the 20th Engineer Group), equipped with rome plows, cleared a landing area in the jungle that was large enough to handle 2 Chinooks at the same time. It seemed that every newspaper, magazine, and other news outlet sent some stringer to cover the story; I even made "Time" magazine in a photo! After all the weapons (estimated at over 4,000) were extracted, the 500,000 +/- rounds of varioius ammunitions were blown in place by some very effective engineers. I recall spools of Det cord and boxes of C-4 being hauled into the tunnels and room complex, and how the ground shuddered and ultimately sunk about four feet after the demo went off!

[DMZ-LT]

Brice , thank you. Lot of competion between Troops . I'll bring this up next reunion. Like I said lots of different views of what happened on any daY. SCOUTS OUT !!

[Bill Farnie]

I brought home a never used SKS that was part of a weapons cache we found. Also like Brice, I had a ChiCom .38 cal revolver that I turned into the MP's and only the SKS was "accounted for" when I went to get them right before DEROS.