Anarchist Bomb?

[ArtySgt]

I think the most memorable complementary remark made to me in Vietnam was by a young PFC upon returning inside the wire said, " you guys do good work ". We fired support for them when they walked into an L shaped ambush.

[BLUEHAWK]

ArtySgt -

God help us, you ALL do better than good work...

The aim must now be that your nation shall not call upon you to do so except for the most just and honorable purposes.

[ArtySgt]

BLUEHAWK, we aimed to please. I feel honored that we saved lives, that was my job. You will never know the stress of firing a mission with-in 25 meters of friendly troops about to be over-run, all the bubbles level, the correct powder charge, deflection and elevation, fuze setting and wispered prayer.

[BLUEHAWK]

Arty -
No, I will never know that stress... unless they decide to need us fogeys back on front lines. If things keep escalating like they are, we just might find ourselves there...and I want you and men like you to know deep in your heart that WE WILL BY GOD BE THERE. Maybe you can put us who have bad legs in charge of those bubbles and elevations or something useful, and we'll all pray together right by your side.

I'd rather die beside fighters like you guys than live under tyranny.

[PHO127]

Been on the receiving end of those 25 meter fire missions. I still have a piece of shrapnel that hit the ground about 8 inches away from me. I reached over to pick it up and it burned my fingers I jerked my hand away and it sliced my hand. It still has my burned fingerprints on the steel. I have had to call artillery in on top of me twice. Once with a SOG team and once with the 25th.

[BLUEHAWK]

Pho and Arty -

- What makes shrapnel so hot to the touch?

- To "call in artillery on top" of your location, is that done because the enemy is very nearby?

[PHO127]

either kidding or the most naive person on the face of the earth

[BLUEHAWK]

Not naive Pho, I simply don't know...that's why I asked.

In your earlier post it sounded like you tried to pick up a shrapnel from one of our own shells. So, that got me wondering. I had not known, I guess, what shrapnel actually is other than an exploded shell, but then I thought the shell is what gets ejected from the back of the artillery piece, so it must be a bullet that comes out from the shell, so it was hard to imagine that breaking into enough pieces to become shrapnel, seems like it'd just right through something it hit. I know grenades fragment into shrapnel pieces. Some of the vets were earlier mentioning fleshettes, for example, but I didn't have the nerve then (now I know why :-) to ask any of them how the darts come out of the bullet.

I've never been close to artillery firing, nor been the recipient.

Also, calling in artillery on one's own position I've only read about rarely, and most of the time it's been accidentally, "friendly fire". Seems to me that such a request would be extremely unusual and difficult to predict an outcome for, in combat.

But, maybe they shouldn't let non-combat vets onto this forum?

Seems to me though, from my experiences, that a lot of people think they know stuff, or believe they are expected to know, that they actually have almost zero understanding about. Better to ask and learn, than to act like I know something when I don't.

Since you people are around these parts, no harm in asking, so far anyway.

[PHO127]

Smartassed question. Calling artillery in on your position is done as a last resort. Kind of a "I'm Going to take as many of you with me as I can" position. And yes the shell fragment was from our own arty that I was calling in. In one case with SOG it was a run and gun extraction of my recon team, in the other it was because we were pinned by some machineguns in heavily fortified bunkers and we could not withdraw to get the wounded and kia out. I told everyone to get low and started to walk the arty in on us. Under arty rules of engagement you are required to notify the arty of a danger close mission within 600 meters, I don't recall that I ever started one that far out. Most were probably 300 meters out and walk them in. I didn't really start worrying until I had to get in under 100 meters. I wouldn't get 155s closer than 50 meters and 105s closer than 25 meters, This still puts you within the kill zone of the burst of each type. I did have a arty officer refuse to shoot 155s at 50 meters from me on a 105 replot once. I told him I would kill him if I got out alive and he tried to have me courts martialed. Early on the NVA found that because of the superior firepower we had, the way to engage was to close and do close in battle, most US forces were not willing to engage with tac air or arty that close . I on the other hand suscribed to the theory of Kill them all and let god sort them out and tried to make them pay a heavy toll every time they engaged us.

[BLUEHAWK]

Pho -
It really wasn't a smart-assed question at all, my other vet buddies always accuse me of being too dumb to utter military english because I did not have to kill people in service... that's all. I would have, if they'd ordered me to, just like you did, and so many countless others. I'm the type who never gets a joke the first time, so ain't likely to be effective in asking smart-assed questions either. Anyhow, I get teased all the time about my lack of understanding, so what I am trying to do is understand. So, again, I am grateful for your forebearance. Who knows, I may get to turn it around on those meatheads one of these days.

- What is a SOG?

- When you say you walked the arty (I now realize this means artillery, like in arty sgt!) in on yourself, do you mean from way out 300 yards beyond or beside you or from in back of you, fer crissakes!

- Did you have something like those Global Positioning dealies, or what in the hell else could possibly have helped the artillery gunner know where in the frick you guys factually were!

- Did my Air Force serve you guys well (TAC support etc.) in combat, in your opinion?

I can relate to your attitude in combat about let God sort out the parts, my instincts would probably have been the same or similar. I fail to see what other possible choice there could be.

I'm grateful they didn't bust you for making a good fight. Damn, your story reminds me of the movie "Good Morning Vietnam"...

Mike