Question for the combat grunts...

[exlrrp]

I killed 7 men with one Claymore one night in the Song Ve on one of my first ambushes.

We were sitting on an ambush along a high speed trail,almost a road., a couple squads with two MGs on each end
I hadn't set the mines out nor the trip flares so I didn't know really where they were. I was awake during one of the late night shifts, aitting at one of the MG positions, and I might have been the only one awake on the whole ambush.

We had heard firing up the valley earlier in the evening, the Oh Deuce: kicking ass, no doubt. Along about the middle of the shift, I heard dogs barking in this little ville up the road a click or so.

Well, I ain't no Indian but I can read sign good enough and I thought: Those dogs are barking at SOMETHING! I grabbed up the Claymore clicker and waited. I had been told to blow the Claymore when the trip flare stretched across the trail went off. Thats all I knew.

Sure enough, a short time later, the trip flare went off and I blew the Claymore.
I will remember that scene for the rest of my life.

I could see the VC going down by the light of the trip flare like they'd been hit by a shockwave. It was the most hellish scene I'd ever seen,people screaming in agony, bits and pieces ALL OVER! It turns out that if I'd opened up with the MG, I might have gotten more but all I could do was sit there openmouthed

I could only sit there with my mouth wide open, in shock myself, and I have to say I flat out did not know what to do next. But those other guys sure did---they woke up pitching grenades. We threw grenades untill all sound and movement stopped.

We crept out by dawn's early light and it was a scene right out of hell. There were bodies lying everywhere, 6 in all. One of them was lying under a plastic tarp he'd pulled over himself and he tried to pitch a grenade. My Squad leader typed him up and it went off harmlessly.

I thought: thats how I want to go if the time comes, fighting to the end.

It was shocking to me then and its still shocking to think about 40 years later. I felt like I'd caused a HUGE fatal car wreck and then walked away scott free, whistling: Gee whiz: Sorry, sorry, Sorrrrreeeee!

I looked at all those dead bodies lying there and I thought: By God, nothings ever gonna be the same after THIS! ( and I was right!)

There were blood trails leading into the bush and me and Dan B, who you know now as Pighumper, were told to go in there and find them. We went in aways, stopped and had a smoke and then came back and said they'd gotten away. Sure hope THAT wasn't what lost the war!

So there were 6 dead bodies stretched out, or at least chunks of them. I mentioned the flat stick scenario didn't I?
They'd been a medical detachment that was carrying wounded,later the same day we found the dead body of one they'd been carrying that they'd dropped.

That made 7--- Seven with one blow! I wish I could say I felt good about doing this but in all honesty I still don't.

Stay good
James

[DMZ-LT]

Happy just to be alive. Stay healthy

[39mto39g]

James
Although I have set off 50-100 Claymores, I got nothing for that story. Good thing you squeezed that generator. F-um they shouldn't have had a NVA uniform on Or VC.

Ron

[PHO127]

Remove the back and cut a 45 degree angle in the c4 the size of a GI pen. remove pen guts and place a contact wire in each end, seal ends. Fill large pen end with fulminate of mecury, screw ends together. cut another hole in c4 for D battery. Place trapped claymore in blown ambush position and lay a blown blasting cap beside it so it looks as if it pulled out of the claymore. VERY CAREFULLY, place pen in claymore and hook battery up, replace back. When claymore is picked up and tilted so fulminate contacts both ends of wire, BOOM.

[PHO127]

The most people I ever saw killed with claymores was 11. Two claymores set up in an automatic ambush. On the documents retreived we found a diagram of a 25th div firebase FSB Kein, just south of the michelin and west of the trapezoids on the saigon river. The last entry in the diary was "tonight I have found the secret to destroying the us infantry at Kein".

[catman]

did I ever tell you, you are my hero? Goddamn glad to know you brother! Thanks for being there and Merry Christmas!

[Robert Ryan]

some one came up with the bright idea of digging a small hole putting a frag in it, and putting the claymore on top of it to hold the frag spoon. When the idiot saw it did work, he yelled "fire in the hole" every ducked for cover, frag and claymore went off. Not too smart of an idea.

[O.O.O.]

Interesting about Kein. I was there with the BRO along about Sept or Oct of 69. It was almost like being on R&R compared to where I had been. Before it was Kein, it was known as Mahone, in case some others may be familiar with the area.

[onesix]

The "squeezer" was a "clacker". You took it with you so that one of your buddies couldn't send you to the great PX in the sky while you were setting it out. Charlie was pretty good at turning them around. Read Del Vechio's The 13th Valley.