VC massacre at Son Tra

01Jul68 -
VC BURN TOWN; 73 CIVILIANS DIE
By SGT Roger Neumann S&S Staff Correspondent
SON TRA, Vietnam
- A Viet Cong sapper squad attacked this refugee hamlet six miles south
of Chu Lai shortly before midnight Friday, killing 88 persons - 73 of
them civilians - and wounding at least 103 others.
More than 85 per cent of the hamlet's homes were burned to the
ground, leaving 4,000 homeless.
Fifteen of the dead were Regional Defense Force soldiers who were
killed in the initial ground attack as an estimated 35 VC broke through
the barbed wire perimeter, exploding four satchel charges and setting
fire to the tiny grass huts. Two of the attackers were killed.
Nearly all the civilian casualties were caused by the blaze.
"Most of the dead burned in their homes," said 1st Lt. Floyd
McLean of Lawton, Calif. McLean commander of B. Co., 1st Bn., 52nd
Inf. of the 198th Light Inf. Brigade, was on the scene two hours later
with his men.
"All these huts have bunkers where the people hide in case of an
attack," he said. "When this one came they went into the bunkers and
that's where most of them were found-burned to death."
The ground attack was followed by about five mortar rounds.
They all fell beyond the perimeter. The attackers then withdrew
quickly.
The enemy squad was apparently part of an estimated VC company
that has been spreading terror through this coastal region of Quang Ngai
Province. They had been in Son Tra before and vowed to come back and
burn the hamlet when the villagers refused to join them.
"They come through here at night and try to recruit these
people," said Capt. Dennis M. Eilers, information officer of the 198th.
"They don't have much success around here.
"In April they told these people they'd come back and burn the
place down."
The closely-grouped huts were swallowed by flames in minutes,
fanned by a strong breeze blowing in off the South China Sea.
The fire was out when the American soldiers arrived. A small
clearing that divided the hamlet was all that saved it from total
destruction.
"When we got here everything was smoldering," McLean said.
The lieutenant put his men on a ridge around the perimeter to guard
against a repeat attack.
Helicopters were called in from Chu Lai to evacuate the wounded
for treatment. Some died in the hospital. The toll mounted through
the day.
Smoke rose from the rubble Saturday as survivors wrapped their
dead in cloth and prayed over bodies. The families who had been
spared rationed out rice to the homeless.

In article <1854be55.0310211310.42a72f4e@posting.google.com>, Greg Linscott
says...
>
>01Jul68 -
>VC BURN TOWN; 73 CIVILIANS DIE
>By SGT Roger Neumann S&S Staff Correspondent
>SON TRA, Vietnam
>- A Viet Cong sapper squad attacked this refugee hamlet six miles south
>of Chu Lai shortly before midnight Friday, killing 88 persons - 73 of
>them civilians - and wounding at least 103 others.
>More than 85 per cent of the hamlet's homes were burned to the
>ground, leaving 4,000 homeless.
>Fifteen of the dead were Regional Defense Force soldiers who were
>killed in the initial ground attack as an estimated 35 VC broke through
>the barbed wire perimeter, exploding four satchel charges and setting
>fire to the tiny grass huts. Two of the attackers were killed.
>Nearly all the civilian casualties were caused by the blaze.
>"Most of the dead burned in their homes," said 1st Lt. Floyd
>McLean of Lawton, Calif. McLean commander of B. Co., 1st Bn., 52nd
>Inf. of the 198th Light Inf. Brigade, was on the scene two hours later
>with his men.

Refugees were ripped from their homes and put in protective custody... This
report states that only two (2) attackers were killed... Wow! Some protective
custody...

Now, I've been in more hootches that you can count and torched more than a few,
but I'll be damned if the Vietnamese were so damn stupid to stay in a hootch
while they were burning to death.

This is cracking me up... I'm rolling on the floor laughing my ass off...

No Vietnam vet could possibly believe this crap...