Looking fear in the eye

[39mto39g]

When I got to VN I was sent to Pleiku for processing. I then went to Duc Pho . Along the way I hear countless arty rounds landing in who knows where all the while burst of machine gun fire and tracers off in the distance. I was 19 and had a small taste of what war was like in a different country. At Duc Pho I was introduced to my units personnel and became somewhat friendly. One night we decided to go watch a outdoor movie that was set up in middle of camp. About 1/2 way through the movie the movie was interupted by RPG , Gernade, and small arms from the perimiter. I ran with the rest of my unit to the perimiter and started to fire my gun just as they were doing. I never seen what we were shooting at, I was soaked with sweat, and the LT came to me and said, "good job"
Good job?, I hoped that the next 11 months+ would not be as confuseing. I was wrong, it would be worse.
Although I did not see the enemy, I had looked fear in the eye and survived.
The adventure awaits.
Ron

[The Cooler King]

Ron, I always enjoy reading your first hand accounts. Thanks for sharing.

Mike

[splummer]

I really thought it was going to be a big adventure at first. By the second month I knew different.

[DMZ-LT]

First round I called in was on a ridge on the next ridge we were going to. They had to fire a WP 200 hundred up before they would fire. Good thing . The round went off right over us ... first time I got the platoon screaming but not the last

[39mto39g]

LT , you got a WP to go off right above you? You like being burned up?
Except for the raining down of white hot phosphorus, I bet that was real pretty.

Ron

[Robert Ryan]

My first shot fired in anger was not until January 31st 1968, at about 3:10 in the a.m. I got in country in Sep 1967, and was assigned to an MI unit. Man I had some delusions of grandure at first. Thought I was going to be sneaking around the woods looking for Charlie and reporting on his acitivites. What I got was assigned to a platoon of infantrymen that provided security for the MI unit's compound. We did permitter guard, tower guard, gate guard, and guarded the "detainees" brought in for questioning. We also did a a 1 clikc patrol each week around the permitter of the compound. Man I had it made there, and never fired a shot until the Tet offensive. My unit was stationed in the Gia Dinh Province. I was in tower #1 when I heard thump and didn't know what it was, and the I heard more repeated thumps and still didn't know that it was motars on the way in. Our mess hall get hit and started to burn, I called the SOG on the old crank phones and said hey the mess hall is fire and I can hear some thumping sounds. The next I know green and white tracers are coming twoard the compound and I can see people coming from behind two story (A two story house across the road from our compound so we just called it two stroy), these weren't friendly poeple I found out. SSG Davis was our Platoon SGT and was on his second tour in Nam, first was with the Big Red One, and he knew what happening. He got up into the tower with me and started firing the M-60 that was there. My eyes got big, and my body began to shake, I finally realized we were under attack. We had M-14's not M-16's, SSG Davis was yelling at me to fire my weapon, I pulled the trigger nothing happened, and I ejected the round, it did the same again, I ejected another round, and finally realized that I had the weapon on safe. We held of Charlie and got some help from a Platoon of Infantry from the Big Red One who was Chopperd to our compound, man I was never so glad to see more grunts. They saved our butt that night I later found out that these grunts were from the 1/2 Inf and they wore a black scarf. Failed my first test under fire. But was much more ready when the May offensive kicked off. My first tour my unit only came under fire 3 times.