GRUNTFIXER.NET

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Highway 9 runs from Dong Ha on the east and travels west into Laos. From Dong Ha it is about 10 miles to Cam Lo, a village where there was also a refugee relocation camp. After passing through Cam Lo the road starts climbing up into the hills. From here on the area has some very spectacular scenery. No rice paddies up here, but elephant grass and thick jungles. Camp Carroll, the main artillery base in the region, was located south of the highway with a high hill top vantage point. The Rockpile is a prominent rock formation in the middle of a large valley located approximately 11 miles from Cam Lo and 6 miles from the DMZ. The highway turns south near the Rockpile. That is where 3/3's forward area (known by its code name "Payable") was located. Ca Lu, another 6 miles further south, was a Vietnamese Regional Forces camp near the Quang Tri River on the way to Khe Sanh, which was down the road another 13 miles.

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Looking northwest, the long brown dirt area between these formations was a muddy hill top with underground bunkers occupied by Lima Company in January 1967. The position was surrounded by 3 prominent areas of high ground so it was known as the "Punch Bowl".

Just before reaching the Rockpile, the convoy took a dirt road to the right and headed north across the Trinh Hin river (the upstream arm of the Cam Lo river which flows on the south side of the Rockpile). The road wound around some of the lower hills until we finally pulled into a position on top of the hill located between the Rockpile and another long rock formation called the Razorback Ridge.

$Description: C:\Users\Rus\Desktop\Website\My Story\page3c.jpg$ Upon arrival to the area, I realized that I had actually been with 3/3 during those 2 rainy weeks around Thanksgiving out on Mutter's Ridge, (the north rim of the Punch Bowl). Four of us from Shore Party were assisting with directing the helicopter resupply to the position. During that time of living in 2 man tents in the driving winter rains and mud a news crew came out to this muddy ridge to film a "typical combat" unit eating a hot Thanksgiving dinner. Grunts were served their dinner on the muddy north facing hillside out of insulated "vac-cans", which had been brought in by helicopters. The reporters were interviewing the diners. This footage, well edited, was then aired on the Evening News back home.