Chapter 33

Friendly Fire

The next morning, February 17, we prepared to “saddle up.” Third Battalion Third Marines was flying out into the mountains by helicopter for a search-and-destroy operation. India Company and the command group were also going with us on this one. We loaded up with all our gear, preparing to move to the staging area to board helicopters. After an hour or so, the word was to “stand down.” We returned to our bunkers and took off our packs and other gear and waited. The helicopters came in and picked up the leading elements of India to take them to their assigned LZ. Then the command group and the remainder of India were flown out. Finally at about 1440, we again were told to saddle up and, this time, moved to the staging area. A half hour later, several CH-47 helicopters came in and landed in the flat area between our perimeter and the river. They lowered their tail ramps, and we loaded in, and away we went. The afternoon was clear, and the area was beautiful from the air.

Flying southwest out into the mountains, we were soon near a hill designated as 492, a grassy knoll surrounded by jungle. The helicopters, with their tail ramps lowered, landed just long enough for us to exit. We charged out the back and set up a defensive perimeter around the LZ as the next one came in. Each successive helicopter did the same until all of our troops were on the ground. When we all got on the ground, we picked up fifteen-foot intervals between us and started moving uphill toward the jungle.

We followed a trail that led higher up on the hill. It wasn’t long before we were hiking through an area of the jungle with broken tree trunks surrounded by bare muddy ground. Either bombs or artillery had devastated the vegetation. Passing through, we again entered thick jungle. At sunset, we stopped and set up a defensive perimeter for the night. Those of us not needed on the line went to sleep where we could. The hillside was steep, but I found a small hollow at the base of a tree and curled up in my poncho on the uphill side and tried to get some sleep.

 The next day, February 18, at first light, we hiked up and down trails in the area. Except for patches devastated by bombing and artillery, the jungle was beautiful and the trails well established. Some areas had stairways constructed of logs and earth so that anyone carrying a large heavy load could more easily climb or descend the inclines. All along the trail, we were on constant lookout for booby traps and punji pits, and several were discovered before they could do any harm.

After humping higher into the hills at 0900, we came across a base camp that looked fairly fresh. In the process of destroying the camp, a hundred pounds of rice were discovered. An intensified search turned up a lone NVA soldier up in a tree. He was quickly killed and his body and weapon retrieved. His pockets and rucksack were searched, and he had a great deal of money and a record book with him. The rumor was that he was a paymaster.

At around eleven thirty, we discovered another base camp with ten fighting bunkers. Footprints in the mud indicated that the area might have been occupied in the past few days. We set about demolishing all the bunkers. At about twelve forty-five while in the process of tearing down the bunkers, we captured a Vietcong who was not carrying any weapon. His rucksack was full of chow, and he was dressed in black clothing.

At around 1700, a man and a woman carrying a baby ran out of the brush and down the hill. A couple of our Marines pursued her, but she eluded them, and they were unable to locate her. The old man was captured and held as a VC suspect. A few minutes later, an NVA soldier with bandoliers crossed on his bare chest wielding a submachine gun Rambo-style shot our point man in the neck. The point man’s squad leader with his .45 pistol in hand charged the NVA, and after a brief exchange, the body of the NVA was lying on the trail. Shortly thereafter, a woman with a baby, and an old man were captured in the same area.

We commenced a search of this area, and at 1835, we found a complex of three base camps within one hundred meters of each other. We also found two new NVA uniforms and assorted pieces of uniforms, a pack with foreign-made map enclosed in plastic, and a notebook with writing. We also discovered a fresh dead body dressed in a gray NVA uniform who had apparently been killed by small arms.

We continued farther up the ridge and dug in for the night. Radioman LCpl. Richard Lynn and I shared an improvised tent made out of his poncho staked out over a sapling that we bent to form the ridge. We made it low to the ground to help keep the heat inside closer to our bodies. After dark, the clouds quickly enveloped the mountain, and we spent one of the coldest nights I could remember. Inside the tent, we used my poncho as a blanket. It got so cold that night that Lynn and I decided to sleep with our backs together to try and decrease our shivering. It helped, but it was still miserably cold.

The next morning, February 19, we awoke at first light and had a breakfast of C rations. The mountain was still shrouded in clouds. During the night, the woman with the baby escaped. The Marine guarding her looked away from her to give her some privacy to breastfeed her baby, and she took advantage by dashing away from him and down the hill. The old man was still in custody.

One of the platoons started down the small ravine and, at around 0800, discovered the entrance to what appeared to be a weapons cache. After checking for booby traps, one of the Marines entered and came out indicating that we had hit the jackpot. The cache was built into a narrow area of the ravine. Long logs were placed over the V to form the roof between the sides of the ravine. These logs were then covered with a plastic tarp, and the plastic tarp was covered with leaves and other vegetation to hide it. It measured about twenty-five feet long and was loaded with a large quantity of rifles, mortars, rockets, and other supplies. First Platoon was given the task of digging up the cache, and Second Platoon was assigned to climb the adjacent hillside and set up security. Inside the cache, they found two new 82 mm mortars complete with baseplates and sights and tripods. As they dug deeper, they came out with a large number of 82 mm mortar and rocket rounds, about five pounds of explosives for demolition, and six antitank rounds. The old man was brought down to the scene and interrogated about other caches that might be in the area. He was shaking and pleading for his life when I passed by him.

A trail led from the cache up the other side of the ravine. A squad of Second Platoon was directed to follow the trail up the hill, and I accompanied them. As we crept up the hill, our point men startled a group of NVA soldiers in the process of cooking rice for their breakfast. The startled group shot at us and fled up the hill leaving a pot of not-yet-cooked rice on the fire along with all their gear except for their rifles. The squad called to inform the platoon commander of the situation—they had found some hooches dug into the side of the mountain with a bunch of rucksacks and supplies. At some point, the artillery forward observer was directed to call in a mission. Spotter rounds of white phosphorus started exploding higher on the hill, causing more NVA to run out of their hooches farther up on the steep hillside and hastily follow their comrades. This time, the Marines took off after them, pursuing them up the hill. I charged up the hill with them. One of the Marines in front of me decided to check out one of the hooches as the others continued up the hill. I stopped and covered him as he entered the side of the hill through the door.