Next to last combat mission 199th

Since this is the next to the last combat mission I intend to post, I want to make a statement and then issue a warning. The statement surrounds the fact that I am the only one still alive that witnessed this so I can't offend any individual. Next, if you have weak stomach, stop now.

One morning, we received an order to provide air cover for one of our fire bases as it was undergoing a ground attack by Viet Cong. We loaded up and flew to the fire base as fast as possible. When we arrived, we'd learned that the base had been penetrated by the VC but they had been killed and the rest of the attacking VC were retreating back to the jungle with a LRRP team hot on their heals.

We landed inside the base perimeter and shut down the Huey. I noticed 3 VC prisoners who had been tied up and were under guard by several of the men who had fought the battle. I also noticed a VC body that had made it to the wire surrounding the camp but had been killed just as he was preparing to cross the wire.

It was a ghastly sight. He'd been hit cross ways with what appeared to be a 50 caliber round because the front of his body had been opened from right to left and his entrails had fallen out of his body and were completely exposed. It was the only bullet hole I found but it was one huge opening that included the entire front of his body. It was almost as if a surgeon had taken a scalpel and opened him from side to side. I experienced / witnessed another 50 caliber wound later in my tour but I'll save that for part of the experiences I had with the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.

I also noticed that the 3 VC prisoners were not wearing blindfolds. Their hands were tied behind their backs and had no chance of escaping but they were placed in a manner where they had to look at their dead comrade. When I inspected the dead VC I noticed that he'd shit in his pants and with the smell of all that, I backed away from the area and was told to stand inside a mortar pit and observe the mortars that were going to be fired as the LRRP team had located the retreating VC and were preparing to attack.

As they began to shoot the mortar rounds, I was told to hold my ears and watch the rounds as they left the tube, flew skyward to the apex of it's flight and then dropped to the impact point. I'd never seen that before and was quite surprised to see and know that you could watch the round from it's firing point until it blew up when it hit the jungle.

I was also able to watch the small adjustments that could be made when the LRRPs adjusted the impact points after the first round hit. After a couple of adjustments, it was clear that they had received an order to fire at will. The mortar team was shooting as fast as the mortars could be dropped down the tube. It was impressive to be that close to the fight and watch it all unfold from a relative point of safety.

We were told to load up and as I walked toward the Huey I began to make a head count of the men making their way to the helicopter. We brought an interpreter with us and with the 3 VC prisoners, that made 4. We had our gunner and crew chief as well as a Command Sgt. Major and a high  ranking officer from Brigade so that made 4 more. Adding me and the other pilot, we now would be flying back to home base with a total of ten men on board. I had already flown with 9 men on board and had covered that in an earlier post where we picked up the LRRP team that "whispered" when we communicated with them just before extracting them from their LZ. If you read that, you will recall the "smell" I described.

I don't know how long the VC  had been in the jungle without any bath but I do know they smelled like a combination of a dead fish and a football locker room. In any event, the were seated on the extreme right hand side of the Huey with their feet and legs hanging out of the side of the helicopter. We were told to proceed to a rail road track that used to be a main artery to that part of the country and to fly high speed and low level which we did.

I could hear the interpreter yelling at the VC one by one and after a few minutes of that, we were told to climb to 1,500 feet and fly back to base. As soon as we arrived at our cruising altitude, I turned around to take a look at the prisoners to see what the first time helicopter riders were experiencing. Their eyes were wide open and as the interpreter was putting blind folds on them, it was clear that they were scared to pieces.

As the interpreter continued to yell at them, we were told two things. First, we were told that the interpreter was demanding that the VC give them the location of the unit they belonged to and where they were from. The second thing had to do with our final approach to base. We were told to stop at a 3 foot hover and not to put the ship on the ground.

When we confirmed the order, we were told to start slowing down to reduce the wind flow inside the aircraft and to slowly reach a temperature that might be closer to the one they had experienced and seen when we were flying fast and low over the rail road tracks. We complied with the order and made our approach but stopped at a 3' hover as expected.

I noticed a number of men waiting for us as we made our approach and that each of them were carrying M 16s. For those of you who have never stood close to a Huey when it's at a hover, let me say that it is loud. Above all the noise, even with our helmets on, we heard the incessant screams of the interpreter as he continued to ask them, one by one, where their unit was. When he asked the last man in the line of 3 where their unit was and he refused to tell him what he wanted, he went back to the VC in the middle and asked him. When he didn't respond, the interpreter kicked him out of the ship. He thought he was flying high over the tracks and his scream was heard by all. Even though he only fell 36" or so, the other two VC immediately began to talk and the interpreter was told everything he wanted to know.

As horrible as that may sound, in reality, it was more like jumping off your kitchen table than anything else. The VC that took the dive was not injured at all except for a level of being freaked out like a dope head on a bad acid trip. He didn't even need a band aid.

Having said and experienced all this, you may well imagine how happy I was to know that we had obtained the location of the VC that made the attack on our base as well as the village where other VC were located. You may also imagine what my thoughts are about the water boarding incidents that took place at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. I could have solved that issue with a small ride in Timmy's helicopter.

One more post to go before I leave the 199th when they go home. Stand by, the best one I've saved until last.

   

 

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