Speaking of grenades ...
I never carried any. So, don't have any stories about using them, but came too damned close to one of those things with a handle that the NVA threw.
We had set up a little jeep mounted an/grc-10 outside a company CP in an abandoned village just off route 9. The Marines were on an operation with the ARVN's. There for moral support and backup, but not really supposed to be in the fight. Charles had other ideas, and hit us right about sundown.
They first tried to take out my radio with an RPG, but missed. Then tossed one of those chicom grenades at it. It hit the side of the jeep and went off under it. F'd up the underside of that jeep real good and flattened three tires.
It had started to rain and was getting dark, but out of the corner of my eye I saw this thing looping through the air and hit the side of the jeep. I was thinking "What was that? A stick?" ... a couple seconds later, it went off. I had never been in a situation like this before, with RPG's and grenades. When that thing blew, it literally surprised the sh!t completely outta me!!
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Permalink Reply by Ricardo Jacques on -
I'm trying to picture, where you were stationed in Vietnam.
I had left the second time in late 1967.
Some months before you got there.
Did you take part in Tet of 1968?
Their hand grenades were primate at best of times.
They loved getting some of our hand grenades.
Early 1965, I was up north at Phu Bai, then it was just a small airstrip.
The Air Vietnam made use of, not like the huge base it would become.
The nearest I came to getting kill happened in these four months.
Late 1966, and part of 1967, my infantry company G/2/1 was securing an Bravo Battery 11th Marines.
Just off Hill 55 and next to Anderson Trail and a river was close by.
It was either Song Vu Gia (river) or the Song Thu Bon (river).
The Battery was located on the north bank or the one in the direction of DaNang, Vietnam.
We were there till sometime in late September.
When we went up north to support the 3rd Marine Division.
October would see the 1st Marines on Operation Medina.
Some web pages state it was two battalions.
But in reality, it was two under-size infantry companies from 1/1 and 2/1.
Which would come out to one battalion.
A infantry company out 1st Battalion 3rd Marines was supporting us as a blocking force.
They were part of I believe the Special Landing Force (SLF).
By the grace of God, the NVA allowed my infantry company to get past the killing zone of an ambush.
They had set up, on one of their trails.
We had violated a rule never walk on trails.
But the vegetation was so thick, we could cut another trail.
That day, I think we being Golf and Hotel 2/1, suffered 14 death and about 19 wounded.
I written a little about our part, missions of mercy.
My platoon broke into 4 man teams, to carry all of them one man at a time.
Late November, my Platoon Guide and myself, made our way to DaNang.
To get to our 'Freedom Bird'...the rest is history
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Permalink Reply by Ricardo Jacques on
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Rich, when I saw that '5' sign, I had visions of the 5th Marine Corps Division or the 5th Marines.
When I saw 5th Comm, it than became clear...
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Permalink Reply by Richard Boyd on -
Yes, Recardo, I arrived in country in october of '69, and left in october of '70. Went initially TAD from 7th Comm, which was in Okinawa, by late '69, to an ARVN unit in Phu Bai, and then was reassigned to 5th Comm, which was right next to Mag 16, at Marble Mountain, in Da Nang. I was literally all over I Corps, but battalion headquarters was in Da Nang.
Those grenades I spoke of in my little story kind of looked like a green lemon on the end of a stick. That little incident was pretty much my first time under fire, and the grenade blowing up my radio iced the cake. I was ready to go home after that ... but ended up staying, and eventually being one of the last to leave 5th Comm. It was decommissioned a month after I was assigned back to 7th Comm, and Okinawa.
SF
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