Subj.: Re: 155MM Hit on 213th |
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Hi Mike, |
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Tat' 68 had pretty steady rocketing and mortaring going on for a couple of weeks at night. They'd toss in a couple, get everyone out of bed, and move. Two hours later start over again. Hard to get any good sleep.
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I know during this period a number of building, aircraft, etc. were damaged, but nothing really stands out. The incident that does stand out had to have been during Tat 68 or shortly thereafter. One night they called in a 155 MM howitzer battery out of Dian to fire on the Phu Loi perimeter. One gun had an extra millimeter of elevation (the way we heard it later) that the safety officer missed. They fired four battery rounds before it was halted. Two shells would land where they ware supposed to each time, and the third would land in the 213th company area. |
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Yeah, I remember now it had to be near the end of Tat. We were so tired from long flying hours and too little sleep gotten in snatches that we (my roomie and I) built a sort of sandbag bunker in the back of our room. Sandbags on the sides, sandbags on top of a board on top, and a mattress on the floor inside. When a rocket or mortar hit we would wake up and if they sounded close we crawled back into the little bunker and went back to sleep, if they weren't close I don't think we even bothered to get up. |
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- When the first 155 MM round hit I was out of bed, out of the room, and 50 feet on the way to the bunker under the officer's club before I fully realized what I was doing, it was THAT loud! Sure glad the VC never had anything that big to throw at us. |
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Anyhow, there were 3 or 4 guys killed in that affair if I remember right. |
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Got to go for now, Gary Thewils 213th ASHC BLACK CAT From 11-67 to 5-68 12-68 to 6-69 Home: gthewlis@home.com |
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