Two Brothers in Vietnam

[Techno II]

Thanks, Ian & Paul.   

I've heard 'boondocks' referred to in a number of American TV shows and always had assumed that it was something to do with shipping docks.
You learn something.......

Cheers - Phil.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Brits might also use Uloo (sp)

[bigjackmac]

Thanks guys, and yeah, 'boonies' is used to refer to anywhere away from civilization, out in the middle of nowhere, certainly used a lot to describe heavy vegetation as well.  When I was a grunt I spent lots of time "humpin' the boonies," AKA "walking in the woods/jungle carrying lots of heavy stuff"

A 'cover' is how Marines say 'hat'.  You're supposed to wear a hat outside and take it off inside (unless you're 'under arms,' AKA on guard duty), but lots of young Marines (and some old ones) like to take their hats off outside or forget to take it off immediately when they step inside, so you'll hear an NCO yelling at them to "put on/remove your cover!"  A 'boonie cover' is the soft, wide-brimmed hat you wear out in the field, whilst the 8-pointed cover (sort of looks like a squarish baseball hat) is what Marines wear in garrison, though some crusty old bastards (typically 1st Sergeants, Sergeants Major, and Staff Sergeants that were never going to be promoted again) would wear them in the field.

V/R,
Jack

[bigjackmac]

All,

1330 Local Time
31 January 1966
Song Ve Valley, RVN
Operation Double Eagle

Operation Double Eagle kicked off on 28 January 1966, with the intent to locate and destroy the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) 18th and 95th Regiments (which were believed to have infiltrated across the DMZ in December of 1965) and the Viet Cong 2nd Regiment in Quang Ngai Province, while the US Army and ARVN forces kicked off Operation Masher/White Wing just south of the Double Eagle area of operations to destroy the NVA and VC base camps believed to be located there.  On 28 January the boys' platoon went ashore with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines (3/1) at Red Beach, spending a couple days patrolling in the local area without contact.

On 30 January the boys' platoon became attached to 2/3, while B-52 'Arc Light' strikes were carried out in the Song Ve Valley.  The intent was for the battalion to patrol the valley immediately following the B-52 strikes, but this didn't happen due to poor weather in the area, so the boys spent a restless day and night shivering and soaked under their ponchos.  The boys' platoon ended up getting sent back to 2/4, which was then lifted by helo into the west end of the Song Ve Valley, from which they began their search.

The boys' platoon has been humping the valley all day, walking the massive line of craters created by the B-52 bombers, while other platoons paralleled them on the ridgelines to the north and south.  The problem was that the boys' platoon was massively outpacing the flanking platoons as humping was ten times easier on the floor of the bombed out valley then it was on the heavily jungled ridgelines, cut a million times by jagged ravines.  The boys' platoon seemed to call a halt every ten minutes, trying to allow the flankers to catch up, all the while having that very uneasy feeling they were being watched from those very same ridgelines...


Overview, north is to top left, with the squad moving from west (bottom left) to east (top right).  At top left is Hill 175, while there's a low ridgeline running north-south at far right.  Other than that it's thick jungle broken up only by the craters, burned out areas, and rubble piles left in the wake of the B-52 strikes.


The squad pushes east.  It's slow going as the point element takes many breaks to stop, look, and listen for signs of trouble, and the rest of the squad uses that time to search the area.  "Look at that, man, VC were definitely here!" said Nelson.  The squad was finding all sorts of broken weapons, ammo crates, fuel drums, pieces of bodies, even an overturned truck!  "Yeah,' replied Corporal Little, "looks like the Arc Lights hit a VC base camp.  Good on'em."


Danny and Tate (top right) are nearing the end of the debris field, with the rest of the squad pulling up behind them, eager to get out of the open area.  Nikki (bottom center) paused for a moment for another sip of nice, warm water...


At exactly the moment a burst of AK fire broke out from atop Hill 175 (bottom left)...


And it is immediately joined by another AK from the west (bottom left, with Hill 175 off camera to top left), firing on the Marines (top center/left) from behind!


As the 7.62mm rounds come in, they find flesh!  Nikki (bottom right) is struck, drops his canteen, and falls next to it on the jungle floor!  Rivera, next to him (red bead) is suppressed, while Cpl Little (yellow bead at top left) is pinned.


Danny and Tate (bottom right) immediately face about and begin working back, trying to find the threat, as Sgt Garcia, Cpl Zamora, Holmes, and Jackson (center/left) all hop into nearby craters, seeking cover, peering over the rim to try and discover the location of their tormenters.

Danny listened intently, and all thoughts of the enemy disappeared when he didn't hear the sound of the M-60 firing, knowing it could only mean one thing.  To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/02/two-brothers-fight-10.html

Next fight coming up Sunday night/Monday morning.

V/R,
Jack
 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Ouch!
Quite a fight this time mate.

[Techno II]

Wottascrap ! 

Cheers - Phil.

[bigjackmac]

Thanks guys.

Jack

[bigjackmac]

 All,

1330 Local Time
1 February 1966
Song Ve Valley, RVN
Operation Double Eagle

Danny was severely unhappy; first Sergeant Garcia had split he and Nik up by putting them in different fireteams, and yesterday Nikki got hit and MEDEVAC'ed to the rear.  Despite being in country with the squad for three and a half months now, he felt completely alone without his best friend.  After the helos came and resupplied the company, then left carrying their wounded safely away, the company dug in and occupied its night defense positions, posting OP/LPs and going to 50% in the holes.  Danny found it impossible to sleep, it was the first time in the field that he and Nik weren't sharing a hole.  The company was up before dawn, and after a quick piss, brushing of the teeth, and some cold C-rats, they stomped in their holes, hoisted their packs, and began sweeping north up the Song Ve Valley.

It was the squad's turn on point when Sgt Garcia called them to a halt, told them to take a knee while he checked the map and checked in on the radio.  They were currently atop a finger of Hill 133, but about to come down into some relatively open terrain, with ridgelines to their left (northwest) and right (southeast), as they pressed ahead to check out a fishing village in the northeast.  "Alright, Thomas, you take point, and take it easy, take your time, I got a bad feeling about this one."  "Roger, Sergeant G," replied Danny.


Overview, north is up.  Hill 133 is in the southwest (bottom left), while ridgelines dominate to the northwest (top left) and southeast (bottom right).  There's a hardball road running north-south through the center of the area, with a cluster of rice paddies across the center/left, while thick stands of trees screen the approaches to the village, which sites in the northeast (top right), as well as box in the rice paddies to the west.


The squad is down to seven effectives...


The patrol pushes ahead (center to bottom center to bottom right)...


But then, as they reach the road, a Viet Cong bunker opens fire!

To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/02/two-brothers-fight-11.html

Next fight coming soon.

V/R,
Jack

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Thats a fights and a half

[bigjackmac]

Thanks man.

V/R,
Jack

[Techno II]

Thats a fight and a half

It certainly was. 

Cheers - Phil.

[bigjackmac]

Thanks Phil.

Jack

[bigjackmac]

All,

1500 Local Time
4 March 1966
Near Hill 50, Quang Ngai Province, RVN
Operation Utah

"So, you really think we're gonna get out and tangle with the North Vietnamese?" Nikki asked Danny.  "Hell, I dunno man.  On the one hand, look around, we got all these boots, loads of new gear, everybody's fired up like it's the 4th of July.  But hell, dontcha remember, they said the same thing about Operation Double Eagle."

This time HQ had it right: Operation Utah was the Marine Corps' first contact with the North Vietnamese Army, and it was a doozy.  At 0900 on 4 March 1966, US Marine helicopters lifted an ARVN battalion into an LZ 7 miles northwest of Quang Ngai City; heavy antiaircraft fire was encountered, downing a Marine UH-1 Huey and an F-4 Phantom!  The ARVN didn't encounter much resistance once they were on the ground, and they begin maneuvering towards a cluster of hills, Hill 50, 97, and 85.  The helos returned to Chu Lai to pick up the waiting Marines of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines (2/7), and began ferrying them back to Quang Ngai, but only one platoon of Kilo Co, 2/7 (K/2/7) was able to be inserted before another hellacious bout of antiaircraft fire cut loose.  K/2/7 was isolated for about 15 minutes before the rest of Kilo could be landed, followed by G/2/7 and the battalion's Command Group, which was complete by 1130 local time.  The boys were with H/2/7 as part of the third wave, waiting for the helos to return, and were shocked when their pickup was delayed because so many of the twenty of the helos had been shot full of holes, and two of the UH-34s had been shot down!  Another helo squadron was quickly scrambled to support, and by 1300 on 4 March 1966, the boys were on the ground in Quang Ngai Province, north of the cluster of hills. 

Golf and Kilo had taken Hills 85 and 97 against very light resistance, while the ARVN were working on Hill 50, which was beginning to show sings of being a tough nut to crack, so much so that the ARVN battalion commander was now desperately pleading for 2/7 to support them.  As word came in that the ARVN and US Marines were facing the 21st North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Regiment, and that the NVA intended to stand and fight, the Marines' overall commander, General Platt, immediately called up reinforcements, in the form of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, which would be landed the following day, 5 March 1966.

It took awhile to get into position because the ARVN had been held up and thus weren't where they were supposed to be, but LtCol Utter (2/7's commander) got this companies reorganized and moving, now east to west against Hill 50 with Fox Company on the left, Golf in the center, and Hotel on the right, with the ARVN to the battalion's left.  Fox Company's job was to maintain contact with the ARVN, Hotel's job was to screen the battalion's open right (southern) flank, while Golf Company was charged with securing Hill 50.

Naturally, the boys' platoon was now attached to Golf Company; "Up and at'em, @#$%birds, time to go earn your pay," Sergeant Garcia said, and they fell in on the far left flank of Golf Company, which was moving east in a company-sized skirmish line, not yet taking fire, though they could hear sounds of battle to their left, where the ARVN were engaged.


Overview, north is up.  The center of the west side of Hill 50, showing signs of earlier airstrikes by Marine A-4s and F-4s, runs north to south across the east (right) side of the table, where you can see the hill is honeycombed with NVA defensive positions.  There are a few clumps of dense jungle present, but mostly it's the hill and the open rice paddies to the west, which the Marines will be crossing in skirmish line.

The NVA are now occupying their defensive positions: the North Bunker (top center), the South Bunker (bottom right), the AAA Position (top right), and the trenchline running across the hilltop.  There is a destroyed bunker at bottom center (taken out by the airstrikes).  The Marine mortar team has taken up positions in a hedge in the southwest (bottom left), while the entire squad is fanned out in skirmish line from top left to bottom center left.  1st Fireteam is on the far left, then 2nd Fireteam, the Squad's command group, and 3rd Fireteam.


A traditional fight: the opposing forces, with the Marines on the left and the NVA on the right.  The squad is actually overstrength, with sixteen men, two above their allotted table of organization strength.


And they've got a 60mm mortar team attached!


The Marines inch their way forward under heavy fire, taking casualties, in order to close with the NVA bunkers.


Despite a plethora of difficulties, a handful of Marines reach the enemy trenchline on the right flank (left center)!

To see how the fight turned out, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/02/two-brothers-fight-12.html

Next fight coming soon.

V/R,
Jack

[bigjackmac]

All,

1700 Local Time
4 March 1966
Near Hill 50, Quang Ngai Province, RVN
Operation Utah

The squad crept northeast through the rice paddies, hustling from cover to cover as best they could, the sounds of gunfire to their front, right, and rear.  It felt very strange hugging the west side of Hill 50, knowing NVA were still up there, somewhere, but they were in a hurry.  They had to get up, through the village, and into contact with Fox Company, knowing the NVA had probably infiltrated between them and the Marines on the far left flank.  Not to mention, they really didn't want to get caught out in the rice paddies, all alone, knowing the battalion had precious little troops available to send to bale them out, and pretty much all the air and artillery assets were being used in support of the rest of the battalion, with all three companies in contact.  "Let's go," Sergeant Garcia hissed, "keep it moving."


Overview, north is up.  The village of Khanh My (1) is at top right, the northwestern tip of Hill 50 runs from right to bottom center right, with enemy trenchlines, which appear to be abandoned, and craters from earlier air and arty strikes visible, along with several patches of dense jungle.  In the northeast (top right) is a similar patch of dense jungle, which leads to the isolated Marines of Fox Company, while the left side of the table is nothing but rice paddies dotted with a few hedges.  The squad will enter from the southwest (bottom left).

You can see the squad moving across the rice paddies in the southwest (bottom left), some Marines from Fox Company in the northeast (top right, in the jungle), in a fight with NVA off camera to top right, while the NVA involved in this fight are coming down off of the north end of Hill 50 and occupying the village of Khanh My (top center).


The Marines push north (you can see the pointman, Rivera, in the narrow paddy at left top, followed by the rest of the squad), nearing the ville (top right).  Private White (bottom left) is 'tail-end Charlie,' and he's keeping a nervous eye cast up Hill 50 (far right).


And, after all the nervous, tense waiting, it happens: NVA in the trenchline running through the village open fire on 1st Fireteam (top left)!


Nikki gets into position (bottom right) and gets the M-60 going, sending a steady stream of tracers into the village (top center), which allows 1st Fireteam to pull back into cover behind a paddy dyke (far left).


Nik (center top) continues laying down fire as Danny (bottom left) moves up the slope of Hill 50, looking to flank the NVA positions in the village (off camera to far right).


Nik and Danny take a quick breather next to the body of an enemy soldier.

To see how the fight turned out, please check the blog at:
https://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2021/02/two-brothers-fight-13.html

Next fight coming soon.

V/R,
Jack

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Great stuff - keep it up