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 They
were getting hit up there, very frequently, very badly. The airstrip
would be hit as any plane or chopper approached, with mortar or small
caliber artillery. Any time our guns or the 3/6th (I think it was them)
would get a fire mission, they would get hit. The incoming was always
right on time, and very accurate. A counter-mortar radar unit was sent
there, and just like our guns, they needed a survey crew to 'place'
their piece.
Burice Toomey (2me), Vern Mandelkow (Jr.), and
I were sent up there to do the job. We took a slick out of Dak To, and
were advised to sit on our flak vests. We were also told to be ready
to bail out over the airstrip as the pilot had no intention of setting
his chopper down. Flying tree top level added a feeling of hauling ass
on this trip, and a real sense of urgency.
As promised, we were taking mortar rounds as we
grabbed our equipment and 'left' the aircraft. We took shelter in the
nearest bunker and the incoming ceased. We met with our contacts and
received our instructions. It sounded like it would suck immediately,
as we were warned not to venture out in daylight. We had a pretty good
MOS up to that point. We had to work in the daylight, so it was off
to the airstrip to get started. There were just the three of us, with
a tiny amount of equipment that wasn't very big, and we started taking
RR rounds. The NVA was watching that place every minute. A jeep
was hit, and burned, but we did eventually get our job done and headed
back to the safety of the bunker.
Once we finished there was not much to do. The
post was well dug in and sand bagged, so we did not have to do that
detail. The only time to venture out during the day was to the mess
bunker, and latrine. You did not want to spend much time in the latrine.
During the day you could read a paper inside as there were so many shrapnel
holes to let in the light. As three lowly Arty Surveyors, we did not
have a huge amount of clout for any pilot to fly in and get us out,
so we were sort of just sitting back waiting for an opportunity to arise.
As luck would have it, we found out about a Captain who was waiting
for a ride out to take his R&R. He was surprised to have company,
but there was no time to chat, as we left in the same manner as we arrived.
Our Chief of Section put the three of us in for some award, but the
paperwork was 'lost' somewhere, so our reward was just getting home
in one piece.
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