MARINE CORPS TANKERS VIETNAM HISTORICAL Foundation's
Vietnam Personal Accounts
§
An Hoa - Phu Loc 6
by Lloyd "Pappy" Reynolds © 2006
To set the background,
in early 1967 I was with the light section (two tanks) of 1st Platoon, Bravo
Company, 3rd Tank Battalion. We were attached to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine
Regiment at An Hoa but most of the time we were with Hotel Company (H-2-5)
at a position called Phu Loc (6). We were in a position guarding the ferry
crossing over the Song Thu Bon River (a bridge had not been built yet). This
was along Liberty Road from Danang to An Hoa.
For awhile we had what we
called the Four O’clock Sniper. Just about every day at around 1600 a Sniper
would fire a few rounds at us from the West (Goi Noi Island area). After a
few days of this the Grunt Platoon on that side of the hill would get in
their holes just before 1600, and when the Sniper would fire, the Grunt’s
would open up with a Mad Minute of firing. Well my part in this came when I
received a “Care Package” from my ex wife. In it was a red bra that I had
asked for. This was to go on the tank’s antenna. I got on the tank with the
bra and some electrical tape. Now I’m on top of the turret, probably the
highest thing on the hill. Taping this bra to the antenna. In my excitement
I don’t pay any attention to the Grunt’s getting into their holes and
watching me with some big smiles on their faces. Bang, bang, I hear two
Bee’s going by. Right away I realize what is happening and I do a “Swan
Dive” off the tank into a mud puddle. When I look up the antenna is swinging
back and forth waving the red bra like “Maggie’s Drawers” and the Grunts
around the tank are laughing so hard that are not firing.
About a week later the Grunts
ask us to check out a Water Buffalo about 1000 yards out to the West. We
check it out with the powerful optics on the tank and it looks like it has
six legs. Conclusion, some VC is using it for cover while crossing an open
field. We get permission to fire and turn the Water Bo into 90mm steaks. The
bad news is some one had to pay some one for a dead Water Bo. The good news
is we had no more Four O’clock Sniper.
One of our jobs at Phu Loc 6
was to keep the road to An Hoa open. This was done by having the tanks from
An Hoa and us sweeping the road with Engineers and Grunts every morning. The
Engineers carried hand held mine detectors. We would meet in the middle and
then return to our positions. Then in the afternoon either the tanks at An
Hoa or us would make a “Mail Run” along the road. (Usually at the same time
every day, the VC could set their watches by us.)
This day it was our turn to
run into An Hoa. So we loaded up with Grunts and took off. We usually did
this as fast as we could. We get into An Hoa, pick up the mail and what ever
then turn around and head back. I’m driving Bravo one four and I’m the lead
tank. I’m hauling ass and the tracks are throwing dirt and dust about three
feet out in front of the tank. I am watching my old track marks from the run
in looking for any disturbance. I spot a new mound of dirt in the road. Hell
it hasn’t been 20 minutes since we passed over this spot. I hit the breaks
and bang, it goes off. It was a command detonated mine in the road. I am
knocked out for a moment. When I come to, dirt is still falling. My helmet,
tank goggles and glasses are gone. I’m up to my knees in dirt in the
driver’s compartment. Three of the Grunts riding on the tank are slightly
wounded. I start digging dirt out of the driver’s compartment looking for my
glasses. The Grunts are off the tank and have fanned out. I hear them
talking about some one out in a field. I’m pissed and I get out of the tank
and can almost see a guy out in the field dressed in white. I asked a Grunt
for his M-14 (we didn’t have M-16’s yet). He gives it to me, I aim in as
best as I can and squeeze the trigger. Nothing happens. A miss fire, I even
looked at the round and the primer was dented. Probably saved me from going
to jail. (The mine had gone off about three feet in front of the tank. We
guessed that we were throwing out so much dirt that the VC thought we were
over it when he set it off. I had hit the breaks just in time.) I get back
into the tank and dig out some more dirt finding my helmet, goggles and
glasses. Then we head back to Phu Loc 6. On the way I noticed that I had no
breaks in the tank.
We had no sooner gotten into Phu
Loc 6 than we get a call that the Grunts need tanks back down the road that
we just came from. I get on the radio to the Section Leader, Sgt. Gibson and
tell him that one four has no breaks. He tells me that I’m just scared and
that he’ll take the lead so just follow him. I tell him “Hell yea I’m scared
but I’m more pissed and I want to kill someone for trying to blow me up, but
the tank still has no breaks.” He says, ”Follow me.” Away we go with one
five in the lead. We’re doing a good clip along the road. Because of all the
dust I stay at least 100 yards behind him. At one point on the road there is
a sharp turn to the left that I can’t see around. Just as we hit the turn I
see one five stopped in the middle of the road and I have no place to go.
Grunts on one side and trees on the other. At 25 miles per hour I put the
52ton tank in neutral and turn left. In a neutral steer the left track goes
into reverse and the right track goes forward. The tank turned and slid up
to within about a foot of one five. I looked up and saw Sgt. Gibson’s eyes
behind his goggles. His eyes filled his goggles. I just told him “I said I
had no breaks.” I don’t know why I didn’t throw a track or blow the
transmission. The Grunts had picked up a bunch of women with supplies in
their “Idiot Baskets”. First aid supplies, money, ammunition and stuff.
While they were being loaded on the tanks I dug out some more dirt from the
drivers compartment. When I got down to the bottom I found that a small
inspection plate had been knocked off by the explosion and had jammed the
break linkage. Once I removed the inspection plate I had breaks again.
Lloyd
G. “Pappy” Reynolds Photo
Around the An Hoa area there
were some pretty substantial houses some even made out of cinder blocks.
There was also the usual Three Little Pig’s type straw huts. Well one day we
got a call that some Grunts need some help. So we rolled out, for some
reason I was driving one five that day with Staff Sergeant Sam Kahilkie as
the Tank Commander. I had known Sam from when I was in 1st Tanks in 1962.
When we got to where the Grunts were, what we found was, the VC were held up
in a house, not a cinder block or a straw one but kinda in between. They had
forced some civilians to stand in front of the house while they had pinned
down some Marines in a field. They knew that the Marines would not fire back
because of the civilians. We couldn't either. I don’t recall if any of the
Marines had been hit or not. Everyone was scratching their heads trying to
figure out what to do. I don’t know what made me think of it, but I called
Sam on the intercom and asked him “Why can’t we put an Willie Peter
(.02/10ths of a second) on delay and fire it through the top of the house?”
He said he’d check. A few minutes later we got the word to try it. We did.
We fired a WP through the top of the house and it went about 200 yards past
the house before it blew up. When that happened the civilians scattered. The
Marine were then able to mount an assault on the house. But the VC were
gone.
One day on the run as we
neared An Hoa I heard the Grunts and crew yelling and hollering. I asked
over the intercom what was going on. I was told “Naked round eyes.” I stood
up in the driver’s compartment to get a look. Couldn’t see anything so I
tried to get up on the gun tube. As I did I felt the tank start to tilt to
the right. (I had gotten out of the driver’s compartment while the tank was
running.) The tank was going straight but the road wasn’t. We were going up
a small rise and headed for one of those cinder block houses. I dropped back
down into the compartment and got things under control. I thought I was
being Bull Shitted about the naked round eyes. But it turned out that there
was a Red Cross compound there and there were some German Red Cross Workers
there that would occasionally "Sunbathe" out in their yard. Later when we
rotated tanks and I was at An Hoa I saw some of these women in the 5th
Marines Mess Hall when we ate there. (Years later I read somewhere that some
German Red Cross workers were captured and died some where in Laos. I don’t
know if it was these people or not.)
Later when we rotated to An
Hoa my tank had the position at the north end of the airstrip. The grunts
had an experimental sort of ground sensor device near us. Well one night one
of the guys got drunk on some “Tiger Piss” booze and decided he was going to
go to town. (The little ville outside the wire.) He got all tangled up in
the barbwire and was making a hell of a racket. The Grunts came running over
to our position telling us that we were under attack. That there was a whole
bunch of VC coming through the wire near our position. We told them what was
going on and not to report it. This device worked by putting metal stakes in
the ground. The stakes were wired to the receiver and it would pick up
vibrations on the ground. The trouble with it was that it was too sensitive.
It would pick up rain drops and little critters like mice. Caused a lot of
false alarms so they got rid of it.
At this same position we had
some problem with the track or a road wheel or something I don’t remember
what. But I do remember we didn’t get it fixed before dark. So we asked the
Sea Bees that were working on the airstrip if they could set up a flood
light for us. They did and we caused a major shit hemorrhage with the Grunt
Battalion. The lights went out. Being resourceful, we called in for 81mm
mortar illumination until we got whatever it was fixed. Lt. Got his ass
chewed out the next day, but the tank was ready to go.
I hit a mine one-day in Super
Goof and it blew off some road wheels. This is not a clean operation, there
is usually some loose twisted parts left hanging. To expedite the repair
process we would take a small amount of C-4 and blow off the offending part.
In this case a road wheel housing. It took us three tries, each time with a
bigger charge of C-4. We finally got it of and did a short track and because
we didn’t have a maintaince crew or spare parts with us it had to stay that
way until we got to 1st Tanks.
While we were at An Hoa the
3rd Tank Battalion had moved up north so we were attached to the 1st Tank
Battalion. When they finally sent a Platoon out to relieve us we packed up
and moved up north and rejoined our Battalion. We also got a replacement
tank for Super Goof. Seems that we had warped the hull with the C-4 and a
new road wheel housing wouldn’t go on. (Listed as a combat loss.)
Our platoon leader was Second
Lieutenant Rivero (in An Hoa with the heavy section), and the platoon
sergeant was Staff Sergeant Kahlikie. The Company Commander of H-2-5 was
Captain Bowers.
Lt. Rivero on Mike Boat moving north with
1st Platoon to rejoin Bravo Company
Fred Rivero Photo
Bravo one four Super Goof at An Hoa. Getting ready to
leave, sea bags packed and stored on vehicle.
Fred Rivero Photo