MARINE CORPS TANKERS VIETNAM HISTORICAL Foundation's
Vietnam Personal Accounts
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Jack Arena
Ontos
The Ontos was not a good place to be if you hit a mine I took a lot of small arms fire from all sides and the sloped plates combined with all the extra junk we carried helped deflect a lot of rounds or softened the blow. When a round hit the back doors the loader would have a heart attack; and you should have heard the comments if I said get out and change rounds in the tubes! (joking of course).
I went in country in 66, but to 3rd recon. I didn't go to AT's (an Ontos unit) until February 67, all (training) was O.J.T. (on the job training) in the field and with my platoon at Camp Carroll. I didn't really feel comfortable until after went back to Okinawa and got to shoot all (the 106MM rounds) I wanted on the range.