Two Recon teams from E Co, 3d Bn, 503d Inf, while operating in the mouth of the Soui Ca Valley southwest of LZ Uplift, initiated contact with nearly 50 VC/NVA, got themselves surrounded and laid out at least 12 of the hapless enemy last month as Charlie failed in an attempt to take back what he used to own.
   Inserted by choppers after dark on the 27th of August, the two teams moved immediately into their ambush positions. Four hours later at 01:15 am, they observed several groups of four to eight enemy soldiers moving along a trail 100 meters to their front. Silently, four of the Paratroopers moved to a new position 10 meters from the path and counted 103 VC/NVA moving in one group. The total count of enemy observed was over 180 when they crept to within 3 meters of the trail. They waited for a lone VC and when he appeared, they converted him to a body count.
   The two teams remained together and rested during the day. That night they split up and set up ambushes about 300 meters apart. The plan was to spring an ambush and force the enemy to flee into the kill zone of the other team. If a large enough group came through both ambushes would be sprung simultaneously. Luck was with them. A group of nearly 50 enemy came along the trail. Coordination between the two teams was excellent, and both teams popped their claymores together. They followed the blasts of the mines with hand grenades, and waited for the enemy's position.
   Realizing that they were outnumbered, the two teams began to withdraw to the high ground behind them. And then the enemy opened up, from all points of the compass. Both teams were surrounded, one team had an M-60, and thanks to its firepower they were able to break through what the enemy thought was an airtight kill zone. The other team wasn't as lucky. Without a machine gun and with two men wounded, they had to stay where they were but cool leadership kept them from giving away their positions by firing their M-16s. Instead, the surrounded team tossed grenades, thereby inflicting casualties and keeping their exact locations unknown to the enemy.
   Meanwhile, help was on the way. Gunships that had been on station began raking the nearby hedgerows. A Shadow ship and a Stinger began working out. A Reinforced Platoon from A Co, 3d Bn, 503d Inf was inserted. Linking up with the "free" team, the Reaction Force fought their way through the enemy to the beleaguered band. As soon as they reached the frag-throwing Paratroopers, the enemy, or rather what was left of the enemy, duffed. The wounded men were extracted, and the Reaction Force swept the area that night. They found two bodies and one wounded VC/NVA. At first light, they swept the area again finding 10 more dead enemy, along with "beaucoup" blood trails and drag marks.
   If Charlie wants the Soui Ca, he'll have to do better than that. A lot better.

Sunshine Superman Lights up the Night

   LZ UPLIFT- Night is very dark on the Binh Dinh Plains when there is no moon out. Behind sandbags and thick timbers, young American Paratroopers prepare for another night of bunker guard. Harsh shadows stretch their crinkled forms out over the claymores and concertina, to lose themselves in the gloom beyond. The long night begins.
   On top of Duster Hill, in the hours previous to darkness, three 'Redlegs' began once again their nightly equipment check. The trio of Artillerymen eyeballed dials and scoped out guages, as they prepared their weapon for the coming night.
   In a drafty bunker tower a new trooper spends the first night of many long nights on guard. His thoughts turn toward home and a young wife. A slight scuffling in the wire turns him immediately alert. Something scurries into the shadows- only a rat. The Paratrooper's stomach muscles relax a little bit as he eases the M16 selector switch back to safe. Then a slight movement catches the corner of his eye, but just barely. Did he see it or didn't he? Hesitation, then a quick decision. He reaches for the bunker's field phone.
   'Net control, go'.... "This is Bunker Nine, hey, I think I have movement out there."
"Do you want illumination?" A radio hand set goes into action. The air in the distant orderly room tingles with sudden tension. The young Paratrooper's palms are getting moist, his phone feels slippery in his hand. 'Yeah.' "Where is the movement?" The radio crackles under the harsh light of the orderly room. "About 200 meters up the highway on the left, I think."
   "Roger, wait, out." The message goes up over the radio waves and a game of Rummy is terminated in mid-hand. Setting down his cards, a young soldier picks up his hand set. "This is Sunshine Superman. Send, over." Pfc Clarence Bishop of Newport News Va, responds to the call. Roger, I have that grid plotted; mission coming up, Out." The young artilleryman feels a breeze blow across his skin as he steps out of his hootch atop Duster Hill. The roar of the generator fills the night air. He flips a toggle switch on the "weapon" and 1.2 billion candle power rips away the velvet blackness of the protecting night. The rattling cough of M16 fire erupts from Bunker Nine.
   "I think I got him." The young Paratrooper puts his rifle back on safe. "This is Sunshine Superman, I roger end of mission. Out." The switch is flicked off and the generator noises die away. Bishop returns to his game of Rummy. The "weapon" cools in the evening wind. Lights twinkle aboard hundreds of tiny fishing boats bobbing in the South China Sea, twelve clicks away. Bishop thinks of home and the lights he used to see across the bay. Sp5 Leroy Brazfild checks out the huge searchlight. A native of Los Cannes New Mexico, Brazfild has been in charge of the light for three months. Inside the hootch mustachioed Sp4 Craig Huffman of Denver Co, sleeps on, undisturbed. With six months in country, he dreams of an early out to attend college. His goal, a teaching degree. On the wall over his head hangs a flag of black, yellow and red, an award for being a good unit.
   Painted across a breastwork of old "Duster" round shipping cases is the red lettered sign; "We light 'em, You fight 'em". With a range of 34 clicks, this big searchlight can definitely "light 'em". The big light sits upon a two-wheeled trailer, a black power cable snaking back up the hill to the big generator trailer. A sign on the light's side warns not to expose skin or eyes to the unshielded beam "Or damage will result-" A sniper, aiming his rifle at the beam of light, would have his eyeballs fried before he could pull the trigger.
   As Brazfild covers the big light with its tarp, he explains that he and his crew pull four-hour shifts every night. He points out a card with a list of coordinates on it and shows how his crew can dial areas to be illuminated by setting the azimuth and elevation wheels mounted on the light. In the quiet hours of the morning a young Paratrooper wakes his buddy, passes the watch and spreads his poncho liner over the newly vacated cot. He's asleep before his head touches the canvas. By the light of a dim lamp, Huffman gets up, rubbing his eyes, and walks over to the radio. He begins his guard with a commo check.
   On the South China Sea, two fishermen, one very young and one very old, drag in the last heavy net of a good night's haul. The lantern dances and bob from the small boat's bow. Laying on his cot, Bishop dreams of the lights of home as the sun rises on another day in Vietnam.

Mysterious Firebase Monster
Tears Up VC and NVA

   LZ FLOYD- There is a new day dawning over the 506 Valley. With the new day a new creature is astir in this former North Vietnamese Army sanctuary. A lair has been prepared high above the valley floor. Careful planning and preparation paved the way for the creature which is called the 'Eyes of the Forest'. Its talons, fangs and claws rest on a cleared hilltop, behind concertina and claymores.
   Echo Company, 3d Bn, 503d Inf, mans MiniBase Floyd. The men on that desolate hilltop are running an entirely new concept in Fire Support bases. Unlike such Firebases as the 101st Division's ill-fated firebase Ripcord, Floyd supports no one. It's mission is the direct interdiction of 506 Valley. Supported by big guns from nearby bases such as FSB Salem and FSB Peggy, Floyd is a heavily armed and fortified Observation Post. The difference is that Floyd is designed to observe and engage the enemy as well as direct in artillery fire. And Floyd is the home of the 'Eyes of the Forest', the hunting creature who stalks in the gloom of the night, preying upon the warm bodies of NVA soldiers.
   Hidden in caves and tunnels deep in the Suoi Cai - 506 Valley complex, the North Vietnamese Army feel their wounded bodies stiffen in the pounding heat of noon day. They have met the 'Eyes of the Forest' and their blood runs cold at the thought of returning to the "506 Valley of Death."
   The hard red clay road soaks up the grim red moisture left from the night of 29 August. The blood drys thickly where about 40 hardened veterans of he North Vietnamese Army entered that valley. For at least seven, the war came to an abrupt and permanent end that night. Feeling secure under their protecting cloak of darkness and gloom, the enemy marched straight up the main highway to destruction.
   Being experienced veterans, they ignored the first mortar rounds that fell with uncanny accuracy amid their ranks. 'Harrassing fire' they might have thought. 'Just lucky hits'. Bent underneath heavy rucks, they kept their formation as they moved briskly along the hard clay road. Even after a curtain of 50 caliber rounds dropped over the road, blocking their forward movement they retained their discipline. Turnings away from the rain of death, they moved back into the inferno of exploding mortar rounds, now heavily spiced with lethal 105 'Fire Cracker' rounds from supporting firebases. The 105 rounds burst with such devastating accuracy that the battle-hardened discipline of the veterans finally broke and panic set in. When the Red soldiers took cover, mortar rounds shrieked in to find them as though guided by some unseen hand. When the battered survivors tried to flee, the air would suddenly come alive with howling bits of hot sharpnel. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Broken and demoralized, individuals threw away weapons rucks, precious mortar rounds and rice supplies to run in stark terror from the valley of death and the slaughtering 'thing' that is the 'Eyes of the Forest'.
   The sun rose on the morning of 30 August to reveal the shattered and torn remains of six reds who had not been dragged off in the night. One lay on the blood-stained road, his hand plugged firmly in his ear against the roaring death all around him. Standing as a mute sentinel over his body was the tail fin of an 8lmm mortar, embedded in the ground on impact, not more than four feet from his head. A sweep of the valley revealed six dead and one NVA so badly wounded that his comrades had abandoned him to the stalking death that haunts 506 Valley. The wounded prisoner of war was extracted to Qui Nhon for treatment.
   A large Psyops loudspeaker, the 'voice' of the thing that lurks in the 'Valley of Death', even gives the enemy warning of impending strikes. Warning that does little good against a creature who sees all and invariably strikes sure. The voice tells the enemy soldier where he is and then suggests that if he lives through the following barrage that it would be conducive to his continued good health if he Chieu Hoi'd ASAP.
   The men of Echo company are kept employed nightly by the 'Eyes of the Forest' particularly just before dawn. The general attitude seems to be that the monster is alright, "we have Charlie in our eye, and he just can't escape." One Paratrooper was heard to say that the 29th was "The best night I ever had." It's doubtful that the NVA share his same high opinion of that evening. It was a night for the hunting beast of 506 Valley. Every night is the night for the creature that is the 'Eyes of the Forest'. He waits in the shadows along that dark and bloody Valley 506.

   LZ UPLIFT- As she watched her son return home, a Vietnamese mother in Phu My District wept tears of joy. Her nine year old son, escorted by American soldiers, ran to her, crying. His family and many of his neighbors welcomed young Nguyen Ba home. His whole future had been changed by a minor operation performed by an American doctor.
   Nguyen Ba had lived all his life suffering from a cleft palate that had distorted his face and created social problems of acceptance among his peers. Nine months ago he was noticed by an American Sergeant working with a stag team in the area. Sgt James Richard later went to work in the 3d Bn, 503d Inf, Civil Affairs section. He remembered young Ba and began to ask different people what could be done for him.
   After a long series of blind alleys, Richard found a place where the boy's problems could be solved, the 67th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon. After making arrangements with the hospital, the Church Point La, native spoke to Nguyen's parents about the operation. He explained what he could about how it would be performed and that the boy would not be hurt. They gingerly agreed, not quite convinced, but willing to try to help their son.
   In mid-July, Nguyen Ba got on an American helicopter that flew him to Qui Nhon. There as he observed everything through amazed eyes, he was given a clean bed in one of the wards and prepared for surgery. Although afraid, the young Vietnamese boy managed to remain calm. At times, he seemed awed by the whole experience. The operation was successfully performed and Nguyen quietly spent a week in the hospital while doctors made frequent checks to make sure his palate healed properly.
   Then came the big day. On the morning of August 2, the nine-year-old was picked by Sgt Richard and returned to his home. As he jumped from the helicopter, he seemed a little uncertain. Then he ran to the arms of his mother. She looked closely at his face and smiled. Just how much his future has been changed is not known. But how much it may have been changed, was expressed by his sister, who looked again at his smiling face and said, "We are vety grateful to the Sky Soldiers. Anything is possible, my brother is no longer different and even someday will get married."

   Along with the well-known function of Co B (Med), 173d Spt Bn (ABN), 173d Abn Bde at LZ English, the Company also operates a small, little known dispensary for the Vietnamese civilians near An Duoc. This dispensary is honchoed by Cpt James Whitaker, MC. The enlisted boss is Sp5 Joe Mitchell and it is staffed by the members of B Med's Ambulance Platoon on a rotation basis.
   Unlike the usual Medcap, it operates seven days a week, and Vietnamese do the bulk of the care and treatment, with the men from B Med teaching and supervising each man from B Med is accompanied by a student who is his counterpart. This dispensary uses the laboratory and X-Ray facilities at B Med for aids in diagnosis. They have an ambulance to transport patients needing hospitalization and surgery to Bong Son Hospital. The small dispensary assists the Bong Son Hospital with followup care of discharged patients. The difficult job of obtaining patient histories, made even more difficult by the language barrier, is overcome with the aide of three Kit Carson Scouts and three ARVN interpreters who work at the dispensary.
   Included in the medical service rendered is a weekly dental team. They visit every Sunday to provide a very needed service. This team headed by Captain Allen Thomsen, performs emergency pain-relieving care. Working without sophisticated equipment, the team is able to provide a vital service to Vietnamese patients.
   The dispensary treats in excess of 2,000 patients each month for problems that range from minor scratches to tuberculosis and cancer. Medical problems and the need for trained personnel are endless. B Med is trying to overcome part of that need here in Vietnam in its efforts to further the Vietnamization goals of the 173d Abn Bde and the goverment of South Vietnam.

   NORTH ENGLISH- Night-positioned on a hill now jokingly dubbed Pork Chop Hill, startled Paratroopers inadvertantly blasted away enough ham to feed the otherwise almost vegetarian village nearby.
   The weary Sky Soldiers from 4th Bn, 503d Inf, patiently waited, like so many other nights, to try and block North Vietnamese tax agents from collecting much needed food. About 9 PM on the pitch black night, the Sky Soldiers heard a strange clomping and thudding of the ground down the trail. Suddenly, a thunderous "Kaboom" pierced the hushed night as deadly claymore mines exploded and the bacon flew.
   Quickly, the Americans moved out and within precious seconds located their surprise further down the thick doubled-canopied hill located near the southerly boundary of the 1st Military Region.
   The following morning, the puzzled 4th Bn Geronimos looked in amazement as delighted villagers ate free pork. Cpt Harry Klein, Commanding Officer of Co D, from Kalamazoo Mi, smiled at the thought of the unusual night and radioed to headquarters saying, "My men were quite disappointed about surprising only wild boars. The villagers were delighted not only to eat the pork but to eat in peace. We're here, and none of it will be taken from them by the tax collecting, food-greedy Hanoi hogs."

3 NVA Find A Dead End

   LZ UPLIFT, RVN - Some days a guy just can't win. The truth of this statement was learned recently by four NVA soldiers. Only one of them is still alive to pass on his newly acquired wisdom. The others learned a hard lesson and paid for it with their lives.
   While on a night mission to a local village, the four NVA were ambushed by a Squad from Co B, 3d Bn, 503d Inf. As claymore mines exploded and M-16 rounds pierced the air, the lead soldier fell dead. His body was found by Sky Soldiers, along with his AK-47 and rucksack. Meanwhile, the three remaining NVA fled the area. They had just regrouped and slowed to a walk when they walked into another ambush, his time by the B Co CP. Engaged at only 35 meters, they never had a chance. Two NVA bodies were found along with another AK-47 and 3 Chicom hand grenades. The remaining North Vietnamese national fled leaving behind a blood trail to show that he'd earned a Purple Heart. Some nights some guys just can't win.

   LZ NORTH ENGLISH (RVN)- A Kit Carson Scout who was killed pursuing the VC across a rice paddy was buried by his American friends. The Kit Carson, Do Ba vu, was an ex-NVA. He finally rebelled against the lies, false promises, and hopeless causes of the North Vietnamese and rallied to the Government of Vietnam. He was trained as a Scout to work with US units.
   Vu had been with B Co, 2d Bn, 503d Inf for just two months when he was killed. The young soldier hadn't been in the area long enough to have any Vietnamese friends. The fact that he was North Vietnamese kept US authorities from sending his body to any friends or relatives he might have had in the north. The GIs made their choice. He was one of their own, they would bury him as such.
   Arrangements were made for a proper grave sight. A Buddhist priest, since Vu was Buddhist, was to insure that everything was conducted properly, in accordance with that religion. After the traditional night of mourning and burning incense the coffin was loaded into a 3/4 ton truck, in lieu of a caisson, and the solemn procession started out. The column moved out of LZ North English and through the villages at almost a crawl. When the procession finally stopped, the coffin was carried by Kit Carson scouts and Gls across an open rice paddy. There, on a natural high place, the ceremony was held. About 200 people, both Vietnamese and American, listened as "Taps" were played and the volleys from the rifle salute echoed across the valley. The Americans had buried an "adopted" member of the 173d.

Showdown at the Old Schoolhouse

   School was dismissed early and a hard working civil servant got an early retirement, thanks to the quick wits and straight shooting of a Kit Carson Scout in Phu My District.
   Nguyen Van Dat, a former North Vietnamese soldier, was working with 2d Plt, Co C, 3d Bn 503d Inf, on August 12. During a joint ARVN-US operation near the village of Linh Ly, he spotted a man sitting in a trees scoping out the movements of the nearby Platoon. Leaving the hill that he was on, the young Scout chased the VC trail-watcher into what appeared to be a school. Van Dat stopped by the side window and took in the situation at a glance. He immediately realized that he had come across a Viet Cong indoctrination school with about 60 bright-eyed, little pupils having their hearts and minds "washed" by a second man.
   In an appearance resembling scenes from John Wayne westerns, the Kit Carson standing in the door, issued the VC an ultimatum to the effect of "Chieu Hoi or be ventilated." The teacher, who had been giving the class an unscheduled recess, was stunned but not the grenade-packing trail-watcher. Grabbing the unarmed teacher for a human shield, the VC reached for his grenades. Nguyen's attention had been diverted while he had been waving his hat to signal for his American buddies to come down to the school. Now he was faced with a real problem, should he shoot and kill the unarmed school teacher, as well as the desperate trail-watcher, or let the Red throw the frag which would kill him and dozens of children in the hut? Yelling for the thoroughly frightened teacher to hit the deck, the Kit Carson put a neat three round shot group into the would-be frag thrower.
   At this point, the "student body" dashed in a dozen different directions, leaving the straight shooting Van Dat with one Viet Cong school teacher minus his class, three assorted fragmentation grenades, and one each, unserviceable Viet Cong hamlet chief.
   The Scout's quick action and outstanding shooting saved not only his own life but also the lives of all the children who would have been killed by the grenade fragments. Not content to let the matter rest there, the Scout gave his completely terrified prisoner the Vietnamese version of the old James Cagney routine, "Now talk, you sorry YoYo, if you know what is good for you!" The would-be educator 'spilled the beans'. He told of a tunnel containing a carbine, and identified the dead trail-watcher as the local VC hamlet chief. Now that he was in a talkative mood, Nguyen presuaded him to put the finger on two more tunnels, one of which had just been vacated by three Viet Cong cadremen.
   It was a very routine day for Dat, all things considered, if you happen to be the Oriental version of John Wayne. Nguyen Van Dat came down the Ho Chi Minh Trail from his home in Haiphong in July of 1967. Discontented, Nguyen rallied to GVN in January of 1969, near Pleiku. On May 1 of this year, the tough little Scout joined the 173d Abn Bde as a Kit Carson. Serving and fighting beside his Paratrooper buddies, Nguyen Van Dat has found a home among the Sky Soldiers of the 173d.

   LZ ENGLISH (RVN)- The road through VC Valley has been completed. Highway 173 as the new road is called, winds from Bong Son up VC Valley, over the Northern ridges of the Tigers and down to Lo Dieu Beach. The road is the main stem of a five road highway system that leads up into the farthest reaches of VC Valley. The new lines of communication and transportation have opened up an area that has been isolated since history began. With the new exchange of information the valley is starting to catch up with the rest of the country.
   The road was built by the 173d Engineers. It has been a long, hard job. The work crews have been ambushed, sniped at and mined by the local VC. The more the road opened, the more desperate the VC became. They knew that the road would weaken their hold on the population. The VC sniped, but the Engineers kept up the work.
   Sp4 Bill Miller of Madison West Va. and Sp5 Widell Ridenour of Keswick, Iowa had the important job of cutting the mountain pass. Using D-7 bulldozers the two carved the road up the mountain and down into the valley. It took two-and-a-half months to cut the pass. During this time everything that could happen to a "Cat Operator" did. The VC ambushed them, the VC planted mines, the VC sniped at them, the road bank collapsed, and the 'dozer' slid off a steep cliff. Still the Engineers finished.
   "I'm damn proud of that road. It took a lot of trouble and casualties to build, but it's worth every bit of it. Already you can see the changes in the people. I think we've done a good job," said Miller.
   The Officer in charge of the project, 1st Lt Jerry Ricker of Stanford Maine, admits they had problems with the villagers. The Vietnamese wanted the road to wind around all the rice paddies, gardens, and anything else they liked. The people couldn't seem to understand that the road wouldn't last one monsoon if they did that. Sometimes the Vietnamese would even lay down in front of the dozer. That's when MACV was called to come out and straighten out the mess. It took a while, but the valley's inhabitants finally agreed with the policy of running the road straight. Now the project is almost completed and VC Valley has been opened to the world.

Subj: FIRE BASE 173 Vol.III, No.20 September 14,1970
Date: 12/30/01
From: garybowland@hotmail.com (GARY BOWLAND)
 

My name is Gary 'Bones' Bowland, I was squad leader of 1st squad 2nd platoon 173rd Engineer Company. In regards to the article 'Herd Road Builders Carve Highway 173'. My squad did all the mine sweeps going into VC Valley from the first time until we were finally relieved. We lost 21 men in 20 days during June until July 2 1970. My assistant squad leader says we lost 28 men total in VC Valley. I must say we suffered more casualties than any other Company let alone squad size. My squad did the mine sweep every day and then set up security for the construction platoon. We stayed on a hill in the middle of the valley, the construction platoon went back to English at night and did'nt come back until we swept and opened the road. We did not get any grunts for security until about the last week in June. My sweep team (5 men) was ambushed the first time about the first week in June with 1 KIA and 3 WIA, I did not get hit that time. We had a platoon of ARVN's for security. they hid behind a rice patty dike. We were ambushed at least one other time with 7 wia, I was one that time. The rest of the casualties were mines and booby traps. I have pictures of the fire fight of the last ambush. Lt Ricker was just new in country at the time, I think he had been there a week or two.
I was also with 2nd bat when we secured the perimeter at An Khe when the 4th Division left country, ref: Vol.IV, No.1, Jan 4 1971. Bad time that was, this article really brought back a lot of memories. Thank you for the job you have done with this web site. Gary E. Bowland

Windy and Cav Rescue Huey

   LZ ENGLISH (RVN)- A Huey Slick, flown by WO1 Mike Thomas of Spur Tx, had engine failure on a routine combat mission south of Bong Son. The helicopter from the 134th Avn Company, was forced to send a 'MAYDAY'. The power-off landing was made in an open rice paddy. The Chopper had been supporting the 41st ARVN Reg, Republic of Korea troops, and the 4th Inf Div, before the forced landing curtailed its missions.
   1st Lt Alan Mott of Wheaton Il, said, "I felt several thumps. There were sounds like we'd been hit. Then the engine quit. The Crew Chief was yelling that we'd been hit. From then till we hit the ground we were pretty busy just getting to the ground in one piece."
   The MayDay was picked up within seconds by Gunships flying a protective 'cap'. A little later elements from A Co, 2d Bn, 503d Inf, 173d Airborne Brigade were inserted to secure the area. Then E Troop, 17th Cav arrived on the scene with the firepower and mobility that an Armored Cavalry unit possesses. Things were pretty quiet. Normal preparations to remove the Huey were taking place when several VC with a B40 rocket and launcher were spotted by the tracked vehicles.
   Staff Sgt John Marlow of Harriman Tenn, was Commanding the force of Armored Vehicles. He couldn't fire the VC up with his heavy weapons because of the multitude of curious villagers. The 173d's Reaction Force was forced to use small arms to chase the would-be attackers away.
   About this time 'Big Windy' arrived. Big Windy is the double rotored CH-34 Helicopter from the 180th Avn Company. The double rotored wind machine settled over the downed Huey, hooked up to the aleady rigged harness and effortlessly lifted the bird to safety. Their job done, the Reaction Force pulled out. As the last Armored Vehicle pulled out of the rice paddies and onto the road, the Track Commander, Sp4 Fred Every of Moab, Utah, looked back and said, "You know, that bird and my tank have a lot in common...neither one can fly worth a damn."