The next month, January, began the 1968 Tet Offensive.
I remember being in an Oscar tower (observation tower) with a "short-timer." (A short-timer had less than 30 days to go before he returned to "the world" -- the U.S. of A.) From our position, we could see into the valley to the south and west of us. The tower was equipped with a huge Starlight scope, allowing us to see the slightest light or flash, even from a cigarette lighter, many miles in the distance.
Just before the Tet Offensive began, the Vietnamese were ringing the new year (Tet); we could see in the distance tracer rounds being fired into the air; red and green flares filling the sky in a continuing celebration.
But then, something changed...
As we were observing the festivities, the direction of those tracer rounds went from vertical to horizontal -- into each other. This grabbed our attention. My short-timer brother called in the unusual events into our combat control center. From this point on, things went downhill, and quickly.
Reports started to filter in that some of our air bases, fire bases and villages were under attack on a massive scale; we were next.
Of all the posts that we were assigned to on the perimeter, only certain ones allowed us to have the big M-60 machine gun, but I had been granted permission from our flight commander to carry the M-60 with me no matter what post I pulled. I was grateful for that. I didn't mind lugging around the extra ammo, usually about four cans. We're talking another 30 + pounds, not including the 24-pound machine gun. It was a chore just getting all my weapons and other gear up the latter, through the trap door, and into the tower cubicle. The walls of the tower were about three feet thick, filled with sand to absorb any rounds or "small" rockets fired at us from the bad guys.
As the night progressed, things got a little dicey...
I had set up the M-60 with two, one-hundred round belts attached ready to send the VC (Viet Cong) to their Maker, if the need arose.
At this point, my short-timer brother turned to me and said: DeLalla, I sure am glad you brought that "60" up here tonight. Me too, I replied.
I expect to go home in 27 days, he said... I told him that I intended to follow in eleven months...
In short order, we could see the tracers from the bad guys overwhelming the Vietnamese soldiers on the battlefield. Additional fire-power was called in, in the form of 105 Howitzer canon rounds from the ROK (South Korean) fire-base way out in the valley, to help turn the tide of this first big engagement.
If I remember correctly, I said some prayers, and zipped-up my flack jacket, locked and loaded my weapons, and waited to see if the enemy forces would make it all the way to our perimeter.
The ROKs were good at their job... As we watched the activity continually unfold in front of us, the 105 rounds got closer and closer; walking in two and three with each volley. At first, the explosions were way out to our southwest. We could see the dirt, trees, and grasses being blown to smithereens.
The volleys continued their inexorable march to the air base; shock waves now hit the tower -- and us!
The idea here was to trap and annihilate the VC as they made haste toward the perimeter. The blasts tore up the landscape, and the north-south highway in front of us, along with anyone caught in the mayhem.
To find out what happened next, you can order my story from Amazon. Title: The Battle For Oscar Six.
Gene DeLalla
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