Hard to believe...
Fifty-seven years ago, my boots first touched the tarmac at the Cam Ranh Bay air base, Vietnam. It was a quick stop-over on my way to Tuy Hoa -- up the coast in the northern Two Corps theater of operations...
After a brief check-in, I -- and other Air Force cops -- boarded a C-130 troop transport, and after the short hop, landed at Tuy Hoa air base about 10:30 pm...
The smells of jet, diesel and as well as other fuels/solvents attacked my senses... The sounds of props and jet fighter engines was close to deafening...
This was the flightline -- part of the territory that I would be charged with protecting.
But what really caught my attention was the barrage of tracer rounds being fired from .50 caliber heavy machine guns from the Army base about three miles to the south, also housing a detachment of the 173rd Airborne.
I watched those tracers bounce off the boulders of the foothills to the west; they called it harassment fire -- to disrupt the infiltration and supply lines of the VC guerrillas (and later, the North Vietnamese Army -- NVA).
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks that I was on the ground, in Vietnam, right smack in the middle of the war, and part of the huge troop buildup of about 500,000 G.I.s, culminating right around the time of the 1968 Tet Offensive...
After some additional weapons training/familiarization, I was assigned to "Tiger Flight" -- the overnight shift that protected the perimeter of the base from any enemy attempt to penetrate the air base and destroy personnel and aircraft, especially those jet fighters that supported our troops locked in battle with the commies.
After acclimation to my surroundings including my new brother cops, a routine of sorts set in...
But in war, that routine could turn into deadly chaos in seconds, and that's exactly what happened in January 1968 -- the infamous -- Tet Offensive!
A coordinated attack by the VC and eventual NVA forces throughout the South, hitting many American and allied bases in all four Corps theaters of operation...
In fact, I was assigned to the main observation tower, Oscar Six, overlooking the valley to the southwest, permanently manned by a "short timer" (that meant that he had less than 30 days to go in-country), we'll call him Gregg, we settled in for the night to observe and report any VC or NVA troop movement within our area of responsibility.
The tower also housed an 18-inch starlight scope enabling us to see the faintest of lights miles away, such as someone lighting up a cigarette!
Prior to this assignment, I had asked the Flight Commander, Master Sergeant Williams, if I could check out an M-60 machine gun regardless of the post I pulled... He gave his permission, stating that if I didn't mind carrying the extra weight of the "pig" and the ammo, he had no problem with my request.
As an aside, the "pig" weighed in at about 24 pounds, not including four cans of 7.62 NATO ammo (800 rounds). I figure the total weight was about 40+ lbs., not including my own standard gear, but for the increased firepower, I didn't mind one little bit, and as it turned out, Gregg was glad I hauled the "pig" up the ladder that night!
In the lead up to the Offensive, we were watching the New Year celebration in the distance, with red and green flares, tracer rounds being fired in the air, along with the sounds of explosions of fireworks and such...
But that all changed in the blink of an eye...
As the clock struck midnight, January 31, those forces firing the tracer rounds went from up into the air to -- at each other, and "contact" flares indicated the beginning of battles that would last for over a month!
At the Marine base at Khe Sanh, that bloody battle lasted for 77 days! In fact, our jet fighters from Tuy Hoa helped those Marines survive to live another day -- and fight other battles of the protracted Vietnam War...
So, just over a month-and-a-half after arriving in-country, I was thrust into the horrors of the Tet Offensive, but the good news is that my tower buddy, Gregg, did make it back to the U.S. of A. -- we called it "the world."
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One of the good things that I was involved in was the serving of Mass with a buddy from California, helping our Irish priest, Fr. Mohan, setting up for the Mass, serving, then breaking down the altar for the Prots for their service, as we only had one chapel for all religious services...
******
Think about this for a second...
Imagine getting on a jet airliner at Manchester, New Hampshire airport, lifting off, then after a couple of long minutes, the pilot announces something like this: "Ladies and gentlemen, breathe easy, we are now out of anti-aircraft missile range!"
Well, that's exactly what the pilot announced to us after our jet departed from the Cam Ranh Bay airfield on December 16, 1968 -- after those couple of very long minutes!
Our chartered commercial jet was packed with G.I.s from every branch of the service... It was dead quiet -- until! -- the pilot announced that we were, in fact, out of anti-aircraft missile range! At that point, the place went wild with joy and thanksgiving!
Eventually, I made it back to "the world," landing at McChord air base in Seattle, WA. When the door of the plane opened, I stepped out into 34-degree temperatures, shivering and shaking as if I had malaria!
Regardless, I got down and kissed the ice-cold ground!
That's when many new challenges began for me -- and many other Vietnam Vets...
I was not the same man as I was when I left for Vietnam. I'm not alone in this, as many vets from that war are still suffering with physical, spiritual and moral issues that continue to plague those brave men -- and women nurses -- some losing their lives caring for their wounded brothers...
(If anyone receives the prayer lists, you know that I have many ailments from my time in Vietnam, especially from the dreaded Agent Orange, and again, I'm not alone in suffering these debilitating ailments/diseases.)
Bottom line, all wars are a chastisement from God for grievous sins committed, and the rejection of Christ as King of our individual souls -- and nations!
We must always pray for peace -- without appeasement or compromise! -- non-stop!
I ask anyone reading this missive to pray for an end of all wars and for those combatants -- and non-combatants -- who suffer the most in those conflagrations -- and for their families!
******
I'm not documenting everything that I did and experienced while in Vietnam in this short article, but much of that is chronicled in several of my stories that I had published over a decade ago.
(The Battle For Oscar Six, is still available on Amazon, from the St. Benedict Center bookstore, or from Loreto Publications.)
Pray for strength and honor!
Viva Cristo Rey! Bl. Fr. Miguel Pro, Fr. Emil Kapaun and Fr. Vincent Capodanno, pray for us...
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...
St. Joseph pray for us!!
Gene DeLalla
