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Date Posted: Wed, January 19 2005, 10:50:04
Author: Larry Lusk
Author Host/IP: 66.214.61.174
Subject: Re: Arty and Accuracy
In reply to: Harry Larsen 's message, "Re: Arty and Accuracy" on Tue, January 18 2005, 19:52:57

Hi Harry,

I guess my distrust of some of the people in the rear areas sometimes sounds like an indictment of everyone that wasn’t an infantryman. I don’t mean it to be and I saw nothing while I was in Vietnam that made me feel anything but admiration for the Marines fighting there. Even the term “rear area” gives the wrong impression; “better protected” would be more descriptive. I have nightmares about that hilltop and someday, soon I hope, I’ll write a story about it. It’s enough now to say that a hill top fortification meant to be defended by sixty or more men was not a fun place to be when you had only twenty-one men and the fog closed in at night.

Without a question the artillerymen I saw were a brave and well oiled machine. On Tiger Fire Base in Ashau Valley we were protecting a battery of 105’s. We called them by their old nickname “red legs” and we said it with respect. When the NVA fired 122mm rockets at us from across the valley we stayed in our holes during the lulls between barrages. The “red legs” though ran out of their bunker and started firing their guns until they heard the first booms of a new barrage of rockets. One time I heard a 105 still firing after the first rockets had hit the fire base. The only difference between those men and the infantry protecting them was the MOS. They shared all the hardship and at times placed themselves in the path of more danger than we did. They rank second only to the Combat Medics in my book.

But when it comes to the 1st Cav. base camp I stand by what I have said. Not knowing how it was elsewhere makes it too easy for me to generalize my feelings. For that I apologize. Most of the time we got accurate and timely supporting fire from Camp Evans (when I knew it was coming from Evans). The gunship crews saved our behinds many times though a few times they cut it a little to close. That’s just a hazard of calling in close fire support. Our own companies mortar crew dropped a few short rounds on us for which they apologized in person (we rarely saw our weapons platoon because we operated in platoon strength most of the time). Having alcohol in a place like Nam was an avoidable accident waiting to happen and I will never question anyone who said that those “accidents” didn’t happen. My own story, while not in Vietnam, shows that when you wear the uniform you are never off duty and the price paid for being willingly impaired can be high.

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