1968 - 815th Engr. HQ Company Pleiku and Kontum Vietnam
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- čas přidán 5. 12. 2020
- A slide show from old slides I found and digitized showing various people and scenes from my 1968 tour in Vietnam with the 815th Engineer Battalion, Headquarters Company. The photos were all shot in and around Pleiku and Kontum.
Lew H served with D CO 815th from May 68 to Aug 69 i lettered that White flat bed truck you see in the motor pool shot
they are all just kids... our sons and brothers...God have mercy on all those who are to blame for sending them there...I am so sorry..
B Company 815th Engineers
DEC 67 TO Dec 68
62E20
WAS IN kon Tum for a spell
there were some Green Berate
There
I was stationed at Pleiku AB in 1969 as an A1 Skyraider Crew Chief with the 6th SOS. Every time we got attacked , we could see Engineers Hill to our left get pounded first, then they worked their way attacking everybody else until it was our turn ., then they kept on going hitting Camp Holloway and then Camp Enari.
There was a reason for the enemy using that pattern of attack in that area. Because nothing was ever as seemed in that psycho war and 'intentionally' so. It wasn't because they wanted to damage construction equipment to prevent road building which was the likely common excuse in case the rare inquiring mind got curious. Hell they could get much better use out of their rockets and mortars hitting your airbase first to not only potentially get an an expensive and not easy to replace aircraft, but also to keep them from taking off to counter-attack. Your Pleiku airbase was hit with a serious ground sapper attack in 66 or 67 I believe that did significant damage to the aircraft but which didn't do much to stop the saturation of VC general enemy activity in the AO. What they were after was a very bad-ass rapid response counter mortar team and 'extreme' night ambush and recon platoon hidden off to Easterly edge of the basecamp so as to not create an obvious notice of a specialty infantry unit within the boundaries of the 'Hill'.
Of course, we now know--which we didn't back then-- was that groups like these belonged to an in-country command center authority called MACV SOG. And they engaged in all classified (translation illegal and very unconventional) warfare in Nam. And the SOG operations were strictly under the sole proprietorship of the CIA, No matter how much anti-truth agenda based history books deny it. A lot of it is coming out now, however, from still living Combat Vets who were there and have proof of what they really were doing.
The Engineer Hill 'Security Detachment' as it was later referred to when 'they' could no longer keep it a secret with all the fighting they became engaged in was always hit first toward the end of Tet in that AO. This was because always had an advanced tower and fire mission system with team members staying awake 24/7 in shifts who were conditioned to listen carefully and observe tube flashes enemy mortars and rockets trails as they were fired, and could alert the rest of the teams who unlike most of the other soldiers who took cover in bunkers, we would break loose like firefighters on a 9 alarm blaze, jump out to the Mortar pits and start unleashing pre-cut 4.2 inch mortar rounds by the dozens per minute from three 4 duece tubes and three 81s literally hitting back dangerously close or right on top of their position ending the attack usually within a minute or two with just the first barrage. Then we's traverse and spread the explosions into a tornado of HE and WP and some airbursts that not much could withstand. All our guns firing at once could devastate more than a couple hundred square meters in about a minute. Yes, we were that good! And we had balls bigger than brains. Standing out there under heavy incoming fire, in the open gunpits only a few feet from thousands of pounds of HE mortar rounds and exposed like scarecrows in a cornfield (they sometimes got in close to the perimeter with RPK fire on us). Our perimeter towers took them out fast. The next day's damage patrol often located unfired enemy rounds and blood trails and sometimes 'parts' from a near-direct hit. Our fire and interdiction system and teamwork were so effective that they hit us first hoping to cause us to at least hide in our bunkers instead of instantly fighting back from open mortar pits at amazing reaction time teamwork. We got it down to where even if half of our 3 five man crews was hit it would not affect the operation of all guns. Even down to just one soldier handling the complete fire mission per gun, of course a bit slower in 'rate' of fire. So it was a lose-losing situation for an NVA indirect fire team.
Hitting us first with the hope that it would suppress our response enough for them to have enough time to then continue to try to inflict damage to other targets like Arty Hill (which couldn't return fire fast and CLOSE enough to defend against high-angle indirect fire behind a knoll or through triple canopy cover), and your airbase and non-compliant villages. made them learn the hard way never to underestimate the determination and skills of the young American fighting soldier. So Your airbase was spared more often could believe. In 69 with China getting more involved we augmented our team with Laotian Mercs and did night ambushes almost every night trying to interdict and intercept enemy gun teams before they could even fire at all by covering retreat trails they usually took. and as we got our mapsThere's a lot more to the deep hidden operations that went on in that AO during my three tours before ETS straight out from Ft Lewis Washington. They tried to bribe me to re-up with a cash bonus and automatic rank increase from e7 to e8 and a plush stateside training duty. Not really bad for a 21year old. I declined. I didn't even realize how whacked my subconscious and soul was. But I knew I wasn't going back there. I was just so sick and tired of War
Robert, My Uncle is in a few of these pics. Would love to connect you guys. I live in Schaumburg, IL
October 5th 1967 to October 1968 Charlie Company 815th. On Engineer Hill . Was in Earth moving platoon and also drove 5 ton tractor an trailer. My name is Richard Hudson from N W. Pa. Would like to hear from anyone who remembers me. Norm Olsen was a good friend from Spokane WA. Hope you are all well in our later years.
i hope someone reached out to you
Nope not yet. At least I have a response from you. Thanks 😊
A friend of mine (Dick Vauter) served with the 815th (don't know which company) from 66-68. He just passed away last Sat.
@choprjock sorry for the loss of your friend. He had to be in a different company as I was there Oct. 67 to Oct. 68 and don't remember ever running into him. Thanks for the response and have a good day!
My grandfather served alongside the Americans unfortunately he and along with many other jarai fighters got left behind
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