The Bonding of Warriors
A Unit History
The Early Years (1966-1967)
Ch 3
by Winslow "Rick" Stetson
It was obvious to anyone passing by Fort Riley, Kansas in December 1966 that the 9th Infantry Division was on the move. Miles of freight trains with flat cars loaded down with tanks, artillery howitzers, dump trucks, and all the other wheeled and tracked equipment of an infantry division plus a seeming endless stream of CONEX containers (large metal shipping boxes) holding everything from tents to weapons. As the men of the long range patrol detachment prepared to head home on Christmas leave, the December 19, 1966 edition of the Chicago Daily News carried a photo showing soldiers wading ashore behind the American flag and division colors. The caption read, "MG George Eckhart, commander of the US 9th Infantry Division, leads a vanguard of troops ashore at Vung Tau, South Vietnam. The division, called "the Old Reliables," raises the number of fighting men in South Vietnam to 372,000."
While most of the division was transported by ship across the Pacific Ocean, the long range patrol divided into two groups to make the trip by air. Captain Tedrick flew ahead with the advance party leaving Stetson and Garrison in charge. Stetson's group departed early one cold January morning on an Air Force C-141 for the 30-hour flight to South Vietnam. Garrison took the remaining members of the unit the following evening aboard a C-130, a prop-driven aircraft that had been outfitted for medical transport. Litters that had carried wounded soldiers back to the States offered the men a place to sleep during the long trip. The men were fed seven breakfasts as the plane hopped from Kansas to San Diego, Hawaii, Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippine Islands and on to Bien Hoa Airbase in Vietnam.
The C-141, a four-engine windowless jet with canvas seats that faced backwards, flew a more northern route to Southeast Asia. The men were allowed to stretch their legs as the plane refueled in Alaska and then again in Japan. The C-141's cabin door had one small porthole-sized window that the men took turns peering out as they passed by the snow-capped peak of Mount Fujiyama. When the plane began its descent over Vietnam, the men again took turns looking out the small window to get the first look at the country where they would spend the next year. Down below, they saw lush, green vegetation along with rice paddies crisscrossed by small dikes. The patrol members knew that in a very short period of time they would be covering that terrain on foot.
The first sensation upon stepping out of the aircraft was a stifling blast of heat that caused everyone to begin sweating immediately. After some in-process briefings, the conversion of American dollars into military payment certificates (MPCs) and the issuing of their weapons, ammo, helmets, flack vests and web gear, the men were loaded into the back of a couple of two and a half ton trucks for the ride from Tan Son Nhut Airport to Bearcat, the 9th Infantry Division's base camp. The road to Bearcat was narrow and filled with numerous Lambretta scooters that would sputter about carrying either two Americans or five Vietnamese. They rode through small villages and past scores of children playing by the roadside. The patrol members stood alert in the backs of the trucks with their fingers on the triggers of their weapons which probably amused the drivers who had been in country for awhile. They did notice a jet dropping bombs on a distant target but the ride to Bearcat was made without incident.
When the patrol members arrived at Bearcat, they found the base camp to be a flurry of activity. Buildings were being constructed in every part of the sprawling base that was covered by a cloud of red dust. Occasionally, oil would be sprayed on the dirt roads to reduce the dust but driving on a fresh coat of oil was like driving on a sheet of ice. The nose was assaulted by various odors: from the oil on the roads to the JP-4 fuel of the helicopters. The worst smell of all was from the billowing clouds of foul-smelling dark smoke coming from behind the latrines where soldiers on a true 'shit detail' were burning the contents.
The noise level during the day was constant. The hammering and sawing of construction crews, vehicles, especially the clanking sound produced by the tracks of tanks and personnel carriers, and always the "whop, whop, whop" of helicopters taking off and coming in for landings. Occasionally, jets would sweep low outside the perimeter adding to the noise level. At night things would quiet somewhat making the sound produced by a nervous machine gunner opening up from his bunker at shadows in the jungle's edge all the more noticeable. Frequently, loud booms would punctuate the stillness of the night when artillery gunners would send harassing and interdictory (H&I) fire crashing into distant parts of the jungle to disrupt an enemy who liked to move at night.
When the long range patrol first arrived in country, the men were housed in General-Purpose (GP) medium tents with the three officers sharing a GP small. The noon meals were C rations and some of the boxes had dates on them going back to 1945. The living quarters were soon improved with the construction of shelters with wooden floors and sides with a large canvas tent thrown over the top for a roof. Hot and uncomfortable during the day, the living quarters became livable during the night when temperatures would drop. The men slept on canvas cots covered with mosquito netting. Usually, a single poncho liner was all that was needed to keep warm at night.
The LRRP officers were billeted with the pilots of D Troop and it served to strengthen the bond between the two units. Stetson bunked with pilots like 1LT Stan Koch who flew observation helicopters (call sign, Spooks); 1LT Jim Joyce and Warrant Officer (WO1) Gary Driggers, gunships (Crusaders); and WO1 Bob Chambless, slicks (Long Knives). The cots were pushed closer together in the back of the tent to leave space near the doorway that was used as a small sitting area. They built a bar, painted it red and in keeping with aviation theme, called the tent 'The Red Bar Inn.'
Soft drinks and Philippine beer was sold but before electricity was provided, each can was cooled by rolling it for several minutes on a block of ice. Once the tent had power, a small television was installed on the bar, a refrigerator was added, and as the officers returned from their R&R, an elaborate sound system was installed with tape deck, amplifier and large stereo speakers. The tent became a popular gathering place for several of the pilots even as an officer's club was constructed across the street. The enlisted soldiers also did whatever they could to improve their living quarters and many had sound systems to play their favorite music. One of the Doughboys would start every morning with Hank Williams blasting out in his nasal twang, "Hey hey good lookin, whatcha got cookin, well how about cookin something up for me?"
The day after they arrived in country, Garrison and members of his group including Moss, Hulin, Private First Class (PFC) Ed Kulcavage, PFC Stephen Noonan, Private (PVT) Don Ferraro and PVT Lonnie Johnson flew to Nha Trang to attend the MACV Recondo School. MACV Recondo School, operated by the 5th Special Forces Group, was one of the toughest, most realistic training programs designed by the Army. Located adjacent to an airfield in Nha Trang, the compound was bordered on one side by the South China Sea and on the other, by rice paddies leading up to jungle covered, enemy controlled mountains.
Special Forces combat veterans provided the instruction and the final exam consisted of conducting a recon patrol in the backyard of the enemy. The three-week course tested mental and physical endurance. The student's day began at 0500 with a 7-' mile march while carrying a weapon, full combat gear and a backpack containing a 25-pound sandbag. The march, conducted in one hour and 15 minutes, was followed by two climbs up a 30' rope ladder with the trips down on a knotted rope. After breakfast, training was conducted for subjects such as first aid where students learned how to give shots and take blood, map reading, land navigation, and extraction using a McGuire Rig (a long rope with a seat at the end that could hold three soldiers at a time as they swung high over the countryside while moving at a speed of 90 knots.)
Instruction was also given in patrolling techniques, adjusting artillery fire and the familiarization of both friendly and enemy weapons. All students were required to repel 120' from a hovering helicopter. The friction from the brake rope as they descended, would often burn through their fatigue pants leaving a scar on their hip as a reminder of their Recondo School training.
As the training progressed at Recondo School, the remainder of the long range patrol began to experience operations in the field. The 3/5 Cavalry helicopters were still en route so the patrol members hitched rides on a convoy of tracked vehicles. Stetson found a spot on the top of a tank recovery vehicle and felt a sense of awesome power while sitting behind a caliber .50 machine gun as the armored column picked up speed on the narrow country roads. Tanks and armored personnel carriers sped through villages as children ran to the roadside waving at the soldiers who would toss them candy from their C ration boxes.
When the Cavalry reached its destination, members of the long range patrol were tasked to help pull security. They manned defensive positions on the perimeter. A soldier, who had placed his rucksack on the edge of his foxhole, found it missing when the sun came up the next morning. A bold VC or perhaps a nearby villager had crept up to the position in the middle of the night and made off with a supply of food, water, ammunition and clean socks. The soldier was fortunate that his throat was not cut as he slept.
A mission was handed down for a long range patrol to perform overnight observation on a nearby road. The men walked out from their bivouac position and soon found the dirt road leading to a nearby village. The area was relatively open without a lot of concealment but the patrol did the best they could. A curfew was in effect and traffic was not to be on the road at night. Not long after darkness had set in, a man riding a motorized bike went sputtering past the position heading toward the village but it grew quiet after that. In the middle of the night, several members of the patrol were awakened by the sound of a man moving through their position. It was as if someone had stumbled upon the position by accident and was trying to move out of there as fast as possible. The remaining hours of darkness were spent in apprehension that the person would return with company but nothing further was heard. At first light, the patrol moved back to the safety of the armored cavalry's position.
It was on the same operation that the long range patrol suffered its first casualty. On January 29, 1967 one of the 3/5 Cavalry units had set up a near Phuoc Tuy. A request came for a long range patrol to be sent out from the unit's position to gather intelligence about enemy activity in the area. The patrol leader selected for the mission was Sergeant (SGT) Lynn Miles of Des Moines, Iowa who had celebrated his 20th birthday earlier that month. Miles joined the unit in country and the young sergeant had made a good impression with his enthusiastic leadership. John Cox was on the mission as were Bob Hernandez, Don Ferraro and Lawrence Coonrod. As darkness descended, the patrol moved out from the cavalry's perimeter. The men found a suitable spot to set up for the night but they immediately detected movement around their position.
SGT Miles whispered the situation on his radio and received instructions to move back to the cavalry's location. The patrol decided each member would throw a grenade and make a run for it while the cavalry opened up by firing high with their weapons. A tank crew was told to turn on a spotlight to serve as a beacon for the men coming in from the jungle. Cox said that as soon as the grenades were thrown, "All hell broke loose".
The patrol tried to remain together as they moved back to the friendly position but a quick head count revealed that Coonrod was missing. SGT Miles told Cox to get up on the tank and call a situation report back to the members of the long range patrol who were monitoring a radio. When one of the tankers told Cox he wouldn't allow a private to use his radio, Sergeant Miles climbed up and took the handset. At that instant, a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) round hit, knocking Cox off the back of tank. Cox was staggering to his feet when he noticed Miles laying a couple of feet away with a hole through his chest. The VC continued to pour automatic rifle fire and RPG rounds into the cavalry's position and the tankers returned with a heavy volume of fire. The firing suddenly ceased and the night became quiet. It was then that Coonrod came crawling in. He had been hit in the back. A chill went through the members of the long range patrol who were monitoring the radios. They heard the cavalry spell out one of the killed in action (KIA) as, "Mike, India, Lima, Echo, Sierra," the phonetic spelling of the Mile's last name.
Phillip Ponserella, the long range patrol's first sergeant, was livid at the loss of SOT Miles. Long range patrols were not designed to be used as listening posts for friendly units and he was upset that Captain Tedrick had allowed the patrol to be given such a mission. The patrols were designed to operate as their name indicated, at a long range and deep into enemy territory. The arrival of D Troop's aircraft would soon give the patrols the capability of operating far away from friendly units.
The MACV Recondo training proved to be so valuable that as soon as Garrison and his men returned to Bearcat, a second group was sent. It consisted of Rick Stetson, John Cox, Raymond Hulin, Tom Kloak, William Haas, Bobby Hernandez, Richard Hill, Freddie Jenkins, Ed Kulcavage, Don Lachowitz, Sammie Reese and Ron Schaffer. The Vietnamese holiday period, Tet, was going on when the next group from the 9th Infantry Division long range patrol reached Nha Trang. Colored paper, cut to resemble lanterns was strung between buildings. Firecrackers were set off at all times of night and day along with the firing of weapons by Vietnamese soldiers resulting in nervous flinching from the Americans each time a gun went off.
Soldiers from other American units and branches of the military as well as from Korea assembled to begin the training. They were introduced to their class leader, a Marine Recon 1st LT from Nantucket, Massachusetts who had been in Vietnam four months. He would later become killed in action and receive a Silver Star for his heroic actions. There were also several Korean officers from the ROK Tiger Division. One had attended the Korean equivalent of West Point and spoke English, French, German and some Vietnamese. Another had graduated from the Korean Army OCS. Both were excellent officers and said that when Korean units went to the field, they did not practice much noise and light discipline because they wanted to make contact with the enemy. The VC knew better and usually stayed clear of the hard-fighting Koreans.
The first day of the Lunar New Year, the men were able to taste real ice cream. That was a treat because the ice cream they usually got was made from condensed milk that gave it an almost unpleasant taste, the only benefit being that it was cold. At breakfast, the condensed milk was equally unsatisfactory and it would only serve to spoil an otherwise good bowl of cereal.