The MACV Rules
Wern't So Bad
by Jack King
Cam Ranh Bay AB, 1970-1972
Phu Cat and Bien Boa
On June 8, 1970 I spent my 20th birthday assigned to a SAT team at
Phu Cat Air Base, SVN. Sergeant Finley was the leader of the two-men team and
our patrol started at 1245 hours on a hot sunny day.
At around 1500 hours we
climbed the tower at Tango 17 to visit with A1C Edward Pantazelos, who
had come up from Cam Ranh Bay AB with me in March. Tango 17 was a wood tower on the bomb dump side of the base,
far out in a free-fire zone. About
700 yards to the right of the post were some rice paddies, a river and
a small village.
The three of us were
involved in small talk, probably the typical Vietnam discussion: How
many more days? What base are you putting in for? How much we hated Vietnam, the Air Force, and the liters.
Suddenly, out of nowhere
we began to receive small arms fire. Bullets were whizzing by. We quickly glanced out toward the fields and jungle areas off
base and spotted a group of Vietnamese running and firing their
weapons toward us. Ed
yelled the appropriate, "They're shooting at us! Sergeant Finley ran from the steps of the tower with me in
close pursuit. I heard De
on the radio calling CSC We
got into the gun jeep where our rifles and the M60 machine gun were. Ed was now yelling at us that they had veered to his
right toward the rice paddies.
Sergeant Finley raced down
the dirt road to intercept while I held tightly to the M60. We got to a location on a small bluff between the rice paddies
and Tango 17. I set the machine gun up and glanced down the sights. I had three men in my sights, and was ready to pull the
trigger. Sergeant Finley
had his M16 in one hand and was calmly asking permission to return
fire. Small arms fire was still in progress but we were not receiving
it at this point. Just then I heard the radio crackle, "Hold fire
there are friend lies in the area!"
How close I came to
killing three ARVN Troops that day and how much I for one, was happy
for the rules of engagement.
As it turned out the ARVN
had flushed out a VC and were chasing him. As he ran toward the Air Base he saw us and turned toward the
village. We were simply
caught in the crossfire and in the confusion we didn't know who was
whom. Incidentally, the VC ran over the dyke of the rice paddy
and an ARVN hit him slightly with a 40 mm round, knocking him to the
ground. He then got up
village.
I learned that day about
mass confusion and the importance of keeping calm in emergency
situations. Ed Pantazelos
was a real professional and when I got back to the States I wasn't
surprised to read in the AF paper how he got the Commendation Medal
for subduing a berserk Vietnam Vet who had shot at him. (I don't know
why everyone wanted to shoot him.)
Sergeant Finley was a
typical, capable first term NCO who took charge that day, kept his
cool and did his job in an exemplary manner. I was proud to serve with
men like that and all the SPS in Vietnam--even the lifers.
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