At Tuy Hoa AB, Security Police walked the
flight line and carried shotguns for five hours at a stretch. A hundred
degrees--they still walked. Monsoon storm--they still walked.
The shotguns were suppose to be loaded with 12 gauge .00 rounds (4/1),
with a load of 12 more rounds in a pouch. Sometimes we found that someone
had replaced the rounds with birdshot--and that really pissed us off!
Sometimes someone inserted a sixth unauthorized round in the
weapon.
One night, after walking five hours, and carrying
that damn shotgun, one of the security policemen, Airman Smith,
headed out to the edge of the flight line to relieve the bunker guard,
Airman Brown. [Editor: I have the feeling Airmen Smith and
Brown will be blaimed for a lot in these SNAFU Stories] Smith had
to spend the next three hours in the flight line bunker, with an M16,
while Airman Brown (relieved) turned in the shotgun and went back to
the SP hooch.
While these two sky cops were waiting for
theRelief Jeep to pick up relieved Airman Brown, Airman Smith decided
to clear the shotgun before he gave it up. After ejecting all
five rounds and placing them on top of the bunker, he began watching
a C-130 that had just landed and was taxiing back up the runway. He
said (as he aimed his shotgun towards the runway), "Sometimes
I'd just like to be able to shoot this thing at a real target!"
and then he squeezed the trigger on the EMPTY shotgun--BOOOOOM!
The startled Airman Smith saw sparks fly from
the tail of the C-130! Unfortunately, Airman Brown also saw what
happened. Smith quickly rechecked the five rounds on top of the bunker
and then re-jacked the charging rod back--an empty casing flew out of
the chamber and landed on the ground! Ohhh @!%$#@! Airman Smith
rechecked the rounds on the bunker again, and all the rounds in his
pouch, and they were all there.
Airman Brown picked up the expended round
and put it in his pocket. They looked at the far end of the flight line
and saw the relief jeep coming, but still about two posts down. Airman
Brown said, "Quick, give me the shotgun. I'll go down to the next
post and wait there." So, Airman Smith waited for the jeep to arrive,
just a few minutes later.
They asked where Airman Brown was and were
told that he was down at the next post. He forgot to mention any unusual
events, and not a word was said about anything else. The jeep
took off. The rest of the shift Airman Smith sweated blood... and it wasn't from the heat. When he turned his M16 and ammo in,
in the morning, nothing was said about anything unusual.
Airman Smith went back to his hooch and tried
to sleep--but a drink sounded better. When Smith woke up, he and Airman
Brown discussed the issue. They determined that an extra sixth round
had probably been stuck in the magazine and not removed, and just decided
that it was a good time to come out. And yes, he had failed to look
in the weapon properly. They determined that the noisy four engines
of the C-130 must have drowned out the shotgun blast, so there was not
too much to worry about-RIGHT? after all
:
1) aircraft landed with small
arms battle-damage fairly often, and
2) if
certain Airmen kept their mouths such, and
3) as long
as
some confused crew chief didn't get
too
curious... and, most importantly,
4)... Who Would
Notice?
Only a few people know the full extent of
this story (such as the names of Airmen Smith and Brown--and
that's just how it will have to be.
And that's the biggest SNAFU SECRET I ever
knew--and kept--in the Vietnam War.
So, don't tell anyone.
John Fox,
Tuy Hoa Air Base,
31st SPS
1969-1970
