Photo of the 35th Air Police area. Check out the overhead wiring with wires crossing and coming down to
the ground. Also tent ropes cause painful injuries for new troops and drunks.
This was called a Grey Eagle Cam
Photo of bunkers outside tents.
SSgt Leon Corn, Panther Flight and Convoy duty on bunker.
SSgt NewelL Swartz, USAF and Spec Grover Aderholt, 101st Airborne,
both halfway
around the world
and grew up across the street from each other in
Brandywine, Md.
Who would have thunk it?
SSgt Newell Swartz waiting outside Cam Rahn Bay
for convoy to form up to return to Phan Rang.
Photo of lead gun jeep, Phan Rang-Biên Hòa. SSgt Swartz is M60 gunner and
Lt Thompson
is Convoy Commander. I must have had delusions of immortality.
How
would anyone
possibly survive an ambush on the road we were traveling?
Gun jeep having to force traffic to very edge
of
drop
off on mountain road. Edge is soft from rain.
Ambush Heaven, potholes for mines, thick foliage for claymores and machine guns.
Three weeks after our convoy, another convoy carrying the equipment we
transported
from
Cam Ly and Ling Cong Airports to Biên Hòa was devastated in an ambush on a mountain highway like this.
Top heavy over loaded Vietnamese bus on very edge of drop-off. Everybody held their breath.
Convoy from Phan Rang to Biên Hòa in the mountains of the Central Highlands.“S-curves
have a new meaning especially for the 40’ low boy tractor-trailer in the convoy.
Photo of a Vietnamese four legged tow truck.
Photo of SSgt Swartz who stepped off the jeep onto the back of the bull who appeared gentle.
Photo of “Cowboy Swartz out of Phoenix, AZ aboard Uncle Ho” who
is
now upset
and took off down the road with Swartz for the 8 second ride.
Phan Rang Convoy photo of the check-in point at Biên Hòa. A “real info processor.”
Note: Agent Orange barrels (behind post) were everywhere and often used as trashcans.
NUI DAT HILL
Photo of the three man outpost south of Nui Dat Hill
outpost manned
from
sundown to sunup only.
Scorpions in the rocks and one morning we killed
a nine foot long rock cobra.
No soft
spots at this outpost which made for a long night. Foxhole blastable, not digable.
Phan Rang 1966 N. Swartz 030.jpg is a photo of the foxhole on Nui Dat Hill,
a lap of luxury compared
to the other outpost. Three man post. One sleep, two awake (oops). Primary purpose was observation to locate
mortars which VC could lob over Nui Dat Hill into Grey Eagle Camp and 101st Airborne Base Camp.
PRC 25 radio to be used to direct artillery from 101st onto VC mortars which would be located by mortar
sheets in the valley
below
Nui Dat Hill.
Second purpose was obviously defensive, but K-9 posts were located between us and base camp.
Photo of SSgt Swartz (camo) and another AP walking to an outpost about one mile
southwest of the base and South of the Nui Dat Hill outpost which is located
on the west perimeter of the base.
Equipment is usually M60 w/2cans of ammo and swivel mount for M60, each man M/16 w/120
rounds of ammo, hand flares, grenades, PRC 25 radio for 101st Airborne to call in artillery,
c-rations, canteens, ponchos, (could have used a Panama pack horse).
Photo from atop Nui Dat Hill which is located on the west perimeter of the base.
Three man outpost from sundown
to sunup with M60 with swivel mount, 2 cans of M60 Ammo, Each man with M16
w/120 rounds, hand flares,
PRC 25 radio, canteens of water,
c-rations, grenades, ponchos and
whatever
else you wanted to carry for yourself, flashlights, knifes etc.
Photo from atop Nui Dat Hill facing East over the 101st (right side),
and Grey Eagle Camp (left).South China Sea in background. One night, a 101st soldier killed a fully grown tiger which
was walking thru the tanglefoot which separated their camp from ours, by using a grenade while he was
on guard duty. They brought the tiger in the bed of a weapons carrier (like a one ton truck with stake bed)
over to our camp the next day probably because they thought we wouldn’t believe them otherwise. The
tiger’s
head was against the cab of the truck and the hindquarters was slumped up on the
tailgate. You had to just
stop and think what you would do in a similar situation. Shoot and just wound him and you have problems,
throw a grenade and spook him and he can cover a lot of ground before the grenade goes off.
If he is that
close -- he’s not afraid of men.
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