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The Only time I Threw Up in Viet Nam
Here it is again, raining on a cold dark night in March. Let's go back to May 1968.
My Battalion is at Khe Sahn. My platoon has perimeter duty, my lines connect to 2nd platoon on my right and ends on the left at the end of the runway where a C130 4 engine cargo plane was hit and destroyed by NVA artillery fire from CoRoc mountain in Laos. We are still receiving 500 to 1000 rounds incoming fire a day.
I have NVA bodies hanging on the wire in front of my position plus they are trying to tunnel into the base. One night my men get me and say we are hearing movement in front of our lines. Its pitch black but I have an M-14 rifle with a starlight scope attached and zeroed in. I climb on top a bunker and look through the scope. Everything’s green except the heat off of bodies show the outline of whatever is alive. I see 2 NVA kneeling by our wire with cutters. They are cutting the wire and hooking it back together and probably would have assaulted us at daylight.
Well I shot them both multiple times. Then got four of my men with me and crept out just beyond the wire. We each pulled the pin on a grenade and tossed em far as we could then didied fast as we could back to our line and safety. No assault come.
When I went to Nam I went with 15 Sgts and became good pals with one who ended up in the 2nd platoon of Fox , I was 3rd platoon Fox. My company had to supply one platoon every day for One of these:
1. Road Sweep
2. Convoy Security
Each platoon would cover (that plts perimeter) whichever platoons turn it was.
2nd platoon had convoy security. Three squads in three 6 by 6 trucks at front of convoy.
Middle and rear of convoy.
My friend was in the middle truck security of the convoy with 9 marines. They were ambushed and a NVA threw a satchel charge into the bed of the truck.
We rushed to the hospital to help with our wounded. All ten marines were killed by the explosion. When the truck pulled in with their bodies and the tailgate dropped I reached in to help unload the bodies and my Sgt friend was there and when we lifted him out his helmet came loose and his brain matter splashed on me.
I threw up but after that nothing bothered me.
Not the kind of thing you talk about especially giving his name where a family member may read it eh!!!
Submitted October 27, 2013
Sgt Chuck Thompson
