April 1970

April 8, 1970

“26 took an RPG through the road wheels and hit a guy in a fox hole. DiSanto was TC, I was gunner, Jerry Beverage was loader, Chet Misa was the driver, and Tom The Gook was a passenger. Tom was medivaced with a bullet in the leg.” 
(J. Sharpe)

John Sharpe wrote that an RPG hit A26. Photo of RPG hole on Track A26 The night was April 8, 1970. We had just set up our NDP north of Cua Viet. The area was flat and sandy. We put up our RPG screens and a bunch of claymores in front of each track. Guys also went out and put up trip flares 50 to 100 meters outside the perimeter. It was a moonless very dark night, and as night fell, our Lt, who I believe was Lt. Perrino, began calling in defcons on one side of the perimeter. He brought them in very close. I was in the middle of the perimeter manning the mortar track. It was hot and very muggy so about 5 of us were talking behind my track, ducking the shrapnel from the artillery. After the Lt was done on one side of the perimeter, he had the artillery dropped in on the opposite side. Shrapnel flew over our heads as we took cover behind track 29.  Right after a round hit extremely close, one of the trip flares went off.  One of the guys peeked around the PC and shouted,” Look at all those gooks!” I didn’t need to look as the five of us scrambled to our positions.  I spun the mortar tube around and began firing charge 0 rounds. The whole perimeter opened up at that time. Smithy and Koontz joined me in dropping rounds. The tanks were firing, machine guns blasting and all of a sudden there was this bone-chilling scream. Gibbs, who was in a foxhole next to 26, took the shrapnel from the RPG. His arm was nearly blown off. Tom, the scout, was hit and also one of the other M60 gunners was hit. Sgt. D crawled over to my track and opened the door. I thought that we were goners because I believed that it was the NVA. He wanted me to fire some illumination rounds and I remember that I replied that illumination rounds don’t kill. He said OK and crawled away.  After awhile a Medivac landed and we loaded the three wounded men. When the pilot took off, he caught our Concertina wire with his skid. Somehow Sgt. Hunter got the pilots attention and we got the wire unhooked.  In the morning, we went out on foot patrol and found 7 dead NVA under our wire. They had bamboo sticks holding the wire up. One had an RPG launcher and some of them had satchel charges. We found another NVA further out.  We were very lucky that night. That trip flare saved our asses. I believe that a guy named Ferguson set it out.  Also, our Lt saved us by calling in those defcons so close. 
(Bob Taylor)

I was the gunner on 26 that night and was on guard behind the fifty. We had a headquarters radar track to the right and Gibbs was in a foxhole to the left. That doesn’t say much for the radar. Most of the gooks were in front and to the right of me. I opened up with the fifty, but the rounds coming in were from the wire and not from the large amount of gooks farther out. They just took off. I think the sappers in the wire were going to open it up for the others farther out. 

Before I could hardly fire, Sgt D pushed me down in the gunner’s seat and I cleared my sector with three canister rounds with Jerry Beverage loading. Sgt D emptied the fifty and went to check the perimeter while Tom the Gook and Chet Meesa loaded. Tom got shot in the leg. Gibbs scream was the most bone chilling sound I’ve ever heard in my life. That RPG burnt through the road wheels on the right side of 26 and out the left. To add to the confusion in the tank, our coax jammed a round in the chamber. Beverage unwrapped a new barrel, then bare handed the jammed barrel to the floor. It ignited the wrapping from the new barrel. I went back to the fifty while Jerry stomped the fire out. In retrospect that part was a little comical. 

I don’t think we took a round in after a few minutes, but didn’t quit firing for a long time. I was soaking wet with sweat, but freezing cold. Go figure. The TC on the headquarters track had a week to go and in the midst of all this he yelled out “I’m too short for this shit!”
(J. Sharpe)

John Sharpe and Bob taylor write in the Hist. of the Cav that they were north of Cua Viet on April 8 1970 when A26 was hit with an RPG. Was this when the NVA had several hundred pounds of plastic explosive and a balloon type water mine with them. They had come within 25yds of the parimeter and dug fox holes? The guy who hit the trip flare was out several hundred yards with the mine gear and all that gook C4)
(J. Malan)

Jerry, that is the night. Lt Perrino was calling in the defcons when the guy tripped the flare.
(B. Taylor)

The gooks hadn’t dug holes and I don’t remember water mines, but they had a shit load of plastic explosives. One guy had a snorkel. 
(J. Sharpe)

That night NVA Naval sappers hit us.  They were coming down to mine the river. The next morning we recovered 240 pounds of ChiCom TNT, pencil delay fuses and baskets with inflatable rubber tubes to float the mines.  April 8 1970.
(D. Perrino)

On the evening of 4-8-70 we in the Cav selected a position to set up our perimeter. This position was a few clicks north of Cua Viet. It was a flatpiece of terrain with white sand as far as one could see. 

Our perimeter was set up in a 360-degree circle, just like the cowboys did with their covered wagons in the old western movies. Tanks were positioned a 12,5, and 7 o’clock. Next to each tank was a 113 PC and in the middle was our mortar track. For some unknown reason I had the troops dig foxholes in between each track which later proved to save our asses. 

As the sun set in the west troopers visited with each other at their emplacements. Most likely talking about the day they would leave the Nam and return to the world. 

Someone called in arty defcons that were landing so close one could hear the shrapnel whizzing over our heads as we ran for cover by our vehicles. I recall Sgt. Hunter making coffee for the troops and removing his boots to air out his feet. 

Just as the last defcon was registered outside our perimeter I saw a trip wire go off approximately 100 to 200 meters to our west, and at that time I heard someone yell “god damn look at the fucking gooks.” 

Every one ran for their foxholes and gun emplacements and at that moment every emplacement opened up with machine gun, rifle, and main gun fire spraying the areas to their immediate front. 

As this all took place I heard a blood chilling scream as trooper Gibbs was hit by shrapnel from an RPG that hit the road wheel of A26 to his immediate right. 

Now if you can believe this a captain in the rear with the fucking gear, most likely sipping some cold beer kept coming on the radio asking for a confirmed enemy body count. I got on the radio and told this son of a bitch to keep the net clear of traffic we need a medivac for our wounded,( which was Gibbs and little gook Tom). 

Sgt. Hunter being the good trooper he was grabbed an M-16 and jumped over the concertina directly to our west where we had seen the trip flare go off to get a body count. 

After a few seconds I jumped over the wire to assist Hunter. As he was coming back into the perimeter, he got his sock on his caught in the concertina wire. 

As I covered Hunter I saw three fucking gooks off to my immediate right facing our perimeter with what later proved to be AK-47’s. At that split second I fired several bursts from my M-16 at the gooks, and could see the shirts on their backs rip as each round found it mark. (Mr. Rebbec this brings back memories of our little encounter). 

Someone called in Puff who lit up our outer perimeter with cover fire I remember thinking no one can survive that gunfire. There were so many red tracers falling from the sky it looked like you could walk from the ground to the plane. 

After puff finished the medivac came in to my left and hovered just off the ground as the wounded were loaded. As the chopper started to lift off the left skid got caught on the concertina wire preventing it from lifting off. Two or three of us pulled the wire off the skid, and as the chopper lifted off it turned on its searchlight lighting us up like a candle in the darkness. 

After a while things for us started to settle down as a light fog started to settle in. I walked from position to position checking on the troops. As the sun rose in the east we could see seven dead NVA lying just outside our perimeter, they were so close it was frightening. 

Some time later the Colonel flew out to our location and the Lt. asked me to select a trooper off each track to receive an award. I went to each track as requested and ask the troops to select the trooper they wanted decorated. 

We then buried the 8 dead NVA and departed to Cua Viet. 

Closing comments : a captain that I won’t mention his name told me prior to 4-8-70, “Sergeant, the war is over in Vietnam” 
Where did he gather his Intel? 

Troopers these are my memories of the Cav. 
David Boshell 

From Klinsky’s war dairy:
8Apr
2nd platoon got in another firefight about 10PM.  Body count, 8 NVA.  Our worst, 1 messed up arm and a scouts broken leg. Same night, 1st platoon killed one of 2 gooks walking near their perimeter and also the perimeter here at Cua Viet had 2 exchanges with AK47s.  We provided illum till 3AM.