Here was not any way we could load that pallet right back towards the the fresh new lighthearted truck, thus as being the an effective Samaritans we had been, we piled as many times even as we you certainly will for the our V-100-plenty that individuals could hardly turn the new turret. Naturally, there are particular disappointed MPs that nights and you may a number of dreadful headaches a day later.
To the men who served on a V-100 for a year, the vehicle became more than just a machine. It became your life, your friend and your protector. All but two of our V-100s were named after comic book heroes. These included “Captain America,” “Thor,” “Big Ben,” “Flash,” “Spider – man,” “Barbarian,” “Atom,” “Daredevil” and “Iron Man.” The other two were named “Road Hog” and “The Lemon.” Each of the V-100s had a painting of the character or the name across the front, life-sized and in coloric book superheroes painted on the front of the V-100s made for an interesting article in This new Roundup, our local GI newspaper. The April 1970 article was headlined, “66th MP Co. Super Heroes to Combat VC Wrong Doers.”
Sporadically we’d our very own moments, like the go out as soon as we was indeed escorting an excellent convoy within the An Khe Pass and something of automobiles shed a whole pallet out of beer
David Good. Swisher stays in Marshall, Unwell. He obtained the new Military Commendation Medal having V Tool for their measures in ambush in the An enthusiastic Khe Violation in the April 1970. For further learning, see: Cadillac Gage V-100 Commando 1960-71, from the Richard Lathrop and you can Jim Laurier; and you can Combat Police: U.S. Army Military Police in Vietnam, from the Rick More youthful.
A lot of our troubles came to the QL-19, however, I believed more comfortable on that path than for the QL-step 1, simply because they there were far more convoys with the QL-19 and this better probability of content. My baptism off flames arrived towards plant in the hairpin bend from the An enthusiastic Khe Ticket. Our V-100 got already come through new hairpin and is actually going down the newest solution, in the event that westbound convoy are strike. The text “Get in touch with! Get in touch with! Contact!” appeared over the broadcast websites while i was operating, and so i turned into this new V-100 doing and you will headed back up the violation. When we reached the fresh new hairpin, We noticed specific Korean soldiers pinned off. One of them got their case stuck-up in the air leading to the south area of the hairpin turn. We removed the fresh V-100 between the Koreans plus the position he had been directing so you can, therefore we you can expect to provide them with a little more https://escortbabylon.de/en/austria/burgenland/eisenstadt protection and have engage all of our firepower.
My personal V-100 is escorting an excellent convoy out of Tuy Hoa one day when there can be lots of build work at the road, resulting in somewhat an accordion perception
Something about running the new channels each and every day was that you never ever realized exactly what strange situation was going to happens next. If front of convoy avoided, the trunk tightened up. Then the top create begin once more, and convoy spread out before the bottom you can expect to start. Due to this, I told all of our V-100 driver Reno Catalano to get in the midst of this new roadway so we keeps other automobile out-of our very own convoy up to we had out from the design urban area. Whereas i constantly let faster automobile please admission the newest convoy automobiles, as there is so much structure I desired to store the brand new convoy without one other visitors.
On a single convoy so you’re able to Weil Nang, our cars strike good Lambretta loaded with Vietnamese. It actually was slightly a mess. This new Lambretta went off of the street and you can down an embankment. By the time we got a great dustoff truth be told there and got some thing eliminated right up sometime, there have been all sorts of black pajama-clad people with weapons status around speaking and you may screaming. By the difficult, a misconception can potentially provides arisen, but before you to definitely occurred we got of here and straight back to our convoy.