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"The M-42 Duster was developed between WW II and Korea from the M-41 Walker Bulldog light tank chassis. It was to fill the gap in the U.S. arsenal for an armored self propelled AA gun. It had a crew of 6, (driver, T.C., and four operating the gun turret) and was armed with 2 40mm Bofors AA guns and one .30 or .50 cal MG for ground defense. The M-42 served in Korea, but was considered obsolete by the war's end due to the lack of radar guidance to track fast moving jets. It was delegated to the National Guard prior to Viet Nam, but due to calls for more firepower on the ground, was brought back into frontline service not as an AA gun, but as a fire support vehicle, where it's ability to " mow the grass" was greatly appreciated. After Viet Nam, M-42's served a short time in the National Guard before being scrapped."

Pix: http://www.mindspring.com/~bfalcon/M42.htm

Interesting.

From the stories I've heard, Route 9 was not the place to be.

Have you read this paperback?

INTO LAOS: Dewey Canyon II. A powerful, densely packed saga of the neglected 60-day non-stop armor & infantry battle near Khe Sahn which claimed over 1,700 US/ARVN KIA, 6,500 WIA & 650 MIA.

INTO LAOS: Dewey - Canyon II / Lam Son 719 by Keith William Nolan. Vietnam 1971: America’s last major campaign and the most ambitious Allied operation of the war with over 100 helicopters destroyed and over 600 damaged. Nolan puts you in the middle of the action as the NVA fight back to save the Ho Chi Minh Trail the borders of Laos and South Vietnam. A powerful, densely packed saga of the neglected 60-day non-stop armor and infantry battle near Route 9, Khe Sahn and Lang Vei which claimed over 1,700 US/ARVN KIA, 6,500 WIA & 650 US/ARVN MIA. 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (1/5th Mech) • 101st Airborne • RAKKASANS • 17th Air Cav • 2/94 Artillery • XXIV Corps Artillery • 223rd Combat Aviation Battalion • 158th Aviation • Americal Division • 8th Transportation Group • 45th Engineer Group • 7th Air Force • 504th Military Police Battalion. 383 pages. Maps. Original hardcover editions published 1986.

This book tells it raw...
Troop on R and R in the rear..fragging officers....racial problems.
yet on the line..all was put aside..except .. some officers still found *things happening to them until they eventually got wounded .

155mm Sheridans ..logger up for the night..waiting for Charlie and his RPG teams.
ARVN Generals ..sitting with a mechanized division..hundreds of yards from a fire base..which ARVN are on..and getting over-run..slaughtered..as some escape on helo skids.
Having a smoke..watching some other commander buy the farm.

The Bravery of the U.S. Helo crews...and yes..some ARVN units fought bravely..to the last man..and did not run.

One of the best reads on Vietnam ..from 1971..when things were beginning to fall apart.