The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Operation Junction City (Feb 22 - Mar 17, 1967) - Aug. 12th, 2003

http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/Vietnam/90-7/ch10.htm ^

[PhilDragoo]

Vietnam, 1968: M113 armored personnel carriers and troopers of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.

FSB Athena - 175sp
Kontum - early 1970
C Btry 6/14th Arty
1st Field Forces
Photo: Dennis Proulx

The American M-101 105mm Howitzer was a light and maneuverable weapon employed in the Fire Support System throughout South Vietnam. Each Howitzer required a crew of eight.

M274 Mule

M-274 Mechanical Mule fitted with TOW missile system. USMC photo, 1967.

Digging out 4.2" mortar baseplate after firing the night before. FSB Kien or FSB Warrior, '70

81mm Mortar

This photo is of a UH-1C "Falcon" gunship from the 155th AHC on a gun run with his miniguns firing. Although there were two miniguns on the aircraft (one on each side outboard of the rocket pods), in the Sharks we often only fired one minigun at a time. It saved ammo, and you kinda get the idea that one gun at a time was probably enough. Keep in mind that there was a 4-to-1 tracer-to-ball ammo mix, so there were four bullets you can't see in between each tracer round you can see. Our "normal" rate of fire was the slower 3,000 rounds per minute, although the gun's maximum rate was 4,000 rounds per minute. Doing the math, 3,000 rounds per minute works out to FIFTY rounds per SECOND! -- and that's at the SLOW rate, and only from ONE gun. Each "Charlie-Model" Huey gunship carried about 10,000 rounds of 7.62mm machine gun rounds, 4,000 per minigun (one each side) and 1,000 rounds per door gunner (one each side). The low, horizontal flashing light that appears to be coming from the stream of tracers is probably the rotating beacon of another low-flying helicopter, perhaps this helicopter's gunship lead.

(Photo property of Mark Stuart)

AC-119G—A Shadow gunship flare launcher used by the gunship's Iluminator Operator for launching illumination flares and ground markers. Illumination was often needed by friendly forces to see the attacking enemy and ground markers (referred to as Lulu's) were used to mark enemy positions for the gunship and its fighter escorts.

~~~

An Army colonel described a South Vietnamese opposite number insisting he accompany his unit on a mission requiring twenty five APCs. Mission being to harvest (illegally) teak trees. The colonel described getting excused from this by superiors.

Another mission incredible was the escort (ordered by superiors) of a bizarre caravan (one elephant, several tigers, pack animals) transporting drugs.

Apocalypse Now and Deer Hunter seeming bland by comparison with these and other yellowed Kodachromes from those days.

How much benefit would have accrued to simply napalming Time and the New York Times, and detailing one shoeshine boy to Walter Cronkite.

The Lord Haw Haw treason continues to this day--time to embed some more reporters.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hi everyone! Hope to see you around, Sam. Missed you yesterday.

click on the graphic

[Jen]

Hi everyone. Hope you're having a good evening. I spent the day in bed with a migraine. Just starting to get over it.

[Darksheare]

Always.
Artillery bounce bump..
*chuckle*

[Darksheare]

Some people just have no luck:
http://64.227.56.203/market/books/world/svenvold.mccurdy.htm
Rather humorous if irreverent to the deceased..

[Darksheare]

I seem to be a lightning target.
Thankfully I was indoors at the time...

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hi Jen! Hope you get better real soon. Miss ya.

[Darksheare]

I know some things that will cure a igraine, but you won't be able to do much of anything for awhile afterwards except sleep heavily.
So you're better off hitting the Tylenol or Percagesic or such and relaxing as best as you can.

[snippy_about_it]

Walter as a shoe shine boy...I like it!

[snippy_about_it]

Good Evening Victoria, gotta love ol' blue eyes.

[snippy_about_it]

Hi Jen. Migraines are horrible. Glad you are feeling better.

[snippy_about_it]

Sure, blam it on the artillery. ;)

[snippy_about_it]

blam = blame. Ugh!

[SAMWolf]

Good Evening PhilDragoo.

Thanks for the pics from Vietnam. I haven't thought about the Mule in years.

How much benefit would have accrued to simply napalming Time and the New York Times, and detailing one shoeshine boy to Walter Cronkite.

Not much has changed since those days has it?

[SAMWolf]

Hope to see you around, Sam. Missed you yesterday.

Really?

[SAMWolf]

Hi AntiJen. Sorry to hear about that migrane. How you been otherwise?

[SAMWolf]

So Elmer was a mummy?

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hey Snippy, how are you doing?

[Victoria Delsoul]

Really! How's it going?

[snippy_about_it]

Doing real fine thanks.