Company B
Company B
May 19th 1968 - Ho Chi Minh's Birthday Party!
by Larry Russell, RLO, Masher 15
I was cleaning my .45 Cal Grease gun, it had jammed while shooting at the NVA that had shot my ship out of the sky. I had spread a towel out on the top of a sandbag covered trench and had the gun in pieces. I was dressed in Ho Chi Minh sandals, fatigue pants and a white t-shirt. The covered trench ran parallel to the flight line, and was the closest bunker to my tent. It was getting close to the time when we normally received a couple of 122mm rockets. We were now used to getting rockets every afternoon, or evening. There I was skinny, dumb, and happy - as I had escaped death again! I was shot down earlier in the day and the gunfailed me when I tried to shoot back at the SOB's that blew me out of the sky - but that's another story. Suddenly, and by now almost instinctively, I heard the distant crack of a 122 heading our way - then the whistle as it was getting closer - by then I was in the trench, sitting on the dirt, with my back up against the wall. Crrrrackk crraaack!! They impacted pretty close, on our side of the camp. I expected maybe another volley. I could hear the sirens and perhaps a couple of birds cranking - maybe gunships to find the (&^%^* rocket launch site. Started hearing more explosions - but no
shrill sound of a rocket. Then more explosions - and varying kinds of explosions. By then we realize the ammo dump had been hit and it was blowing up. The division had an overstuffed ammo dump! We had just finished up the A Shau mission and had brought back tons of ammo we didn't use, adding it to the tons already there. And I mean TONS of ammo! I heard the sound of a siren, from a ways off, getting closer and closer - must have been a fire truck from the fixed wing side of the runway. Then we heard and felt a huge explosion - the earth shook - the sandbags groaned and dust covered everything. The the siren sound abruptly changed pitch and it sounded like it was going away about twice the speed it had been coming. I can picture a keystone cops like scene of the 1st Cav firemen racing to the rescue, balls to the wall, then BOOM! - same firemen doing a 180 - eyes as big as grapefruits - un-assing the place. HA ! I also vaguely remember some music playing - think it was Colonna's Akai playing Italian marching music or something. That wasn't the biggest boom we'd hear that night. Yes - night, as it has been cooking off for hours now and I was still in the trench, now wet from perspiration (fear not heat, as it was now getting cold). We heard machine gun fire along the perimeter and somebody said "we must be getting a ground attack" Oh great! About that time, another berm cooked off and all of a sudden I could see a brilliant white light UNDER THE SANDBAGS !! Now I'm in a trenchline that is about 20 feet long by 4 feet wide by 4 feet deep, on top of that is a psp roof with a layer or two of sandbags on walls of sandbags about 2 feet high. The explosion lifted the sandbag walls and roof - hit me with the light and promptly returned to it's original place. Mommamia that was somea bigga boom! Then I started to hear grumbling from the end of the trench line - then I began to smell and feel the CS gas that was filling the trench up. No one had gas masks! I pulled my wet t-shirt off and covered my face. I slowed my breathing way down and tried to keep calm. It was working until someone on my left got sick and hurled everything he'd eaten that week. I must have decided to venture out of the trench - maybe looking for a gas mask - when I found myself low crawling into the door of my sections tent. The tent was now partially blown down and I was having difficulty crawling over the debris. My heart skipped a beat and I was horrified because I had just unknowingly crawled up
onto a dead body!!! My first thought was that it was one of my guys, so I quickly turned him over. I was doubly horrified when I saw that it was an NVA soldier! Or so I thought - because, supposedly, no indigenous people were allowed on base after hours and we'd heard the firefight on the greenline earlier. Turned out to be an ARVN who had been working in the ammo dump. That's another story for later. From there I made my way further and further from the still exploding ammo dump (it's probably midnight by now). Wound up in a huge TOC that belonged to the 228th, then as I was sitting there in nothing but fatigue pants and Ho Chi Minh sandals, some Major came in asking for RLOs as we might have to defend the base camp from a ground attack. Can't believe I raised my hand, and I thought I had finally found safety. I'll let others tell their side - maybe Jerry can tell us exactly how many birds we lost that night. Thank God almighty that none of us got killed - I bent over and kissed my ass goodbye several times that night (and day). Of my two tours in Vietnam, that night stays with me the most. Uncle Ho's birthday!
The pictures below are linked to a larger image, suitable for printing. Just click on the photo for the larger version
Camp Evans. Who can find our company area and the ammo dump?
Company Area BEFORE, notice the fine living quarters, no hard buildings, no sidewalks, NO OFFICERS CLUB!
Flight line BEFORE. This is the main road into Evan.
Another BEFORE (My tent is the first small round tent on the left) It was dug four feet into the ground with a diameter of about 10 feet (all dug by two RLO's!) It also had 3 feet of sandbags as an outside wall. The tent to the right was a ground level tent with just the sandbags for protection. We used a refrigerator to prop the center pole up so that it would give us more headroom! (plus cold beer!) The dust is from one of out bird landing to the west for parking.
Inside one of the section tents (BEFORE)- I think that's Mel taking a siesta (face down)
BOOM!
This picture was sent to me by Dick Detra, it was taken by Sgt Larry Grey of the 188th AHC "Black Widows" AT LZ SALLY! Which was about 5 miles south of Evans. He said it was taken on the morning of May 21st. Don't think that's right. I remember the rockets coming in right before chow on the 19th - Uncle Ho's birthday. To me it looks like the sun is to the left - which if the camera was from the south, it would make it late afternoon. If it was in the morning as mentioned the right side would be lighter???? He said the entire base camp at Sally shook from the shock waves. HA! He has no idea what SHOOK really was!! Was Sally to our north or was that Sharon?
One minute it was there - next day it looked like this...........Notice the metal poles that hold the fence up - they were standing tall in the BEFORE pictures. I am standing in the company area looking across the road at what was left of the left side of the ammo dump. Notice we are looking down.
This shot is more towards the north. White line in the middle is the fixed wing landing strip. Ammo dump to the right.
This shot is on eastern edge of our company area (notice road) looking towards D company and Bn Hqs birds. They were as close to the ammo dump as we were but down a slight depression - so I think they fared better. We were slightly above the ammo dump - getting all of the concussion and shock wave. Ammo dump to left.
Looking towards the air strip.
Flight section row - recognize anything?
9
Still smoking.
Our first luxury - a real live shower with warm water (if you were first) Sad to say it wasn't that old. Came in handy when the Cav got the shi-s from some contaminated ice. I think Mel was in the shower when the 122's came in. Our second luxury was the 30kw generator we stole-swapped-borrowed??? from the Seabees.
My tent is on the left (remember the two round tents) it didn't burn, the concussion blew the tent into the 4 foot hole we dug, the tent on the right (ground level) did burn - see how the bags are burned in the center and not on the outside. Don't remember whose tent it was but had to be another RLO. I keep remembering that only mine and the CO's tent didn't burn.
More carnage! Everyone had to watch where they stepped because the place was peppered with unexploded M-79 rounds - and bomblets from cluster bombs (Why were they in our ammo dump?) Someone from B Co. got injured that way.
Now here's a hootch that didn't burn! I'm looking over the carnage!
(small pic only)
Not sure but I think this was a few days after - the explosion was EOD getting rid of damaged ammo. I don't see any aircraft in any of the revetments but the generator appears to be running again...........yea! That means my refrigerator is running again!
Flight line after most of the ships have been hooked away.
If you zoom in or look at the big picture you'll see an H model missing a tail boom, a
tail boom about 50 yards to the front missing an H model. Look closer and I think you'll see a pile of ashes in a revetment with part of a tail boom sticking up.
One minute a proud H model - next day trash................
Ditto - Look at the engine cowling near the tailpipe!
Think this was a hangar queen before the boom - wait! We're the Cav, we didn't have hangars! A lot of rounds crashed down through the aircraft - a lot of green houses were broke - blades cut in half. Unexploded artillery shells wound up inside the ships!
Off to Red Beach then Conus
Another one.
And again - See what we were working on first! Looks like they're getting the shower back on line!
Red Beach
If you'll look close - you'll count almost 50 H models and a dozen or so hooks.
The motley crew a day or two after. (small pic only)
TADA! The wild wooly Good Deal Guys
Can you identify anyone?
Another shot with me in it this time.
Welcome home bros - Larry Russell, Masher 15
Tet-Tet 68/69
First Hand stories!
Ammunition Storage at Camp Evans Explodes on night of 19-20 May 1968.
The following stories are recollections of members of the Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew members who were present when North Vietnamese Army rockets slammed into the ammunition storage area
Russ Warriner (C/2-20 ARA)
The date was 5/20/68 and this is when C 2/20th area got really messed up and most A/C were so messed up that they all were grounded for repairs. When things first started to happen Jim Krull and Tommie Rolf and one crew chief were on the flight line. Jim Krull had just done a preflight to the A/C he was to fly and Rolf was getting his gear into the one he was to fly in Krull yelled to him to get over and help him get at least one A/C off the ground. They cranked and took off with the crew chief that was there. When things slowed down they landed and had just gone to the bunker when the Ammo dump went up. A 155mm round was blown from the dump across the compound and came through the bunker roof hitting Tommie Allen Rolf in the head (may he rest in pease) and fell over onto Jim Krulls leg. No one else was hurt although there were several pilots there at the time. Some where I have a photo of this round after in lay in the bunker a while. Tommie Allen Rolf was a new Warrant Officer straight out of flight school and charm school. Had been in C Battery for only a day or two.
What a rush getting to the a/c, & started, & off the ground It rates way up there on the non-shooting pucker trips. Stayed up in the air all night refueling North at B-Btry I believe that was at Sharon (possible CRS on the name of the LZ.) I was relaying data back to our commo as to if any incoming was also a fact. Never saw any flashes out of the ammo dump area. Were the biggest explosions I have ever seen. As I understand it only one American fatality occurred. It was a Warrant in our unit that was the victim; I had not yet even finished his in country checkout. A 155 round w/nose plug still in came down through the B-Btry pilots bunker (we thought it was 122 proofed) and as I understand the round just broke through and fell on his head killing him instantly. Sad way to go; in a "safe bunker" Have to tell you I definitely had a different view of the "Big Blow"
Maj. Peterson, our CO picked up a piece of shrapnel running across the flight line, pretty lethal environment outside. The command bunker had curved entrances and grenade traps built in, I was sitting halfway up the entrance when the big one went up...got blown down into the bottom of the bunker by the concussion, lit up like daylight in the bottom of the bunker. Next day when we crawled out there was a split open 8" shell laying on top of the bunker, crap everywhere. Biggest problem were the M-79 rounds laying all over the place...couldn't tell whether they were armed or not. B Co pilot kick an armed one through his tent the next day, got a ticket home. Met him 10-12 years ago...he was flying for the Indiana NG but needed a cane due to the foot injury. I found a smouldering M106 recoilless rifle round laying in my bunk Quite a night. My brother(Bob Potvin) said they watch us cook off a night from up in Quang Tri thought we were all dead.
I admired it for a time, then the old brain turns over once. It says to me "Everything that goes up must come down. Get under something." So I pulled a square of tent canvass lying nearby (about two square feet) over me. Brain turns over one more time about 30 seconds later and says "No, that isn't going to be enough!" So, with diminished brain power (I've only had two consecutive thoughts so far) I stand up and walk back to the bunker with all that stuff whizzing by me. I still had the gas masks in my hand! I toss them down into the bunker and sort of fall face first into the bunker myself. Everybody is pissed at me! What? What? Oh, I forgot to mention, I am stone deaf now too, in addition to being stone stupid! They are mad because they think I am dead, since I didn't respond when they were shouting at me. Well, I was busy, admiring the fireball at that time. All the gas masks are now being used. Where's mine, damn it. Shared a gas mask with George Smith. That is a really stupid thing to try and ends up being totally useless to both people.
Steve Harper has taken a piece of shrapnel in the leg, and when someone comes by to tell us to evacuate, we take him with us (at his insistence), and drop him off at an aid station farther away. Finally felt safe somewhere down in the 228th's area, about 1/2 mile from the fire.
I heard estimates that the big blasts (7 of them) were entire revetments being cooked off after being surrounded by fire. They said that each blast was about 200,000 lbs of explosive going off at once, with the second blast being the largest. It was certainly my personal favorite. 10,800,000 pounds of ammunition were destroyed that night. We had NO helicopters the next morning. The entire Cav was just about brought to its knees by one (or two or three) rockets that night.
When they rebuilt the ammo dump they put it away from most of the inhabited areas of Camp Evans. Good thinking, Why didn't I think of that.
Sometime during the early part of the night we heard the guns on the perimeter open up and later heard gooks talking in gook outside the bunker. A couple of us went into the trench of the bunker with weapons to check things out. I remember an ominous figure stepping into the entrance of the tent (that was no longer there...but the sandbags around the entrance were).
Terry yelled something as I recalled that this figure went into a crouch. Then Terry cut loose with, what I believe was, a Thompson .45. The figure fell backwards and lay in front of the tent entrance the rest of the night. Sometime during the night our bunker began to weaken from the massive explosions and we evacuated, moving to other bunkers in the area. I still had only the towel and shower shoes and by this time my living area in the tent had totally disappeared. We all hauled ass out of the bunker and I don't know where any of the others went. I ran south to some sort of command bunker and there was someone else with me. I remember sitting on the floor of this well fortified hotel of a bunker with it's ammo box walls and PSP/Sandbag roof feeling like it was just a matter of time before I died. I remember sitting on the floor of the bunker and feeling the vibration in my butt as each explosion rocked the compound. Pallets of 8" powder bags were exploding all at once and when the things would go off I could feel the ground shake against my ass before the concussion invaded the bunker. The roof seemed to lift up with each explosion and dirt would fall all over the place. I was never so damn scared in all my life as I was that night.
At first light I ambled out of the bunker and made it back to the B/227th area looking for something to wear besides the towel that was mostly caked mud by that time. The whole place was one eerie junk pile of fragments of shell casings and mangled helicopters. The ground was so covered with spent and unspent ordinance that walking around was dangerous. Several people from the camp were injured from exploding devices as the tried to walk around...setting stuff off as they walked near it. I made my way back to the place where my tent had been and there by the entrance was an ARVN SGT...cut nearly in two by the impact of the .45 rounds he taken when Terry popped him. I remember that he laid there amongst all the shrapnel and mangled tents for what seemed like hours before anyone removed the body.
Terry just came up online, by the way and will be joining our net soon. He'll have just a vivid a memory of that night as any of us that went through it. I'd never been that close to ground zero of such a large explosion before and it was a long time before I got over the impact of that night. Someone indicated that it might have been me that tried to take off that night and was blown into the ground...it wasn't but if I'd not been in the shower when it all started...if I'd had some clothes on...I'd have certainly made a dash for a ship and tried like hell to get off the ground. That was a living hell for too many hours. I'd have opted for a chance to get airborne, given the opportunity. Don't remember how many of us were in the bunker that night before we evacuated it but I do remember that we had only enough gas masks for about half of us and we were passing them around to share. They must have been the masks that David Green managed to bring back into the bunker. The same explosion that deafened him caught me in the bunker entrance trying to get to some clothing from my bunk. I was blown through the trench and across the entire bunker by that explosion. When I had enough courage to stick my head out again...there was no tent...nor much of anything that had been in it either.
B/227 lost all their tents that night...and all their aircraft. We managed to get one up and running next day and Jerry Colonna and I flew down to DaNang and conned the Marines out of some GP Medium tents. Then commenced the rebuilding of Camp Evans. I was about 45 days from DEROS at that time.
This document is provided with permission of Larry Russell,
webmaster of a former website for Company B, 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion which is no longer online.
This document was originally posted on that website