South Vietnam, Republic Of; I was a radioman with the 7th Regiment, 1St Marine Division from September1967 through October-1968 at Hill 55. One day we were walking back from a daily patrol and when we reached the main highway, we hitched a ride on an Army tank that was passing through. Never got inside it, but looked down into it. A few days later I was heading out on an operation in a CH-46 helicopter and got shot down. Luckily I survived with just a couple of sprained ribs-it made me realize that tanks and helicopters had the same problem-they’re both fucking bullet magnets! To all of us and those just like us-Damn Few!!
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I must have crossed your path once or twice on old Hill 55 because I got their in April 1968. Was a 2531 with the Pa Pa battery 1/9. The 155 Howitzer that came in. We had just left Khe Sahn so I know how C-130,C123, helicopters and anything else that flew attracted rockets ,artillery ,mortars and everything else they could throw at them. Then you ride in the choppers and look threw the .30 cal holes. Ya I think I know what you’re saying.
Dang Kelly, I always thought of tanks / choppers as moving foxholes, (I know Marines have fighting holes) that movement always catches the enemies eyes. Semper Fi
Well said, brother! Semper Fi
I was an 1811 tanker on USMC M48 mod A and B Patton tanks RVN . Like the 3rd MarDiv 3rd Tank BN motto “Shock , Mobility, Firepower.” A tank has truly awesome accurate firepower and that makes it a target by every freakin’ thing but a bayonet. Hard to hide in a tank.
Mark Morehead – Did you know that there is an organization just for USMC Vietnam Tankers? My email address is johnwear@yahoo,com If you will respond with an email giving me your mailing address, I will have a sample of our 48-page quarterly magazine and a membership application mailed to you. You can check us out at http://www.usmcvta.org
Post Script: unless they got a lucky shot with an RPG (most bounced off) and/or you had your ass hanging in the wind outside the hatch we didn’t have to worry unless it was a larger 122mm rocket or artillery fire. Most rounds just scared hell out of us, chipped the paint and pushed us off! GOD Bless all Marines everywhere. Semper Fi’ forever.
I was assigned to 3rd tank Bn as 2131 to work on the main gun 90mm to H&S co at Phu Bai April 67. Didn’t like maintenance anyway so every chance I got I went to A line co. I wound up at Dong Ha with Aco for awhile installing the cupola ring vision blocks under TC turret. While there got a signed as a loader on a blade tank to help guard lines at night. On one operation was suppose to go to field on that tank put at last minute they gathered up almost enough real tankers to take it out. They had to round up some grunt to be a loader. All this to say an RPG 7 came through side of the turret hitting the grunt first and killing everyone but the driver and he was burnt pretty bad. They are a mess to clean up when that happens you will never forget the smell. We had a guy there is main job was to put a rod in the RPG hole a weld it. He did a lot of them. Didn’t like maintenance so joined CAC and wound up at Khe Sanh for entire tet siege. I’m just glad to still be here
So true I was with the 1st bat.9th marines on hill 55 in 1966…
An Army Tanker told me “A Moving Foxhole attracts the Eye” after watching 3 Hueys go down in a row, I knew what he ment..
I WAS WITH 7 TH MOTORS ON HILL 2/5 MARINE TANKS WERE ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN HIGHEST POSITION AND THE 11 TH ARTILERY WAS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MOUNTAIN. AND (7TH MOTORS WAS IN BETWEEN) ONE DAY THE 11 TH ARTILERY HAD A FULL 100% FIRING ON A CERTAIN POSITION AND FIRED FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES AT LEAST 10 105 AND 155 FIRING ALL AT ONCE. (DEAFING TO HEAR) TO HIT THE TARGET THEY HAD TO SHOOT OVER THE MOUNTAIN AND YOU GUESSED IT SHORT ROUNDS WERE EXPLODING ALL AROUND THE TANKS. THE NEXT THING WE KNEW THE TANKS TURRETS (CANNON’S) WERE TURNING AROUND (180) AND AIMING AT THE 11 TH ARTILARY AND WE THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE ONE HUGE (CLUSTER F–K) AND WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE. NEED LESS TO SAY WE COULDN’T GET THE HELL! OUT OF THERE FAST ENOUGHT. WE ALL RAN AND HIDE IN THE VIETNAMES CEMETARY KNOWING IT WAS SAFE. BUT ALL THAT HAPPEN WAS A STAND OFF!. THOSE MARINES IN THOSE TANKS WERE ALL JACKED UP, FROM CHEWIN BEATLE NUT TO SMOKIN DOPE,BOOZE, ETC. YOU WOULD OPEN THE HATCH AND NOTHING BUT SMOKE WOULD COME OUT. THE TANKS INSIDE WERE PAINTED WHITE AND ALL FULL OF GRAFFITTE AND ALL AROUND INSIDE THE TURRET WERE 108 ROUNDS THEY COULD CARE LESS BECAUSE THEY COULD GET HIT WITH A ROCKET AT ANY TIME AND WORSE THING THAT (ALLWAYS HAPPEN) THEY WOULD LOSE A TRACK (PIN SHEARS OFF) AND THE TRACK WOULD JUST SPIT RIGHT OUT AND THEY WERE DEAD IN THE WATER AND THE SNIPERS WOULD LIKE TO PICK THEM OFF WHEN THEY HAD TO FIX THE TRACK! TANKS WERE USELESS IN VIETNAM GETTING STUCK AND BLOWEN OUT TRACKS ALL THE TIME IN THE MONSOON SEASON. WELL THOUGHT I WOULD LET YOU KNOW HOW IT WAS IN THE NAM! (SEMPER FI)
The reasons I was a tanker in Vietnam were these: As long as the tank ran, I did NOT have to walk. When I got shot at I had a direct fire ninety millimeter tank cannon, a fifty caliber machine gun, a co-axially mounted thirty caliber machine gun, a forty five caliber sub-machine gun, and personal weapons to shoot back with. Finally, I did NOT have to carry a hundred pound ruck sack on my back. The “gypsy rack” carried it for me. The reasons I was an air cavalryman in Vietnam were these: As long as the helicopter flew, I did NOT have to walk. When I got shot at I had gunships, machine guns, rocket pods, grenade launchers, and personal weapons to shoot back with. Finally the “bird” carried all my stuff so I didn’t have to. Yes I heartily agree that they are damn big targets, but for all the reasons I’ve given, I rode and flew through twenty nine months of scared and sweaty service in Vietnam, and at almost seventy years of age am here to say many thanks to helicopters and tanks.
The Griff – Where the heck have you been brother???
Just chillin’ in the high desert of the Antelope Valley. Stayin’ close to home b/c my shoulders, hips, and knees are arthritic enough not to let me get too far. Gettin’ old is a somewhat painful prospect, but I’m still shufflin’ along.
I was with 2/7 in ’68. It was raining like hell and I fell asleep under a tank on Liberty Bridge. They had a fire mission in the middle of the night and when they cut loose I tried to sit up and rang my bell on the underside of the tank. Couldn’t call the corpsman ’cause that was me.
You hit that nail right on the head! Anything that flew or drove.
in ’68 in Chu Lai I was a cook…never saw a tank……in ’81 at Ft Bliss, in the army then…I drove a tank….nice!
Hey Mark, you’re another double jeopardy vet. Always glad to hear about one.
I was a tanker in Vietnam and proud of what we did. I was there 67 and 68. If we were as worthless as the person above states why was it the grunts liked to hide behind us, and I’m here to tell you that not.all things bounced off us. Tet 68 RPG went through us. Long time in the hospital.
THEY WERE ONLY (USELESS) IN THE MONSOON SEASON WHEN THE BELLY OF THE TANK WOULD GET LIFTED UP ON( MUD BOG FROM SINKING IN THE CLAY MUD) EVER HEAR OF (TANK RETRIVERS?) AND THE GRUNT’S WALKED BEHIND THE TANK SO THE WOULDN’T SINK IN THE (CLAY TYPE MUD) AND DIDN’T SINK UP TO THERE KNEES AND LOSE THEIR BOOTS.( BEEN THERE DONE THAT!) AND (HELICOPTER’S WERE A DEATH TRAP) ALLYWAS GETTING SHOT DOWN. IT GOT SO BAD LOOSING PILOTS AND CREW AND MARINES THEY CANVASED FOR ANYBODY WITH A TWO YEAR ASSOCIATE DEGREE TO BECOME A PILOT OR WHO WANTED TO BE A PILOT.WITH INTEREST. AND MARINES (AREN’T STUPID) THATS WHY THEY LET YOU TAKE THE HIT (RPG) SEMPER FI!
I was out on Operation Chinook (Camp Evans) north of Hue in late Dec 1966/early 1967. It was during the monsoon season and I saw several tanks “belly-out” in the rain soaked ground and had to be pulled out by tank retrievers. The ground was so soaked that wide tracked Otters, normally used on the Arctic snow and Ice, were brought in for resupply purposes. As for helicopters, I had occasion to fly in the 34’s and 46’s and most had green duck tape covering the bullet holes. On one occasion, I was flying on a CH-34 between Camp Evans and Dong Ha when the pilot made a very quick dropping maneuver. When we got to Dong Ha I asked the door gunner what had happened and he said the pilot caught sight of tracer round and made the maneuver to avoid getting hit. On another occasion I was on a flight on a C-130 from Dong Ha to Phu Ba. On approach, we noticed a crew member going from one side of the plane to the other looking outside. When we landed the plane stopped at one end of the runway and we were told to hurry and get off. Upon looking back, we saw that, evidently, while on approach, a “sniper” had put a round through a wing tank. So, it seemed that about EVERYTING that moved was a potential target. And, let’s not leave out the Amtrak and Ontose crews.
Correct 68 Tet, not all RPG s bounced off as noted. Due to homogenous bonded armor and angle of the armor -by design-and angle of shot most bounced off . Not all and some on an easy side shot blew the track! That description of Marine tankers as pot heads and wasted all the time does not describe 90% of tankers I was proud to serve with. The DIs at PI used to scream there’s always 10%! So yes20% might be shit heads, the rest were the few, the proud and definitely Marines. Semper Fi and sorry you took the hit Bro’.
The 500 members of the USMC Vietnam Tankers Association would be honored if any of you “treadheads” wanted to join the brotherhood. We are conducting a biennial reunion in St Louis, MO, on Sept 21 – 25, 2017. We’d love to see you there. Send me an email………………..johnwear@yahoo.com
Helo’s do attract fire but I joined the Marines with an Aviation Guarantee… I didn’t like to walk in the boy scouts and dang sure didn’t want to walk if I was in a hostile environment which anywhere in Vietnam applies… Class of 72…. CH 46 makes a bigger target than a Huey or Cobra…. but not as big as the 53’s did..
Now that was pretty damn funny. I’m sitting here in Boulder City, Nevada, drinking a cold Coors and started laughing out loud. Crew Cheif, HMM-364, The Purple Foxes. Marble Mountain, 69/70. 517 Strike/Flight missions and never once did I think about being compared to a Tanker!! Pretty good!! I like it!! We’d go up to Camp Reasoner, Tanker Unit was next door. I used to bug the hell out of them, cause I really wanted to drive a tank. Better yet, wanted to shot the big gun!! God God what a time it was!! Love all Marines, Grunt, Tanker, Machine Gunner, Comm, or Airedale. Semper Fi Marines—everywhere.
Amtraks are also in the same category … but with much less armor than a tank. We also had several hundred gallons of high-octane gasoline between the hull bottom and the interior deck … (3rd Amtrak Bn, Co. B, Maintenance Plt., 1969-70)
As a tank gunner I did not need drugs had a 90mm gun yes gun!( 68 lands and 68 groves). And I have to say after a hell of a night and in the morning when the infantry had been in a circle of 48’s who laid down so much fire power the was no second wave and all the casualties were evact. My brothers on the ground were very tankful. In Memory. Cpt. Waunch.Kia. 28, July 1969 Operation Idaho Canyon.