MIDNIGHT SURPRISE

PREFACE
I am one of those people born with a built-in alarm clock. I keep an alarm next to my bed, but rarely does it go off before I am awake. It has been this way as long as I can remember. No matter what time or when I need to get motivated, my built-in timer almost always let me know when it was time to respond .......

Guard Duty at Ben Luc Bridge

December,1968, Bravo Co was assigned to duty guarding the Ben Luc Bridge on Highway 4, south of Saigon. Primary duty was to protect the bridge from being destroyed, but the company also provided convoy escort from Cholon in Saigon to Dong Tam and back. This was sweet duty compared to humping the paddies, riding a track sure beat walking in mud and such. Turnaround time in Dong Tam allowed quick trips into the Px for those with money.

Guarding the bridge meant staying in set positions along the road north of the bridge, usually 2 platoons were there, plus the weapons platoon and HQ group. The third platoon might be assigned to ambush patrols around the area of the bridge, but that was on a rotational basis, meaning generally every third night. This was a lot less physical than most other assignments, easier to get rest at night. As part of Bridge security, a squad was assigned to be put on a construction barge moored in the Ben Luc river just downstream from the bridge. It was their duty to use C-4 explosives and grenades to discourage VC swimmers from attempting to mine the bridge by exploding charges at random in the river around the barge.

The trip to and from the barge was a little scary, being loaded down with gear, if you fell from the small boat used, you were a goner. Being on the barge was not much better, ARVN riflemen stationed on the bridge were to shoot at anything floating in the river. Small caliber bullets tend to ricochet, the barge was covered with spent bullets. You tended to spend the hours on the barge lying down, listening to the ARVN fire, and the occasional ping of a ricochet to help keep you alert.

Green Beret Sergeant

Around this time,1st platoon had a Hispanic Sgt join us, a Green Beret. (Name lost to history at this point). He told me his A team had been overrun by a larger NVA force, he was the only man from the 12 man team able to return to duty. He needed 6 more weeks to complete a full tour in Vietnam, it was important to him to do so. A teams are just that, his short time prevented his being assigned to another team, so he was sent to us as a replacement. He was a heavy weapons/demolition specialist with a medical secondary, so I became friendly to him to learn the medical things taught Green Berets. They are trained 2 levels above my medic1s training, so I wanted to see what he could teach me. I also got him to give me a crash course in explosives, I've forgotten most of it, but at the time, I could have gotten work in Explosive Ordnance Disposal according to the Sgt.

During one day at the bridge, I was talking to the Sgt. We walked onto the bridge, and I pointed downstream about 400 yards at a tree line that came to the right side riverbank, as seen from the bridge. I told him if I were VC, I'd put people there every night to see what I might be able to do. I thought we might have received sniper fire from there on occasion during the night. He looked at it a minute and said he'd bet I was right. Because there was a hooch about 75 meters inland along the front of this tree line, it was never subjected to interdiction mortar fire, and I figured the VC knew that. Nice place to observe from and maybe set up mortars or rockets. And I don't remember ever doing a night ambush on that side of Hwy 4 south of the bridge.

The Plan, The Bait

It was our turn at the barge that night, and late in the afternoon, the Sgt called for me to go with him to pick up our allotment of C-4 and extra grenades. While he talked to the Captain, I spotted a case of Flex-X explosives. These were flat sheets,1/4 lb each 4 to a block. Each pound of FLEX-X was equivalent to 3 lbs of C-4 explosives. While the Captain was distracted, I copped 4 blocks of FLEX-X and a full roll of fuse, and hid them in my pants, no mean feat as I was skinny as could be. Once back at our track, I clued the Sgt in on my plan. The barge was full of scrap metal and wood, I wanted to build a little raft, float it down river to a point near the woodline, and have the FLEX-X explode. If there were any VC there, hopefully they would react to the explosion, thus reveling themselves, or at least shit in their pants. He thought that was great, he and I would do it that night. Once on the barge, we scrounged some pieces of 2x10 and tied them together with bailing wire. We lashed the FLEX-X in the center, and as an added attraction, the SGT came up with 2 pails of rusty nuts and bolts, which we also lashed to the raft. This should spray the woodline like a claymore mine, really getting the attention of anyone there.

We cut 2 2-foot long pieces of fuse to determine the burn time, and timed the river by throwing a 2x4 into it at the front of the barge, and timing it to the back. This was almost fatal, as an ARVN saw the board and emptied his rifle at it, even though it was moving away from the bridge. We decided Midnight was a good time, so at 2 minutes to midnight we lit 2 fuses on the raft and placed it into the water from the rear of the barge. The Sgt timed the trip based on our best guess of distance and fuse burn time, and he counted down the last ten seconds. Nothing happened.

We looked at each other, and looked back down river, feeling a little disappointed when there was a tremendous explosion near the right bank of the river. We could see the trees react to the blast and assumedly the shrapnel, then we saw the river surface ripple with dozens of objects landing in the water, like a wave coming our way. Apparently not all the nuts and bolts went where we wanted them to, but the wave stopped 20 yards short of the barge, thank God. Almost immediately the right bank of the river came alive with small arms fire and machine guns, spraying green tracers across the river towards the left bank. We yelled in excitement and delight when suddenly the left bank exploded with a blast of red tracers going towards the right bank. Not only had we gotten the VC to revel themselves, but we initiated contact between them and a apparently friendly force on the opposite bank. The Sgt and I huddled next to the construction crane on the barge and laughed as we watched the show. It lasted about 10 minutes, we were amazed at how much of the firing was going over the trees on the other bank, as if both sides were shooting high to avoid hitting the other. Then it was over. People lined the bridge,some Bravo officer yelled down to us asking what the hell happened. The Sgt shrugged his shoulders, and yelled up maybe a VC mine had detonated early. We finished our guard and went to sleep.

Medevac Sgt

Several days later, one of my guys came and told me the Sgt was sick. He was lying in our track covered with blankets, sweating buckets and shivering like it was freezing out. It was in the 90's. I started to look him over when he told me it was Malaria, he'd caught it years ago. I told him I wanted to send him to Tan An for treatment, he became angry and told me not to because the Army might discharge him and he'd lose his retirement pension after over 17 years. I knew he was sicker than I could handle, so I told the LT we had to evac him. The Lt went to see the Captain to arrange transport,and one of the guys said the Sgt wanted to see me.

I stepped onto the ramp going into the track and said hi. His eyes were wild, and he was sweating even heavier than before but he wasn't shaking. He said, ŒI know you are doing what you think is best, come here I want to shake your hand.1 I took another step, then noticed his left arm was partially hidden by his left leg, but his hand was on the hilt of his jungle knife. I knew it wasn't the SGT doing this, but the fever and delirium. ŒSorry Sarge, but my dance card is full right now1 I said. ŒLook me up in 20 years if you still feel the same way and we'll see how it goes. At least my way, I know you'll be around then1. I walked away,two guys placed the Sgt on a litter and they loaded him onto a jeep for the ride to Tan An, he stared at me till he was out of sight, I waved and blew him a kiss. I never heard how he made out, and never saw him again.