Post by Anonymous Vet on Dec 23, 2002 14:52:21 GMT -5
10Jun68
CHU LAI, Vietnam (IO)- No matter how short a man gets in Vietnam, the unexpected can still happen - right up to the last minute.
Captain Vernon A. Campbell of Patton, Me., found this out on his last day in the field as commanding officer of "A" Co., 4th Bn., 3d Inf., of the Americal Div.'s 11th Inf. Brigade.
His "Old Guard" unit made a combat assault north of the Tra Khuc River five miles west of Quang Ngai City. As he and his men moved along a jungle trail, Campbell stepped on the cardboard top of a C-ration box.
Suddenly, there was a flash and bang, and Campbell was knocked off his feet.
"It sounded like three blasting caps going off at once," he said. "We all froze, and when I looked around a saw a small cloud of white smoke, and then more white smoke and a puttering sound off to one side of the trail.
The smoke and sputtering were coming from the mouth of a 4.2 inch mortar shell. Campbell had stepped on the igniter of a booby trap. "After a while , the sputtering stopped, and the shell never exploded."
But, the captain's day wasn't over yet.
"We started to move out of the area, carefully checking for more booby traps," he said. "Then I stepped into a punji pit." Luckily the punji pits, with their hidden eight-inch spikes were old. "Another man and I were cut a little by them, but not seriously," he said.
Campbell is now assigned to Americal Div. headquarters as a briefing officer for the division's G-2 (intelligence) section. He had been with his company for over a year, both when it was training at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and after the brigade arrived in Vietnam last December.
"I hate to leave the company," he said. "Some people may think I used up all my luck that day, but as far as I'm concerned, I've still got plenty left. It probably wouldn't happen again if I stayed over here two more years."
CHU LAI, Vietnam (IO)- No matter how short a man gets in Vietnam, the unexpected can still happen - right up to the last minute.
Captain Vernon A. Campbell of Patton, Me., found this out on his last day in the field as commanding officer of "A" Co., 4th Bn., 3d Inf., of the Americal Div.'s 11th Inf. Brigade.
His "Old Guard" unit made a combat assault north of the Tra Khuc River five miles west of Quang Ngai City. As he and his men moved along a jungle trail, Campbell stepped on the cardboard top of a C-ration box.
Suddenly, there was a flash and bang, and Campbell was knocked off his feet.
"It sounded like three blasting caps going off at once," he said. "We all froze, and when I looked around a saw a small cloud of white smoke, and then more white smoke and a puttering sound off to one side of the trail.
The smoke and sputtering were coming from the mouth of a 4.2 inch mortar shell. Campbell had stepped on the igniter of a booby trap. "After a while , the sputtering stopped, and the shell never exploded."
But, the captain's day wasn't over yet.
"We started to move out of the area, carefully checking for more booby traps," he said. "Then I stepped into a punji pit." Luckily the punji pits, with their hidden eight-inch spikes were old. "Another man and I were cut a little by them, but not seriously," he said.
Campbell is now assigned to Americal Div. headquarters as a briefing officer for the division's G-2 (intelligence) section. He had been with his company for over a year, both when it was training at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and after the brigade arrived in Vietnam last December.
"I hate to leave the company," he said. "Some people may think I used up all my luck that day, but as far as I'm concerned, I've still got plenty left. It probably wouldn't happen again if I stayed over here two more years."