Post by Anonymous Vet on Dec 21, 2002 14:19:36 GMT -5
MARCH 6, 1967
TWO-WEEK JOB 65TH
ENGINEERS BLOW UP VC
HEADQUARTERS
CU CHI
Enough dynamite to destroy a
20-story building was detonated in the
mountains north of Pleiku to demolish
an enemy headquarters found in Binh
Dinh Province by the division's 3rd
Brigade.
Army engineers spent two weeks
and used 69 tons of TNT destroying the
headquarters located in natural caves on
a mountainside. The caves twisted
through 30-ton rocks, past hundreds of
exits and into rooms large enough in
some places to hold 120 men.
Destruction of such natural
fortifications is a difficult enough job in
peacetime. Under the combat
conditions which Company D, 65th
Engineer Battalion, had to work, it was
nearly a miracle that they accomplished
their mission.
"I've never had a harder job and I've
never done anything I've been more
proud of," said 2nd Lieutenant Donald
R. Nance, 27, the engineer in charge.
"And I think everyone who was up there
feels the same way."
The only way the caves could be
blown was from the inside out- by
meticulously planting huge quantities of
explosives in key weak points and
natural faults in the cave's structure. If
the cave itself ould not be blown, then it
least the entrances could be sealed.
A force of 39 engineers and parts of
Company B, 1st Battalion, 14th
Infantry, set out one morning recently
to blow the caves.
"Chinooks" hauled the explosives
-when they could get low enough to
drop them, but the infantry and
engineers hauled most of it on their
backs. Each man had to make
about 500 trips half-way up a 50 degree
slope carrying 10 pounds of dynamite
plus his combat gear - - . all in two
weeks.
"I've got nothing but admiration for
these boys," Lt. Nance said. "They've
got great stamina and a lot of spirit.
The morale got higher as the going got
rough. After the caves were searched
and stripped of anything of value, the
engineers moved in, positioned their
charges, cleared the area and blasted.
Then they moved to he next room. The
engineers set off a total of 12 blasts
averaging more than five and a half
tons per explosion."
At the end of two weeks the
engineers were tired men, but the
North Vietnamese Army and the Viet
Cong in the area were temporarily
without a home.
TWO-WEEK JOB 65TH
ENGINEERS BLOW UP VC
HEADQUARTERS
CU CHI
Enough dynamite to destroy a
20-story building was detonated in the
mountains north of Pleiku to demolish
an enemy headquarters found in Binh
Dinh Province by the division's 3rd
Brigade.
Army engineers spent two weeks
and used 69 tons of TNT destroying the
headquarters located in natural caves on
a mountainside. The caves twisted
through 30-ton rocks, past hundreds of
exits and into rooms large enough in
some places to hold 120 men.
Destruction of such natural
fortifications is a difficult enough job in
peacetime. Under the combat
conditions which Company D, 65th
Engineer Battalion, had to work, it was
nearly a miracle that they accomplished
their mission.
"I've never had a harder job and I've
never done anything I've been more
proud of," said 2nd Lieutenant Donald
R. Nance, 27, the engineer in charge.
"And I think everyone who was up there
feels the same way."
The only way the caves could be
blown was from the inside out- by
meticulously planting huge quantities of
explosives in key weak points and
natural faults in the cave's structure. If
the cave itself ould not be blown, then it
least the entrances could be sealed.
A force of 39 engineers and parts of
Company B, 1st Battalion, 14th
Infantry, set out one morning recently
to blow the caves.
"Chinooks" hauled the explosives
-when they could get low enough to
drop them, but the infantry and
engineers hauled most of it on their
backs. Each man had to make
about 500 trips half-way up a 50 degree
slope carrying 10 pounds of dynamite
plus his combat gear - - . all in two
weeks.
"I've got nothing but admiration for
these boys," Lt. Nance said. "They've
got great stamina and a lot of spirit.
The morale got higher as the going got
rough. After the caves were searched
and stripped of anything of value, the
engineers moved in, positioned their
charges, cleared the area and blasted.
Then they moved to he next room. The
engineers set off a total of 12 blasts
averaging more than five and a half
tons per explosion."
At the end of two weeks the
engineers were tired men, but the
North Vietnamese Army and the Viet
Cong in the area were temporarily
without a home.