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Doug_Kibbey

Roy,
I've finally heard back from Joe about that incident with the M88 and attack at FSB Fiddler's Green that you asked about...(I've invited him to join us here, of course). His brief description of the event:

"You were on FSB Fiddlers Green late March 72'?.I was on Fiddlers Green in March 72' from 557th Light Engineers and Buddy, I was short to the max...we were there to clear the perimeter...we were hit...and a Cobra and a LOH saved our asses....I was at what I believe to be the NE corner with my guys during the exchange...I clearly remember a light Colonel, screaming into his radio..."I NEED air support and I need it right f***ing now g**damnit, we're being over-run".......do you have any recall of this? Its hell when the brain starts to go, huh?"

fmr Sgt Joe Wenzler
557th Light Engineers (Earth Eaters)
Long Binh Post
71-72

__________________________________________________________

Apparently, I must have been out on patrol during this incident (or I have brain rot) because I don't specifically recall it. This is possible because I was technically in HQ platoon of G Troop and went out with whatever platoons were on patrol because I had the medic on my car. You recall this better, so maybe 2nd platoon was "back at the fort".

Also, was it not in late March that we went, as a Troop, back to Long Binh to turn in our vehicles? We would have been together on that road march, so I think there may be some imprecision of a week or two in the date, but I'm not the one to say. A lot of the Troop strength must have been somewhere other than the Firebase, because I know our reaction would have been an immediate assault on the source of an attack like described.
Sounds like some lucky engineers, in any case...

Roy_A_Lingle

Hi Doug! Hi Folks!

- Doug_Kibbey

Roy,
I've finally heard back from Joe about that incident with the M88 and attack at FSB Fiddler's Green that you asked about...(I've invited him to join us here, of course). His brief description of the event:

"You were on FSB Fiddlers Green late March 72'?.I was on Fiddlers Green in March 72' from 557th Light Engineers....

Apparently, I must have been out on patrol during this incident (or I have brain rot) because I don't specifically recall it.

You recall this better, so maybe 2nd platoon was "back at the fort".

What I remember about Fiddler's Green was:

Prior to G Troop going in for castle guard duty, the place was hit by a mortar (or maybe it was a rocket) attack. After we got there, you could find small craters and some damaged items (I remember a canvas shower bucket with a lot of holes in it laying on the ground).

While in for castle guard duty, G-29 (Sheridan) was in the North West corner of the base with Boom-Boom to it's right. One mid-afternoon, something started exploding off the North East corner, just out side the fence line of the base and just about everyone dived for cover thinking it was another attack by Charlie. Later we were told it was an ARVN artillery unit firing for registration.

Most of the area to the north was very open with very low grass cover. There was a road running along the West side of the base, again low grass cover. The area to the North East and East side was covered with grass that was about half way up the side of a M-113. One time, coming back into base after a RIF, the ACAV behind me hit a small land mine in that area. When we stood down, we passed the base on the East and South sides and it seams like, the grass was much shorter then.

A few weeks before we got the word that the Squadron was standing down, there was a story that a Squadron maintenance M-88, carrying all of the maintenance section mechanics hit a large land mine, on or, near the road that passed along the west side of the base. Word was all of them had to be dusted off. The M-88 was destoryed by fire. At that point we had no direct maintenace support at Squadron level. During the stand down, my crew and I had to replace a final drive by ourselfs because there was no Squadron maintenace section.

- Doug_Kibbey

Also, was it not in late March that we went, as a Troop, back to Long Binh to turn in our vehicles? We would have been together on that road march, so I think there may be some imprecision of a week or two in the date, but I'm not the one to say.

I think your close with late March, I am not sure, maybe it was early April.

- Doug_Kibbey

A lot of the Troop strength must have been somewhere other than the Firebase, because I know our reaction would have been an immediate assault on the source of an attack like described.
Sounds like some lucky engineers, in any case...

I agree. I think the reason we are not remembering this event was G Troop had left Fiddler's Green and was patrolling out to the North East of the fire base. While still within 155 range, we were couple of hours drive from the base. If it had taken place while we were out on a RIF from the FSB, I think we would have heard all about from the member's of the platoon that stayed back that day.

I will try to remember to check my old military orders and see if I can find a date for when I was transfered from 2nd Squadron over to the 3rd BCT,1st Air Cav Div. Maybe that can give us a little bit better time frame.

Some of our old history, as best I can remember it.
Sgt, Scouts Out! Smile

Doug_Kibbey

- Roy_A_Lingle

I will try to remember to check my old military orders and see if I can find a date for when I was transfered from 2nd Squadron over to the 3rd BCT,1st Air Cav Div. Maybe that can give us a little bit better time frame.

Some of our old history, as best I can remember it.
Sgt, Scouts Out!

Roy...
My DD214 specifies a DEROS date of 23Mar72, if it's to be believed. So, that gives some sort of fix on the activities of the troop in March...I think it took about one week to accomplish the following:
1. Road March from NDP or FSB Fiddler's Green to Phu Loi, turn in heavy weapons.
2. Road March from Phu Loi to Long Binh, clean and turn in vehicles for ARVN.
3. Process out and get manifested on a "freedom bird" (for those of us not going on to another unit...2/11th was already my second, so it was Ft. Knox for this trooper...)

It sounds about right..and I recall reporting in to Ft. Knox in mid-April at the Armor Board.

What's your orders say?

Roy_A_Lingle

Hi Doug! Hi Folks!

Found my transfer orders. They are dated 28 Feb. 1972 with a reporting date of 3 March 1972.

If that is any were close to what we really did, then the Troop should have been at the Phu Loi Base camp sometime around mid Febuary along with most, if not all of the rest of the Squadron.

I remember when I reported to the 3rd BCT of 1st Cav that a number of other Black Horse Troopers from the other Troops also reported in with me.

One of them was upset Evil or Very Mad

with the 1st Cav because they had renamed Fiddler's Green. That Trooper though that the Fire Base had been named after a Lt. Green who was lost by E or F Troop.

We have a major memory problem. If Joe was at the FSB in March, then we don't remember his event because the 2nd Sqdn was no longer there. Also if it was March, then 3rd BCT of 1st Cav was there and the name had been changed. If it was in January or Febuary, then we were some were in the area, just not on Castle Guard at the time.

Man, I wish I had kept a diary during my service time. Sad

Sgt, Scouts Out! Smile

Doug_Kibbey

- Roy_A_Lingle

Hi Doug! Hi Folks!

Found my transfer orders. They are dated 28 Feb. 1972 with a reporting date of 3 March 1972.

If that is any were close to what we really did, then the Troop should have been at the Phu Loi Base camp sometime around mid Febuary along with most, if not all of the rest of the Squadron.

Sgt, Scouts Out!

Roy...
I think your orders don't quite reflect reality. Two dates I am ABSOLUTELY sure of are February 23rd and 26th...and G Troop still was firmly in the field and conducting it's combat operations and overnight halts at night defense perimeters on both of those. (The 23rd is the date of former CO, Capt. Clark's death, succombing to wounds received 2-3 few weeks earlier...we got this word while at an NDP...and that's his date on "The Wall"....and the 26th is a date of personal significance to me, so I noted where I was).

...unless you weren't still with us for the road march and turn-in of vehicles at Long Binh, I think your reporting to your next unit sound "premature".

I might look over my letters home...I "inherited" them back once both my parents were gone and they're numbered, so I can check the last ones...however, I kinda' fibbed about my date expected home because I wanted to surprise them (and hedged against getting waxed at the last minute, just in case...).

P.S., Nixon was in China from Feb. 21-28, and I recall some of us at the G Troop HQ back in Phu Loi watching film of the conclusion of this event on AFVN TV. Since it wasn't "live", I think the very soonest we could have been in Phu Loi to do that would have been Feb 28-March 1st. However, it is entirely possible that I was back in Phu Loi on a 'day trip', like a mail run or something. If you recall, the troop often dispatched one guy more-or-less daily (or whenever a supply chopper came by) to the rear for "troop business"...or "personal business", as the case may have been) on a sort of rotation basis. My recollection is not that, however. I think we were put in at Phu Loi on or about the first week of March for ammo/heavy weapon turn-in before proceeding to Long Binh. (Well, we turned in whatever ammo we didn't blow up in that giant explosive mound we created out there in Binh Duong province somewhere Mr. Green

)

Roy_A_Lingle

Hi Doug! Hi Folks!

[quote="Doug_Kibbey"]

- Roy_A_Lingle

Hi Doug! Hi Folks!

Found my transfer orders. They are dated 28 Feb. 1972 with a reporting date of 3 March 1972.

If that is any were close to what we really did, then the Troop should have been at the Phu Loi Base camp sometime around mid Febuary along with most, if not all of the rest of the Squadron.

Sgt, Scouts Out!

- Doug_Kibbey

Roy...
I think your orders don't quite reflect reality. Two dates I am ABSOLUTELY sure of are February 23rd and 26th...and G Troop still was firmly in the field and conducting it's combat operations and overnight halts at night defense perimeters on both of those. (The 23rd is the date of former CO, Capt. Clark's death, succombing to wounds received 2-3 few weeks earlier...we got this word while at an NDP...and that's his date on "The Wall"....and the 26th is a date of personal significance to me, so I noted where I was).

...unless you weren't still with us for the road march and turn-in of vehicles at Long Binh, I think your reporting to your next unit sound "premature".

I don't remember the date, but I remember the nightly platoon meeting with the LT the night he told us about Capt. Clark. It also seams like that was the same meeting that we were told the Squadron would be standing down and we would be heading in sometime in the next few days. That was one of those BAD News/Good News Nights. For me and my crew, it took a lot of the happness out of the stand down news.

- Doug_Kibbey

P.S., Nixon was in China from Feb. 21-28, and I recall some of us at the G Troop HQ back in Phu Loi watching film of the conclusion of this event on AFVN TV. Since it wasn't "live", I think the very soonest we could have been in Phu Loi to do that would have been Feb 28-March 1st. ..... I think we were put in at Phu Loi on or about the first week of March for ammo/heavy weapon turn-in before proceeding to Long Binh. (Well, we turned in whatever ammo we didn't blow up in that giant explosive mound we created out there in Binh Duong province somewhere )

I think this maybe the time line.
27th or 28th of Feb, the Troop road marched to Phu Loi.
That night, there was a troop swimming party at the closed base swimming pool. The pool was about half full of dirty water.
March
1st, turned in remaining ammo, all weapons, and other gear and equipment.
2nd, crew and I replaced the right final drive assemble by hand. We had to break track on the vehicle we took a good final drive off the left side of(to all you old M113 operators, see note at end of post). Break track on Boom-Boom, switch both final drives around and put the track back on Boom-Boom. As I remember, all that took the better part of a day. Sometime during those two days, we removed the ACAV kit and placed it at a collection point (a big pile of gun shields).
3rd, took Boom-Boom to Long Binh for clean up and turn in.
My crew was able to use a wash rack while you didn't, so we must have been in different convoys.
4th, out processed G Troop, received a CIB for my platoon leader.
5th, bus ride over to the 1st Cav. Remember saying good bye to my two gunners who were going home, but still didn't know when.

My guess is you and the guys who were going home where kept around to do the final turn ins/stand down actions while those who were staying in country were transfered as soon as they could out process us.

I think the 23rd of Feb. is the key date. G Troop was out in the field that night. You watching Nixon in China sometime around the 28th or 1st of March would put the Troop in Phu Loi.

I don't remember the date, but I do remember that was the night the stand down started.

I am thinking Joe's event must have happiened in Febuary after G Troop had completed it's turn at Castle Guard duty.

Note from above: Shocked

replaced the right final drive assemble by hand. We had to break track on the vehicle we took a good final drive off the left side of(to all you old M113 operators, see note at end of post). Break track on Boom-Boom, switch both final drives around....

OK Folks, this is a test, anyone know what went wrong with this action? Once we saw the problem, we left it that way and the inspection team at Long Binh didn't notice it. Mr. Green

Sgt, Scouts Out! Smile

Doug_Kibbey

Roy,
We had the use of a wash station (after physically chipping out the dried packed mud under the floor plates), but I don't recall if this was at Phu Loi, or Long Binh. It's the same place as my pic of G29 on the trailer with all it's right side road wheels blown off by the mine it hit. There was a pack change for somebody's vehicle as well, you can see it in that pic...the one I duplexed with your pic of G29 "before" the mine hit. Big water tower in background. Just don't recall where this was, but I'm thinking Long Binh.

For those of us shipping back to the world, we had a processing of a few days and housed temporarily at some wooden barracks while waiting for flight manifests (and visiting the "Pee House of the August Moon" for urinalysis). I took the time to have a nice VN tailor sew up the parts of my personally owned .45 into the liner of a field jacket for taking home (this ruse worked!...passed the "contraband" inspection...). Not having a club, we sort of invaded the Officer's Club/theater of an Aviation Company and worked out a deal where we could use the theater (EM too!) if we bought our drinks in the bar and retired immedately to the theater. This kept the peace.

I recall getting home just in time to watch the Spring Offensive get really cranked up on TV (we already knew it was going to "rain" from my scouting up north before the 2/11th)...thought the whole country would fold by May....but only half the country did...the other half took two years more.

I think your timeline sounds about right, within a day or two, anyway...close enough!

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