1st Battalion 22nd Infantry B Company Mortar Platoon

1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

Life in B Company Mortar Platoon 1969-1970

By Raymond Richard

Raymond Richard

Overview:

Over the years I think back to when I was in the mortar platoon in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. Before going there I had never
seen one state side. My thoughts on this tool after 54 years of thought is who was in more danger. Us or the enemy. I just don't think it was
the right tool for where this war was fought. It was too big for starters. We were fortunate that we never had to pack it. The tool itself required
4 men to pack, tube, tripod, base plate, and site. Think the mortar rounds were around 10 pounds each. Then there's all the Fire Direction
Control things and those red and white aiming stakes along with the instruments used to set them up properly. Think we set them up north/south
axis. That was my job for a while.

The soil where we were was way too soft. After you fired just one round the base plate would sink into the ground a good 6". We were having
to dig the base plate out and even dig the hole bigger and bury some small logs to give the base plate more of a foundation and that still wasn't
enough. Never did see a 60mm mortar there. I'm thinking the M 79 gernade launcher had something to do with that.

Seemed like we always had the mortars with us but seldom set them up. Quit often we would be set up on top of a hill with a few fighting
positions and dig some sleeping bunkers and be targets and then get moved and do pretty much the samething on another such hill.

Memories:

June 27, 1967 I made to the bus depot in downtown San Diego in route to Ft Ord, California for my army basic training to become a soldier.
It seemed like we were in hold for a couple weeks before we started actual training. Beside getting all the shots there was a number of tests
to take. After the testing I was offered army school where I could learn something that might be useful in civilian life. The only catch was if you
chose to go to one of the schools it would cost you an extra year in the army. In 1967 the war was heating up. One of my friends I had known
since 1st grade had already been killed on the 16th Feburary of that year, Lamar Duck. He served with A Co. 1/22nd Inf.. Not sure if it was just
his platoon or A Company as a whole but 20 men were killed in an ambush that day. I decided to take an extra year.

After Basic training my next assignment was at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. I hurried up and got there and it seemed like I had to
wait therefor a couple months for my training class to start. The class itself was 6 months long. It was one of those things if you didn't start
working at it you forgot it pretty fast. The army would try to cram a lot of crap in your head in a very short period of time. My hope was that I
would work in that MOS and then be able to use it after I got out. It was all electronics right at the time that transistors first started appearing.
It all turned out to be just another big waste of time. I graduated and became a combat missile systems repair specialist.

However trying to find a unit that could use my new skills could not be found. My MOS was 27C20, combat missile technician who was trained
to work on the fire mechanisms for several type of small missiles. The army sent me there with thoughts of starting a Sheridan tank unit
but then changed their mind. I had been sent to Ft Campbell, Kentucky as a part of an Infantry Company which was mostly Vietnam returnee's
that wanted no part of being in the army.

One of the things I found out with my MOS being 27C20 was I would not be promoted to the next rank unless I changed my MOS to mortars
and become an 11C20. Then they wanted to promote me to SGT E-5 when I'd never seen a mortar and knew nothing about them. I told them
no thanks. Never got trained in mortars until I got to Nam and got little training there.

August of 1969 I found myself on Flying Tiger Airlines headed to South Vietnam. Where in Vietnam I was headed I had no idea. I was never
trained in mortars and the first time I saw a 81mm mortar set up was at LZ Bass. I arrived at LZ Bass just before a big move so my new job
as a mortar man would start at LZ No Name. Did I mention all my training with the platoon was in the form of on the job training which didn't
amount to much of anything. Didn't realize that 9 men before I arrived had been killed from mortar related mishaps. 4 men were killed while
adjusting fire for defensive targets and 5 men were killed while securing a load of mortar ammo that was dropped in the wrong place and
eventually blew up along with the 5 men that were guarding it. Rumor was that the ammo they were guarding had been booby trapped before
the men arrived that were assigned to guard it. I do recall hearing about these 5 men shortly after I got there. The other 4 not at all.

At No Name the first thing we did was set up for defensive targets. At the time I didn't realize how dangerous that was till long after I came home
and found the 1/22 website. An 81mm mortar round came with 9 cloth bags of explosives. Depending on how far the rounds were to travel
determined how many bags were removed. For firing defensive targets all the bags were removed except for the propellent that came in the round.
I remember seeing the mortar tube pointing almost straight up and a mortar round dropped down the tube. There was a small explosion and
you see the mortar round shoot almost straight up, then you see it turn 90 degrees and come straight down and explode. All the defensive targets
were all predetermined.

Seemed like we would no sooner get dug in and start to relax a little and the next thing we would hear is tear the roof off, were leaving in the
morning. Every other week it would be a repeat of the previous week for a few months. After No Name we were sent to another firebase that
didn't have any room for us so they put us outside the wire. By far the wettest and muddiest place on the face of the earth. Our new temporary
home.

Mortar of Company B 1/22 Infantry at a firebase

The army did teach me how to use a shovel. Seemed like the first few months in Nam we moved every other week. Almost as soon as we got
our bunkers done they would tell us to remove our overhead sandbags and get ready to go again. Always thought it was strange the way
the enemy would hide during the day light hours and our LZ and fire bases were not concealed. It was like there was a sign that said shoot here.

Looking back 54 years my memory no longer remembers many of the firebases or LZ's except a very few. Thinking our platoon was on LZ
Hardtimes at least three times. Don't ever remember setting up the mortar tubes there. I think a lot of times those in charge just didn't know
what to do with us. More often than not we would end up pulling bunker guard at night and be targets in the day time. The few times we did
set up the mortar tubes the only time we used them was for night fire. Night fire was more for enemy harassment. Guess if you kept the enemy
awake they would go away. One time we actually had a fire mission along one of many trails the enemy used. We did set up the 81's in Cambodia
but I think that was the last time. I came down with malaria just after we returned from Cambodia. I was in the hospital for about a month and
when I returned the mortar platoon was broken up into the rest of Company B. Not sure what platoon I was with after I was realeased. It was a
couple days before Dave Prentice was KIA. I was very short when that happened. I left the field either the day that Battle of the Rock had started
or the day before.

I remember the first convoy I was on. Not sure where we were leaving and again not sure where we were going to. I do remember it was during
Monson season. The road we were on was red clay mud and there along the side of the road were several Coke girls selling coke and a few other
things. Not far past them a supply truck was seen in the river with a lot of its load floating down the river. I often wondered where the Coke girls
got the Coke they would sell. A 50c Coke even if it was ours was still a bargain.

One thing I have always been thankful for is even if I didn't know where I was which was all the time is that those that were over us never forgot
where they had dropped us off at. Thank You!

February 18, 1970 was another moving day. Don't recall where we left but do remember the new location. At the time I didn't realize the place
had a name. It was the start of LZ Niagra. They didn't have any room for our mortar platoon which was maybe 20 men if that.

We were told to set up an outpost on the next joining hill top. There was another smaller hill connected to it that would be our next home for
a few days. I was happy to do that since I never liked being set up on the bigger LZ's. Got to admit I really liked this little hill top. There was
a small chopper pad and I had my very own shade tree and the view really was beautiful. Without being told I dug myself a small one man
foxhole and even filled up 3 or 4 sand bags for a little more protection. For some reason I needed to go back to the main hill and ran into a
friend who was with the 105's. He told me I could borrow their extra M60 machine gun. I kept that in mind.

We actually had a real platoon sargent then, think his name was Ripley. He said he was hearing someone calling and he went for a short walk
and not long after he showed up with a Chieu Hoi that was giving up. I can't remember if it was that day but a live buck deer walked onto our hill.
That was a would a, could a, should a moment I wish I would a done something different.

Up until then I and most likely none of the other fellows had ever received any hostile fire. It must have been the second or third day
we were there and about 10am someone opened up with an AK-47 on full auto aimed pretty much at me. I jumped in my hole and started
returning fire.

February 20th, 1970 was a beautiful morning on the hill. I don't recall birds singing but they could have been. I had been in country 6 months
and never been shot at until then. All of a sudden there's automatic rifle fire real close to me. I ran to my fox hole and started returning fire and
yelling at the same time, Finally, where have you been. To the right of me I see my fellow GI's leave their weapons and run to the other side of
the hill while the fellows behind me are firing in my direction. I didn't get through my first magazine and the fellow to my left had tossed a red
smoke grenade which totally engulfed me. I had stopped firing and thinking I need to get out of this smoke and I hear rockets coming in my
direction and explode just in front of my position. I don't know how that Huey Gunship got there so fast. I remember thinking, wow this isn't
a good place to be, should I run and the second I thought that at least 2 rockets from a Huey gunship explode it all that lasted maybe a minute
and then the chopper flew over me. In just a few seconds the 2 door gunners were hammering away on top of me. I really thought it was over
for me but didn't get a scratch. M60 rounds lay all around me.

I think my saving grace was the chopper was too low. As it was over me it blew the red smoke away. I remember seeing the red smoke form
like 2 horizontal tornadoes. I stuck my head up from my wonderful hole. The chopper is now turned 90 degrees and the right door gunner has
a bead on me. It's no more than 20 feet away. I can read the door gunners lips, he's staring right at me and saying, oh shit. The same thing I
was saying.

To this day I do not know how that gunship got there that fast but it must have been in the neighborhood. I think all this may have lasted
3 minutes total. There were 3 or 4 M60 machine gun rounds just 2 or 3 inches way from me. One round hit one of my magazines and barely
penetrated it. I remember thinking how pristine those rounds looked and also thinking were some of the rounds malfunctioning. I thought for sure
that was going to be the end of my life but I was without a scratch. I wasn't a believer then. I just said it was plain old luck then but I think
differently now.

Actually the artillery on the main hill lost a man the next day shooting direct fire and to this day I was not sure if there was any enemy involvement.
I was thinking it was a false alarm but we did join in the action by firing a few rounds from a borrowed M60. I was the one who borrowed it from
the artillery outfit. The date of that was 2/21/70 according to the KIA list.

Not much after that I went and borrowed that M60. I never did return it and have no idea where it ended up. Maybe Negron got it.............
I often wonder where that M60 ended up since I went for R&R a day or two after this incident. The thing I remember most about the chopper
flight back to the rear is the door gunner opened up on an elephant he said he spotted shortly after we lifted off the ground. I didn't see it,
it was one of the times I actually got to sit INSIDE the chopper so I couldn't see what he was shooting at. I remember how loud that M60 was
inside the chopper. My ears were ringing.

Things I liked about Nam

It was warm 99.99% of the time even when it rained and I always felt young.

First time I ever fit in small pants. Didn't have to flush the toilet or put the lid down. Never counted calories. Pound cake was always fresh.
The canned peaches and pears were always good. The toilet paper I'm sure was a step up from a Sears catalog but could have used a little texture.
Didn't have to polish my boots. Didn't have to salute officers. What's the difference between a 2nd Lt and an officer?, Still haven't figured that
one out. I really didn't see but a few officers where I was. I always slept great there. My rubber lady lasted my whole tour and never sprung a leak.
Wood ammo boxes and crates were our Home Depot for building materials.

Things I didn't like about Nam & Cambodia

Taking a dump was always an adventure which always attracted many flies. The area were we got dropped off in Cambodia was red clay with
about a 1" of red clay dust on top. Then there was all these old tree stumps. Someone had found one of these tree stumps that was hollow.
It became the local stop and go. The flies just loved it but could be rather annoying. When I had to go I walked by one of the big guns and
I would grab a power packet used to propel the artillery rounds. Just before I got on the stump I lit the packet and dropped it into the hollow
stump. It wouldn't explode but it would sizzle and smoke. Hop on the stump and go before the flies turned around and come back.
No sitting and reading a newspaper.

Funny I look back at the time in the army and thank God I did not end my life there. It certainly did change me.

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