Vanguards in the Rung Sat [Archive] - Marine Corps

thedrifter

06-03-04, 12:52 PM

One of Charlie Company's patrols had not made contact that day or night. On the morning of the following day, battalion operations directed them to leave the swamps and probe the hard ground leading to Vung Tau. They headed to a field that rose and climbed to a dirt road, where a convoy would pick them up later that afternoon.

A trail crossed the field where the ground began to change from mucky saltwater marsh to a mixture of fresh water and clay. Sparse brown grass grew in the field, barely enough to satisfy a small herd of goats. The soil was mushy where the troops departed the swamps, but it dried as it rose above sea level. The VC rested, secluded inside the brush at the edge of the field. They observed the American patrol as it spread out upon entering the field, moving cautiously forward.

Suddenly, the "crack, crack, crack-crack" of incoming rounds shattered the still morning air. The GIs dived to the wet ground, astonished that the bullets were splattering the mud about them in a random manner. Looking up from the mud toward the source of the fire, they saw six VC shooting from only 30 meters away. Each had stood up straight along the side of the field, aiming his weapon in the direction of the GIs while weaving from side to side, squeezing off rounds -- one at a time.

It took only a few seconds for the 45 Americans to sight in. All the patrol's weapons fired together, then the GIs walked to the riddled VC bodies. They had fallen haphazardly around a tube of hash and a clay pipe.

Clearly, the VC had been too messed up to know they should have employed better cover and concealment and used better fire discipline. The men of Charlie Company didn't want the incident publicized. They were afraid some do-gooder might claim a war crime had been committed.

In Lexington III's last action, Alpha Company divided its platoons into 12-man patrols. Each patrol was no more than 15 minutes away from the next, so it could easily assist if another ran into serious resistance. Immediately inside the jungle, they located a vacated major base camp next to a VC-designated stream crossing. Walkways had been built with small sticks fastened to medium-sized trimmed branches, keeping them out of water and mud. There were six elevated sleeping platforms, with a thatched canopy of twigs. A well-weathered shirt hung from one of these beds. One of the short-timers snatched it, saying, "This is going to be a nightshirt for my kid brother."

"What's this, a grinder?" asked the pointman, who had discovered a massive stone wheel that revolved on an axle above a stone table. It had been used for crushing rice into flour. That camp had evidently served as the mess hall for the VC in the Rung Sat. The Americans also spotted a well. They drew water covered with green scum and bugs, and someone pronounced: "This is filthy! Can you imagine anyone having to drink this kind of stuff all the time?"

Several men felt brave enough to sample it. The water had a hint of salt -- not surprising, since the camp was at sea level in salt-water swamps. An aluminum auxiliary fuel tank from a U.S. fighter lay next to the well, probably jettisoned in flight, but surprisingly not damaged.

"What are they doing with something like this?" someone asked.

"Come here, look!" another man called out.

Behind it was a box with 200 spoons that had been fashioned from another fuel tank. Next to them was the wooden form used to mold the spoons. The VC had used wire cutters to slice the rough shape of the spoon from the tank. Then the piece was placed into the form and pounded to the shape. Finally, someone filed and rounded the edges. Everyone helped himself to the spoons, which would make excellent souvenirs.

The troops hacked a hole in the jungle canopy so a chopper could evacuate the rice mill and supplies. The beds, part of the walkway and the well were hacked apart. Some beans -- already contaminated -- were left for the VC to eat.

After the last chopper left, the patrol followed a trail leading from that camp to another one, next to a different stream. This, too, had been evacuated. Then, the patrol leader received a call from an adjacent patrol that four VC were poling the stream in his direction. The patrol established an ambush and waited two hours, but the boat never appeared. The patrol moved out again and eventually reached a junction of two streams. They once more established ambushes and waited out the last night of Operation Lexington III.

Alpha Company's patrols converged at the CP in Vung Tau the next day and climbed onto a waiting convoy to join the remainder of the battalion in their base camp at Bear Cat, 25 miles away. The operation had been a success, with 58 VC confirmed dead. Only one GI had been killed, and several others had received minor injuries, including two bad cases of bee stings. The operation in the Rung Sat had come to a close, and so had the 1-18's first year in Vietnam.

This article was written by Ray Pezzoli, Jr. and originally published in the December 2001 1999 issue of Vietnam Magazine.

http://www.historynet.com/vn/soldiers.jpg

NATIONAL ARCHIVES
In 1965, the Rung Sat Special Zone was a lifeline to U.S. and RVN supply ships bound for Saigon. The 4th Division soldiers patrolling this area learned to carry light loads and large quantities of ammunition.

http://www.historynet.com/vn/blrung_sat/

Ellie