So arty almost took us out this week...

[Lupo22]

Went to the field on Monday for a mortar shoot...first time to the field for me so I was pretty stoked. It was a great experience (minus the 15 degree temp's at night and trying to plot up points when its 25 and windy!) But I had a blast. Got to see some Hellfire rockets and some 20mm shoots when we were firing in support of air. That was impressive!! Moto as hell!

But the coolest, and scariest, part of the shoot was around 1900 on Monday when we had just gotten back in our tents to make some chow. My buddy and I were the last tent on the end and right as I was putting my MRE in its heater, we heard a loud whistle and a BOOOOOM!!! A 155mm round went off 200m or so from our position!! We all had to haul ass to get our PPE in case it was a fire for effect! Thank GOD no one was hurt because there was another unit adjacent to us that was just out of the blast range! Turns out the arty guys that were firing overhead shorted a round and landed about 2 miles before their target. Good training...gooooood training.

[SGT7477]

That happens, a short round, Semper Fidelis.

[sparkie]

Made in Tiawan,,,,,,, It happens. Someone is shaving the powder again. Happened to us at the stumps.

[RYDERKUR]

My question is why were you eating in your tent? With it that cold out, other critters need more food and get more daring too

[kenrobg30]

In February, 1951, 'Fox' Co 2/5 went out on a 'Find,and report patrol. Everything was fine, no sign of enemy troops, but we did find a river, that wasn't supposed to be there. The Company Co. called Battalion, to help him figure out where we were. After an hour of fumbling around, They discovered, that 'Fox' co. had the wrong maps, and the Co., didn't realize it, until we wereTen miles further out than we were supposed to be. While the map readers were trying to figure things out, we started getting incoming artillery.
We scrambled to find cover, and started digging fox holes. We got dug in, and those were the fastest dug holes I've ever seen dug. The Captain, called for counter battery fire. We couldn't hear our guns, but we heard the rounds coming, and they landed right in our laps. Firing at extreme range, they were hitting right in the middle of us. The Captain screamed into the radio, for them to cease fire, and I won't tell about his language. It was enough to shock a Marine! We were surrounded, by enemy troops, and it took seven days, with choppers, and a C-130 dropping us food and ammo, before the the Division, broke through to us. We were under artillery attack every day, by one side or the other. S/F111 Ken

[brian0351]

In February, 1951, 'Fox' Co 2/5 went out on a 'Find,and report patrol. Everything was fine, no sign of enemy troops, but we did find a river, that wasn't supposed to be there. The Company Co. called Battalion, to help him figure out where we were. After an hour of fumbling around, They discovered, that 'Fox' co. had the wrong maps, and the Co., didn't realize it, until we wereTen miles further out than we were supposed to be. While the map readers were trying to figure things out, we started getting incoming artillery.
We scrambled to find cover, and started digging fox holes. We got dug in, and those were the fastest dug holes I've ever seen dug. The Captain, called for counter battery fire. We couldn't hear our guns, but we heard the rounds coming, and they landed right in our laps. Firing at extreme range, they were hitting right in the middle of us. The Captain screamed into the radio, for them to cease fire, and I won't tell about his language. It was enough to shock a Marine! We were surrounded, by enemy troops, and it took seven days, with choppers, and a C-130 dropping us food and ammo, before the the Division, broke through to us. We were under artillery attack every day, by one side or the other. S/F111 Ken

*******...I got nothing that even remotely compares to this. Semper Fi Ken. I don't think I'll be complaining about the 2-3 rockets we get a week here! Lol. Thank you for sharing your story!

[MLMonk]

In February, 1951, 'Fox' Co 2/5 went out on a 'Find,and report patrol. Everything was fine, no sign of enemy troops, but we did find a river, that wasn't supposed to be there. The Company Co. called Battalion, to help him figure out where we were. After an hour of fumbling around, They discovered, that 'Fox' co. had the wrong maps, and the Co., didn't realize it, until we wereTen miles further out than we were supposed to be. While the map readers were trying to figure things out, we started getting incoming artillery.
We scrambled to find cover, and started digging fox holes. We got dug in, and those were the fastest dug holes I've ever seen dug. The Captain, called for counter battery fire. We couldn't hear our guns, but we heard the rounds coming, and they landed right in our laps. Firing at extreme range, they were hitting right in the middle of us. The Captain screamed into the radio, for them to cease fire, and I won't tell about his language. It was enough to shock a Marine! We were surrounded, by enemy troops, and it took seven days, with choppers, and a C-130 dropping us food and ammo, before the the Division, broke through to us. We were under artillery attack every day, by one side or the other. S/F111 Ken

Remind me not to complain for when I go to Afghanistan in 3 months, lol. Semper Fi Ken, good thing none of you Marines were killed, at least I hope.

[kenrobg30]

*******...I got nothing that even remotely compares to this. Semper Fi Ken. I don't think I'll be complaining about the 2-3 rockets we get a week here! Lol. Thank you for sharing your story!

I didn't mean to downgrade your experience My friend. Any time our brothers are getting shot at, or shelled, It's not pleasant, and one incoming round, is always one too many. Every day, We all think about our BrothersandSisters, in harms way. That's what makes us what we are, Marines! S/F!! Ken

[Zulu 36]

Well, one positive aspect of that mess, now you know what incoming sounds like.

My father told me that while doing pre-Saipan workups during WWII, the infantry units were taken out to the artillery ranges and allowed to listed to different types of arty go over head. They even fired of some captured Japanese stuff.

But my father's unit, being Scout-Snipers, had a busy schedule and couldn't fit that little trip in. So he landed on Saipan between the 1st and 2d waves in the 6th Marines CO's boat, kind of ignorant of some things. The Japanese waited until the 2d wave landed before they started pasting the beaches.

Dad said he was laying the sand when he heard all of these weird noises overhead and wondered what they were, until the world exploded all around. He said the conversation in his mind kind of went, "What are all of those wei...........never mind." He was expecting the movie versions of shell fire.

The only shell fire he knew was the battleship fire, because he learned what that was on the boat ride in. The freight train sound followed by a funny ringing noise. The ringing noise was the compression ring following the shell after it came off shortly upon leaving the muzzle.

He also said it didn't take long to learn the sound of everything that went overhead as well as what they sounded like when exploding.

I remember this story, although when I went to Vietnam I was about as ignorant about these sounds as my father. In his defense, he didn't know what Soviet 107 and 122 mm rockets sounded like. I took the time to teach #1 daughter, however, and she has since reported they sounded exactly as I described them.

[ggyoung]

Back in the late 50's or early 60's 2ed 8 inch was out on a shoot at La June. One of the howitzers shout out and damn near blew up the front gate.There were a Lot of people that lost some rank about that.

[kenrobg30]

Remind me not to complain for when I go to Afghanistan in 3 months, lol. Semper Fi Ken, good thing none of you Marines were killed, at least I hope.

As I recall, Monk, we had several walking wounded, and five serious hits, who were taken out on Choppers. Those daredevils would come in, under small arms fire (small arms.....machineguns, 62mm mortars, rifles, a couple of 'Whiz-Bangs'), you know, small stuff. They'd drop off the food, or ammo they were carrying in their litters, take on two wounded men, and scat out of there, to make room for the next cowboy. The big guns tried to hit them too, but by the time they got their coordinates set, the chopper would be gone. The next one to come in was directed to another landing spot. Frustrated the hell out of those Gooks. Sempre Fi!!! Ken

[Lupo22]

I'm glad my post opened up to these stories! love reading that kind of stuff! Well, except the part where people actually get hit. That part, not so much.

The most luckiest part of my story was that it landed between two different platoons, and if it had hit us, it may have detonated our 350 HE and 150 Illum 80mm rounds we had laid out! That'd a been a nice bang.

[ARTYPIG]

All I can say is "To the rear of the Piece fall in" words us Arty guys hate to hear as that means someone F'ed up. Could've been that they put in a green bag instead of white, got the wrong powder increment, or wrong quadrant. It sucks, but it happens.

[Kegler300]

Bad bag of charge...

[brian0351]

Lol...I remember a time watching mortars fire. It was at SOI. The instructors were up on the firing line. All of a sudden we heard a "wet thump" on one of the guns. The Gunny in charge yelled "Short Round" and was gone! Had there been a blind child, crippled woman and an old man in front of him, he would have knocked them all out of the way! Lol.

Not his most shining moment.