Quote:
Originally posted by Karm
So he beached his boat to attack a solitary soldier with an rpg? HUH? Didn't charlie travel in packs? As in; likely to be more than 1 RPG in the area. It's stupity, not courage to put your crew in danger due to the nature of the attack. Closing distance on a sniper is sound doctrine. Esp with the 50 cal's and such available on the boat. The sniper rifle range is obviously beyond that of a 50 cal. Close the range by driving in closer and attacking on foot is also reasonable.
Correct me if I am wrong. The guns mounted on the boat have a much greater range than an RPG? Why would you manuveur yourself anywhere near a weapon that can do serious damage to the vessel entrusted to you?
Maybe I should look further into the incident. As far as I can tell from the facts presented so far. He made a serious error in judgement.
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Quote:
The VC had a loaded B-40 but we were too close for him to shoot. I think it
takes 3 meters to arm, we were a hell of a lot closer than 9 feet to one
another.
Tommy Billadeau in the peak tank did hit him in the legs with his M-60 but
he did not break stride as he booked to cover, dropped down in a feeder
creek/ditch and broke left of me to get behind a hooch. From there we were
dead meat if he got the shot off. Could not miss us with a 30 to 40 foot
shot. (BTW -- Tommy passed away in 95 as I remember.)
While the bar on the gun tub prevented me from firing on him as we beached
when I broke to my left I put a ton of APIT from one end of the hooch to the
other to keep his head down. Kerry and Mederis ran under my fire, Mederis
set up a 60 position on the right and laid grazing fire to suppress the fire
we were taking in that direction while Kerry took the VC out. We got his
RPG and several other weapons back to the boat.
About the time this was happening all hell breaks loose on the stern -- we
are taking AK-47 and machine gun fire from the other bank. Thor on the 94
MT 52 and the 23's MT 52 and the aft M-60 return the fire. Mr. Droz and the
43 arrives in the middle of this, give them a full broadside and that is the
end of that crap. During this fight I am hiding behind the radar stanchion
as I can't train my 50's aft and I don't have an M-16 with me. Last time
that ever happen -- from then on I had the M-16, the shotgun and the 38
(which I place right over my balls). This dumb-ass Arkie plow-boy is a
quick learner when scared "explicative deleted"less.
Anyway -- enough of my rambling.
Later,
Fred Short
Gunner, PCF 94
(the twin 50's gunner on Kerry's boat)
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If kerry didn't beach the swift at the time he earned his Silver Star, the VC may have got a shot off and everyone, including Kerry may be dead today.