Indeed there was not any way we can load you to definitely pallet right back for the the brand new lighthearted vehicle, therefore as being the an effective Samaritans we were, i piled as many times while we you will on our very own V-100-plenty that individuals could not change the fresh turret. Without a doubt, there are some sorry MPs you to definitely night and you can numerous awful severe headaches the very next day.
To the men who served on a V-100 for a year, the vehicle became more than just a machine. It became your life, your friend and your protector. All but two of our V-100s were named after comic book heroes. These included “Captain America,” “Thor,” “Big Ben,” “Flash,” “Spider – man,” “Barbarian,” “Atom,” “Daredevil” and “Iron Man.” The other two were named “Road Hog” and “The Lemon.” Each of the V-100s had a painting of the character or the name across the front, life-sized and in coloric book superheroes painted on the front of the V-100s made for an interesting article in This new Roundup, our local GI newspaper. The April 1970 article was headlined, “66th MP Co. Super Heroes to Combat VC Wrong Doers.”
Periodically we’d our minutes, for instance the day whenever we have been escorting an excellent convoy within the An Khe Ticket and something of your trucks destroyed an entire pallet out of beer
David An excellent. Swisher resides in Marshall, Ill. The guy gotten the newest Armed forces Commendation Medal that have V Product to own their steps inside the ambush on An Khe Solution in the April 1970. For additional learning, see: Cadillac Gage V-100 Commando 1960-71, by Richard Lathrop and you will Jim Laurier; and you will Combat Police: U.S. Army Military Police in Vietnam, because of the Rick Younger.
Much of our trouble emerged for the QL-19, however, I usually sensed warmer thereon road than just with the QL-step one, simply because there have been even more convoys for the QL-19 which deeper probability of content. My baptism from flame emerged on plant in the hairpin curve in the An Khe Ticket. Our V-100 got already break through new hairpin and you can try headed off the admission, in the event that westbound convoy try strike. The language “Get in touch with! Get in touch with! Contact!” arrived along the radio net as i are driving, so i became the fresh new V-100 around and you can lead backup the brand new solution. Once we surely got to the fresh hairpin, We watched certain Korean troops pinned down. Included in this got his arm stuck up in the air directing towards the south region of the hairpin change. I removed the V-100 amongst the Koreans plus the standing he had been pointing in order to, so we you can expect to give them a tad bit more safeguards and then have engage with our firepower.
My personal V-100 try escorting an effective convoy off Tuy Hoa one day when you will find numerous construction work with the road, leading to quite a keen accordion effect
One thing on the running the fresh tracks day-after-day try which you never ever knew what uncommon thing was going to happen 2nd. If front side of your convoy prevented, the rear tightened up. Then the front side manage initiate once more, and the convoy dispersed till the bottom could begin. Due to this, We advised our very own V-100 rider Reno Catalano to go into the center of the newest roadway therefore we could keep almost every other auto from all of our convoy up until i had from the build urban area. Whereas we constantly let faster car please admission the latest convoy cars, since there try so much construction I needed to store the escort in LГјbeck latest convoy clear of others subscribers.
On one convoy to help you Da Nang, one of the cars hit a good Lambretta full of Vietnamese. It actually was a bit chaos. The new Lambretta went off of the highway and you can off a keen embankment. Once we got an effective dustoff indeed there and you may had some thing removed right up a while, there were a myriad of black pajama-clad individuals with firearms standing around talking and you may shouting. By the language barrier, a misunderstanding could easily keeps developed, before you to took place i got away from around and you can straight back to our convoy.
