Khe Sanh

Excellent topic, Wally. As one of many pilots and crew members who flew into Khe Sanh on a daily basis during the 77 day siege it was my privilege to fly in the company of some of the Corps best and most courageous pilots, who performed absolute magic with their birds. The challenge at Khe Sanh was that there was no usable road, and the tons of daily supplies to support a heavily reinforced Regiment in constant combat had to be delivered by air. All the NVA had to do was to disrupt the flow of supplies and the battle was over. The weather was always rotten and the approach to the single east/west runway was directly up the Ba Long valley with antiaircraft guns shooting down on the final approach from both sides. The runway and and LZ's were pre registered with NVA artillery and rockets. The arrival of any a/c brought barrage after barrage. Up to 1300 rounds per day rained down during the siege. The 4 hill outposts, mostly company size, were dependent upon helo's only, and they were pre-registered too. During much of the siege helo's picked up supplies at Khe Sanh under artillery fire and delivered them to the outposts under intense fire---until the "Super Gaggle" was implemented. And that is a remarkable story in itself. In fact its role in support of Hill 881S is enshrined in a major display at the new National Museum of the Marine Corps. It is not possible to describe the indescrible in this forum, so I'll refer you to a link that will take you to a series of hair raising stories told by Marines who were there on the ground and in the air. If you go be sure to check out the photo albums by photo journalist Dave Powell for a true dose of reality. He is the only reporter to set foot on Hill 881S--and he actually stayed for more than one day.

http://www.hmm-364.org/warriors.html

Al, Thanks a lot for the info. My cousin was killed on 881S Jan68.

Paul Melvin Beddoe, Team Barkwood.

http://usmc81.blogspot.com/2007/01/paul-melvin-beddoe-was-marine-who.html

Thank You

That is an incredible link! I have been trying to get copies of the actual citations and have been given the run around for a long time. Thank so much.

And for your service, too.

Khe Sanh

Although I flew in and out during these times we (HMM-165) were generally supporting operations below Quang Tri, from Phu Bai and the Valley Forge LPH-8. I remember the spiral overhead approaches to Khe Sanh from altitudes approaching 8000 ft. and roll on landings where we kicked out pallets of 5.56/belted 7.62 and .50 cal. and took off again, never fully stopping on the taxiway where we unloaded. Any Marines/troops leaving had to run to get in, unless it was a medical issue!
Dave Althoff would be a good one to talk about the Super Gaggles, of course any of the pilots/crews from HMM-161 or HMM-262 that were based at Quang Tri would have some first hand knowledge of them. HMM-262 had the "Poor Devils" that actually based some flight crews and birds and Khe Sanh for a time.....Didn't do that for long though...

Spent one night there '66, before the siege. They would not let any of us inside the wire. They put up a GP tent on the other side of the runway for us and a 4 holer in the bush. We just parked our Hueys next to the runway, slept on cots. Thats the only time I had a loaded greese gun in my sleeping bag all night. We had one listening watch posted that night. Nothing happened. Things changed. Lanny

Built up in 4 months

We (VMO2) started sending (mostly) gunships there just after Hastings 1 started. We would take C-rations with us, spend the day and go back to Dong Ha for the night ...if memory serves there was no wire, for sure no grunt companys on a primeter. However, when I took Martha Rae and her guitar player there (in a slick) for USO shows on Thanksgiving day 66 they did have primeter wire and a full company for defense. I talked to the grunts and they had not had a hot meal for 6 weeks. Two weeks later I had the great good fortune to spend 3 days there with another gunship crew in a tent(not the wood'n floor kind) next to the air farce concrete bunker (poor devils had to survive on substandard living allowance). Bottom line, it was turned into a passable grunt base in 4 months, but that didn't make it a nice place to visit....

Reflecting on Khe Sahn

Khe Sahn? Where was that? I have never heard of it. My first flight in-country was to this site, as a crew chief with HMM-164. I thought that I was ready for anything. This was in February 1967. This was well before the seige and before the battle of the hills. The country side was beautiful and filled with danger. This outpost was in the middle of nowhere. but there was a lot of work to done. There were Marines on several hills that needed supplies. Recon teams were placed out in the fields and on hills.

Khe Sahn was a thorn in the behind of the enemy. The Marines could see and hear their movements. The base was in the middle of the enemy's movements. What happened to all of the Intel that was gathered?

As I think back now, why would our powers that be let our men take a pounding for 77 days? It was like a boxer standing there taking every punch without hitting back and not being knocked out. We knew where the artillary was coming from. Why wasn't it knocked out? The rounds were coming from the DMZ, that was no far away. Certainly, the enemy was coming. They wanted to pound the base into submisson. It was during and after the seige that the NVA learned what it meant to mess with Marines. They had been surrounded. They NVA had the Marines but what were they going to do with them. When we got the word to attack - the Marines came out with all of the traditions and strength that has made Marines famous.

The NVA was defeated in every major engagement and were chased back across the DMZ.

The Army and Air Force are given the credit for breaking the seige and nothing is ever mentioned about the Marine Squadrons that kept the base resupplied, especially when no other aircraft could do it.

We were there and those on the ground knew it. That is what is important - they knew that we were coming for them.

Semper Fi

Hay Sam you're still writing good stuff! Reminds me of your book, yea we helped our "Brothers" at Khe Sanh and everywhere else they needed us in country. That's was our job and what we were there for, OooRaah!
S/F
Tim

Khe Sahn

Certainly, we were the flying trucks with a punch - You Call - We Haul. No matter where it was - Khe Sahn, Con Thien or the hundreds of other LZ's that we landed in - Believe! The choppers were coming. Yes, there is a sense of pride in the job that we did. Pilots, Crew Chiefs, and Gunners - all working as a team, flying the worst of weather and terrain. Too many died doing the job - support the troops! They will never be forgotten.

I am proud to say that I was there and served with some of the finest Marines that had ever worn the EGA.

Semper Fi

NVA Arty from DMZ?

Sam said:

The rounds were coming from the DMZ, that was no far away.

Sam,
Are you sure? I always thought it came from across the border, Laos. That was why we never ventured over to silence it..again my thoughts as an 18 year old CH-46 gunner/mech/Crew Chief. If it was in the DMZ we had all the tools and the ba**s to do it, but we didn't if it was across the border(s). More LBJ chickens**t...

Arty In The "z"

Joe,
I flew many a recon insertion into an area that we referred to as the "Armpit"
that ran east/west parallel to the "Z."
That was in '66 & '67 when VMO & HMM each kept a couple of birds TAD'd
there for service purposes.
The river that we followed,crowded the "Z" pretty hard but we only entered the area for downed fast-movers or emer.retractions.
However,our recon units did so routinely & according to what they relayed to me,the area was well implaced with NVA mobile arty units.
They were indeed,considered targets of opportunity for airstrikes,...but we
all know how agile & mobile those little buggers could be.
It's my understanding that they had more arty within the DMZ than they did
across the Laosian border.
Flying up the valley & into the area was every bit as spooky as the Delta
region.
Semper Fi,
MIKE"CRAZE"COLLINS

Arty In The "z"

Joe,
I flew many a recon insertion into an area that we referred to as the "Armpit"
that ran east/west parallel to the "Z."
That was in '66 & '67 when VMO & HMM each kept a couple of birds TAD'd
there for service purposes.
The river that we followed,crowded the "Z" pretty hard but we only entered the area for downed fast-movers or emer.retractions.
However,our recon units did so routinely & according to what they relayed to me,the area was well implaced with NVA mobile arty units.
They were indeed,considered targets of opportunity for airstrikes,...but we
all know how agile & mobile those little buggers could be.
It's my understanding that they had more arty within the DMZ than they did
across the Laosian border.
Flying up the valley & into the area was every bit as spooky as the Delta
region.
Semper Fi,
MIKE"CRAZE"COLLINS

Lotta years, Craze!

Been a while Craze, thanks for helpin' out!