Jackson Lyons III:  

Military Ka-boom Ka-boom: Been There - Done That Memories long forgotten after 40-plus years from one who can truly say "Been There - Done That." I served over 12 years in PACAF and greatly appreciate all that my fellow 'scope dopes' did in SEA. Especially those who served on those far-flung mountain tops in South Vietnam and at other locales where we were "not ever at" such as Lima Site-85 where All Gave Some--Some Gave All. Most likely, some are still giving. I was a Ground Sensor Operator with Det. 2, 504th Tactical Air Support Group (DART Control) at Bien Hoa AB, RVN from February 1969 until February 1970. This was the first of the Deployable Automatic Relay Terminals (DART) used to monitor infiltration activity along the Ho Chi Minh Trail using electronic sensors. Our operations crews were a tight-knit group of scope dopes with no scopes, led by ex-FACs, trash haulers and a few jet jockeys. We had spent three busy months in developmental and operational testing at Duke Field, Eglin AFB, Fla. in late 1968. After declaring our new system ready for combat employment, we packed our equipment into several C-141s and over a two-day period--eased--into Bien Hoa AB in early February 1969. Unlike many troops who joined up with units already in Vietnam as individual replacements, we deployed as a complete fully manned new unit. We already knew each other and was a well-qualified and functioning unit. We had worked, lived and trained together daily (and nightly) for over three months while on temporary duty at the Tactical Air Warfare Center in Florida. We knew about the tactical situation at Bien Hoa from the many intell briefings we had received during pre-deployment training. We were all ready for the action at Ruby's Bar, [never got there] the old French mine field and Victor Charlie's frequent visits. Bien Hoa Air Base was a main combat air base located about 15 miles north of Saigon. Everyone in the unit had a high level clearance as this was a very sensitive operation due to its close relationship with the top secret Igloo White program. After about a week of setting up our site and adjusting to the hot weather and the cold beer, we started to relax thinking this "war" won't be too rough. Then sometime shortly after midnight on February 23th the "stuff" hit the fan. Ka-boom! Ka-boom! The Vietnamese Luna New Year holiday ended with a bang from incoming 122mm rockets and mortars. Ka-boom! Ka-boom! Have no fear; we saved the cold beer. However, the new guys did leave it on ice for a while as the VC and NVA forces went wild. Ka-boom! Ka-boom! Been There - Done That. Tet 69/Counteroffensive had started and we were like sitting ducks in a shooting gallery. As "rear area" troops, our M16 weapons were stored in the unit armory at our work site which was about a mile from our cantonment or living area. We spent a lot of nights hunkered down in our bunkers but well protected by the grunts of the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade. They were experts at sounding the alarm and at putting themselves between the enemy forces and the rest of us. However, if needed, we were all fully trained for combat and ready for action, usually outfitted in steel helmets, flak jackets, jungle boots, green BVDs, and armed to the teeth with a lot of empty beer cans. K...Expand for more