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 D 3/21, 71/72 (currently 1 views) |
| cwight0752 |
| Posted on: April 22nd, 2012, 1:31pm |
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Minimum Member D company, 3/21/196th, incountry 08/1971-07/1972
Posts: 4
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Looking for any of the guys from Delta 3/21, July 71 - June 72. I found LT Don Redmond a while back and curious if I might find others. Was with Kelso Platoon. Few names I recall - Charlie Whitesell (Pathfinder), Jim Lamay, Bob Johnson, Dave McCris, Harry Buildour, Sgt Singh, "Slick", Bruce Keefer. Nearly 40 years since stepping foot "in-country" and would like to say Hi once again.
Spent my first few days in Cam Rahn being "re-trained" on how it's done in Nam and then a C-130 to DaNang. No rest for the weary that day. Was issued my M-16, ruck, supplies and choppered out to the field. Got there just in time for the afternoon "hike" to our next AO. By this time of the "conflict" we were designated as Long Range Recon Patrols and moved daily from AO to AO. I learned real fast what elephant grass and wait-a-minute vines were. I was so CHERRY that I saw a small hole on the side of a trail (looked like an abandoned snake hole) and poked my foot around it. As I raised my foot, to my surprise, a BEAR TRAP snapped closed, just missing my boot. We stopped for a few minutes and our LT and Platoon Sgt checked it out. They found an 81 mm mortar under it with a pull style trip. Had it caught my foot, likely I would have jerked back and it would have taken me out as well as the guys in front and back of me. I was reamed BIG TIME. When we finally got to our night camp, they made me and the SGT (can't remember his name) hump back about 2 clicks to disarm/disable it. We just tied a long string to it and pulled. Yup, it blew up big time.
LOL - amazing the things we remember.
Looking forward to finding some of the guys.
Charley Wight |
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| Jack Krohn |
| Posted on: May 30th, 2012, 8:17pm |
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Big Member  1stPlt A 3/21 - 1971
Posts: 83
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great memories Charley
Jack Krohn |
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Reply: 1 - 13 |
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| Cotton |
| Posted on: July 24th, 2012, 5:21pm |
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Posts: 3
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Charley,
I was with D Co, 3/21, 196th throughout most of 1971. Were you on the LZ on July 31?
Cotton |
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Reply: 2 - 13 |
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| cwight0752 |
| Posted on: October 12th, 2012, 4:50pm |
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Minimum Member D company, 3/21/196th, incountry 08/1971-07/1972
Posts: 4
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Hey Cotton - I think I was either en-route or in Cam Rahn at the end of July 71. I believe I arrived the first week in August. Was assigned to Kelso Platoon. I remember at my physical (taken in Miami during Feb, 71) the recruiter had to casually place his foot on the scale in order for me to meet the 100 pound weight minimum. I was about 97 pounds when I got in-country. After being issued my 16, they told me to go down to the LZ and I'll never forget that long ass flight of wooden stairs that went down to the ConEx's and chopper pads. The guy in charge kind of helped me "choose" what I'd need to take out to the field. HOLY CRAP. A full case of C-Rats (he sort of schooled me on what was good and what was inedible), a 5 quart water bladder, 2 canteens of water, a full case of 16 ammo and a few packs of tracers, a bandoleer of 60 ammo that I had to wear like Pancho Villa, half a dozen frags, an assortment of smoke grenades, a few bricks of C-4 and a spare battery for the platoon's radio. And this was in addition to all the crap I had already been issued from the supply sergeant. Poncho, liner, rifle cleaning kit, basic first aid supplies, flak jacket, steel pot with insert, extra socks, flashlight and a few other things. My damn ruck weighed over 150 pounds. As the chopper came in, he calls me over and says here, grab this, (a case of 20mm rounds for the grenade launcher) and says to give this to who ever is carrying the blooper. I managed to "GRUNT" my way to the chopper and made it out to our AO. And what well honored tradition was bestowed on my "CHERRY" ass? "YO, NEWBIE, BRING YOUR SORRY ASS OVER HERE", and I was proudly awarded the privilege of hauling the 60 around for the rest of the day.
When we were back in the "rear", I don't remember us spending a lot of time mingling with the other platoons. Usually after 8 to 10 days in the bush, we'd only be back for a day or 2 and we'd either head off to the PX or over to the Air Force Base (I think I remember a good Chinese Restaurant there). Most of the time while we were in the rear, there was some kind of entertainment show at the stage area in the evenings.
I do remember we had "hilltop outpost duty" and pulling duty on the top hill. I recall being on top of that hill during the Typhoon and that was a frightening experience. I think there were 3 of us (maybe 4) on the top outpost and one afternoon we were nearly over run by monkeys. True Story. Scared the hell out of us and by the time we realized it was monkeys and not Charley, we had already fired off about half of our ammo and figured WTF and decided to have our own version of a "MAD MINUTE" and proceeded to fire off everything we had. The CO was not pleased and even less pleased when we requested an Emergency Resupply of ammo. LOL - GOOD TIMES |
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Reply: 3 - 13 |
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| Jim Gray |
| Posted on: October 13th, 2012, 10:06pm |
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Big Member Sept 67-Sept 68 D 3/21 and HHC
Posts: 87
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I was D 3/21 Black Death in late 67. I carried the radio for LT Seibert ( Kelso ), his nickname came from a race horse. I was pulled from the field 1 day after Christmas 67 when they found out my brother was in country ( Air Force ). I was given a 3 day in country R&R and went to visit him. I had one hell of a time New Years Eve.
Later i was assigned to HHC in Chu Lia and then LZ Baldy as the Brigade causality reporter.
I lost a lot of friends during Tet 68 including the CO, Lt Seibert, the First Sgt and some others. In those 2 days the 196th lost something like 75 men.
Good seeing another D 3/21 member
welcome home friend |
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Reply: 4 - 13 |
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| cwight0752 |
| Posted on: October 14th, 2012, 6:15am |
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Minimum Member D company, 3/21/196th, incountry 08/1971-07/1972
Posts: 4
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Hey Jim,
Welcome Home Brother,
Perhaps you can answer a question that I have (as well as one that I’ve seen posted in the past) regarding the origin of the “BLACK DEATH” name for Delta Company and the Grim Reaper patch. Your post refers to Black Death back in 67/68 so I’ll assume that Black Death was being used that early.
I kind of recall a story back then about the company being involved in a horrific battle and losing most of the guys. The replacements were mostly black and quickly gained a reputation among both Charley and the NVA of being ferocious, fearless and violently bloody fighters with a passion for obtaining ears. And the name Black Death was actually derived from what the enemy was calling the company.
A neat story and likely a fairy tale derived by a few semi-drunk Spec 4’s one evening to inspire a fighting spirit among the troops.
That being said, when I got there, the company was pretty much a racial mix. Blacks, whites, American Indian, Puerto Rican and even an Indian squad leader named Sgt. Singh.
I remember one night (between missions) the Air Force Base took a few rocket hits and some rear echelon MF triangulated precisely where the attack originated from. So, right before dawn, our LT, an interesting Chinese-American fellow named Alexander Stepanow, came bursting into our hootch shouting Flak Jackets, Rifles and ammo, nothing else, MOVE OUT!”.
We rarely even took our boots off before hitting the rack and just getting back from a mission, we still had not cleaned our weapons or turned them back in to the arms room so we were ready to go seconds after he came in.
We boarded the chopper just as the sun was coming up. Just 1 bird. No Cobra’s for support, no back up. Just 1 bird, Lt. Stepanow and about 5 or 6 of us flying out in the early morning light to find Charley.
We flew over the big Budda and off into a vast area of rice paddy’s. As we circled, I remember seeing a large area that looked like a football field carved into a sea of elephant grass. Not exactly a place I wanted to land but as fate would have it, exactly where the LT told the pilot to set down.
Not exactly the “football field” I had imagined from the air. Knee deep water and mud. Skids of the chopper never even touched down. We jumped out and all I could think about was “did I tie off my pants to keep the leech’s out?” As the chopper flew out, the rotor wash kicked up the water and before it got 10 feet into the air, we were covered with water and mud.
So, there we were. Standing in the middle of a rice paddy at the crack of dawn, looking for Charley. And the LT says “OK guys, follow me, on line assault” and starts walking.
Now mind you, this was an open rice paddy about the size of a football field and surrounded on all 4 sides by tall elephant grass. The LT was fairly new to the company and I think was just looking to make some kind of name or reputation for himself.
But an “on line assault” through an open field with no cover?
That was BULLSHIT, but there was not much we could do and the LT had already moved a few yards ahead of us. We all looked at each other and being “seasoned”, had a bad feeling that said “AMBUSH”.
One of the guys said if he hears a shot or even thinks we're under fire, he’s gonna take out that damn LT for pulling such a dumb move. Next thing I know, we’re walking across the paddy towards one end, about 10 yards in back of the LT and I notice that every rifle is pointed at the LT. When the LT reached the “wall” at one end, he motioned us over and said “OK, back to the other side”.
As we were walking towards the other side, I took an unfortunate mis-step. Well not exactly a mis-step. Everything was fine until I stepped into a “HOLE”. Next thing I know is this fellow Terry is hauling my ass out of the water by my rifle. Obviously I had the presence of mind to throw my hands in the air as I went down. Terry said I was there and then I wasn’t . Just 2 arms holding onto a 16 and he just grabbed the handle and pulled straight up.
As we neared the other end of the paddy, we heard a few thumps off in the distance.
“MORTARS”
You know the feeling of how you can tell from the whistling sound where a mortar shell is going to land? Well, we all had that same feeling and somehow knew the shells were heading towards us. We knew at the same time, looked at each other, screamed “COVER” and all scattered towards the edges of the paddy. I had never been so frightened in my life. Tears were pouring from my eyes as I heard the shells hitting inside the paddy around us. Some blew as they hit the water, showering us in water. Others blew a lot deeper, carving out “HOLES” and showering us with water, mud and rice plants. I cowered deep inside my steel pot and prayed it would protect my entire body but in the end, all I could do is stay as low as I could and hope things would work out. It felt like we were lying there for hours and each whistle of shell kept coming closer and closer.
In actuality, the shelling only lasted a few minutes and our guys must of figured out where we were being shelled from and started blasting them back. We heard a massive amount of thumps from some far off fire base followed by a succession of reasonably nearby explosions and suddenly everything was quiet.
After another hour or so, the LT called back the chopper and we went back to base camp.
DAMN. We missed breakfast.
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Reply: 5 - 13 |
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| Gregory B Peters |
| Posted on: October 14th, 2012, 3:58pm |
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Maximum Member2 B company, 3/21/196th, incountry 07/1966-07/1967
Posts: 173
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In his book, "Through the Valley-67-68, page 147, James Humphries takes credit for this. stating that during Task Force Black in the Hiep Duc valley that Delta radio sign was Mr. Death. After the battle he determined the radio call sign would be from then on "Black Death".
http://books.google.com/books?.....0company&f=false |
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Reply: 6 - 13 |
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| Jim Gray |
| Posted on: October 14th, 2012, 10:05pm |
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Big Member Sept 67-Sept 68 D 3/21 and HHC
Posts: 87
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Thanks Greg. I was going to refer him to the book. I bought my copy off of an INTERNET search. I think i paid about $6.00 plus shipping. It certainly brought back a lot of memories, both good and bad.
FYI the CO that was killed in that attack was black. One hell of a nice guy. Hell they all were. I was given the patch about 3 months after the incident. One of my buddies snagged one for me. I still have it and have often wondered if others still do. |
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Reply: 7 - 13 |
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| cwight0752 |
| Posted on: October 15th, 2012, 12:50pm |
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Minimum Member D company, 3/21/196th, incountry 08/1971-07/1972
Posts: 4
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Jim and Greg,
Thanks for the referral about “Through The Valley”. I’ll be searching it out and getting a copy in the near future.
Appreciate the info regarding the origin of the “Black Death” name for Delta Company. I’ve seen a post or few over the past years where someone has asked about it but the only information I had was third, fourth or fifth hand and I didn’t want to give out mis-information. Besides, I kinda liked the “Fairy Tale” origin that I had originally heard.
I’m guessing that all of us are now over 60 and while I have no qualms about my mortality or final eventuality, I do fear the possibility of Alzheimer’s somewhere down the road as it does run in my family. My long running joke is “With the longevity of this family, I’ll likely live to 100. Only problem is that by the time I’m 70, they’ll be feeding me Alpo, telling me it’s Prime Rib, and I won’t know the difference”.
Which is why I write up some of these little “adventures” of the past.
I’ve noticed in other forums that a lot of Vet’s have either lost or blocked out much of that period in their lives and maybe my ramblings will spark a few old dusty neurons in someone’s head or at the very least, bring a smile of “Yeah, been there, done that” to someone’s face.
And, eventually, I’ll wind up gathering all these ramblings and try to make some kind of cohesive collective to pass on to my kids so they might develop an insight as to why Dad was the way he was.
Time has not yet erased the names or faces of those I served with, nor has it eroded all the memories. But 40 years has passed and it’s getting harder to remember with absolute clarity, everything that occurred during that year.
WELCOME HOME BROTHERS
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Reply: 8 - 13 |
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| Gregory B Peters |
| Posted on: October 20th, 2012, 3:57pm |
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Maximum Member2 B company, 3/21/196th, incountry 07/1966-07/1967
Posts: 173
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thanks cwight, I do appreciate your writings. you and Cotton might consider going to the membership center and tricking out your handle with your name and outfit and time of duty, similar to how Jim and I did it. it is helpful because this makes it easy for others to find you or relate to you. same with private messages.
Jim, in regards to Black Death patch. I also asked about the Bushwacker patch for B company, 3/21. But I understand these were made by the local economy and were not sanctioned or recognized outside of Nam. is this true? Would you get your ass in a sling if you wore these on your greens or Khakies in my case :-) out side of Nam back home or in transit?
Greg |
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Reply: 9 - 13 |
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| Jim Gray |
| Posted on: October 21st, 2012, 10:34pm |
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Big Member Sept 67-Sept 68 D 3/21 and HHC
Posts: 87
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I pretty well had Nam well in the back of my head and rarely talked or thought about it.
Then about 20 yrs ago my wife had 2 guys do a wallpaper job that she did not want to tackle. Well! Lo and behold one was wearing OD greens with a 196 patch. I thought "holt shit".
I went into my closet and brought out my dress green jacket with all of the stuff on it.
I walked into the bathroom hallway and called the guy. He was amazed that he had met someone that had been in the same unit. Hey so was i. He asked me my unit and all i could say was Black death. So was he from 69-70. We had a nice talk.
As far as wearing the patch, i knew it was not permitted. So i never even tried. It sits in a box with a lot of other mementos from Nam and when i was a Drill Sergent.
Every now and then someone in the family askes about it and wants to see the pics. So i oblige.
I found this site quite a few years ago and try to visit everyday. I have met 1 person that i knew through this site. Welcome home |
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Reply: 10 - 13 |
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| Jim Comer |
| Posted on: October 23rd, 2012, 3:53am |
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Posts: 10
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Charley,
You have good stories. I remember that "interesting" lieutenant although I had long forgotten his name. That sounds right in character.
Jim |
D, 3/21, 1971-1972 |
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Reply: 11 - 13 |
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| Jack Krohn |
| Posted on: December 31st, 2012, 5:51am |
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Big Member 1stPlt A 3/21 - 1971
Posts: 83
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they reprinted Humphries book a couple of years ago
he didn't have any pics in the original printing except for the cover
the new publisher posted on our old 196 message board and asked those of us who were in 3/21 to submit pics for the reprint
now I'm the guy on the cover ;)
http://tinyurl.com/5qv9pd |
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Reply: 12 - 13 |
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| Frenchie |
| Posted on: January 1st, 2013, 7:08pm |
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Maximum Member2 LIke to hear from anyone that was Co C 4/31
Posts: 407
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| 'grats...you now are "published"....very nice!!!! next thing you know people will ask for YOUR autograph rather than the author's ...nice picture too |
Frenchie - Gilbert E Manasselian
C 4/31 Feb 68 to Feb 69
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Reply: 13 - 13 |
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