It knocked a dimple in the side of the track as I fired up the gunner., Later in the fighting, Casper and several 2nd Platoon troops were pinned down next to a building. Vehicles drive past on roads between the Long Binh Post area. I was to be a platoon leader again, in Charlie Company, commanded by Captain John Ionoff. [2]:348, As the rockets hit Bien Hoa AB, 2 battalions of the VC 274th Regiment emerged from a rubber plantation 500m east of the eastern perimeter of Bien Hoa AB. was a point where the Ho Chi Min Trail came close to the countrys West
Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp. I told the platoon leaders to prepare to dismount and to take all the ammunition and grenades they could carry. Back view of jeep with open doors. Jeep parked along road. SOUTH VIETNAM: VIET CONG EXPLODE U.S. AIR V..EXPLOSION We carried concertina wire, sand bags and hundreds of Claymore mines and trip flares to make our defensive positions practically impenetrable. The attacks on Bin Ha, Bien Hoa Air Base and Long Binh Post, occurred during the early hours of 31 January 1968 and continued until 2 February 1968. From our positions, we could see and hear the fireworks lighting the sky over Saigon to the west. Privacy Policy2023 CriticalPast LLC. 6 comments. SP4 Lawrence Korteum
", "I then went to the CP and tried
SAIGON, South Vietnam, June 1 (Reuters)Explosions ripped through a huge ammu nition dump near here today, killing one soldier and wound ing 13. 0.35 During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Army used the base as a logistics and command center. One of the children in the Hope System of Care is Nguyen Thi Ly, born in 2001 with a deformed face, head and chest. My
-- color photo Near Moc Hoa. 2,400,000 pounds of 8 inch high explosive artillery projectiles. I had inherited the job
To ensure you can use all the features please enable it. Ive just been told you work for me again. mortar rounds and 90 122-mm. But their 81mm mortars were useless, since we were told we could not put any indirect fire into the town. Not only would I not finish my command tour, I was being assigned to a leg division. [2]:349, At dawn several AH1 Cobra gunships from the 334th Assault Helicopter Company joined the defense spraying the VC with rockets and machine gun fire which started fires causing the VC assault to lose its impetus. Unconfirmed reports reports said the blasts were . By the evening the 2/47th Infantry withdrew into the Long Binh perimeter. From our positions we could see and hear the celebratory fireworks lighting the sky over Saigon to the west. U.S. military officials vVould not give the exact number of casualties for security reasons. probably one of the best deals I had been Used for because the
Flames illuminated the clouds, forming an eerie glow; flares hung in the sky and helicopter gunships crossed back and forth firing red streams of tracers into the city. Painting outside. When it
[3]:218, The town of Ho Nai (105812N 1065335E / 10.970N 106.893E / 10.970; 106.893) was located on Highway 1 north of the Widow's Village and Long Binh Post. This site requires JavaScript. Hide. The recon platoon was ordered to establish a blocking position south of Long Binh on Highway 15. Then I got a call from battalion commander Tower, asking how things were going. Fires were burning late into the afternoon. remember being giddy and my brain was asking What is wrong with me?. 4. One A-37 and 1 F-100 were destroyed while a further 17 aircraft were damaged. Which date was it? When it went off my first thought was that it was a nuclear explosion because of the light dome that rose from the explosion. 0.17 All night they scanned the jungles with Starlight scopes, seeing nothing. danger and the probable best course of action. First was sand then bigger stuff. We began detaining the well-dressed young men among the refugees. All of these placements were made with the wrongful assumption that the VC would attack from the jungles outside the base. (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. night on alert at the Birdcage, I was awakened (trying to sleep
Dames walked down a side alley toward the highway. This group is primarily for those Vietnam veterans who experienced the ammo dump attacks in Long Binh in 1966, '67, & '68. Through sporadic fire, we continued northwest on Highway 15 to where it intersected Highway 1 on the western edge of Bien Hoa. Charlie Company was ordered to a large open field across Highway 15 from the Long Thanh airfield. Despite the confusion and wounds, our troops returned fire. It knocked a dimple in the side of the track as I fired up the gunner., Later in the fighting, Casper and several 2nd Platoon troops were pinned down next to a building. So, when I was offered a chance to go to II Field Force to help establish a new long-range reconnaissance patrol outfit, I actually turned it down to stay with the company. We carried concertina wire, sand bags and hundreds of Claymores and trip flares to make our defensive positions practically impenetrable. Get under! After what seemed like
Having been struck by mortars or rockets, the fuel tanks at the air base, as well as several buildings throughout Bien Hoa, were burning brightly. [2]:347, The ARVN 53rd Regional Force Battalion was responsible for security in the countryside around Bin Ha. I explained to the colonel that this was not a police action, and that we werent searching houses, we were in combat. Tower had called and told me Charlie Company was under the operational control of III Corps and I was to take my orders from them. I realize now that the track was high enough that the rounds would have passed over the troops in front of the vehicle, Love recalls. Rolling back through Bien Hoa, we were astounded to come upon the battalion S4, Captain Leroy Brown, in the middle of town with a 5,000-gallon fuel tanker and several ammunition trucks. I called III Corps and reported that we had detained all of these people, and was told to wait until the Vietnamese National Police arrived to take charge. STOCKPILES OF BOMBS AND ARTILLERY SHELLS AT THE U.S. ARMY AMMUNITION DUMP AT LONG BINH, IN SOUTH VIETNAM, ERUPTED YESTERDAY (SATURDAY) WHEN TIME CHARGES, PLACED BY VIET CONG RAIDERS, DETONATED AMID TONS OF HIGH EXPLOSIVES. Company B, 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry, which was placed under the operational control of the 2-47, made a combat air assault under fire into the middle of the Widows Village battle and fought bravely beside the Panthers all day long. During the last week of January, the battalion patrolled the jungles east of Highway 15, near the Binh Son rubber plantation. [2]:347 Weyand also requested the 1st Australian Task Force (1 ATF) to defend the eastern approaches to Long Binh/Bien Hoa and 1 ATF had commenced Operation Coburg on 24 January. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Vietnam Magazine today! My Lightboxes |
In a fight, the company had 22 .50-caliber machine guns, a 106mm and several 90mm recoilless rifles, and more radios and M-60 machine guns than a walking company could ever carry. They both hobbled through the rest of the days fighting. His action probably saved the lives of everyone on my track. The churches were cleared in short order. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Bomb squads disarmed seven of the charges, but at 07:30 the remainder exploded with three igniting pallets of artillery shells and their Propellant bags causing a massive explosion, blast wave and mushroom cloud. Attacking Long
Its predominantly Catholic population was made up of many Vietnamese who fled North Vietnam in 1954 after the Viet Minh victory. When I arrived at 9th Division in June, I was further shocked to learn that I was going to a mechanized battalion, rather than be assigned to one of the battalions in the Delta where I could use my light infantry and Ranger school experience. we were a bit more trigger happy than usual. agreement was that the stockade prisoners would pitch our sandbags, help
At 0300 hours I received a call from Major Bill Jones, who had recently taken Ionoffs place as S3, stating that Bien Hoa airbase, the Long Binh facility, the II Field Force headquarters and the 199th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB) base camp were under heavy mortar and rocket attack. secondary explosions. This is the airstrike on snipers at the 195th AHC perimeter and the Long Binh ammo dump explosion set off by sappers the morning of the 1968 Tet offensive with sound effects added. I had been in command for five months and had been assured that I would be in command for one year, which suited me fine. Although initially surprised, U.S. forces had reacted quickly. HANOI, North Vietnam, June 1 (Agence FrancePresse)An American major was captured last month in a Communistcon trolled area of northern Laos by Pathet Lao forces, a Laotian representative said here today. We packed up our gear, rolled up our wire and waited. 2023 CriticalPast LLC. Lookout tower in the background. At 4 a.m., Jones ordered us to pull in our ambushes and be prepared to move, and told Charlie Companys noncombatants to report to battalion headquarters. opened his mouth but, SGT Cuffee, the supply SGT. LV EXPLOSIONS It was
As our medics treated the wounded, I reported to the American lieutenant colonel who was the III Corps G3 adviser. It involved transfer of powder projectiles and fuses enough to keep
There we would be assigned a unit we would serve with in Vietnam. Here was another sign that the situation was serious: The battalion commander personally gave out map coordinates of company objectives in the clear.Alpha Company was ordered to the 199th LIB compound, which was under attack. For more great articles, subscribe to Vietnam magazine today! They bowed and looked confused. I yelled at Lieutenant Casper, and everybody looked around as the VC tore out running the last few yards to safety. the country where resupply was easier for the enemy. This article was originally published in the February 2006 issue of Vietnam Magazine. I was disappointed when I received orders to join the 9th Infantry Division. Incredibly, nobody in my company had been killed the day before. As time passed, I became a mechanized soldier. As enemy resistance stiffened, we realized we had bottled at least a company of the VC 275th Regiment in the village. To get to the church, we had to run a gantlet of fire, through the VC 238th Regiment and into the flank of the 275th, which was fighting the 2-47s scout platoon in Widows Village. The scout platoon had fought valiantly all day long in Widows Village and in Ho Nai. My only previous contact with M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) was during a training exercise at the officers basic course. Elements of B Company, 2/47th Infantry (Mechanized) and C Company, 4/39th Infantry, clearing North Vietnamese Army regulars from "Widows' Village" (a hamlet of housing provided by the government of the Republic of Vietnam for widows and children of fallen ARVN soldiers). Other than temporarily disrupting operations at Bien Hoa AB for half a day and destroying ammunition at the Long Binh ammunition dump, the VC/PAVN inflicted minimal damage to the Bien Hoa-Long Binh complex. Widows Village made a perfect attack position for the VC, since it lay directly across Highway 316 from II Field Force headquarters in the Long Binh complex. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Toggle the table of contents Talk: Long Bnh, Bin Ha. He was alive but he suffered a busted ear drum and singed hair, eye brows and arms. Our arrival had canceled fears that III Corps headquarters might be overrun. Toward dark, airstrikes had to be called in to blast the VC from the hill. On that fateful night, explosions began at the bomb dump, I immediately responded to CSC as the SP's . The bombs descend and explode near structures in grove of tress in agricultural area 30 miles southwest of Saigon on 19 August, 1968. Most of these photos were taken in an area a few miles north of Chu Lai and south of Hoi An. officer around. The VC attacks on Bien Hoa and the Long Binh complex were abject failures, due in part to the fact that on January 31, 1968, they had run into the Panthers of the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 47th Infantry. We found out later from captured VC that many guerrillas had been given only two magazines for their weapons. The G3 adviser told me that they had received intelligence that Vo Nguyen Giap, the North Vietnamese commanding general (the enemy equivalent of General William Westmoreland), had his command post in a Catholic church about a kilometer east of III Corps. Script is copyright Reuters Limited. As we turned to head back, a tremendous blast shook the whole city of Bien Hoa. The village of Ho Nai, now a ghost town, was still smoldering. By July 1969 we were finally off the boats and in Dong Tam processing to head home. Sappers had placed satchel charges on pallets of artillery ammunition, and the resulting mushroom cloud caused all its witnesses to think the VC had employed a tactical nuclear weapon. CRITICALPAST.COM:
As my airborne mentality faded, I learned to love the M-113or track, as we called it. "[3]:205, The Tet offensive attacks on Bien Hoa AB and Tan Son Nhut Air Base slowly led to an improvement in air base defense across South Vietnam, with improved bunkers and heavier defensive armament including 0.50 cal machine guns, M67 recoilless rifles and M29 mortars. I was the DistrictSenior Advisor (Army) in Vinh Kim, Long Dinh District, right across the canal from Dong Tam in 1968-1969. Tom Allaback. flight line and I was checking the bunker for anyone, I heard
0.42 hightForP2 = 330
As a result long-range reconnaissance patrols (LRRPs) from Company F, 51st Infantry Regiment were positioned north of Long Binh to detect PAVN/VC approaching the base. At that moment, a burst of VC machine gun fire erupted, causing the colonel, the deputy and their Vietnamese escorts to pile into their vehicles and roar off in the direction from whence they had come. We came up with a T formation. At 0400 Jones ordered us to pull in our ambushes and be prepared to move. Love was so startled, he didnt fire. The North Vietnamese Army had circled
main target because they were outnumbered 5 to 1. (Vietnam War period). As the 2nd Platoon began to run short, Spc. An eyewitness account of the battle for control of Bien Hoa and Long Binh on the first day of the 1968 Tet Offensive. Policy was to fill in all holes and empty our sandbags when we left a position, to leave nothing the VC might use against us. Cambodian border to the South China sea was already considered a
[4], The 179th Military Intelligence Detachment of the 199th LIB had been gathering intelligence on a pending attack on Long Binh for several weeks before the attacks based on human intelligence and ground radar. Having been struck by mortars or rockets, the fuel tanks at the air base, as well as several buildings throughout Bien Hoa, were burning brightly. Several tracks were hit by RPGs and surrounded by the enemy. Now commanded by a brand-new second lieutenant, the men of Alpha Company balked when they were told to move. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. After we finished clearing the area around the compound and as our wounded were being dusted off, I received an absolutely incredible order from III Corps. Ammo Dump Explosion 18 Feb 1968 where 8 pads detonated with a total ammo value of $2,774,348: f. On 18 February 1968 at approximately 0300 an attempted penetration of the depot was. trooper was injured by a piece of shrapnel that had come down
it and only slightly pierced the skin a little. Now commanded by a brand-new second lieutenant, the men of Alpha Company balked when they were told to move. GV EXPLOSIONS, AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN F/G. U.S. air strikes in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Flames consuming huts. Dames killed them with a burst from his M-16 probably saving the lives of everyone on my track. August 1966 November 1966 December 1966. Now someone pointed out that there were a lot of young men, all dressed in black pants and white shirts, walking among the refugees. Shopping Cart |
4 "Late in the war" 1 comment. As we cleared the ambush, the column suddenly came to a halt because of some kind of block in the road; simultaneously, someone keyed the company net. About 30 minutes later, the track came back with only the driver, who reported the ranger sergeant had been killed and that it had been impossible to evacuate the wounded. We suffered more wounded during the trip back to III Corps, where I was called to a meeting in the headquarters. carried on into that night with tracers flying everywhere. Soon we could hear leaders moving up and down the bunker line yelling for the guards to stop firing. 0.54 The S3 also told Charlie Companys noncombatants to report to battalion headquarters. When we arrived, we found the churchyard packed with thousands of civilians. Sergeant John Ax, squad leader of 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon, recalls the fighting near III Corps: An RPG hit Shocker, the C-21 track, in the side; but it must have been a glancing blow, because it did not explode. out of the sky. Besides the actions of Charlie Company, under the leadership of the S3, Major Bill Jones, Alpha had conducted an assault on VC positions in a cemetery. The VC attacks on Bien Hoa and the Long Binh complex were abject failures, due in part to the fact that on January 31, 1968, they had run into the Panthers of the 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry. Ive just been told you work for me again. He said the first thing he could remember was the
Just then a three-man VC RPG team calmly walked across the street right in front of the damaged APC. The only contact I had had with M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) was during a training exercise at the officers basic course just after I entered the Army. The Vietnamese general and the III Corps G3 adviser, however, were not very happy when we pulled out. A few minutes later, a jeep drove up carrying two extremely frightened white-shirted policemen. The two of them refused evacuation and neither reported his wound. He
Bringing that volatile convoy through the city, which had not been totally cleared and was still burning in many places, was a tremendously heroic act. As 1st Lt. Brice Barnes led his scout platoon into the edge of Ho Nai, he ran full speed into a hornets nest. convoy about two days before and were repairing anything that had failed
(Note: According to Colonel Sonny Craven, then leader of a combat photo team on the scene, these combat sequences was filmed by soldiers of the 221st Signal Company [Pictorial]). 1.04 11K views 9 years ago This is a brief clip of the ammo dump explosion at Long Binh, Vietnam, taken the morning of the Tet offensive, 1968. . Service Battery 6/27th
I remember telling him that if the shooting persisted, or if they hit one of my troops, I wouldnt be responsible if my troops shot back. As we made the turn eastward on Highway 1, the lead platoon was ambushed. We rolled through Long Binh and out the main gate, then turned left onto Highway 316. Now the fight was on. We opened up with everything we had and kept driving. Bucks County Pennsylvania United States USA, Del Rio Texas Laughlin Air Force Base USA, Roxborough Pennsylvania United States USA, U-Tapao Royal Thai Air Force Base Thailand. After we finished clearing the area around the compound and as our wounded were being dusted off, I received an absolutely incredible order from III Corps. bunker. 1.19 A few minutes later, a jeep drove up carrying two extremely frightened white-shirted policemen. with no lights waiting for the attack to lift so we could get
0.48 In addition, we were tremendously flexible. In another sign that the situation was serious, the battalion commander himself gave map coordinates of company objectives in the clear. There was much
Charlie Company would get the mission. In April 1967 I was a first lieutenant commanding a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. The G3 adviser told me that they had received intelligence that Vo Nguyen Giap, the North Vietnamese commanding general, had his command post in a Catholic church about 1 kilometer east of III Corps. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. By late afternoon the 275th Regiment retreated north, leaving over 200 dead. However the VC/PAVN never made another ground attack on an air base and moved to attacks by fire with rockets, mortar and artillery. OK. The mushroom cloud slowly dissipated after hours of
The only trouble was that Charlie Company tracks were sitting in the road right in front of their bunkers. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. Dismounted troops of the 2nd Battalion (Mechanized), 47th Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, stay close to their M-113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) as they clear Widows Village, near Long Binh Army Post, of Viet Cong who had overrun it during the Communist 1968 Tet Offensive (National Archives). We suffered more wounded during the trip back to III Corps, where I was called to a meeting in the headquarters. When Lieutenant Casper jumped up, our legs became entangled and I tripped him, Ax remembers. only be entered from off the Bien Hoa Air base and thru the gate
The VC/PAVN attacked the position that night in a 6 hour long assault which was met initially by US mortar and artillery fire, then helicopter gunships and then napalm strikes. About 30 minutes later, the track was back with only the driver, who reported the ranger sergeant had been killed and that it had been impossible to get the wounded. around Bien Hoa Airbase and headed toward our post of Long Binh, then
At the beginning of the Tet Offensive, one rifle company was ordered to to clear the village of Ho Nai, a Bien Hoa suburb. One reference claims that 4 February 1967 was the date, and another claims that 28 March was the date. As the Hueys rockets smashed the VC strongpoint, the scouts fought their way out of the encirclement and evacuated their dead and wounded. As I walked around the front of a track, the .50-caliber gunner accidentally hit the trigger and pumped five rounds into the ground about three feet in front of me. [2]:346, The US 199th LIB was responsible for security in the towns and countryside around Long Binh, while the 720th Military Police Battalion was responsible for security within the base perimeter. (Vietnam War period). 5 Explosion at Long Binh ammunition storage facility. Tet Offensive I had returned to Long Binh Post. The Communists were starting to carry out a plan that they had studied for a considerable period. I
Something was definitely about to happen. Wrecked ambulance with flat tires. yelling Kortuem! HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. I had assumed I would be assigned to one of the battalions in the Delta where I could use my light infantry and Ranger school experience. He stated that Bien Hoa airbase, the Long Binh facility, the II Field Force headquarters and the 199th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB) base camp were under heavy mortar and rocket attack. My Account |
The 1st Platoon of Bravo Company was made the II Field Force reaction force and was placed in the PX parking lot at Long Binh. Those orders were for us to clear the VC from the houses surrounding the corps headquarters. After all had left for the
Bringing that volatile convoy through the city, which had not been totally cleared and was still burning in many places, was a tremendously heroic act. Specialist 4 Bill Rambo, assistant driver and .50-gunner on my command track, remembers my response to the firing as being absolutely irate. When I arrived at 9th Division in June, I was shocked to learn that I was going to a mechanized battalion. This site was called Hill 63 because there was a hill nearby that had an elevation of 63 meters on the map. The platoons attacked by successive bounds through the village as the companys tracks, forming the base of the T on the highway, provided fire support from the .50s and resupplied the troops with ammunition. I was to be a platoon leader again, in Charlie Company, commanded by Captain John Ionoff. About Us |
He assigned one to the airborne battalion and the other to Charlie Company. LONG BINH, South Viet Nam (UPII A thunderous explosion that shook the heart of Saigon 11 miles away ripped through a U.S. ammunition depot tonight and wounded a handful of Americans. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. We fired all we had into the buildings lining the roadway and took several wounded while getting to the church. When offered the chance to go to II Field Force to help establish a new long-range reconnaissance patrol outfit, I turned it down to stay with the company. introduction into country when he first came to the 118th. We opened up with everything we had and kept driving. We never saw them again. Hoa. Dong Ha vietnam 1968 | Dong Ha ammo dump explosion from NVA artillery fire. . The remains of a stack of over 15,000 high explosive 155mm artillery projectiles after the VC attack on February 4. GV AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN F/G. An accurate body count could never be compiled since so many VC bodies were dragged away or were burned in the many fires in the towns and villages. Although initially surprised, U.S. forces had reacted quickly and, despite what was reported in the press, American and ARVN forces handed the VC a devastating defeat during Tet. As usual, each company had sent two ambush patrols into the jungle to our front. "What are you firing at? " 4 Joseph Sugar Bear Dames returned to the tracks for more grenades. Jim Love recalls lying in a ditch near a dead civilian as the friendly fire cracked over our heads. At 03:45 the unit engaged the VC/PAVN with 2 ACAVs being quickly knocked out by RPG fire. As we turned around to head back west, a tremendous blast shook the whole city of Bien Hoa. After the cemetery had been cleared Company B, 2/3rd Infantry joined Company C, 4/12th Infantry and they made a night defensive perimeter north of Ho Nai, while the 2/47th Infantry was withdrawn to Bin Ha. I told him about the order to clear an area of operations equal in size to that assigned the airborne battalion. The helmet had stopped
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The II Field Force commander, Lt. Gen. Frederick C. Weyand, had correctly guessed that a major attack was going to come during Tet, and his anticipation of the attacks no doubt saved Long Binh and Saigon from being overrun. Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. The platoons attacked by successive bounds through the village as the tracks, forming the base of the T, gave fire support from the .50s and resupplied the troops with ammo. Waking Dead. The Commo track, C-007, nicknamed Abdula and the Rug Merchants, with Pfc (current Vietnam editor) David Zabecki behind the .50-caliber, brought up the rear. Updated 7/26/2015. As the 2/47th Infantry approached the town a Vietnamese warned that it contained many VC and the VC then launched an ambush on the column knocking out 3 ACAVs with RPGs setting off a 4-hour battle as the US forces engaged the VC position and rescued the survivors in the damaged ACAVs. ", "Then we were all in the bunker
Blood stains in ambulance. and no one was injured. M-113 Armored Personnel Carrier on guard. The offensive continued until the end of the month in the North part of
Simultaneously, platoon leaders reported finding discarded AK-47s. I told him we couldnt take the tracks off Highway 1 into town because the streets were too narrow. While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. 6. The bus ride to 90th Replacement was relatively short and everyone seemed exhausted from the long flight. the airbase made it too us in the daylight and foamed the ditch for
This is the story of one rifle company, and what it faced on that decisive day. ordnance pad in the huge ammo dump. Advanced Search |
[5], USAF losses were 4 killed in action with another dying of a heart attack, while 26 were wounded. Smoke rises from surrounding area. Lieutenant Barnes and one of his soldiers would be awarded Distinguished Service Crosses for their heroism that day. As the sun sank over the Long Binh base, they tossed a football and ate cold C rations. the bunker. [American sources in Vien tiane said, as quoted by The Associated Press, that the captured American was prob ably the pilot of a Continent al Air Service plane that was forced to land behind Pathet Lao lines after running out of fuel. All rights reserved. NEARER AIR V..SMOKE In addition, gunships killed many more as they tried to escape from the villages. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. He ignored me and went to a nearby house where he and the deputy sheriff kicked in the front door.