Dangerous Steps: Viet Cong Booby Traps

[C. Sumpin]

Not room for it here; I got a long chapter titled "On The Wrong Side Of The Wire Without A Weapon".
But it was my fault; heard in basic never to volunteer for anything, but the carrot was large and sweet and so tempting
I bit on it. Running out of ammo is one thing, without a weapon is another, so it was the two of us volunteered against too many to count, barehanded. To this day I don't know how I/we got out of that one.

 

[Bullethole357]

Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled "Dangerous Steps: Viet Cong Booby Traps" and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/dangerous-steps-viet-cong-booby-traps/.

Did my English paper on this very topic my senior year in 1967. covered all of theses methods and more and the effects they had on our ground troops. The enemy knew our warrior culture of no man left behind. A seriously injured combatant ties up valuable resources and somewhat evens the odds.
When I did my research, the administration was concentrating on body count and some senior leaders were complaining about bombing empty intersections and grid coordinates. I found a quote from a general, who is now long forgotten. He said, “If we continue to prosecute this war by today’s methods, we will still be here twenty years from now with no victory in sight or we will withdraw and allow the North to take over all of South Vietnam.”
That quote was the conclusion of my paper. Got an A and I still have it.

 

[C. Sumpin]

Westmoreland's war of attrition (killing the enemy until their ranks could not continue) would have been a sound policy IF the rules of engagement would have permitted it. Remember, we never took it to them in the North. Oh yeah, bombing runs on Haiphong harbor, but nothing serious. They were left to retool, rebuild, resupply in the North to support the effort in the South. The Americans never grasped getting chewed up to take a hill or spot of ground where the enemy numbers were rich to accomplish the attrition tactic, then walking away from it. In previous conflicts, holding the ground taken, as least for a term, was the norm. In addition to myself, an enlisted lower rank, my older brother was a lifer from the IIWW and did he ever hate Westy for wantonly throwing GI's into the meat grinder to advance his "attrition" policy, and perhaps his status as well.

Now here is a shocker: My full bird brother was sent to VN with the mission to close the war down, and he was one of only four "in the know"; not even the Commander in Chief was at the time aware, and Pentagon Brass generally was not informed. He is now deceased; I retain the high level citation, some in the Vietnamese tongue, that the Government of South Vietnam awarded him. The sudden advance of the North, along with the hasty exit, was not in the plans.

 

[TidalWave]

Twang, twang twang; [deep thump], twang twang…

“…now the DEA’s got a chopper in the air,
I wake up screamin’ like I’m back over there.
But I learned a thing or two from Charlie don’tcha know.
You better stay away from Copperhead Road…”

Anybody remember ?!? It kinda gets to you
Me, anyhow…
—————
Serious Note:
And a huge THANK YOU and GOD BLESS YOU to all who served over there.
“Before my time but I’ve been told…”
TW
Combat Engr
1989 - 2011 (Iraq)

 

[C. Sumpin]

Twang, twang twang; [deep thump], twang twang…

“…now the DEA’s got a chopper in the air,
I wake up screamin’ like I’m back over there.
But I learned a thing or two from Charlie don’tcha know.
You better stay away from Copperhead Road…”

Anybody remember ?!? It kinda gets to you
Me, anyhow…
—————
Serious Note:
And a huge THANK YOU and GOD BLESS YOU to all who served over there

To this day I can announce an incoming chopper before anyone can hear/see it; the vibrations in my chest...........

 

[TidalWave]

To this day I can announce an incoming chopper before anyone can hear/see it; the vibrations in my chest...........

I’ll tell y’all a nutty story…
When I returned from Iraq first time, I stayed with my folks. Dad was getting older and I wanted - and still need sometimes - to reconnect with roots and get back to fundamentals in life. He’s great at that, by the way. Its just his style of life.
Anyway, I’d still rise early and all those mil habits. But about 10 days into my visit, something was waking me. It wasn’t the creaks of their older house, nor Dad occasionally snorting loudly in his sleep (he’d wake himself, sometimes! Always did). I noticed during the day that loud noises didn’t bother me, either far off or even close, like stepmom dropping a pan in the kitchen. Things far enough away were no problem, nor something immediately nearby - it was those middle distance things, kinda/sorta “ just out of reach” or “just beyond my control “ that bugged me.
What was waking me at 0400 to 0430? I set my alarm early and found out.
The faint ‘whump’ of the newspaper hitting the end of their concrete driveway maybe 30 meters from the house…

(Apologies to those who may recall this from past thread; I think I mentioned it once… gave me an all new understanding of Paul Baumer, the narrator main character of “All’s Quiet on the Western Front”).

 

[C. Sumpin]

Flashbacks: And this was twenty five years after return; Love Pho soup, had a favorite stop on Atlanta's south side. This day was hot, as I went in barely noticed the roofing job going on as business was wide open. While dining, the sing song of the native language registered as it always did with just a tingle on the nerve scale. Somewhere in along there (did not know what it was till later) a roofer dropped a bundle of shingles from his shoulder onto the roof...........and I was in a clear shimmering cloud of cordite, trying to see through elephant grass..........it lasted only a few seconds till I was back and by this time had learned self discipline not to drop under the table. I had these often, sometimes when in conversation, yet no one detected them. Actually, I enjoyed the flashbacks and in the early years after return would roam the woods at night to trigger them.............

 

[Ron Haag]

I was drafted into the Army Dec. "72. Though I didn’t serve a tour in Vietnam, like my Brother - who served 12 months "in country", we trainees were shown an Army film on jungle booby traps. Most of the footage was of a squad on a training exercise, simulating a patrol in the jungle. But then the film cut to a photo of a real victim - a young soldier facedown, blood streaming from the back of his skull! He was killed by an overhead block of concrete that the VC had implanted thick nails in. It'd been released, either by a trip wire or a guerrilla, from a height delivering enough force to drive the nails into his brain!

 

[Bassbob]

Thanks for your service gentlemen.

 

[nmedge]

It was a lovely place! Wish i could go back for a vacation..... NOT!!!!!! After 3 years of the Army i joined the Air Force.

 

[HayesGreener]

I hated them enough for that and other things that I wanted them in my sights

 

[The Night Rider]

Trained by Russians? Poisons may come to mind?
Not thinking was just Russians, Chinese and others may have also been in the mix?

There was a scene at the very beginning of John Wayne's The Green Berets. Sgt Muldoon shows various weapons captured from the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese.

He lists Czechoslovakian communist weapons Russian communist weapons Chinese Communist weapons and probably East German communist weapons.

The intent of the scene was that America was fighting all the Communist nations in Vietnam.

I don't know pal accurate that is but it probably wasn't very far off the mark.

 

[Bloodknight]

I don't think the North Vietnamese army was that primitive -- they were well armed and well trained by the Russians.

They kicked the crap out of the French just before we got there. While in boot camp (USMC) we noticed Asian soldiers while at the rifle range at Camp Matthews. We asked our D.I. what they were doing there. Staff Sgt Dickerson by the way. You never forget the names of your D.Is.Sgt Dickerson said. they were Vietnamese and were there for training. He said that after training they were sent back to Vietnam and were usually dead in a couple weeks.

 

[The Night Rider]

Mark Felton is a British Historian and author of more than twenty books. He is also a Fellow of The Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of The Royal Society of the Arts (AKA he is England's version of Steven Ambrose)

 

[Bloodknight]

There was a scene at the very beginning of John Wayne's The Green Berets. Sgt Muldoon shows various weapons captured from the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese.

He lists Czechoslovakian communist weapons Russian communist weapons Chinese Communist weapons and probably East German communist weapons.

The intent of the scene was that America was fighting all the Communist nations in Vietnam.

I don't know pal accurate that is but it probably wasn't very far off the mark.

Silly movie , just as stupid as that stuff we watched as kids that made us think that war was honorable and when people got killed they just fall over. Yes they were communists where do you think they would get their equipment. You fight a war in the bush on somebody elses home ground your in for a rough time.Our government sold us out (again) .Urban fighting on someone else home ground I believe is even worse.Its a freekin meat grinder.Dont blame any enemy for doing what they have to on their home ground.What do you think we would do if we got invaded ? I always liked colin powells assessment of the first Iraq war. " Were going to surround the Iraq army , and were going to kill it" Oh By the way for the record. Me ! Ist Marine Division HQ Co 2-11 1964 to 1967 "It wasn't much of a party!"

 

[The Night Rider]

Silly movie , just as stupid as that stuff we watched as kids that made us think that war was honorable and when people got killed they just fall over. Yes they were communists where do you think they would get their equipment. You fight a war in the bush on somebody elses home ground your in for a rough time.Our government sold us out (again) .Urban fighting on someone else home ground I believe is even worse.Its a freekin meat grinder.Dont blame any enemy for doing what they have to on their home ground.What do you think we would do if we got invaded ? I always liked colin powells assessment of the first Iraq war. " Were going to surround the Iraq army , and were going to kill it" Oh By the way for the record. Me ! Ist Marine Division HQ Co 2-11 1964 to 1967 "It wasn't much of a party!"

OK

 

[Bassbob]

Silly movie , just as stupid as that stuff we watched as kids that made us think that war was honorable and when people got killed they just fall over. Yes they were communists where do you think they would get their equipment. You fight a war in the bush on somebody elses home ground your in for a rough time.Our government sold us out (again) .Urban fighting on someone else home ground I believe is even worse.Its a freekin meat grinder.Dont blame any enemy for doing what they have to on their home ground.What do you think we would do if we got invaded ? I always liked colin powells assessment of the first Iraq war. " Were going to surround the Iraq army , and were going to kill it" Oh By the way for the record. Me ! Ist Marine Division HQ Co 2-11 1964 to 1967 "It wasn't much of a party!"

With all due respect:

Home ground or not they were/are communists. Try getting some sympathy for them from all those Laotions and Cambodians they killed.

Definitely not going to be easy fighting people on their own turf. The government sold you out, that is true. They sent you over there and then handcuffed you with unrealistic ROE, then pulled you out when the hippies started crying making the whole thing an exercise in futility.

Thank you for your service by the way sir.

 

[Bloodknight]

With all due respect:

Home ground or not they were/are communists. Try getting some sympathy for them from all those Laotions and Cambodians they killed.

Definitely not going to be easy fighting people on their own turf. The government sold you out, that is true. They sent you over there and then handcuffed you with unrealistic ROE, then pulled you out when the hippies started crying making the whole thing an exercise in futility.

Thank you for your service by the way sir.

Thanks for your reply, In reality I have learned through many years that we (meaning grunts, whatever service) Have more in common with our "enemy" then we do with our own countrymen. Especially those Old politicians who send young men to die. We could go back & forth forever on the reason for war. Our government has sold out our military in every war since World War 2.Including Korea , Vietnam ,Iraq ,Afghanistan. John Basilone (every Marine know his story) said "Never Fear Your Enemy , But Always Respect Him" Peace !

 

[ifithitu]

I was in Vietnam 68- 69,during my time with Mike 3/27 Marines, I seen more booby traps then I seen in the last ten months of my tour. I seen some of those booby traps that are in the pictures, not all of them.

 

[yotehtr]

Even a Zippo lighter could be rigged to maim or kill.