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M42 Duster — From Fighting Jets to Battling Guerrillas

In late 1970, I was in the 101st & stationed at Firebase T-Bone. It was an ARVN firebase with a small number of US personnel. There was a Duster on the hill & I got to watch it work out one time. It wasn't being fired in combat, they were just using up some old ammo. Definitely impressive! The crew promised me that next time they fired it up, I could shoot the 40's, but unfortunately they got transferred off the hill shortly thereafter. i always regretted that missed opportunity.
 
Communists don't care if thousands of their people die. So to stop them you have to put fear into their soldier's minds. Napalm was their greatest fear. Period. Drop some napalm and the survivors faded away.
After that #2, the AC-47 and later the AC-130. Like napalm, the gunship ended support for battle. It could save a small group in a remote area, far away from artillery support in the night. It was common to put a strobe light in a mortar tube, point it straight up, and somehow the pilot practically put a wing tip over the light and rotated around your position. You were in a cone of protecting fire the VC or NVA wanted no part of. They could put fire so close you felt you could reach out and touch it. In a bar, no AC crew had to buy their own drink if ground personnel were there.
 
I was stationed at Fort Bliss prior to my separation from the Army in 1968, I was in S-4 which had a communications unit that was tasked with lying comm. wire at a Duster training site, I was given the ok by CWO Ugolini ( spelling) to ride along with them one day to watch the Dusters ( along with the quad 50's trailer mounted ) disinagrate drones. I can only imagine the terror "Charlie" felt when a Duster fired upon them !
 
I was posted with Army 1st Bde 5th Infantry Div (Mech) in July 1968 to I Corps. The Brigade had an ADA Battery consisting of 4 Dusters and 4 truck-mounted Quad 50's even though the North didn't have any air assets in I Corps. They were used a lot in perimeter defense and convoy escorts but also went out on Ops and caused some horrendous casualties to the PAVN when they were caught in the open. I was also told that at the Con Thien base where I spent a good bit of time off and on that the Dusters had received some "special" ammunition with longer range in case the Russian helicopters that were occasionally seen in North Viet Nam from our vantage point ever got close enough to be targeted. Also the first photo is an Army Duster. I never saw a USMC one.
 
I'm surprised no one has asked about the picture showing the top of the M42 and the severed hand that is clear in this pic. Your thoughts, please!

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