We wait as the morning briefing at Polei-Kleng seems to last way to long. Sitting on this runway is just asking for enemy gunners to open up on us. Many of us have picked out the spot where we would take cover in case an attack starts. Finally the pilots return and we are shocked at the news. Brigade has determined that the mission in the northern part of the valley has been accomplished. Large sections of the Plei-Trap road have been destroyed and enemy convoys have been distrupted. We will be pulling the troops out of the bases today.
The first base is to be Task Force Alpha. All troops are now inside its perimeter and a "Free Fire Zone" has been declared around the base. A C&C ship will orbit the base and direct each ship into the pad. A set of our Croc guns will provide cover and a set of cobras from the 7/17th Cav.will back them up. The flight orbits to the east of the base as the first ship heads in.
Racing in at tree top level the first ship take heavy fight. It flares as it approaches the pad and drops like a rock onto it. It seems like hours as the first sortie is loaded. This is the mortar platoon with all of their equipment. Finally the first ship is out. The second ship chooses a different route into the base. Same results, heavy fire.
Each ship in turns tries their luck. With each sortie the perimeter falls back towards the pad. The Air Force is also working the area. They have dropped CS gas and willie pete to cover the extraction. Once we reach the pad inside the base it is some what quiet. The enemy is not mortaring us and the sniper fire is light. Once outside the perimeter things are different. Heavy fire from all sides.
The turn around time is twenty minutes between Polei-Kleng and Hill 467. The ship are landing at the runway and just dumbing their loads in order to get back on station. As each ship arrives the crowd around the runway increases. Each ship is met with cheers as if this were a football game.
One of our gun ships Croc 242 takes an air burst. A/C WO1 Gill (call sign Waldo) determines that he needs to put the ship down to inspect it. Besides his peter pilot WO1 Jack Cloud has a problem. A round has come through the bottom of the ship and hit the bottom of his seat. He can't tell if he is hit or not. He does know that his butt feels funny. Another Crocs comes on station to take their place.
By the time the last sortie is pulled all ten slicks have been damaged in one way or another. The scene at Polei-Kleng is unbelieviable. Guys are walking around drinking warm beer and hugging each other. As each of other ships land they are met with load cheers and smiling faces. Once the lift is completed we stage at resupply. Four ships are deemed to have to much damage. They are sent back to Holloway. Croc 242 is also returning to Holloway. It had taken several rounds. Only Jack Cloud's pride seems to be hurt.
We head back into the valley. Our next lift will be FSB 27. Only one company is there. D/1/8 is waiting as we start the lift. As this lift is being completed, CH-47s are pulling the 105mm howitzers out of FSB 20. For some reason the enemy has decided to leave us alone. During this lift no ground fire is taken. The artillery from LZ Swinger is pounding what is left of Task Force Alpha's base. They are making sure there is nothing left on Hill 467 that the enemy could use.
The final lift of the day is FSB 20. The CH-47s have taken the artillery pieces and most of the personal from A/6/29 Arty out. The only ones left is A/1/8. Instead of ground fire, the enemy has decided to use mortar fire against us. As each ship sneaks in the enemy tries to time the rounds to hit the base. Instead of using the pads we have different area picked out where the troops are waiting for us. By late afternoon we have all of the 1/8 out of the valley.
While we were dealing with the northern part of the valley, the southern end was very busy. A/3/12 had made contact south of LZ D-Handle. A large enemy force was engaged and C/3/12 was sent to reinforce them. Ships from the 170th AHC and Troop C/7/17th Cav had provided air support. The two companies had withdrew from the contact area. Casualties included 5 dead and 1 missing.
During the flight back to Holloway we are told skip the post flights on our ships. All of the slicks from today's mission were grounded tomorrow. Of the four Croc gun ships that covered us today all but one had combat damage. For the past 30 days we had dealt with the devil in the valley. Today was the first time that I actually believed we had won. The looks on the faces of the grunts we pulled out today had given me something to smile about. They were glad to be alive and so was I.