In reading about two of my Cacti 2/35th Alumni (my first tour was with C 2/35th in 68) being Killed in the chopper crash I saw a sentence about you guys being involved in the seige of Dak Seang. My second tour was Jan 70 to Jan 71. Advisor to the 4th Bn 42nd ARVN infantry unit based at Tan Canh. I spent most of April 70 going up and down the dak poko valley with my viets helping to break the seige. We walked up part way after being lifted in on April 02 to FB 1 right where the old road ended at the river with the blown old french iron bridge. We got pushed back and then later we lifted into the outside northwest corner of the camp taking mortar and 75 ricky rifle the whole time. My fellow advisors with the other units got ate up north of the camp on the mountain that was old 4th division FB 29 or 30. dinks in the old bunkers chained to the logs with auto weapons. Several ships shot down and many limped back to the camp smoking the whole way. We lost two US advisors kia, my bud a major was POW and came home in march 73, Art Elliot. Also at least one arty FO a LT Kelley was KIA, I had two arty fo em types get hit by shrapnel from a 75 round as they were setting up a prc 25 long antenna to relay a fire mission from our team on the mountain, they were being overrun. Dustoff could not come in as it was too hot. only landing area was the northeast corner of the camp at the end of the psp airstrip. I dont know who they were but a slick called me and said get the wia ready. He came from the west sliding along the psp and just slow enough for us to literraly throw the two US wia on board and then he almost went straight up getting out of there. I do know that if that crew had not come in the two guys would not have made it. A few years ago I was found and contacted by one of the young arty kids who was wounded. He had total blackout of all that happened so I wrote him a statement for the VA. I have this vived recollection of a 57 or 75 round going right thru the open doors of that slick just before he got to where we were hugging the ditch on the side of the airstrip with the wounded.
All in all a damn big old THANK YOU AND WELCOME HOME to all you 119 guys and any other crewman who supported us grunts on the ground in april 70. In early may after the dinks went back home to laos I took the arvn recon platoon and pulled security for the pathfinders and graves registration team that went into each crash site to recover remains. worst two days of my life. we searched at least 10 chopper sites (couple may have been airforce) and 7 caribou and one Spad site that all had been shot down.
hope some of you are here that were there for me back then and read this. You guys had to be the craziest nuts in the world to fly like yall did, and me crazy for extending and staying in tan canh the whole damn year. spent time on old FB 5 and 6 as well and covering the POL resupply point at dak to 2 airstrip for the birds working with FOB 2 out of Kontum.
love you guys and will buy you a brew anyday.