30Ty Days in Hell: Untold Story of Vietnam

By Roy Zattiero

Before the war in Vietnam began in earnest, hundreds of U.S. advisors were stationed in Indo-China. Our early deployed were to train, educate and perform strategic planning for allied troops soon to follow.

Although written as a novel, this story is based upon historical facts. The plot follows the duties of one soldier ordered behind enemy lines into "non-combative", neutral neighboring countries to achieve his goals.

Forward air controllers duties included not only air support services but also mapping and intelligence gathering. The initial troops were few in numbers yet performed duties far above and beyond the call of duty.

This is one story of thousands which has never been told.

Join me for "30TY DAYS IN HELL"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Apr 3, 2008
• ISBN: 9781426990977

Roy Zattiero

Other books by the author K-3: An engineered virus is sprea worldwide by terrorists 2005 - Trafford.com Brentwood Too: Life after Brentwood - the saga continues. 2004 - Trafford.com Brentwood: The original story - troubled youth turns hitman 2003 - Trafford.com How Hitler Won: Wars by Psychotics - What ifs of war 2000 - Fireside Isla de Hope: Airline disaster and survival 1998 - Western Pub. Steel City Cop: The Pittsburgh P.D. - Hard core police 1997 - Western Pub. S.O.A.P.: Sports officiating and parents 1968 - San Jose, Ca.

Book preview

Copyright 2008 Roy Zattiero.

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ISBN: 978-1-4251-7147-6

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Contents

Introduction

I Basic Training

Ii Hello Vietnam

Iii Da Nang

IV Cambodia

V Jump #1

VI Laos - Jump - #2

VII Thirty Days In Hell Day 1

VIII Week Two Behind Enemy Lines

IX The Mighty Mekong

X River Rats

XI The Kingdom Of Siam

XII Drug Smugglers Of Southeast Asia

XIII The High Plateau

XIV Life; At The End Of The Tunnel

Epilogue

Introduction

Forty years has passed since many served in Vietnam. Many stories and tales remain untold. Untold for security reasons as well as endless commitment to God and Country. Verifying some tales is possible although difficult at best. Even true tales lose their non-fictional status once the story is written or memorized by media.

Most stories, like this one, have a solid factual basis to create a strong foundation for the plot. A major reason why those close to or involved in the majority of reports are related to their own writings. Even a script writer is, for however short period of time, emotionally dedicated to the product. We generally believe newspaper accounts, magazines and media broadcast. This contributed to misconceptions.

Books and movies are on another level. Bells, whistles and even a little cow dropping are often plugged in for ‘Flavor’.

This story is all of the above. Many never before disclosed secrets of Vietnam and its south East Asia neighbors are described in detail. Life behind the lines of a Recon Soldier, never happened because we were never in Laos or Cambodia. Or were we? Join me for Thirty Days in Hell.

I

BASIC

TRAINING

Roy wasn’t the only trainee at Ft. Banning, Georgia unemployed by the Army. Jump school was considered special training and the U.S. Army had the best school anywhere in the world. This tradition continues to this day.

Other branches of the military and even friendly allies sent their top cadets to Fort Banning for the jump and combat training. The latest of techniques as well as equipment is utilized in the education of the Special Forces. This included not only the old fashion mushroom chute we are all so familiar with in their great white sheets, but also the latest 1960 version of the much smaller precision chute now frequently used by adventure jumpers. In the early 1960’s few had ever seen the precision chute. Fewer yet had attempted to try its’ ability.

At the ‘Fort’, six recruits were selected for the precision chutes training class. Five of the six were the best of the jump schools students. All five had shot in the expert classification and were Army thru and thru. They were selected by Phochoanalitical testing, physical ability and a superior mental quickness.

The sixth was an Air Force misfit who shot well yet hardly fit into the Army’s mold of the model soldier. He was not physically strong, well built or impressive as the Army profile. He was often a smart mouth and questioned authority when he sensed it was wrong. Still the U.S.A.F. required its own reconnaissance personnel for duty as F.O.’s (Forward Observers). The Army called the F.O.’s Forward Air Controllers or FACs. Either way they controlled the air strikes from ground positions at or near combat sites. Others were airborne.

F.O.’s need not be the brightest beads on the Rosary. They would be flown in, dropped and placed in or near an area to be targeted by the Air Force for aerial attacks.

F.O.’s (U.S.A.F.) or F.A.C.s (Army, Marines) had several techniques when calling in an air strike. Coordinates was always primary. This location finder would bring the attacking craft right over your position. Common was the fly over in order for the pilot to know exactly what the drop site looked like. This also gave the Viet Cong time to dig in, run off or fire on the 2nd run of the attacker. Flares were also used. A flare may be placed 100 yards or more in front of the designated drop zone. Enemy combats quickly picked up on this and would fire similar flares back towards our lines confusing the pilots. When this was countered with colored flares the communist began carrying colored flares of their own. Many G.I.s, hundreds if not thousands were killed in combat by ‘friendly fire’; bombs dropped by our own planes. This was a support duty and often included coordination by the Army’s artillery and the Navy. Sooner than the joint chiefs thought, the Navy in fact took the major roll in defining the air strikes in Vietnam. This was necessitated by the fact that the Army’s air power was limited to light reconnaissance and helicopter duties. The Air Force had its own problems; most U.S.A.F. craft were too fast or too large for precision bombing.

Major air bases were required to house and repair the modern fighters as well as the slower prop driven T-6s and C-47 from WWII. The tropical growth was unrelenting to building and maintaining suitable runways for modern aircraft. Foliage had to not only be cleared but kept at a considerable distance to combat sabotage and attacks. To aid the military’s control of the jungles growth a powerful herbicide was employed to kill off and destroy the soil from which it grew. Its street name, Agent Orange, didn’t do it Justice.

This powerful herbicide contained Dioxin, which can have a 100 year half life. Even today Vietnamese in the sprayed areas have a fourfold level above acceptable levels set by the U.S. Surgeon General. Dispensing the herbicide was a lesson of ‘how not to’. The C-123 is one of the slowest non combat aircraft in the U.S. Fleet. Strapped in fully contained canisters were connected to fuel lines which were used as conduits’ to transport the herbicide out to the wings where spraying nozzles were electronically turned on by a simple toggle switch. Simple in theory. In practice it never seemed to operate properly. Fuel line valves simply did not fit as they were supposed to. Brass fittings were never available and the old pot metal types cracked easily. These leaks produced less pressure for the nozzles backing up the discharged fumes. The lines themselves had to have the correct fittings connected to the valves. The spraying mechanism frequently jammed up and had to be cleaned out by hand. To complicate the spraying were wind and climatic conditions, such as heat. Often entire villages would be directly sprayed by the prevailing wind or faulty valves. Other times harvest and production cash crops were inundated with the Agent Orange. Nearly twenty million gallons of the toxins were dispersed over Vietnam alone. (20,000,000 gallons). G.I.’s were told Just wash it off, it won’t hurt you. This would prove deadly wrong to thousands of military and civilians alike. (In truth it really wasn’t orange at all!).

Supply and ordinance was another major problem for the U.S.A.F. Large amounts of weaponry resupply and stockpiling in a combat environment is costly in lives and money! Major roads, secure highways and safe warehouses were a rare commodity throughout Vietnam. Resupplying the Army was a major job in itself, most of which had to be shipped in and transported to its respective destinations.

Of course the U.S.A.F. established several Air Force bases such as Da Nang, but there were far more smaller combat sites such as the seldom heard of Holloway Field types dotting the country sides. These bases housed lighter combat planes and choppers that were more common to WWII aircraft, such as light fighter bombers and the grand daddy of all C-47 ‘Gooney Bird’ on which high caliber Gatling guns were placed calling it a Jolly Green Giant. These slower propeller driven craft were much more precise and easier to maintain than the modern supersonic fighter jet. Speed was not a major factor since the Communist’s only air power was surface to air missiles (S.A.M.s) used to down our jets. Russia and China were all too eager in supplying SAM’s at no cost to their North Vietnam comrades as a venue to test their weapons and hopefully destroy American Imperialism.

For all of the above reasons, and more, the U.S. Navy presented itself as the best choice for delivering air strikes upon the enemy. Resupplying the aircraft carriers was no problem since the ships were safe far off shore. Security was easily accomplished by radar and surveillance. Carriers could easily be repositioned to the north or south for easy strikes. The Navy took a major role in air support in the Vietnam War.

Not to be out done, the U.S.A.F. would fly thousands of missions and deploy its huge B-52 Bombers. Problems continued to plague the U.S. Military. Security and insurrection were always a major concern. Espionage, turncoats and dishonesty were commonplace among the Vietnamese employed on or near our military installations. Our Intelligence Reports were non-existent. Very few credible sources were obtained to secure information from the Communists. It was written that the South controlled the cities while the Viet Cong controlled the vast country side. This in fact was true.

Vietnam’s countryside was lawless. If any civilian did any work what-so-ever for the central government the Viet Cong would eliminate him and his family. Children, male and female, as young as 8 were forced into service for food supplies and transporting goods. Failure to comply was immediate death. The Cong were ruthless. Entire villages were taken for food and indentures. Should a 12 year old fail