Dick Falk tour of duty

Well here it is, The Great American Novel !

THOUGHTS ON VIETNAM TOUR OF DUTY

In 1970 I was a Sergeant First Class (E-7), stationed at a choice assignment at Ft. Ritchie, Md. Had an easy job as Provost Marshal Operations Sergeant. One day I got a telephone call from my Uncle Fred in Warren, MI. He notified me that my cousin (David Falk) had been killed in action on the Cambodian border, in Vietnam. He said the family would like me to go to California and meet David’s remains, and escort them back to MI. With quick approval from HQ’s, orders were cut, and I was on my way the next morning. I flew to Oakland, CA, and managed to get through the paperwork, and return flight arrangements with little trouble.

Escorting my cousin’s body was a sad and thoughtful experience for me. The airline was wonderful (they moved me up to first class seating as a token of their respect), and the baggage handlers were very respectful, as they assisted me in folding the flag from the casket. I hand carried the flag and placed it back on the casket, as it was unloaded in MI. We arrived in MI on a cold, late night flight, and the family was waiting at the airport. This was not a happy reunion, and that is all I will say about that night. We then escorted the casket to the funeral home, where I was shown the body for the first time. I remembered David as a very young, happy, good looking boy, yet I was looking at a man, with much older facial features. I couldn’t even be sure if it was David, since I had not seen him in over 12 years. Anyway, it was David, and I spent the next 3 days standing at parade rest, at the head of the casket, during family viewing. The final part of my duty was to take the flag from the casket at the cemetery and present it to my Aunt Alice. Doing this at the funeral of a soldier, unknown to you, is difficult enough, but when it is a family member, the words “On behalf of a grateful nation -----------” are a little difficult to get out.


On the following trip home (back to Ft. Ritchie) the guilt began to build up in me. Why did this young draftee have to go to war and die. He was what they referred to as an “Instant NCO”. These young men were rushed through the system, promoted, and shipped out, with no experience and not a heck of a lot of combat training. Meanwhile, there I sat, in a plush job, with 12 years experience and training behind me, and never seen combat. My experience involved a tour in Germany and a tour in Korea, along with a few years at Ft. Meade, MD. I had married and had an 8 yr old son at this time. How would I ever explain to my son that his Dad, a career soldier, missed the war? So, even though I was already on orders for North Africa, awaiting a top secret clearance before shipping out, I went to Personnel and asked to have the orders changed to Vietnam. They were happy to accommodate me.

In March, 71, I moved my wife and son to a military housing section near 12 mile and Mound Rd, in Warren, MI. On April 6th I got up early, after a night of tears and goodbyes, and another family member (brother of David) drove me to the airport. I flew to N.Y. where we got on another plane, headed for Oakland, CA. Shortly after takeoff the plane developed engine problems, so we spend an hour dumping fuel, before returning to N.Y.. Later, while waiting at the airport for a new plane, we were treated to a bomb threat, and had to go outside (and it was snowing that April night), and stand around for an hour in our summer uniforms. They then put us on a bus and sent us to Ft. Dix, N.J., where we got another flight to Oakland, CA, and then another flight to Vietnam.

<<(Standing next to the jeep that we got fragged in the night this photo was taken.

We landed at Bien Hoa Airfield, and then took a bus over to Long Binh. We stood in formation, which I though was a bad idea, giving Charlie such a nice group shot, but I was new and expecting VC to be hiding everywhere. We were each given our assignments, and I was assigned to the Provost Marshal’s Office, for the 4th Transportation Corp, stationed right there at Long Bihn.


After checking in at the Provost Marshal’s Office, I received the usual issue of weapons and other items, and was assigned a room. I thought I was pretty darn lucky to, once again, have a plush assignment. The heat was intense, and the afternoon downpours did little to cool things off. After getting acquainted with a few folks, I headed for the nearest outhouse to get a load off my mind. While sitting there, this long, green, snake, slid right over my shoes and out the other side of the outhouse. Worked better than any laxative I’ve ever used. Sleeping at night was very difficult. I would lay on my bunk, covered in heavy sweat, and every now and then a lizard would get tangled up in my hair, making me pray that it wasn’t a snake. The night sky was usually filled with choppers spewing out a hail of tracer rounds. There were usually a couple of mortar rounds fired into our perimeter during the night, and we would grab our weapons and head for the bunkers, until things would quiet down.


Test run on one of our River Patrol Boats in Cat Lai.

My duties were a little different than any Military Police duties I had ever done before. I would type up casualty and other serious incident reports every morning to send to the Commanding General’s morning briefings. One day I volunteered to fly as Ariel Observer in one of those small Birddog planes. That was an interesting experience, trying to distinguish between Charlie and regular civilians, from a few thousand feet up. Another part of our duties was to escort convoys from Long Binh to Vung Tau. It certainly wasn’t as dangerous as today’s troops, having to contend with all the roadside bombs, but we did get a few sniper shots every so often. Our unit was also responsible for a platoon of River Patrol Boats out of Cat Lai. Those boats would really fly on as little as 6 inches of water, and armed with quad 50 calibers, it was quite a thrill to go on missions with them.

One night, the Provost Marshal (Maj Bulock), and I were driving around, checking the perimeter fence at Long Binh. Maj Bulock wanted to stop and check in on one of the unit Duty Officers. I was driving the jeep, and pulled up next to the building to park. Out of nowhere, there was a loud bang, and a blast of bright light, off to my left, as I was about to park. It was definitely a grenade exploding. The Major rolled out the right side of the jeep. I jumped out with .45 Cal in hand, looking for any suspicious movement on the perimeter. It took me a few minutes to realize that we both had been hit. The Major took it in his left shoulder and I was hit in my right hand. A little while later, we were both escorted to the hospital. After surgery, I found out that the grenade had been planted in the roof line of one of the huts, with a string tied to the pin. The young American, SP/4, did not like MP’s, and decided to try to kill a couple. His big mistake, was when he pulled the string, the grenade came loose and flew out in front of him, as he was trying to run away from the scene. He was hit in both legs.


Maj Bulock was able to return to work right away with only a minor flesh wound. I, on the other hand, spend the next few months in the hospital. A couple of weeks in Vietnam, then sent to Japan for a couple more weeks, and finally sent to Valley Forge, PA, for another month. I was not told until returning to the States, that the young man lying in the bed next to me in Nam, was the guy who tried to kill us. He was later tried for attempted murder, but I never did hear the outcome of his trial. I also did not realize, until I saw photos of our jeep, just how lucky I was. There were several holes in the canvas top, right above my head, and a few more in the side of the jeep, right under my seat.

Of course, I recovered nicely, and got to pick my next duty station. We then relocated to Ft. Bliss, TX, for a few years, before going back to Germany. My career ended up at Ft. Sheridan, IL, where I retired as MSG, E-8, in June 1980.


Scan 0001 ------------- Viet Nam (Standing next to the jeep that we got fragged in the night this photo was taken.
Scan 0002 ------------- A little rest break in Vung Tau after escorting a convoy to that location.
Scan 0003 ------------- Test run on one of our River Patrol Boats in Cat Lai.
Scan 0004 ------------- Younger years in Germany.
Scan 0005 ------------- Viet Nam
Scan 0006 ------------- Final promotion to MSG (E-8) at Ft. Sheridan, IL.
Scan 0007 ------------- Ready for town patrol in Germany.
Scan 0008 ------------- Practicing for Riot Control Duties at the Martin Luther King march in Washington D.C.





Scan 0009 ------------- Another ready for town patrol duty in Germany.