Sp4 Milton Pounds
Spec 4, MOS 13E20
HSB 2/9th,
Attached 1/35th
RVN, 1969
I was HSB 2/9th attached to 1/35th as Artillery Liaison from April 1969 to approximately August 1969 and “C” Battery was the direct support for the 1/35th at that time. Col English was the CO of 1/35th.
I can provide documentation
for this, but it will take digging out some 4th Div newspaper
articles on the hit at LZ Oasis on 11 May 1969 – Mother’s Day.
The 1/35th was on stand-down (the 2/35th had been
there earlier) when we were hit. “C”
Battery set up at the Oasis for the stand down.
Anyone there will remember the attack on Mother’s Day. “A” Btry. was direct
support for 1/14th Inf. and “B” was the 2/35th
direct.
I had the 2400 to 0400 radio shift in the 1/35 TOC beginning with the first incoming on 11 May 69. I hit the incoming horn and directed the counter mortar and rocket fire for several nights. As liaison I had also set up the night fire and counter programs while we were at Oasis. Hope this is acceptable for “C” providing direct support for 1/35 Inf. As I remember, “C” was the direct support battery from April ’69 through at least 12-28-69.
It seems that the Liaison
people are slipping through the cracks. My
group was Capt. Wheeler, Sgt. William Billy Williams (that is actually his name)
of Hurricane, WV, Ricky Mayeda (Japanese American decent from
I was fortunate to have a
wide experience in
Some guys will remember the
painted cartoons in the mess hall at
Here are some of the 2/9th and 1/35th men in 1969:
FROM MY ADDRESS BOOK: |
||
2/9th Arty Thom Dolsky |
Sp4 Ralph C. Gibbs Coochella
,
|
Sp4 Dwight Glidewell Seattle
,
|
Sp4 Michael W. Hughes Fort Gibson
,
|
George Healy Sgt (hard 5) FO team: was 1/35 RTO at Chu Pa battle, held onto radio – received 3 day IC R&R, transferred to 2/9 |
Dennis R. Moser Pembroke
,
|
Denis Oleck Massapequa Park
, |
Robert A. Palenske A drafted “legally
blind” gun bunny
|
Earl “Smitty” Smith Sgt. FO team and one of the |
Sgt Billy William Williams Hurricane, WA Liaison
attachment: “C” to 1/35th |
Sp4 Jeffery C. Woods, Jr.
Houston
, |
|
FROM MEMORY: | ||
Cpt Wheeler Liaison attachment “C” to 1/35th |
Sp4 Ricky Mayeda Liaison attachment “C” to 1/35th |
Lt Ken (Mad Dog) Jones FO |
SFC Willard. Newell Mess Sgt. HSB, |
SSG Alex Blount | |
1/35th: | ||
Dennis G. Grigonis, “G”
Chicago
, Heavy weapons.
Several great stories of |
Cpt
Knight 1/35th
S-2 "Red" 4.2 section chief, KIA
shortly
|
The following LZ were 1/35th base with “C” Btry direct support:
Oasis (the, 1/15th 155 SP at the Rock Quarry provided direct support to LZ Oasis – photo)
Buzzard (SF camp at Plei Me)
Kate
English
Kathy
Ruth
Gypsy
Following LZs: I do not remember the battery and might not have photos:
LZ (name?) at Edap Enang
Joan at Duc Co
St. George
Weight-Davis
Melody
LZ name?: New Plei Djereng
Lorraine
Brenda
Meredith
Kraus
LZ (name?) at Plei Mrong
Sandbag
Blackhawk
I also have photos of a mission to retrieve a LRRP team from the Cambodian border (I was the arty control). After Oct. 1969, consisted of 1 APC, 1 ¼ ton truck (mine), 1 105mm from “C” (we were out of range of any batteries), a platoon of infnatry and a couple of Deuce-and-a-halfs. Went west on Hwy 19 from the Oasis and set up night defense position on road. Next day proceeded to near the border, turned onto path to right until halted by a running grunt warning of ambush. Backtracked and set up a defense position. I have several photos. I have some drawings that I made while in Nam. When I returned to LSU to finish my MFA, I did a series of paintings on Nam.
MEMORIES
That CONEX must have been a portable PX?
There was this CONEX that was dropped in mid to late 69. They asked everyone who had personal items lost in it to file for replacement cost. Seems like that after all the filings were made, that CONEX had almost more in it than the Enari PX. No claims were paid.
I do remember that moving from one LZ on a mountain – not the direct support for the 1/35th – the grunts left to protect the last gun that was slinged up, were ordered into a choppers to ferry to the new LZ. When the shit-hook arrived about 20 minutes later for the last gun - it was gone. When the NVA saw that the grunts left, there ran in and carried the gun away. I don’t know how it was covered up, or explained, but too many of us heard about it to be a rumor. I do know that after that, I (liaison) stayed with the grunts on one mountain LZ until it was empty.
A Grunt dies...A man walks on the moon
Tuesday, July
21, 1969
I had been in
the 71st
We even had two
or three TV sets that were mounted on the sidewalls right where the metal roof
of the Quonset hut construction curved over your head.
I don’t remember the programming but it must have been reruns for a
couple of hours each day. I only
remember one thing I saw on TV during the four weeks there at the 71st.
The next day, I
was watching a remarkable thing, something that was a total surprise because it
was not part of my world. It was about
10AM on July 21, 1969.
Actually, I
remember seeing two things simultaneously. Neil
Armstrong was climbing out the lunar module and two beds over; a couple of
nurses injected stimulants and a doctor was pounding on the new grunt’s chest
trying to get him to breath again. The
sound was on the TV, but the only thing I remember was the frustration one of
the nurses expressed because they did not know why he had died - they had no
idea. He had been med-a-vac'ed from
the field in a coma. He was in a
coma for about 24 hours before he simply quit breathing.
We landed a man
on the moon and the new grunt died. The
knowledge to cross space, but the ignorance of a simple death.
I had enlisted
– I was not drafted - and feel today as I did then, that what we did in