THE LIGHTER SIDE BY GEORGE ELLIS 1971-2
One must not forget unscrewing tanker hatches and putting ladies of the night inside to get through the gate.
One of my twin gunners standing on the street in the village with an extended LAW wanting his radio back that another lady of the night took from him. I convinced him it was better to fire the LAW at the hillside, and let me deal with Madam K.
Oh yes: My convoy with a new ROTC 2ND Lt> My tankers knew best on the pass, so they passed him. Slower tankers being pushed by faster ones! When my Gun Truck passed him, he was stopped on the side standing in the jeep waving his arms, yelling on the radio to maintain convoy interval. He was going to write everybody up for an Article 15, but the clerk told him it was around 70 men and our vehicles. So he thought better of it. From that time on he beat us to the top of the pass!!!
Told to call in for permission to fire after the rocket’s hit!!! Wanna bet we did that!!!
Going for joy rides in the OH-6’s at the check points.
I’ve never seen a braver bunch of men who would fight with what ever they had, and would help anyone at whatever the cost.
GEORGE ELLIS
That 2nd lt. was butter bar Chriswell a real dumb butt. I remember on an earlier convoy he tried to stop the convoy in the kill zone. We nearly run over him and his jeep.
I rode in the lead jeep with Virgil (VD) on the way to either An Khe or Pleiku. He told me a story about a brand new butter bar that was convoy commander on a trip. The butter bar’s job was to use the M-79 to lob the 40 mike mikes. VD said he had to kick him up side of the helmet to get him to start firing the M-79. Then he had to kick him again to get him to stop firing because the ambush was over and he would have run out of ammo if he did not stop firing on his own. Hey VD, sorry about the clutch on the jeep.
I want to thank D, the NCOIC of the Red Baron, for allowing me to man the Ma deuces on the truck. This gave me my first real taste of what it was like outside of the “wire.” I really looked forward to the day that he would ask me if I could ride the Baron as they were a gunner short. When I was on my second tour at Fort Bragg with 18th Airborne Corps, I tried to take the head of the CO’s kiss ass with a rolled head pry bar. He wanted me to be charged with attempted murder. He was going to have me evaluated by an Army pysch at Womack Army hospital. I walked into the office and it was a female Major. She said “I am Major SO and So and you will talk to me.” I replied to her; “Fuck you. I came to see a doctor, not an officer.” So they sent me to a contract psych in Fayetteville. After we talked a bit, he told me that there was nothing wrong with me that another tour in combat could cure. Unfortunately, I ETS’ed just before Granada kicked off. I was working the phones to try to get back to the unit and they told me to stay home.