Seems like yesterday. Thanks for all the work to put this together, to provide us a place to get together. Also thanks to Ronnie Rutledge for the pics of the War Wagons that brought back memories of the trip I took with them from Pleiku down to Ban Me Thuot on QL-14 in early 69.

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For most of my tour I was 2d Platoon Leader of A Co. of the 20th.
Engineers. A Co. was involved in a number of projects that brought us into occassional and intimate contact with the VC and NVA. Along with the other platoons, 2d platoon pulled our turn of daily mine-sweep duty on road QL 19 from Kontum to Dak To while we were garrisoned in Kontum City. A Co. lost 2 KIA and 1 WIA as casualties from the anti-tank mines. A Co. 2d platton was assigned convoy security detail from Pleiku to Ban Me Thuot (with battalion duece and a halfs converted to "war wagons" with mounted 50 cal. mgs. and automatic grenade launchers), and we were assigned the combat engineering during the battle of Ben Het, the Artillery FSB and Spec. Forces CIDG camp that was the brunt of the NVA attacks during May, June and July, 1969. I was wounded by recoiless rifle fire along with several others (Sp/4 Cross I remember from my platoon, sorry can't remember his first name now) during one of the attacks (10 June, 1969) leading up to main siege of Ben Het in June-July, 69. We were fortunate that day to get one of the last medivac Hueys that was able to land before the NVA had all fixed targets registered in with their 120 mortars and 75 mm field pieces firing from 270 degrees around us. The siege was eventually broken in early July by saturation bombing around the perimeter by B-52s, called in from Guam I believe. I have read that the body count of NVA was up around 1800 I have heard reported. There were no more than 400 or so us GIs, SF advisors and CIDGs in the camp. Not a friendly place. The campl sustained over 100 casualties KIA, WIA.

One of my early jobs in A Co. was locating a site to quarry rock for asphalt plant that was needed to pave road north to Kontum and Dak To. The base where plant was eventually located became to be known as Weight-Davis.
I was chosen to lead a search through the forest north of Pleiku because I had a degree in geology and could presumably identify hard rocks.

Later on my platoon was assigned to build a 30 ft high chain link "rocket fence" around the asphalt plant. Charley had been able to damage and delay production at his leisure by firing B-40 rockets into the plant machinery from outside our perimeter. I thought the fence was a fairly goofy idea, but, you know, "Ours is not to question why..."; and we got to see its effect one night in July (or early Aug.?), 1969, shortly after we had it built. The base was attacked by sappers infiltrating into the camp through the bunker line to lay charges on dump trucks. The attack also included firing of B-40 rockets at the asphalt plant from just inside the treeline.
As luck would have it, I had duty as OD that night and just before the attack, the LP that I had set out at dusk, inside the tree line, radioed in that they could hear Charley close by somewhere in front of them, apparently setting up a machine gun since we started receiving heavy fire soon after from that direction. I was very gratified (and a bit surprised,
actually) to see all the B-40 rounds exploding harmlessly in the mesh of our "rocket fence". I also remember that sometime into the fight, the XO of the 54th Construction Co. (guys who ran the plant and were doing the road paving--A Co. shared the base with the 54th then) came roaring up in his jeep to where I was crouched on top of a bunker and told me that someone had to go kill the lights. He was right. I looked around and the whole place was lit like we were some big circus. What I vaguely remember was that I jumped in with him and we raced up the hill where the generator sat near the loading facility and started pulling out wires until the base was black. Then we could really see the tracers. I get queasy thinking about what juicy targets we must have looked like for those few minutes. It was however a very expensive fence since one of our men was killed in an accident during planting of the high poles that supported the fence. We were working around the clock in several shifts and were all tired; and the accident came at night.

I don't think I ever was able to thank one of the most important people to me during that period. That person was my platoon sergeant (John, sorry can't remember his last name right now, my memory seems to be going) who, in sharing his combat experience from Korea and Vietnam, with me likely saved my life at least once (on minesweep). He was a great teacher, and no platoon ever had a finer sergeant. He was fearless, he was smart, but totally unassuming and not cocky, concerned for the mission, but never forgot the welfare of his people. Thanks John, wherever you are. I was a lucky lieutenant to draw you as my first platoon sergeant. And I am sure that the guys who were in 2d platoon would say the same and more.