Three Missions

By George Brannigan

Charliehorse Crew Chief/Gunner

May, 2024

 

I want to share a story about three missions that we flew on. The first two happened in the morning, a Friday morning if memory serves. This also involves our ops OIC, and in truth I had a few run ins with him, one of which resulted on our whole team to be recalled back to our Quang Tri base, because of what we found. That was an interesting day as he gave me a special polaroid type of camera with a pistol grip/trigger, but it was all enclosed and the pics would pop out, but into the cameras body. The first time out there, north of Khe Sahn, kissing the border of the DMZ, and maybe just a teeny bit into Laos...maybe.

 

What we found on the first mission- 5 new rectangular pits, with camouflage coverings that needed to be changed because they were off color a bit and a blind scout would have seen it a 1/2 mile away. I tossed a few frags on top of one pit and that blew away the cover....to find a brand new 37mm anti-aircraft gun, with the barrel still wrapped up lying next to it. When we called it up to the mission commanders snake, he told me I was wrong, and they were prime movers. NOT by any stretch. So, I started a for real shit storm with a lot of my unit’s brass, but I knew I was right on this, and didn't waver.

 

Mission lead called it in to ops, ops recalled our whole team, and my ass was hovering over a very hot frying pan as you can imagine. This happened on a Friday morning. So, we all came back to QT, refueled etc. and then we taxied our LOH over to ops where I was given the camera, shown how to use it, by one pissed off Captain. Then we went back out, with full fuel, and I was pretty much a leper by then. We went down and I took all the pics needed, plus some more of 5 new 122mm long barreled field pieces, all with the muzzles pointing up. I took pics until there was no more film, I think?

 

Now being the 2nd time out there, Mr. Charles was very wide awake, and yes they gave us hell, but all of us came back to base. We got back at lunchtime. I handed over the camera to the OPS OIC, and went to the mess hall-for the first time since I was assigned to D trp. With our hectic mission assignments, our powers that be made sure we were in the air as much as as possible. And that was fine for me, that's why I asked for a second tour in the first place and asked to be sent up to the DMZ. I heard somewhere on my first tour in the central highlands, (II Corps), that it was real sportin' up on "th' Z".

 

Why do I remember it being a Friday, it's because the mess halls ALWAYS serve us the square fish patties on Fridays. AND, that was the first and only time I ate in our mess hall while we were up at QT.  Also, when OPS processed the film(?) or looked at it, They came to the mess hall for lunch, (two Captains from ops) and walked up to me and said, and I quote, “You were right Branigan", and I said “Thank you.”  That got me 'off th' hook and I was very relieved to say the least. I never minded putting my ass in a hot plate with the enemy, but never with my powers that be. NOT COOL.

Going on, all the rest of my meals were c-rats, pretty much for my whole second tour. By now you’re asking how in hell did I know exactly what I was looking at? The answer is simple.

 

I read it in a book. Well, two books if my memory is still working right. I called them the "red books", because they had red covers. And those books were in OPS. They listed and shown pics of most, at that time, Russian, and Chinese weapons and vehicles that were known to us. Always after my day was done, my ship all tucked in for the night, my weapons all cleaned and oiled and put away, I went to ops to continue to read what our enemies had to throw at us. Some of the guys I knew in ops told me about the 'red books' that covered what I was looking for, so that should answer how and why I knew what I was looking at. And those hours spent at night in ops reading, for me at any rate, made be a better scout in terms of identification of enemy stuff. At least I was hoping so.

 

The "normal" prime movers were all tracked vehicles in various forms. Of course, they had plenty of different trucks, but they were classified as trucks, not "prime movers" in the strictest sense. Although of course they were very often used as prime movers.

 

THE FIELD PIECES-

 

Rumor control had it that a B 52 strike had been diverted to bomb the shit out of the area I've been talking about. Is that true? I have no idea it ever happened. IF it did, they pretty much missed, by a country. Now I do know some sort of heavy bombing did occur, but I suspect it was done by some fast movers, and not a B52. If someone knows different, please feel free to annotate anything at all that I am writing. I have no problems with being corrected, in fact I would welcome that.

 

AND while I am at it, I offer my sincere apologies to the lead snake driver/mission commander that I know I pissed off, as well as our OPS-OIC at that time.

 

 

"Hold my beer and watch this"...

 

Recon had shown that there were still 3 or 4 cannons still standing and untouched. We couldn't let that happen, so we went out on one clear morning with orders to destroy them with thermite grenades. But this time, we went from a Pink team, to a White team. And guess who was at the controls for that mission, yup, my boss, Cpt Bill Allen, (R.I.P.) was driving. I'm sorry I don't remember who was flying left seat. But this time my best friend and roomy was flying in his ship to cover us, Ed White!!! We had each other’s back so many times, and we both made it home.

Ed was a tenacious man and a great friend from his beloved state of Texas.

 

He and his driver and Oscar covered Cpt Allen and I while we went in to destroy the remaining field pieces, by me dropping a thermite grenade down the barrels of all the remaining big guns. Bill held my ship rock steady, and we both ignored all the tracers zipping by, while I pulled the pins of each thermite grenade and dropped it down the barrel of all remaining big guns. It took all my concentration to steady my nerves while doing this INSANE act. And I know for a fact it took Bill's total concentration to hold my ship rock steady. I'm here today because of the total commitment of our teams’ nerves of steel because Ed told me the shit was very heavy that morning. I've had dreams of that mission for most of my life, and it still scares me awake.

 

When we got back to QT after refueling and re-arming we shut down while the other teams went out to do their missions. More than one snake driver came over to us to congratulate us for a very successful mission and despite that the gooks were throwing everything they had at us, we all came back to base. There was even talk about decorations for it, but nothing happened there. It was just another day at the office for D trp. 3/5 CAV...

 

Don, all this is 100% true, and can be confirmed by Cpt.Tom Ford CH 3/26. He has me writing up another mission about the Radio Relay special forces/spook thing up on hill 950 overlooking the old Khe Sahn combat base.

 

SP/4 George Branigan, Scout Crew Chief/Gunner



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