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Vietnam 1967-68 - LZ Clifford
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LZ Clifford - 05 Jun
1968 - The very long honeymoon is now over! We have left the main base defense for the
field. This was supposed to be a 36 hour support operation here on LZ Clifford and so we went
with basic combat gear in "fanny" packs only. Little did we know that we would be stuck there
for over a week. We were a rag-tag, smelly and nasty bunch of guys by the time we got back to
Cherry Hill. Next time we go to the field we will be prepared for anything! LZ Clifford was a double humped hill about 1000 feet tall. An infantry company? was located on the western hump and a 105 howitzer battery on the eastern hump. We located the radar on the side of the short hill between the saddle and the eastern hump. Unfortunately we placed it a bit too close to a 105 howitzer and the vibration from the firing of the gun caused some operational problems for us. Our operations bunker and sleeping "hole" was located in the saddle between the two hills as was the helicopter landing area. Lz Clifford was only a couple of days old when we arrived and except for LZ Proffesional was the most "primative" firebase that we were located on during my tour. The weather was very unpleasent while we were there. There were no sea breezes as we had at Chu Lai and it was HOT - well over 100 degrees during the day and not much cooler at night. The rain that occured every afternoon at about 4:30PM did nothing to cool the temperature. In fact the added humidity was most unpleasant. Hot food was brought in a few times by helicopter but for the most part we ate "C" rations while there. |
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We did not arrive on
this small firebase until late in the day. The ground was very hard red clay and extremely
difficult
to dig in but dig we did. First the Radar itself: We had to partially level a small peice of ground
for it. This took us until almost dark to do. Once the Radar Tracker Mount was located and
leveled we set about locating the control console away from the large target of the antenna. It
was so late in the day that we had to use the canvas radar shelter to cover the console and
operators. The canvas shelter prevented us and the light from the radar scope from being seen
but
provided no protection at all from shrapnel if we were hit. To make matters even worse we
would be sitting up high off of the ground. Finally, after dark, we stacked the timbers that we
had
brought with us and covered them with a tarp to provide a little protection from the ever present
rain. With this done we began operation of the radar. Thankfully all was quiet until dawn. At dawn Phantom fighter jets began making strafing and bomb runs on an area a little less than a mile away. They were followed by helicopter gunships. We could not see the enemy but it certainly looked like we were after something. During that first full day on the hill we used the timbers that we brought to build an 8' x 12' operations bunker down the hill from the Tracker Mount. Again we had to level the ground first; no small task in the hard red clay that was there. Filling sandbags with this stuff was something else!! Once done we moved our gear inside and that night what sleep the ones of us not on duty got was on the floor of that bunker. I guess togetherness is OK but this was ridiculous. The second day we dug a large hole in the ground to serve as sleeping quarters. We made it just tall enough inside to sit up in and covered it with a roof of timbers and sandbags. Not the best quarters in the world but it was dry and reasonably well protected against mortar rounds. We were able now to get away from the noise, light and other activity associated with normal radar operation and get some real sleep. |
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Sleep, I said? The third
night B52 airstrikes began on the valley that the jets and helicopters had strafed earlier. At the
time we were told that an NVA regiment had been trapped in the valley. Recently I have seen
information indicating that there was an NVA regimental headquarters in the area. I wonder if
this was an early strike on it. Over the next several days there were 24 B52 airstrikes, three B52s
at a time. The noise was much like continuous thunder. I sure would not have wanted to be the
subject of all of that attention. There was ground action too. Thankfully, none involved our hill directly but we and the 105 howitzer battery on LZ Clifford with us supported the various operations 24 hours per day. We got confirmed kills on several mortar firing locations while on LZ Clifford. After 3 days on the hill we began to really regret our decision to come prepared only for a 36 hour combat operation. I borrowed a razor from a wiser person in the artillery battery and scraped off the itchy 3 day beard that I was sprouting. Water was scarce too; plenty for drinking but little for washing. I tried bathing once next to the water trailer using a coffee cup. About the time I got my face and head wet a helicopter landed and covered me with red dust. After that I tried washing myself and my clothing in the rain that fell in the afternoon - better than nothing, but not much. The clothes did dry fast in the oppressive heat. After about a week we sent a couple of guys back to Chu Lai to get supplies. They returned with razors, clean clothes, soft drinks and a few other items. A couple of days after that the operation ended and we packed up and moved back to Chu Lai. This operation taught me several things. First: I would never be envious of anyone in the infantry. Those guys deserve a lot of credit for the hardships that they endured while in the field for extended periods of time. Second: never would I go to the field with only combat gear, unless I was walking which we never did. Our 3 ton radar and 1 ton generator meant that we always had at least two trailers wherever we went. Next time the empty spaces in them would be filled with comfort items. |
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No. I am not still in the army; I was
discharged in November of 1969 after completing my 3 year enlistment. I don't have a set of
Jungle Fatigues so these Stateside Fatigues from 1969 will have to do here. The shirt fits; the
pants....Oh well.... Click here to contact me by
Email. This site is best viewed with a maximized 800 x 600 size and a high color display setting. Placing your cursor over any of the pictures will display a description for that picture. The music that is playing on this page is 'Green Beret' which was the theme from the movie by the same name which was the story of a Special Forces unit in Viet Nam in the 60s. |
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