The April 9th Sapper Attack



I was with the 526th during the sapper attack,I would like to add a little to your account. First the Sgt that made it to the front bunker did not die from loosing to much blood, we stopped the bleeding by tying a t-shirt around his leg. He was standing up with only his shorts on and someone inside the bunker mistook him for a sapper and shot him, still he didn't die. His name was Budwiser and I later ran into him in Germany. The Lt (not Cpt) who warned the CO that it was VC at his door did not kill the two VC, the CO shot through the door with his CAR15 and killed both of them. Of course the CO had a weapon and bullets. The VC refered to with his intestines hanging out was shot by an old SFC who was shot at the same time by the VC. The SFC lost both his legs. I was transfered to the Americal Div in 69 and went to the other half of the unit in Da Nang, I heard from some of the guys who were still with the unit from Phu Tai that Goldberg, (the guard who was suspected of being high when the attack started, and was transfered to Danang after threats were made.) comitted "suicide". SP4 Watkins who was putting the foot lockers in front of the barrack doors when he was killed received the Silver Star. The guy who ran into the VC and tried to kill him with an unloaded weapon and let others get by to get to the bunker and was killed was named Jenkins. He was a huge black man as was Watkins. I have the memorial card they gave us at the service they had with the names of our dead. I also have super eight movies of the day after. Six VC are dead. The infantry company they sent in the next day only made it two hundred yards up the hill and their CO had heat stroke and that was that. There is a lot more and I'll be glad to share. I have the clipping from the home town paper on the event also. It reads
"VC BLOW UP BARRACKS AND GUN DOWN SCRAMBLING SURVIVORS
. ........ Al Smith


Back