On this day in 1974, A CIA case officer and I landed at Ham Tan - TopicsExpress



          

On this day in 1974, A CIA case officer and I landed at Ham Tan village in Viet Nam on an Air America helicopter. I was just along for the ride, so while he discussed military issues with the outpost commander, I walked around the base talking to ARVN soldiers. About 20 minutes later the first, of an estimated 50 mortar rounds impacted the base. At about the same time rifle and machine gun fire erupted from the village itself. Not having a weapon other than my personal pistol, (Star 32 auto) which was pretty much useless, all I could do was keep my head down in the bunker. The fighting only lasted about 30 minutes when SVN planes and helos arrived. I was never so scared in my life. After that, I never went on any flights without my rifle. The base was hit pretty bad, but the village looked like a tornado hit it. As we drove through the village in a jeep, I noticed a flag of Michigan hanging from the wall of what had been a shop of some kind. Probably a souvenir left behind by American troops when they departed in the early 70s. I left out the human cost of this battle because it wasnt a pretty sight.........
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 03:10:07 +0000

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