Into Cambodia - Keith Nolan [82]
There were other ways to see things, including the official version, which was served up to those senior officers coming off the C&C Hueys that occasionally landed in the laager during the afternoon. Two large NVA ponchos were unrolled inside the perimeter and the captured gear was neatly laid on it, including rifles, ammunition, bangalore torpedoes, grenades, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and projectiles, canteens, medical pouches, et cetera–an impressive haul made even more satisfying by the seventeen dead enemy soldiers sprawled in the dirt at the cost of no American lives. The attack on the night laager thus became the heart of the citation for the Silver Star later presented to Lieutenant Colonel Claybrook, and for the Valorous Unit Award presented to the battalion, the word FISHHOOK embroidered on the red, white, and blue streamer.
Chapter 16: SNOUL
The AVLB went across the Khet Kracheh River at 1300, 5 May 1970. Continuing up Route 7, Captain Menzel's ACAV took point for G Troop and likewise for the 2d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry. Such was his enthusiasm.
Still south of Snoul, Brookshire radioed Menzel to halt and secure a hasty laager: Fire support plans had to be firmed up before they went charging into the plantation grounds. Pulled to the shoulder of the road and waiting for the rest to catch up, Menzel caught the pungent smell that reminded him that the rotting corpse of a human stank worse than an animal carcass. Menzel chambered a round in his AK50. Along with his Marine Corps interpreter, who'd been attached because he spoke the Khmer language, he crossed the highway on foot and approached a bamboo hootch topped with thatch. They found no body, and the only sign of life was a pig that scurried away at their approach.
The NVA hadn't even left RPG teams to delay them.
In short order, Starry and Brookshire joined G Troop, bringing with them E Troop and H Company, as well as a Japanese film crew and a number of other reporters. The correspondents had been with the 1st of the 5th Cav at FSB North One before thumbing rides on the ACAVs passing by on Route 7.
Lieutenant Colonel Brookshire and Major Franks called a commanders' conference behind one of their ACAVs on the side of the road. Brookshire, bareheaded, bespectacled, smoking a cigar, cautioned his troop commanders to keep their people off the sod airstrip at Snoul so they could preserve it for resupply aircraft. The assembled reporters turned on their tape recorders as Brookshire continued, “… when we get there, Four-six”–he glanced at Sisson of H Company–“and Three-six”–then to Menzel of G Troop–“will break out and start down this way. And I don't think that going down the redball is necessarily the way we want to go. Work your way through the rubber. I think it gets easier about here.” Everyone had his map out. “And, One-six”–Brookshire now addressed Kyle of E Troop–“you're gonna start right here, move on up into the town, get a lima off into the rubber, on up the road, and you're gonna start workin' your way slowly up through there.”
H Company was to lead initially as they continued up Route 7, but once they reached the workers' hamlets at the southern edge of Snoul, they were to leave the highway and sidestep a klick to the east before swinging north again, thus avoiding any ambushes along the most predictable approach into town. Their actual attack was to come up along the south-to-north axis of the airstrip.
“Now, if you take fire y return it. If you take heavy fire and you look like you got prepared positions, back 'em out. Shoot like a sonuva-bitch and back 'em out. Get 'em back out, and then we're just gonna have to start preppin' it or else we're gonna have to bypass it. We'll have an F AC overhead. We'll have a Pink Team up givin' us help. Now, the Pink Team took fire right here at about five-three-seven-three-four-two or -three. Fifteen