Into Cambodia - Keith Nolan [98]
The morning that the 2d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry, began its first probes into the enemy logistical network, Lieutenant Colonel Brook-shire lent Captain Menzel his C&C Huey for an aerial recon of the new area. Brookshire gave him fifteen minutes, and Menzel quickly briefed the pilot and crew. He wanted to fly a river that ran north to south to see if any enemy trails could be spotted, to give themselves some guidance as to where to begin their patrols. Leaning into the cool wind from the canvas seat in the cabin, Menzel peered past the skid at the thin, muddy stream. Savannah grasslands ran up from the western bank and rolled a kilometer or so before merging with the jungle, whereas the eastern bank was lush rain forest. A trail cut through the savannah to the slow-moving river, but it disappeared under the overhanging foliage of the opposite bank. The trail was too well worked for local farmers. Just about right, though, Menzel reckoned, for the daily passage of ammunition and rice. The pilot swung over the heavy jungle across the stream. At an altitude of 500 feet, the Huey circled the triple-canopy jungle, and Menzel tried to peer down to the ground. As the pilot commented that their time was almost up, Menzel exclaimed with sudden excitement, “Georgia red mud!”
For a brief moment, the angle of the helicopter and of the sunlight penetrating the canopy had allowed Menzel a fleeting glimpse of a reddish, dusty road. As the helicopter banked around for another look, Menzel could see again only treetops, but he marked the approximate spot on his map before they headed back to the squadron laager. Brookshire's response was immediate. They moved into the area and found not only the trail but made an entrance so surprising that an NVA supply convoy of three trucks and two jeeps made a turn in the road right into the lead vehicles of F Troop. They were abruptly riddled with .50-caliber fire that left four men dead behind shattered windshields. The last NVA driver surrendered.
The vegetation along the trail had been intertwined above it as cover from aerial reconnaissance. Every twenty meters a roadside tree had had a shallow cup carved into its trunk; at night, they were filled with kerosene or other flammable liquids and served as guide lights for troops or transportation coming down the green tunnel.
Before nightfall, the column broke out into another savannah of high grass and laagered near a Cambodian hamlet of houses on stilts, under which their livestock were penned. The next morning, an element from the Headquarters & Headquarters Troop moved into the ville only to make the startling discovery that the entire population had left during the night. They also discovered hidden caches of rice under almost every one of the forty or so hootches.
The next morning, Brookshire radioed Menzel to continue their recon, this time east and then north toward Highway 131, which entered Cambodia from Bu Dop. It was believed that the trail network they had entered led to the headquarters of the 5th NVA Division. Menzel left Lieutenant Burg's platoon behind at the squadron laager on normal maintenance rotation while moving out with the platoons of Lieutenant Crupper and Sergeant First Class Brown. They followed a trail to the macadam high-way, and deployed in a circular ambush configuration, with Crupper's platoon responsible for the portion of the highway coming in from the west, and Brown the part from the east as well as for the trail running off to the south. Again, the NVA had laid logs along the road to hamper vehicle maneuverability, and had cut back the trees and vegetation to one side of the highway to give themselves good fields of fire into the intersection. Menzel pulled his Sheridans and ACAVs just far enough into the brush to conceal them, but also to allow good fields of fire of their own. Another narrow trail ran off to the north, and a Sheridan trained its stubby main gun down it as Menzel talked with Crupper about organizing an observation post where the trail made