Bait by James McLeroy & Gregory Sanders

Author:James McLeroy & Gregory Sanders [McLeroy, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / Vietnam War
Publisher: Casemate
Published: 2019-11-19T00:00:00+00:00

The Third C-130

LTC Cole and MAJ Bucher did not realize how dangerous the Kham Duc airstrip was before they landed on it, but the next C-130 pilot, LTC William Boyd, was fully aware of what awaited him. He had been warned about the enemy situation by LTC Swain, the A-1E pilot shot down earlier that day. Boyd saw Bucher’s C-130 fall, explode, and burn, but despite the extreme danger to himself and his crew, he attempted to land at Kham Duc as ordered.110

As he dove for the airstrip, he saw NVA soldiers firing AK-47s and RPD machine guns at his plane and heard the bullets hitting it. As his wheels were about to touch down, a mortar shell exploded 100 feet in front of him, causing him to jerk the plane’s nose up and go around again. That action made him even more vulnerable, because the NVA gunners then knew exactly where he was going and riddled his plane with anti-aircraft machine gun and AK-47 bullets.

As soon as he landed and lowered the rear ramp, more than 100 civilians, CIDG troops, and U.S. troops ran to his plane and crowded into it. He immediately turned it around and took off the same way he came in. When he landed at Chu Lai, his C-130 had so many bullet and shrapnel holes that his crew chief painted “Lucky Duc” on the side.111 For his heroism Boyd was later awarded the Air Force Cross.

The Second C-130 Crash

LTC John Delmore and his co-pilot, CPT Joe Donahue, also saw Bucher crash and were equally aware of the danger awaiting them at Kham Duc. When their plane was 300 feet above the airstrip, it was hit by a hail of anti-aircraft machine-gun bullets that sounded like the blows of a sledgehammer. They ripped 6-inch holes in the fuselage, passed through the cockpit, and exited through the roof, destroying the hydraulic system and setting one engine on fire.

Just before hitting the airstrip Delmore and Donahue managed to get the wheels down. With all four engines running out of control, no brakes, and almost no directional control, the only way they could stop the plane was by forcibly steering it into a dirt bank beside the airstrip. They and their crewmen got out safely and were later evacuated in a Marine CH-46 helicopter.112

The SF Camp

Until then, the NVA troops had not directly attacked the eastern perimeter of the SF camp, but the SOG troops in the trench were expecting it. They were ready to face any NVA charge from such a strong defensive position compared to their far more precarious defensive positions in Laos. Purdy, his three NCOs, and his Nung platoon had endured heavy, frequent bombardment at Khe Sanh a few months before and knew they would have the protection of massive airborne firepower, as long as the skies remained clear.

In the early afternoon an unarmed CIDG soldier, the only survivor from OP 2, staggered into the SOG perimeter from the river gulch. Haggard and exhausted

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