The Green Berets in the Land of a Million Elephants by Col. Joseph Celeski

Author:Col. Joseph Celeski
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Casemate
Published: 2019-02-18T00:00:00+00:00

To prevent a repeat of what transpired with Lieutenant Kellenberger’s group, the SF advisors organized the unit leaders instead of the Kha self-selecting their duty positions. This was accomplished through interviews with those Kha who Mr. Cadeaux felt had potential.

Prior to the arrival of the team, Captain Murphy took time to develop a good POI of approximately nine weeks, adapted to the local conditions. Along with small-unit tactics and firearms proficiency (assembly and disassembly of weapons, cleaning, dry fire, and so on), the team also conducted heavy weapons training, including both night fires and live fires. A raid on an old leper hut served as the field training exercise, along with a night ambush scenario. For translation, the team had four interpreters: Otel, Vivat, Trail, and Sokol (all Thais).

The area was known to have Pathet Lao and NVA operating nearby. For defense, the team carried Thompson .45-caliber sub-machine guns, a .30-caliber machine gun, and had 60mm mortars, along with a 57mm recoilless rifle. For security of the camp, the Kha platoons and squads were deployed along the likely avenues of approach (AA). Booby traps were emplaced and heavy weapons positions were sited along the approaches. One night, the unit thought they were being probed when a trip wire went off at 0200. Much to their surprise, and upon later inspection, they found the paw prints of a tiger.

One of the missions for the Kha company was reconnaissance and scouting to find a suspected NVA company presumed to be operating to the north of their position. The SF advisors patrolled with the irregulars, carrying what they needed in rucksacks. If available, an elephant was hired from locals to pack additional gear and ammunition. Patrolling through a village always included a stop to perform a ceremony, but it was an excellent means to elicit information on enemy whereabouts. It was on one of these patrols the team and the Khas came into contact with the NVA. Gene Gavigan had just recently left the team, but was told the story later by one of his teammates:

Just before my leaving, we went through a large, deserted village that showed some recent signs of contact. The story later (all hearsay from Wallace), after that village, was that the patrol kept on moving when suddenly “Bertie” Frye [Staff Sergeant Bertram E. Frye, radio operator] shouted out, “Lock and load. Get your ass over here!” to the troops. He always kept troops on the perimeter. The troops felt like they were being led too far out of their range, when they had been promised they were being trained for the defense of their village, and had sort of rebelled and quit patrolling. Murphy and Spivy tried to talk them out of their rebellion and made a deal with them.

The Kha leader had military experience with the French. He agreed that they would continue on, but if there was no contact, the patrol would return to the village. The team called “Cowboy Red,” our Air America chopper pilot to bring bread.

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