Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Campaigns -- Vietnam -- Khe Sanh
Your BDA follows: 5 KBA (killed by air); two bunkers, 1 automatic
weapon, and 50 meters of trenchline destroyed; one secondary
explosion. You have been flying in support of the 26th Marines;
your controller has been SOUTHERN OSCAR. Good shooting and good
afternoon, gentlemen.
While the strike pilots checked out with the Khe Sanh DASC and headed
for home, the TAC(A) looked for another target and waited for another
flight.(139)
One of the most unusual incidents involving the use of strike aircraft
occurred near Hill 881S and the key figure in the episode was a Marine
from American Samoa--Lance Corporal Molimao Niuatoa. The corporal was a
bull of a man, who because of his origin and wedge-shape physique was
nicknamed "Pineapple Chunk." (A second American Samoan in the company
of considerably smaller stature was dubbed "Pineapple Tidbit.") But it
was not the muscles which distinguished Niuatoa, it was his eyes; the
man had absolutely phenomenal vision. During his recruit training, this
gift had enabled him to post a score of 241 out of a possible 250 on
the rifle range. Besides his vision, the corporal had the patience of
Job and a deep power of concentration--qualities which were essential
in his job as an artillery spotter.
One day, Corporal Niuatoa, using a pair of 20-power naval binoculars,
was scanning in the direction of 305 when he picked up the muzzle flash
of an enemy artillery piece; he then saw the gunners hurriedly cover
the weapon with a screen. As the round sputtered overhead on its way to
Khe Sanh, the corporal noted the position and reported his discovery
to the company commander. Referring to a map, Captain Dabney could not
get anything other than a general idea of the location because the site
was from 12,000 to 13,000 meters away and the terrain in that area was
so mountainous that he could not pinpoint the exact contour line. Not
so Corporal Niuatoa, he could see exactly where the gun was and kept
his eyes glued to the binoculars. Normally, he would have adjusted on
the target with marking rounds but the site was beyond the range of
friendly artillery. The only way the gun could be taken out was with
aircraft.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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