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Appendix C The Story of a Booby-Trap Casualty The battalion has the assault helicopter assets today and members of the 2nd Platoon Alpha Company are on the PZ waiting for the “slicks.” Amongst the 2nd Squad is PFC Jones, infantryman, in-country for six weeks. The assault helicopters arrive and the 2nd Platoon fills five slicks. As they lift off the PZ, the day’s reconnaissance in force has started. About 20 minutes later, the 30 combat infantrymen are inserted 300 meters from a nipa line along a canal on the edge of the Plain of Reeds. Upon insertion, the men hit the ground behind a paddy dike, but it is a cold LZ. The platoon leader is now issuing instructions to move to the north and check the nipa line. It is about 1100 hrs in the morning as the men are closing in toward some dense underbrush in the tall coconut trees. So far, there has been no fire, however, they can see bunkers interspersed amongst the edge of the foliage. The Tiger Scout who is walking point raises his hand, indicating something suspicious. Everyone halts, and the squad leader comes forward to see what’s up. A visual inspection indicates a trip-wire grenade booby trap carefully camouflaged amongst the foliage. (The majority of all booby traps are detected in the early morning, when troops are fresh. Many of the booby traps are detected by the several hundred Tiger Scouts, former VC themselves with an intimate knowledge of VC tactics and techniques, which the 9th Infantry Division has operating with the troops in the field. 70% of all booby traps encountered are detected . 72% are trip-wire grenade types. 36% of all booby traps encountered are in the jungle. Only 6% of these booby traps are covered by VC fire; that is, 94% have no one covering them, or if the VC are covering them, they don’t fire. The majority of all grenade booby traps are Chicom.) Appendix C 161 Having seen that the pin is still in the Chicom grenade, the squad leader instructs the Tiger Scout to cut the trip-wire, rendering the grenade safe. This having been done, they destroy the grenade and the platoon moves forward again and, encountering no more booby traps, they check the bunkers. Finding no VC, they blow the biggest bunkers and return to the rice paddies and a new PZ, ready for pickup and additional airmobile insertions elsewhere. Two more insertions follow, one of which results in an enemy contact . The troops are proud of their two VC body count and the one AK-47 captured. Towards the end of the day, at 1600 hrs, they are inserted again, this time approximately 300 meters from another nipa line along another canal where intelligence has indicated there may be VC. Again, they are instructed to move out and check the nipa for VC activity. By now, the point man has changed three times, and PFC Jones is walking point. He is tired. Although during the dry season there is not any water in the rice paddies, Jones nevertheless is walking along the rice paddy dike where the movement is quicker, because during the dry season the paddies are broken and the footing is difficult. His buddies are in the same frame of mind and instead of walking as skirmishers, they follow a single line. They are bunched up, too, as they move forward. They really don’t expect anything and everyone is as relaxed as you can get in the rice paddies . . . which isn’t very relaxed. About 100 meters from the nipa line, Jones hears a POP. He realizes that he has set off a booby trap. But Jones freezes, he can’t move, he can’t speak. The booby trap goes off and Jones and two buddies just behind him are hit by fragments. (The 9th Division statistics show that 40 percent of all casualties occur to soldiers in-country less than two months. 30 percent of all booby traps encountered during the month of April were inadvertently detonated. 34 percent of all booby traps found were on trails and rice paddy dikes. 16 percent of these booby traps were pressure type. 36 percent were buried in the ground.) Jones has been seriously wounded. His foot is torn up; he has fragments in the gut. God! How it hurts! Dustoff is called immediately and it ar- [3.129.45.92] Project MUSE (2024-04-16...

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