Carl writes:

"Company E had 2 platoons of the M29, 81mm Mortar and one platoon of Recon. I was a Sergeant E-5, from Ft. Benning, Georgia, but I was assigned as a FO (Forward Observer) with Co. C, 1-501 PIR most of the time. I did go out with Co. A once, and as luck would have it they sent me out with a bunch of new guys and one tube. At that time I was in the FDC (Fire Direction Center). I was the only guy trained as both FO and FDC.

As the Mortar FO, I would patrol with the rifle companies and provide covering fire for them when we were hit.  This would include Defensive Targeting (DT) for night defensive positions. When hit at night, we would adjust fire from the DT’s, and that would also include the firing of Illumination Rounds to light up the area. The mortar rounds that were fired usually came from Fire Support Bases (FSB), or in some cases from a tube that we had with us in the field. From these positions, we would patrol around those areas during the day to look for any evidence of the enemy. We normally would not stay in the same area for more than two nights, as the longer that we stayed in one position, the longer the enemy had to plan and coordinate an attack on that position. Being inconsistent in the jungle was the name of the game.

During the Monsoon season, South East Asia’s winter, we would leave the mountains due to the fact that our helicopter support could not supply or cover us because of the overcast and rainy skies. At this time we would patrol and ambush in the low lands between the jungle and the villages. The nights were so cold and I can remember how my lips would turn blue and how my teeth chattered from that cold. We were always wet, if not from the sweat from the heat of the day, than from the rains that fell.

In the low lands, we would pull ambushes every night. We would be looking for the NVA going into the villages or for their supplies coming out of the villages. Everyone knew the rules… no movement at night.

Either in the mountains or on ambushes in the low lands, we would always set up our Claymore Mines every night as well as set up trip flares to warn us if anything was out there. As soon as a trip flare went off, we would fire off our Claymores and that would be followed by as much rifle and machine gun fire as was possible. He who fires the most bullets usually wins. As the FO, I would call in the illumination first and adjust the HE (High Explosive) if needed. Of course, through all of this, I had to cover my own ass with my own rifle.

Easter night 1970, after we had been staying in the same NDP (Night Defensive Position) for three nights in a row... not good, the NVA hit us about two or three in the morning and over ran us right after that.  After we pushed them off the hill with hand-to-hand fighting, we shot our mortar in the hand held position, this way we could fire more rounds closer to our position. We used all of the rounds we had, they didn't come back after that, thank God.

Other than the firefights and ambushes I was involved in when I was an FO, my tour was a normal one I guess. I would shoot in DT's at night and Illumination when we got hit. Of course I would shoot and adjust HE rounds also.

At FSB Bullet, we were surrounded by the NVA for three days. We damn near fired around the clock and went through a lot of ammo. Killed a bunch of NVA we were told, as there was a lot of blood out side the perimeter."

When I was in the FDC at FSB Bastogne, one night we were firing in DT’s for other units out in the field. The first round out was always a WP (White Phosphorous) round in case there was an error with the previous data. WP rounds have a smaller bursting radius that HE rounds. I remember that I just told my friend Joe, the squad leader, to go ahead and fire. The next thing I heard was a different sounding “pop”. It was not the normal sound of a round going out. Right after that, I heard Joe screaming. I stepped out of the FDC bunker and saw him completely engulfed in flames and walking towards me. A Staff Sergeant (E-6)  in the bunker closest to Joe pushed him into a muddy slop. He was trying to put out the fire that had engulfed our friend. The E-6 burned his hands so bad that he was evacuated to the Burn Center at Ft. Sam Houston Texas. We had heard that he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal for this action. Out of a squad of five, only one guy, the gunner didn’t get burned too bad or get killed. He was crouched down looking into his sight and the round had burst over the top of him.

Myself and three other guys carried Joe to the aid station on a stretcher, slipping and sliding in the mud all the way. After we got him there, the medic told us to leave. I went back later on to see what they were doing to my friend and to comfort him. I put my head into the tent and heard Joe saying that now he could go home and see his new born son and his wife. That was the last thing that Joe had said, and I heard him say it.

Joe Escandon was from a small town in Texas. He was a good and decent guy and my good friend.

I will never forget Joe and I’ve told this story to my family and friends. It turned out that one of my friends was quite taken in by this story and asked if I ever told it to Joe’s family. I told her that all I knew about Joe was that he was from Texas, so she got on the Internet and found that his son still living in Texas. I eventually talked to Joe’s son on the telephone and told him how his father died and that his last thoughts were of him and his mother. That was a very hard thing to do.”

On another occasion, Carl possibly saved the life of a D Company grunt. This particular Infantryman was out in the field on a night patrol and suffered an appendicitis attack. A Dustoff (MEDEVAC helicopter) was called in to pick this trooper up, but on arrival in the general area, the helicopter crew could not locate the patrol in the dark. Carl ordered an illumination round to be fired over the patrol's area. The Dustoff crew was then able to locate the patrol and picked up the trooper for evacuation to the rear. Carl does not know if the D Co. trooper survived or not. 

Today, Carl is a retired businessman. After Vietnam he finished college on the GI Bill and started a concrete construction company in Wyoming.

He has a daughter and a son, both of whom are now in college. His son is currently serving in the Army Reserve as a medic, and hopes to one day become a doctor.

Ed note: On Saturday, 24-Apr-2004, I had the honor to meet Carl and his son when they were visiting the Boston area. They took time out of their schedule to come out to Marlborough for a visit. Lots of great talk both here at my home and over dinner about Carl's wartime mortar experiences.  It was a wonderful visit!