BAO LOC- Alert Paratroopers of Charlie Company, 3d Battalion, 503d Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade, acting on an intelligence source, recently found a huge, 204 ton enemy rice cache in Lam Dong Province, north of Saigon.
    One of the largest enemy rice caches to have been found during the Vietnam war, it was valued at more than 1,000,000 piasters or $15,000. The gigantic cache was discovered when the Sky Soldiers were conducting a search and clear mission and came across an old enemy base camp. After a thorough search of the camp, Captain Harold G. Crowe of Elizabethon Tn, divided his Company into two Platoons to comb a wider area.
    A short while later, Paratroopers of the 3d Platoon spotted a well camouflaged trail and followed it for about 100 meters before coming into an open area containing 10 hooches. "I opened the door to one of the hooches," said Sp4 Alan J. Krueger, of Milwaukee Wi, Pointman for the Platoon. "I was almost buried by a landslide of rice.
    The rest of the Company was called to the scene and a landing zone was cleared so the rice could be extracted. It took 20 large conex containers and nearly eight days to airlift the supply of rice to the Battalion base camp where it was distributed to the local villagers. Based on the theory that a hungry soldier is not a very good fighting soldier, the VC/NVA morale should be at an all-time low. Only a week ago, Charlie Company found over two tons of rice near the same area.

    BONG SON- A unit of NVA soldiers cautiously approached a seemingly deserted village, forty miles northwest of Qui Nhon, unaware that every move was being watched through a starlight scope. The eleven man patrol from Bravo Company, 2d Battalion, 503d Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade, had set up an ambush inside a small village. From their position in a hooch they could observe a rice paddy and a trail directly to their front. With the help of the starlight scope, Lt Larry LeRay of Thibodeaux La, spotted one NVA soldier moving cautiously across the rice paddy 150 meters from the village. Three more NVA appeared in the area and were soon followed by a Platoon. LeRay called in Artillery fire which pelted the area and caused the enemy to move toward the village.
    Once again the small farming community was silent, until Sp4 Lynn "Doc" Luke of Dallas Texas heard chickens cackling by the village trail. One NVA scout was carefully scanning the area around the trail. He began to move toward the village and was soon followed by the rest of the element. LeRay waited until about nine NVA were on the trail and then lobbed a "frag" grenade into their line. "We opened fire on them," exclaimed SSgt Richard A. Orr from Ocala Florida. The first four made a break for the hooch to the left rear of the ambush position. The others scattered and retreated down the trail. The NVA occupied hooch opened up with an automatic weapon and SGT Larry Marcotte of Abilene Kansas, answered back with his claymore mine killing two of them. The eleven man team continued to fire their weapons and drop grenades on the NVA infested areas; then two gunships and the 3d Platoon moved in to reinforce the patrol. The gunships fired on the hooches and swept the trail to the front of the ambush position, putting a cease to NVA resistance.
    The next morning, Lt LeRay and his men combed the area finding five dead NVA soldiers. One blood trail led to a wounded Political Officer hiding in a bunker. Among the equipment found was one AK-47, an M-16 rifle with plenty of ammo and grenades. They also found three rucksacks which contained clean fatigues, several B-40 rocket fuses, one pre assembled booby trap and plenty of chow. One of the rucksacks had belonged to an NVA Officer and held several documents showing an attack planned for LZ English, locations of weapon caches and mortar sites, and names of people in the unit.

    Cam Ranh Bay- A Paratrooper from the 173rd Airborne Brigade was recently passing through Cam Ranh Bay in full field gear. A rear echelon soldier saw the Paratrooper's Airborne Patch, and pointing to the rucksack (60 pound pack) strapped to his back, asked quite seriously,

    BONG SON- It early was afternoon and already heavy clouds of fog had swallowed the mountain tops and was settling into the valleys along the north central coast of Vietnam, 40 miles north of Qui Nhon.
    Making a quick analysis of the weather and terrain, Cpt James M. Grimshaw, Company Commander of Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 503d Infantry, 173d Alrborne Brigade decided to hold his position and gave the word to dig in for the night. Grimshaw checked his map and gave the Company's coordinates to his radio telephone operator (RTO) who immediately called them in to the rear. He briefed his Platoon Leaders on where to position their men and sent out reachouts to Recon the area.
    A man of average height and weight, Grimshaw of Bristol Pa, takes on the appearance of just another Paratrooper in the field yet a closer look sets him apart as a leader. Unusually calm and relaxed but confident in his decisions, the 26 year old Commander shows no stress from the pressures of command. He gave a sigh of relief as the dropped his heavy rucksack to the ground and began setting up his position for the night. His movements were automatic and in minutes he was sitting on his air mattress under his poncho which was stretched between four small trees. A veteran of 21 months in Vietnam, one year as a Special Forces Advisor to the ARVN troops and 10 months with the Brigade, a night in the jungle was nothing new to Grimshaw.
    Leaning back on one elbow, he took out a cigar he had been saving for just such a moment and spoke quietly, "There is a great difference in operating as an advisor and as a CO of troops. The most difficult thing about being a CO is that everyday I must put the man and the mission in the proper perspective and prepare myself psychologically for what must be done."
    Grimshaw thumbed through his notebook and then stood up and walked over to his RTO who was changing batteries in the radio. He told the radio man to get a list of all needed supplies and equipment from the men and call it in to the rear. The young Paratrooper told Grimshaw he already had the list and would call in right away. The CO smiled and walked back to his position and sat down.
    "These Airborne troops are real professionals. They have a great deal of pride and although many are citizen soldiers (draftees) while they are in the Army they perform as professionals," he said proudly, "and they are highly motivated with a great deal of esprit."
    Reflecting on his experiences in Vietnam, Grimshaw pointed out that there has been a large shift of enemy forces in the last three years. Before the big enemy units were concentrated along the DMZ, now they are infiltrating into the Saigon regions. Throughout the rest of Vietnam, they have broken into tiny bands to conduct harassing and ambush tactics. Cpt Grimshaw attributes this to the great devastation that the NVA and main force VC have come under from vast allied air superiority.
    As a light rain began to fall a Squad Leader came up and told Grimshaw that he was moving his ambush team down the hill near a creek. They briefly discussed tactics and the Paratrooper moved out quickly. The CO's eyes followed the Squad leader into the trees. Having spent more days in the field than he would perhaps care to remember, Grimshaw has had the opportunity to see the Airborne Soldier in detail. "American troops are getting a lot better training today than ever before," declared the Commander. "Our young NCO's are terrific. They are doing jobs over here that would have been undreamed of in previous wars. I think this is particularly significant because we are said to come from a soft society." Looking around at his men cuddling under their ponchos in an effort to keep the rain off themselves and their cooking fires, Grimshaw continued, "These troops adjust well to jungle warfare and hardships."
    Although the objective of all wars is the same, find the enemy and destroy him, different tactics have been employed in Vietnam. Captain Grimshaw explains "As the enemy has broken into small units and moved deep into the jungle, we have had to do the same. Many times my Company is broken up into 'Hawk Teams', small, squad size units which can move quickly and quietly and have proven very successful in finding the enemy. He paused then added, "Fighting is not unlike wars of hundreds of years ago. In many instances, it's man against man, skill against skill and our soldiers are proving the better."
    The curtain of night fell quickly and a chilling wind whistled through the thick jungle canopy and the few remaining fires were snuffed out.
    Another day had ended for Captain Grimshaw and his Paratroopers but more work lay ahead as the night patrols set out to search the rugged terrain for their elusive enemy. As Grimshaw described it, "It's a cat and mouse game where patience is a great virture." His unusual ability to lead, coupled with his knowledge of the enemy's tactics has gained him total respect from his troops and has set him apart as one of the most capable Company Commanders in the 173d Airborne Brigade.
    As one Sky Soldier decribed him, "I consider myself fortunate to have Captain Grimshaw as a Company Commander. I couldn't tell you what really makes him a good CO but I do know that you only have to see him in action to know why some men are leaders."

    BONG SON- Three NVA soldiers recently had a rude awakening as an element of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 503d Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade on a search and clear mission 40 miles north of Qui Nhon caught them in their hammocks.
    Hearing voices, Pfc Leroy Manuel of Jackson Ms, Pointman for Bravo, peered through a hedgerow and spied three NVA lounging in their hammocks and one was returning his stare. Simultaneously, Manuel and the NVA opened up, but before the rest of the Paratroopers could come on line, the three enemy escaped leaving their rucksacks, binoculars and one M-2 carbine.
    "I know I hit one of them because we found blood near their discarded gear," reported Manuel. Following the blood trails, the Sky Soldiers spotted the wounded man with his AK-47 hiding in one of the hedgerows. He was quickly eliminated by automatic weapons fire. "We returned to the point of initial contact and had called in a chopper to pick up the captured weapons," said 1Lt Charles Avakian of Whitinsville Mass, the Platoon Leader. As the men were putting up perimeter security, another NVA was spotted. "I saw him crouched in a spider hole," said Sp4 Ronald Germunson of Minneapolis, "so I opened up with my M-79." Upon searching the body, he was found to be an NVA officer and carried several documents, two Chicom grenades and a 32 caliber pistol.

TUY HOA- In contrast to their usual job of construction, the 173d Engineer Company has gone into the business of home wrecking and the enemy's base camps are the target.
Recently Engineers were called in by Alpha Company, 4th Battalion, 503d Infantry to destroy a base camp which they had recently occupied in the rugged hills near Tuy Hoa in Phu Yen Province. Arriving on the scene with the necessary explosives, the Engineer Demolition team found a large enemy bunker complex carved in the side of a hill. A short while later, explosions were rocking the area. "That's one hideout Charlie won't be using anymore," said Sergeant Barry C. Humphrey, team leader from San Diego Ca. The Demolition team was specifically assigned to the 4th Battalion to destroy enemy bunkers, clearing areas for Fire Support bases and Landing Zones, destroying captured enemy ordnance or any other jobs requiring a Demolition Specialist.

    TUY HOA- Four enemy soldiers recently found that it doesn't pay to hunt or ambush Paratroopers of the 173d Airborne Brigade as two separate incidents proved near Tuy Hoa, about 300 miles north of Saigon.
    Conducting operations in Phu Yen Province, Sky Soldiers of Bravo Company, 4th Battalion, 503d Infantry discovered a small deserted enemy base camp. After setting up a night defensive position in the camp, one Squad went out to investigate what appeared to be a fresh grave about a hundred meters away. The Squad's security element spotted three Viet Cong following the trail the Paratroopers had made. A hasty ambush was set and the enemy soldiers were quickly destroyed.
    The following morning a Platoon from Bravo began sweeping the area to trap any other enemy in the area. "We had been following a trail for quite awhile when suddenly someone yelled ambush to the left," said Sp4 Terry M. Martin a machine gunner from Seelyville In, "We turned and charged the ambush before Charlie had a chance to fire a shot."
    One VC body was found but numerous blood trails indicated that many more had been wounded. In addition to the four enemy killed, numerous weapons were captured in the two day action. One AK-47, one SKS, one B-40 rocket launcher, one RPG machine gun, eight Chicom grenades, 260 rounds of AK-47 ammunition and a variety of field gear constituted the cache. One Paratrooper commented "I don't think their ambush worked out quite the way they intended."