FOREVER YOUNG NUMBER 16 of a SERIES DONALD SIDNEY SKIDGEL – ARMED SAVAGE 33 PART 3 Over the next six weeks, Donny Skidgel shadowed Skeets Trask on mission after mission. He gained valuable experience and was promoted to Corporal. On 14 June 1969, the scout section held a huge going-away party for Skeets, and he shipped out for home the next day. Skidgel was now the gunner. Two weeks later, Delta Troop moved its base of operations from Phouc Vinh to Fire Support Base Buttons. FSB Buttons was located just northwest of a 2,000-foot mountain called Nui Ba Ra and some four miles west of the village of Song Be. It had an airstrip long enough to handle aircraft as large as C-130s, and was headquarters for the 5/7th Cavalry and a U.S. Army artillery battery with six 105mm howitzers. The M102 howitzers provided fire support for the 5/7th’s Infantry companies, Echo Company 5/7th’s Scout Platoon, and Delta Troop. During the day, Delta conducted ground operations in the jungle and rubber plantations surrounding the fire base, and mounted reconnaissance and security missions along a vast network of trails and roads spread throughout Phouc Long Province. At night, they carried out ambushes and occupied defensive positions for a large section of the fire base’s massive perimeter. This area of the province was a major infiltration route for NVA forces moving down the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Cambodia. It was estimated over a thousand enemy troops per week were pouring into South Vietnam along this route and into the 1st Cav’s Area of Operations. Delta Troop’s services were in constant demand and the men rarely had a day off. By early September, Donny Skidgel had been promoted to sergeant and was the senior squad leader in the second scout squad of the 3rd Platoon “Blues.” He had been on the job five months and loved what he was doing. He had never been involved in anything so exciting. He thrived on the adrenalin rush as the scouts sprung an ambush or launched an attack. He had become proficient with the M60, and seemed to defy death at every turn. He was not foolhardy, but luck always seemed to be with him. To the other troopers in the recon section, Skidgel was simply the best at doing everything they did. Patton had taught him there is “no such thing as luck, merely opportunity meeting preparedness.” He made certain he always had a “Plan B” ready if he needed it, and his squad-members counted on that. Still, he felt luck played a part, too. He had long considered “33” to be his lucky number, aside from his run-in with the Ba-Muoi-Ba beer. His radio call sign was “Armed Savage Three-Three,” and he took that as a lucky sign. Early on Saturday morning, 13 September, Delta Troop, led by its commander, Capt. Andrew Hudson, departed Buttons with the White and Blue Platoons. Red Platoon was on detached duty providing security for Bravo Troop, 1/9, and was located at a fire base near An Loc. White and Blue, including Skidgel’s scout section, were going to establish strong points along Road 311. They were accompanying a detachment of Vietnamese provincial police whose mission was to check papers and inspect all vehicles and pedestrians moving along 311. The policemen were not looking for VC or NVA; they were searching for bandits and contraband, and the Delta troopers were there simply to support them. Three weeks earlier, all of Delta Troop’s 106mm recoilless rifles and its antitank section troopers had been airlifted to the top of Nui Ba Ra. There was a major communications complex on top of the mountain, which housed radio relay towers for all of the infantry and support units operating in the 1st Cav AO. The complex was also home to a detachment of the Army Security Agency’s 371st Radio Research Company and their top-secret surveillance and communications intercept equipment. The 371st was ASA’s direct support unit (DSU) assigned to the 1st Cav and was tasked with monitoring the continuous flow of NVA forces into the area. Infantry platoons from the 5/7th at Buttons provided defensive security for the communications complex, and the 106s had been moved there to bolster their defenses against a possible NVA attack. The day spent with the provincial police was quiet and uneventful. Sgt. Skidgel and his squad were manning a strong point, and other Delta Troop elements were stretched out for a couple of miles along Road 311. Each strong point was located so the troopers manning it had a 360-degree view and could provide supporting fire in any direction. They could also see the next manned strong point in each direction. The Vietnamese policemen and a squad of Blue Platoon riflemen were manning a reinforced inspection point at the top of a hill just north of a major curve on 311. Skidgel was taking his turn at watch. The day had been long and boring, but he had set up a rotating schedule with his driver, Sgt. Sal Silva, and another trooper that required each of them to be on watch for thirty minutes, and then have an hour off. It had made the time go faster, and had allowed each of them time to read, write letters, or do whatever. Stretched back in the passenger seat of the jeep with his M16 in his lap and a straw of grass in his mouth, the young sergeant scanned the surrounding area with field glasses, but saw no sign of life except the Delta troops on the other strong points. He laid down the glasses, pulled the frayed camo boonie off his head, and ran his fingers through his short-cropped hair. “Man, I’m tired,” he said, to no one in particular. “Hope there’s water for a shower when we get back to Buttons.” He had written his letter for Darlene, so all he had to do was clean up, eat, and hit the rack. “Settin’ around kills me,” he said, with a yawn. It was getting late in the day. Capt. Hudson was ready to call a halt to the operation and head back to base with his troop. The section of road the team was working had been eerily quiet. The scout squads had not seen a bicycle, truck, farmer, or water buffalo in hours. The road was asphalt and wide enough to handle two-way traffic. It wound northwest from the Song Be area through rolling hills, bordered by jungle and rubber plantations. U.S. Army engineers had used Rome plows to clear away the jungle from the sides of the road. The downed trees had been pushed back to the treeline, but tall grass and brush had grown up again along the road. It could provide cover for enemy troops, so they had to remain alert and keep their eyes open. The commander gave the order over the radio for the platoon leaders to saddle up and head north. One of the scout jeeps was with Capt. Hudson and followed his jeep as they began to move north toward Sgt. Skidgel’s position. Hudson saw Skidgel’s jeep pull onto the road, move slowly forward over a low ridge, and disappear. At that moment, there was an explosion of AK-47 and machine gun fire. Hudson shouted “Go!” and his driver gunned the jeep forward. Flying over the ridge, they saw Skidgel’s jeep twenty yards away and it was stopped along the right side of the road. Hudson’s jeep slid to a halt behind it and he jumped out. Skidgel was kneeling behind the right front wheel of his jeep and firing his M16 across the front of the vehicle. His gunner and Sgt. Silva were also behind the jeep and firing into the trees across the road. Enemy fire was coming from behind some fallen trees to the west. As Hudson crouched down behind Skidgel, the young man turned and looked back. Recognizing the troop commander, a grin flashed across his face and he nodded. “Glad to see you, sir,” he said, excitedly. He told the captain he estimated enemy strength to be about a dozen, and no one in his squad was hurt. Suddenly, two more scout jeeps flew over the ridgeline with guns blazing and poured rifle and M60 fire into the western tree line. The firing died down and the Delta troopers cautiously moved forward to search for the enemy. They found foxholes, abandoned equipment, and evidence of wounded or dead, but no bodies. The enemy had obviously spent time in the area, building and improving their installation. The sun was setting as the search of the enemy position concluded, and the troopers resumed their trek back to Buttons. Air Force fighter-bombers were called in and directed to bomb south and west of the attack location. When Capt. Hudson arrived back at HQ, he submitted a battle report, and during a command briefing, it was decided the Echo Company 5/7th Scout Platoon would infiltrate the area west of the attack site, attempt to locate the NVA force and determine its size. When that was accomplished, an infantry company would be air-lifted in to engage and destroy the enemy force. TO BE CONTINUED… Copyright © 2014 Gary B. Blackburn [Sources: vvmf.org; virtualwall.org; “Bangor Daily News;” newportmaine.org; vhpamuseum.org; armedsavage; usastruck; Air Cavalry Squadron Field Manual – 1969; “Dazed and Confused-Vietnam: January 5th through December 8th 1970” by Jim Cain; National Archives
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 00:29:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015