mobile1968

AB8AU / AB8AZ

Mobile

Fire Support Bases

Islands of Artillery

Old Reliables - 9^th Infantry Division / 9^th Signal Battalion

US Army MARS

(Military Affiliate Radio System)

Vietnam 1968

Here are some pictures of what I saw while driving the MARS mobile in Vietnam.

Fire Support Base Moore

One of the places where I traveled several times with the 9th Infantry Division MARS mobile unit was to a small out-post called FSBM “Fire Support Base Moore.” It was the home of ”D” Company, 6^th Battalion, 31st Infantry and "B" Battery, 1^st Battalion, 84th Artillery. FSBM was located between the cities of My Tho and Cai Lay along a stretch of highway QL-4, which was known as the most dangerous section of road in the 9^th Infantry Division's area of operation. You could not find any other location within Vietnam that was more in the middle of the war then FSBM.

Highway QL-4 on the way to FSBM

M113 APC

Highway QL-4 on the way to FSBM

M113 APC

Rice paddies along side of highway QL-4 on the way to FSBM

Village home outside FSMB

Traffic jam

M151A1 jeeps approaching front gate of FSBM

Arriving front gate of FSBM

M113 APC parked within sandbag bunker

FSBM wasn’t very big, maybe a few hundred troops strong. It had a battery of six, towed, M101A1, 105mm howitzers set up to supply artillery coverage for the soldiers in the area who were out on patrols. It was a bare-bones outpost. The base perimeter berm was made up of barb-wire, sandbags and pushed up earth. All the brush, weeds and rice was flattened or removed between the perimeter berm and outer tree line on average of about 1000 yards. There were no trees or shade, and you could walk from one side to the other in less the 3 minutes.

Fire Support Base Moore perimeter

Sandbag fox holes and grave mounds dotted the area

There was no running water, water needed to be brought in on tanker trucks. Showers were made of buckets with spouts and toilets were nothing more then half of a 55 gallon drum under a plywood plank with a hole cut in it. This place was quite a contrast from being at Bearcat or Dong Tam, however it was home for the next several days. I didn’t know it at that time; however this visit to FSBM would be a visit I would never forget.

FSBM perimeter

Sandbag fox hole and grave mounds throughout this section of the FSBM.

Shower

We arrived at FSBM at about 1900 hours. After we finished putting up the push-up mast with the 20.813 MHz three element yagi antenna, we started up our generator. It was now about 2130 hours and I was checking the Collins KWM-2A radio transceiver to see if there were any signals coming in from state side. I didn’t hear any signals on the band, so I pop a cold one and started BSing with a few of the local troops telling them what MARS was all about. Soldiers transferred in and out of FSBM on regular bases, so there were new friendships to make on every visit. Like the previous visits, we would always get the same question, “MARS what?” However once we explained and everyone understood what MARS is; we became everyone's special friend.

FSBM Radio COMM tower.

We decided to set up the MARS station next to the Command radio tower. My sleeping quarters left in picture. Our AC generator in sandbag bunker center in picture under tower.

Grave (dead VC?)

Part of FSBM was set up in an old cemetery

For the most part, things were quiet that night. About all I could hear was a few generators running in the distance and someone’s music playing in the background, the Beatles, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Funny how you remember the details of certain things.

SP4 Tom Boza

105mm M101A1 Howitzer

Talking with a few of the local soldiers, they said they heard some rumors that the VC were getting ready for a major offensive due to the Vietnam TET holiday, however there was suppose to be a cease fire for that holiday. As history shows, that sure turned out to be a major miscalculation on our part.

AB8AU/AB8AZ mobile unit set up at FSBM

Dodge M43 Converted Ambulance

20.813 MHz 3 element yagi antenna at 30 feet

Then all of a sudden, like any other night in Vietnam, incoming mortars started to walk-in. I didn’t give if much though, just seamed like another night of Charlie hassling us. Grabbing my M16 rifle and steel helmet, off to the sandbag bunker I ran with the others. However tonight was different, the mortars were really close; I could feel the earth under my feet vibrate after each explosion and the sound of each mortar’s percussion gave an ear piecing low frequency audible THUD!

My home, sleeping quarters.

AC generator in bunker center in picture next to radio tower.

Bunker front door

Sandbags and wooden ammo crates filled with sand.

Then before I knew it red flairs were going off and the call when out for everyone to protect the perimeter. Grabbing my M16 in hand, I followed the others out of the bunker and ran to the berm. Just about that time all hell was starting to break loose. I hear lots of small arm fire in all directions and several verbal yells “Their coming over wire!” I personally didn’t see anyone coming over, I just buried my head down into the sandbag berm, hell I was a MARS operator, not an 11-Bravo! The white luminous parachute flairs hanging overhead lit up the night time sky as if it was 1200 noon daylight and not 2300 hours at night.

105mm M101A1 Howitzer

The soldiers on both sides of me along the berm line all started shooting their M16s out towards the tree/bush line just past the clearing, so I also started emptying several clips from my M16 in the same direction. I remember seeing some moving silhouettes in the dark at about 50 meters, so I took aim in that general direction and kept shooting. There were red glowing tracer rounds flying in "both" directions which left a fear in me that I will never forget! It was a real scary feeling knowing I was actually being shot at “for real!” I remember hugging down and becoming very intimate with the berm sandbags as protective cover. Then just about as quickly as it started, everything ended and the all clear was sounded.

I don't know if I personally hit anything or anyone, however the next day I was told there where 4 confirmed VC kills that night. Also I remember one of the soldiers telling me that Mamason’s sewing machine in the village got shot up. I guess Mamason was making a big stink about it at the front gate of the compound the next morning.


Very little person connivances were available at FSBM. Here we are brushing our teeth inside the MARS mobile unit after eating.	Here is a picture at Fire Support Base Moore of Dave, Chuck and Shane making phone calls home using the AB8AZ mobile MARS station.

That next morning we ran about 40 phone patches and that afternoon we stood down because the artillery battery was firing. I don’t know what they were firing at or why, however it was quite a site to watch. They didn’t shoot very long, maybe 30 minutes maximum.

M101A1 105mm howitzer

Ammo Depot

M101A1 105mm howitzer

Three clicks elevation….

Ready on the firing line…

Fire !!!

Later that evening we ran about another 30 patches before calling it a day. The second night was quite compared to the night before and the next morning we broke camp and drove back to Dong Tam.

Tan An

Camp Tan An was a larger camp, home for about two thousand 9^th Infantry Division troops. Tan An was located about 20 miles north of Dong Tam on the road to Saigon. We visited Tan An multiple times during my tour. Behind Bearcat and Dong Tam, Tan An was the third largest 9^th Infantry Division base camp.

City of Tan An

The monsoon rains in Vietnam were upon us and everything was turning to mud. Here are some pictures of when we drove in to Tan An to set up the Dodge M43 MARS mobile unit. Even though the truck had four-wheel drive, we still got stuck in the mud. I was driving can’t you tell. Good thing there was an M113 APC to pull us out.

Well we finally got out of the mud and setup in the middle of a Baddish cemetery.

MARS mobile unit next to a Baddish grave stones.

Note my M16 rifle hanging on the door of the mobile MARS vehicle.

Com Center vertical antenna in back ground.

We were set up across from the Com Center. Two APC parked along side.

Note our trailer with AC generator left side of picture, grave stones right side of picture and antenna guy crossing left in picture.

Hooch where we stayed.

Note the mud, it was everywhere

Binh Phuoc

Binh Phuoc was home for the 9^th Infantry Division 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry (mechanized APC battalion) and 1st of the 84th Artillery. The base was first inhabited by the 5/60 Mechanized Infantry and named Camp Robert Bethune in memory of their first US KIA. When the 2/47 Mechanized Infantry moved in from Bearcat during October 1968, they renamed it Camp Panther. To most it was know simply as: Binh Phuoc.

Main gate into Camp Binh Phuoc

The other side of the barb-wire berm was the village of Binh Phuoc. The outpost was adjacent to the village.

M113 APCs

SP4 Tom Boza

Here I am operating the MARS mobile radio at Binh Phuoc.

1st Battalion of the 84th Self-Propelled Artillery

I had the opportunity to observe the 1^st Battalion of the 84^th Artillery do their stuff. I was in the right place at the right time when they came rolling into Binh Phouc one morning. They set up within the hour, fired some rounds, packed up, and rolled out before sunset. They were on the move and mobile…. It was really impressive watching these guys perform with the utmost precision and accuracy. When the BIG 8 inch guns fired, it shook the ground almost knocking me off my feet. I’m sure Charlie on the receiving end did not appreciate the 1st of the 84th.

The 8-inch self-propelled howitzers designated as the US Army model M110A2. The 8-inch howitzer was the most accurate artillery weapon system in the US Army’s arsenal. It was capable of firing a 200 pound high explosive projectile to a maximum range of 16,800 meters (10 miles). Its best known feature was its ability to hit "Point Targets" with consistent accuracy.