Wherever you’re, there needs to be particular rules and you may buy, and this refers to especially true in a battle region, in which very nearly folks are armed and on border. New Army Cops during the Vietnam got a job to do, and then we did it with the best of all of our element. However, MPs into the Vietnam did much more than simply patrol the fresh metropolitan areas and you will, as well as oftentimes depicted for the movies, harass their fellow GIs. This was part of the monster logistical complications away from promoting many away from thousands of troops with materiel, as well as offers in the midst of an intense guerrilla opponent. As with Iraq today, convoys is primary purpose, and the ones securing are usually in among war’s most hazardous Wiener-Neustadt escorts and you can fatal circumstances.

This new V-100 are good wheeled armored auto employed for shelter missions, primarily having powering convoys. Their about three-man crew contains the brand new rider, the fresh new gunner additionally the radiotelephone driver (RTO). Created because of the Cadillac, brand new V-100 got an intercom system integrated into the radio, and every member of the car you’ll communicate with the rest without sending over the internet. New crew chief, a job you to rotated based on seniority, was in costs of precisely what the V-100 did, but once a crew is actually along with her for a time men and women rather really understood what you should do and that which was asked.

This new 66th MP Company had one of the largest patrol parts within the Vietnam. Along with the V-100 Platoon, the organization work city patrols, cover obligation and whichever almost every other goal came up. We ran convoys western on route QL- 19, southern towards the QL-1 to help you Tuy Hoa, and you can northern on the QL-1 so you can Bong Son otherwise LZ English.

Whenever i got to Vietnam in late 1969, We joined the latest 66th Army Police Company on Phu Tai and you can is actually allotted to the new V-100 Platoon, in which We spent much of my personal trip with the escort duty

So you can designate just who went where and when, new V-100s went by wide variety and you will turned or cutting-edge day-after-day. The cars was basically designated from Seven-Zero to eight-7. The street management try 7-Seven, which generally existed towards QL-19. The V-100 designated Seven-No having a particular date visited LZ English. Whenever an effective automobile’s number is actually 7-Around three, it opened the road along with 7-Four. Opening the trail called for one or two V-100s to be certain all bridges had been unlock and you may everything is secure with the first convoy to start. The westbound convoys had been designated “Friscos” while the eastbounds “The brand new Yorks.” Number 7-Four obtained the original convoy headed west and you can brought up the rear of that one convoy. When they passed a specific checkpoint, Eight-Half dozen manage get the second convoy you to formed. One of several V-100s are appointed to run a convoy so you’re able to Tuy Hoa, which had been a two-day work at.

Auto 7-Three manage upcoming escort the original eastbound convoy, thereafter create go back to the business to pull repairs with the vehicles for the rest of the day

All of our highway planner operate from of your Korean firebases into QL-19 on label signal No. Once we surely got to a bridge, i entitled Zero and you can stated the brand new bridge number we were crossing; Zero upcoming know when to start the initial convoy. We always radioed No as soon as we achieved the fresh new bot – tom of your A keen Khe Violation, and you can once more as soon as we topped the ticket.

Whenever a great convoy become, their chief, who had been constantly at the forefront auto, titled No and you can offered your a summary of exactly what the convoy consisted of. No then tasked the fresh convoy, always named good Charlie Winner, a variety. The initial convoy throughout the day is actually Charlie Victor step 1, and the like. The fresh convoy leader often referred to as in most the latest checkpoints passed by the front of your convoy. Per link was designated, as well as the bottom while the greatest of each admission had been entitled during the in the event that top and bottom passed this new checkpoints. Using these wide variety, No in turn was able correspondence toward Air Push, dustoff and other support that will be needed.