1/31/2012

6th Bn, 84th FA

Swoosh, was the sound of the doors opening on the first bus of soldiers arriving from Fort Sill.  The unit was filled by Lieutenants fresh from OCS and cannoneers just trained at Fort Sill.  We had a couple of NCO's that had been in the Army for a while but few if any with combat experience in Vietnam.  The Chiefs of Section were the one's that had been acting NCO's in AIT.  My battery (Alpha) had a Captain fresh back from Korea, a 1LT that had washed out of flight school and 4 brand new 2nd LTs.  I was assigned as a Forward Observer and the unit Supply Officer.


As the supply officer, I was the guy responsible for the issue of the entire battery's worth of equipment as it arrived by truck.  This was a new unit and we had nothing on hand until it was sent from some depot.  We worked hard to get some Connex shipping containers for each gun to secure their equipment.  Our motor pool did not have storage buildings built in with wire cages.  I don't remember how many pages of Microfiche it took to list the things on order and on hand but I do know reading one of the readers would give me a headache.  The trucks loads of equipment would arrive and we would have to figure out who to make sign for it.  

The 6th Bn, 84th Field Artillery was a 155mm Towed Artillery Unit.  That meant that we had a 5 Ton Gun Truck and an ammo truck for each gun.  When our unit went out to the field, we would stretch out for several hundred meters along the road.  The biggest problem we had was that the main reason our XO failed flight school. He was absolutely unable to read a map correctly or tell direction without help.  The first time we pulled into a firing position, we were facing entirely the wrong direction.  The battery commander was watching from up on a nearby hill and came down and chewed his butt big time.  They us-assed that position and drove around and came back to the same spot.  had one of the NCO's not remembered, he would have the put the guns in the same spots facing the wrong direction again.  That happened two more times and it was when the Post Commander came up over a hill and saw the battery pointing at Main Post that things got changed.  One of the other 2nd Lt's was put in the XO's position and things were fairly normal during the rest of the training.

It was a lot like the blind leading the blind there at Fort Irwin.  We knew what the books said about fighting but how the hell do you train for Vietnam in a place where  there is no brush over two or three feet tall and damned little of that.  We had no camouflage nets, no sand bags, no experience and darned little leadership. Somehow the battery managed to get ready for and pass what was then called an ATT or Army training Test.  A couple of mornings after that, when we all appeared for a Battery Officer's call, CAPT Alex Kocsis said, "Good morning Special Weapons Officer" to me.  I had no idea what the hell he was talking about. 


I was sent over to the S-2's office and read into the Nuclear Weapons Program.  I was told that in two weeks we would be given a courtesy evaluation by 6th Army and a week after that we would be evaluated for record.  I went back to the battery and was met by the First Sergeant.  He would not let me go in to the Commander's office and plead my case.  He calmly said that over there in that file cabinet was the records of every man in the battery and I could pick six of the best for my team.  I picked out the 6 brightest soldiers in the unit (or the one's with the highest test scores) and went out to meet them.  I think one or two were in the Fire Direction Center but the majority were on the guns.  I took them over to a Quonset hut and started talking about what the heck we were in for.  I am not sure how much of the training is still classified but mostly in a 155mm unit you assemble a round by the book and if authenticated you get to fire it.  We had a trainer and between the three battery teams, we shared it.  We would have one person read the manual and the others would help do what the reader said.  There was some stupid rule that there needed to be two people on hand at all times so we had to stagger lunch.  

The two weeks went by quickly with only one small problem.  On Wednesday of the first week, I was told to report to Battalion headquarters.    Who the hell had picked Stubbs for the training?  For some reason he did not have a favorable National Agency Check and would never be given a Security Clearance.  I had to send him to the S-2 office where they read him out of the program with a threat of Leavenworth if he ever uttered a word of his training.  We were down to five but the training went on.


One Saturday Morning, we all met the evaluation team from the Presidio and did our thing.  We had only one training round, so each unit did their thing in order and by the book.  We were told that in a week they would be back and we needed to do the same thing only next time for record.  A week later we did and we passed.  The 6th Bn was Officially certified as a Nuclear Capable Unit and on orders for Vietnam where there were no Nuclear Weapons.  Stupid is as Stupid Does.   That night, I invited my team over to my BOQ room to have a party.  When they showed up, they had Stubbs in tow and we partied until all the beer and Scotch was gone.  Somewhere in the middle of all the fun, I asked Stubbs what he could have possible done to not get a favorable National Agency Check.  He told me about his trip to the Peace Corps.  When they completed his training he was sent to Nigeria and the people there hated them.  They were not allowed to go into the villages or do anything they were trained to do.  He went to his camp director and asked to be sent somewhere else.  He was told that the only way out for the next two years was to be crazy and get sent home.  Stubbs said he took off his clothes and ran around naked for a couple of days acting crazy and they sent him home.  Works for me.  In 1967, no Peace Corps assignment and the Draft soon followed.


Right in the middle of the training for the Battalion level ATT, orders came down for us to send several officers to the Jungle Warfare school in Panama.  I will close this here and start the story again in Panama tomorrow.


MUD, Jungle Expert

17 comments:

  1. Jim Baggett12:56 PM

    Me and a fellow named John Bussey were sent to Ft, Irwin to the 6th/84th. When we reported the SGM Pierce? He said something like.. 'Ah .. some nice warm bodies'. He looked at our records and said " I see you men have training in the nuclear rounds'. Bussey and I looked at each other in a puzzled way.. we didn't remember any nuclear training at Ft. Sill! Best I can remember, we said nothing and were assigned to HHB with a Capt. McMillan. Concerning the guns at An Khe... on our first round fired in VietNam.. didn't we blow up the An Khe fuel depot? AND shortly there after we were sent out of An Khe to support the Korean White Horse Division and they asked us not to come near them! I remember Sgt Roy Davis (a Creole) and a Sgt. Cousins ....Tom Dasiy a fellow we called 'Rusty'.. who got in a car wreck while on leave.. a medic named Schulick... another FDC man named AAron Scarioni ('Spooky')

    ReplyDelete
  2. My name is Dennis Kelly. I was with A/6/84th Arty on Ft. Irwin and on Crystal. This is a test to see if I can leave a message.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:42 AM

      When and where did you serve

      Delete
  3. I was one of the soldiers trained on the nuclear program for the 155's. I believe that is where I may have met Wiley. I went to a relative of his for Thanksgiving in Van Nuys. On the ship he told me he wanted to climb the mast and surf by going down the side of the ship. I dismissed these ideas as he seemed like a relatively conservative guy. I remember when he went down the side and was swinging way out and then back possibly under the ship. Never made the mast climb.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Daniel Wood2:24 AM

    I was on deck watch that night and I spotted that idiot dangling from a port hole, on a rope and gettin the crap whipped out of himself. I sounded the alarm and I remember it took several hours to stabilize the ship enough to get him back on board. Some life rings were just tossed overboard at first and I witnessed at least one of them float away from the ship, with a beacon on it, as it gradually disappeared in the darkness! What a totally disastrous rescue attempt!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:30 PM

      Was this ship on its way to Vietnam 1968 if so I say the same thing so guy didn’t want to go to nam.

      Delete
  5. 1 July 2020 Jim Baggett
    It has been a long time since I came to this website. I'm now 73 years old. I have only heard from two fellow vets over the years....Capt. DeSota and 'Spooky' Scarioni. Still looking for John T. Bussey

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lorenzo nieto10:46 AM

      I served with the 6th 84th in 1968 ft Erwin when the unit was first started I was in HQ company

      Delete
  6. Ist Sgt Jackson always comes to mind . contacted him several years ago and he couldn't remember me as his pet nemesis! I remember You too,Jim...By the way did you know Larry (MAC) MacPherson? He was my best friend, and now he's gone. He was buried at the Vets cemetery in Fernley. Nv.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Daniel Wood, now age 70 back in my home state of Nevada

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lorenzo2:51 PM

      If you’re still alive please e-mail me nietolorenzo566@gmail.com I was with HQ motor pool been trying to find someone from the 6th 84 th

      Delete
  8. Daniel Wood, now age 70 back in my home state of Nevada

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lorenzo nieto1:27 PM

    I was there 1968 6th 84th artillery HQ company trained at ft Irwin was permoted to Pfc before we left for Vietnam the unit was fresh we lost a lot of brothers our first night out in the field .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:12 PM

      As I remember 4 KIA and 36 WIA first night in the field. I think we had 7 dustoffs that night.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous3:49 PM

    We were not prepared for combat. We did not have overhead protection and the battalion FDC took a direct mortar round and three were killed in the FDC. Most of our vehicles were disabled from flat tires and punctured radiators. We were stuck on the fire base for seven days learning to build overhead protection end to sand back trucks and tires. Colonel Wallace was relieved of his command, We were supposed to return to An Khe for a stand down and briefing. Instead we became a traveling artillery battalion and went from one operation to another.l
    We traveled from Poly Clang to near Camron Bay, mostly by convoy. I was the assistant communications officer,and XO in the headquarters battalion , Lt. Christian. I was assigned to the Battalion when it was first being organized at Fort Irwin, California, and served in it in Vietnam.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous3:48 PM

    My uncle LTC Wayne Whatley was the BN CDR in Vietnam....does anyone remember him?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous11:51 AM

    I remember Col Whatley - I believe he replaced the BN CMDR who was relieved of duty. I was the Fire Direction Officer in B Battery.

    ReplyDelete