D. J. Poulton 2020 | Ormeau | Queensland | Australia| Contact Dave
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InMay1968,IwasonalandclearingoperationatthefootoftheLongHaiHills.Wewereworkingwith someplantoperatorsfrom9EngineerDivision(U.S.Army).OurtotalAussieforcewasmadeupof elementsfrommortarplatoonandarifleplatoonfromtheAnzacBattalion,withmyselfandsomeplant operatorsfrom1FieldSquadronand21EngineerSupport Troop.Ourmissionwastoclearallthescrub fromtheoldcemeterysouthofDatDotothefootoftheLongHaiHills,includinganyminesandforeign ordinance encountered. DuringtheTEToffensive,theUSAFhadleftusafewthousandoddtrinketstoplaywith,namelyCBU's andotherordinance.Itjustsohappenedthatallthiswhizbangwasrightintheareaweneededtoclear. Wedecidedthatseveralfiremissionswouldclearmostoftheordinanceoutofthewayforus.Itdid,but italsohelpedinscatteringitallovertheplaceaswell.Weusedoneofthedozerswithaflailtohelp clearaswell.Anythingtheartystrikesandthedozermissedwasmyjobtospotandclear.Well,that was meant to be a relatively simple task, so I thought. AfewhundredfeetuptheLongHai'swasacave,ontopofwhichsataratherlargeandprominent whiteBuddha.Thisinitselfwasn'tmuchtoworryabout.Whennightcame,thereseemedwhat appearedtobelanternsmovingalongaridgelineintoaknowncave.Thecavehadanentrancetoit fromthetop.Theselanternsontheirfirstappearancespookedmostofus.Aquick'standto'andthe mortarsrespondedwithsomewell-aimedhitsdownthethroatofthecave.Theechoesoftherounds burstinginsidethecavechilledthenightair.Despitethebesteffortsofthemortarplatoon,thelanterns returnedeachnight.Itwasdecidedtocallinafiremissionwithstarburstshellsfirst.The'woomf. woomf'washeardoffinthedistanceattheDat.Soonafter,theshrillnoteoftheshellpassingover,then thebangoftheshellreleasingitsflare.TheStarburstroundsprecededtheHErounds.Thefirstfire missionmanagedtorearrangemostofthecountrysidealongwiththecookstentandkitchenareafrom aroguebaseplatefromoneoftheStarburstrounds.SeveralHEroundshitthetargetandstillthe lanternsmovedaroundontheridgeline.Onlyonethingforit,apatrol-offtheywent,thegruntsintothe night. Aftersometime,theyreportedbackthatthe"Fire-Flies"weredoingnicelyandweren'tintheleastbit perturbedbyallourattemptstodispersethem.Buddhamanagedtoremaininonepiece,howIdon't know, and the cave managed to get some knew entrances to it. A nice evening’s work. Whilstallthiswasgoingon,wewerein"standto"condition-afterallwehadtogetafixonthelights (theLongHai'swereanotoriousVCenclave).TheLieu'inchargeoftheinfantryplatoonwithusdived forwhathethoughtwashisshellscrapeatthesametimeIdivedforwhatIthoughtwasmyshell scrape,onlytofindthatthebothofusarrivedintheS.....Pittogether. Theconversationwentsomething like this, "Whose that?" he asked. "Sgt. Poulton," I replied, "is this what I think it is? I asked. "Yep," was his reply. "I won't say anything if you don't, " I quipped. "It's a deal," he said. We were there until stand down. Thenextdayasdawnbrokewebothdartedofftothebushshowerforaratherquickdip,refresh,new clothsetc.Havingmadeourselveshumanagain,webothreturnedtoourtroopsasifnothinghad happened.Overbreaky,oneofmysappersasked,"HeySarg,whoweretheguysintheS...Pitlast nightduringstandto?"Ilookedhimsquareintheeyeandsaid,"Son,youdon'twanttoknow."Son,ha, I was all of 24yrs old. Who said life was boring. Shortlyafterallthisan AmericandozeroperatorshothimselfinhisleftthighandIwasfaggedbysome ofthelittlenastiesleftoverfromTET.Iwascasavacedoutto1FieldHospital,leavingthenasties,the 'fire-flies' and the 'S.... Pit' to others to worry about. Life sure can be interesting. Someyearsago,Ihadanemailfromthelieutenantwhoco-inhabitedourmutualpit.Hestill remembered the incident and still saw the lighter side to it. IfanyoneelsehasahumorousstoryIwouldlovetohearaboutit.Keepitto800wordsorlessandif you give permission, I will load it onto this site. Fill out the contact form by clicking here. go to top