I was coming back from R&R, and as I was approaching C-2 in a jeep, and I could see the incoming. As I arrived, I jumped in my bunker, but shells were hitting fairly close, so I ran to the FDC bunker. Ten seconds after I left my bunker, it received a direct hit. Many of the other guys in the unit had taken shelter in the mess hall bunker, and moments later, it received a direct hit also. That was when the 25 guys got killed - I think this is the right number, but am not sure. Lots of guys grabbed shovels or sticks or anything to try to dig them out, but we had no luck. Most of them died from the collapse of the bunker and all the dirt on top of them. I have blocked out most everything else that happened that day. It was one of the worst days of my life.
Lee Snipes
8th Bn 4th Arty 1970-1971 | |