Vietnam vets, Estrella Warbird Museum join forces for a tribute convoy
The convoy was led by the Warbird’s restored Vietnam gun truck
–The annual gathering of the Vietnam Veterans Transportation Corps was held in Morro Bay on Sept 10–15. The yearly gathering is attended by veterans from all over the United States who served in the Eight Transportation Group and transported supplies by convoy from Qui Nhon to Pleiku in Vietnam. On Thursday, the group participated in a tribute convoy from Morro Bay to the Estrella Warbird Museum in Paso Robles, following “Snoopy,” the museum’s restored 1967 REO M35A1 gun truck, the only replica of the historic gun trucks west of the Mississippi.
Warbird Museum’s Board of Directors member, Bill Landers, said the gun trucks were used from 1967–1971. The trucks have a unique history because they were armored and equipped entirely by the drivers and gunners assigned to them. All of the gun trucks except one in the United States are restored replicas. An M54 5-ton, 6×6 truck, named the “Eve of Destruction” by its crew, was brought back intact. The “Eve of Destruction is on display at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis, VA.
Roger Williams, attending the gathering from Cypress, CA, was a gun truck driver then a Sergeant, or NCOIC (Non Commissioned Officer In Charge). Williams served with the Eighth Group for two tours, from 1970–1971. Both Williams and Jack Pin, from Los Angeles, who served in 1967–1968, mentioned a 1967 ambush on a convoy that caused the Army to take a different look at security.
Pin drove a fuel tanker in the convoys over Route 19 between An Khe and Pleiku. “I drove with my rifle by my side, and yeah, got shot at a few times. We didn’t have the gun trucks when I was driving,” said Pin. “They didn’t come along until towards the end of 1967 after a pretty bad ambush when a convoy lost a lot of men.” Before that ambush, the only protection was the Military Police in jeeps. “I was lucky,” said Pin. “I drove a diesel tanker that just leaked when it got shot up. Gasoline tankers exploded.”
A description from the U.S. Army Transport Museum website describes Route 19, the main supply route, as 150 miles of steep, winding and isolated road. “The isolated mountain road was bordered in some places by wide-open fields and in other places, heavy woods, making ideal ambush sites. In some areas the grade was very steep with winding hairpin turns, causing the heavily laden trucks to drive even slower. There were two major mountain passes, An Khe and Mang Giang, which quickly became known as Ambush Alley.”
Williams said after that 1967 ambush an order to “armor up” came down, but it was not official and there were no resources allocated, including money for trucks, equipment or supplies. “The gun trucks were created from two and half ton or five-ton trucks used in the delivery convoys. We begged, borrowed, traded or just used ‘midnight requisition’ for the sheet metal and materials for armor.“
“We also had to get our own ammunition and radios, set up our own radio equipment and systems, and find the guns to put on the trucks. All we had that was issued was the uniform, a flack jacket, helmet and an M-16 rifle. The powers to be just turned a blind eye to how we went about armoring the trucks,” said Williams. Eventually, towards the end of the Vietnam war, kits for armoring trucks were distributed by the Army.
A group of fellow transportation veterans collected around as Williams talked about his experiences. “We were right out of high school,” said Williams. “Our job was to bring the fight to them.” Williams was speaking of the Viet Cong. “We built up such an ‘in your face’ reputation that the Viet Cong put a bounty on our gun trucks.”
The number of gun trucks that traveled with a convoy depended on the number of vehicles in the convoy. There was one gun truck for about every 10 convoy vehicles, said Williams. A maintenance vehicle driven by a motor pool mechanic was either in front or behind one of the gun trucks.
Don Rea, from Calhoun, Los Angeles, was a motor pool mechanic and driver in the convoys from 1968–1969. “Other than changing the oil, I didn’t really work on the gun trucks. I used to watch the gun truck crews building the trucks. They traded for the sheet metal used for armor. I’m not exactly sure where it came from.”
Williams said all the gun truck crews volunteered for the duty, but had to be approved by the Sergeant. “As a Sergeant, I looked for men who knew the roads and routine. We were responsible for people’s lives. The job needed a cool head and dedication.” Drivers and gunners were usually men who had already been driving Route 19 in the supply convoys.
“On the road, we kept in constant contact with the communication center somewhere in the mountains and with patrols out in the field who could tell us what was happening and where ambushes were set up. If an ambush was spotted we would pull over and wait until they were cleared out.”
“When we did get ambushed, our job was very clear-cut. We zeroed in on what we called ‘the kill zone,’ the location of the enemy, and opened fire until it was over. Sometimes we called in for air support or a infantry patrol that might be in the area. We picked up the wounded because there was no time to wait for medivac and we picked up soldiers from disabled vehicles.
“If our trucks were damaged, we patched them up and got right back on the road. A lot of us were boys off the ranch or farm, or just out of high school auto shop and we knew how to keep cars and truck running.During an ambush, the driver’s job was to stay in the cab and watch for attacks on the truck. We looked ahead and used mirrors to see what was going on beside and behind. Anything we saw was relayed to the gunners, who took care of it.
“We didn’t just protect convoys, sometimes we were called out to protect a MASH unit or an airfield; sometimes once a day, sometimes three times a day. If night fell and we were out, we slept in the trucks. We would never leave the truck. We were on call 24-hours a day and 365 days a year.”
At the end of the war, the trucks were disarmed and left behind. “Once in a while,” said Williams, “Someone who has been back mentions seeing a truck with a yellow bumper, but we really don’t know what happened to them.” The yellow bumper was a trademark paint job by the Eight Group gun truck crews. The trucks were named by the crews and the name could be carried forward to a new truck when the old one was put out of service.
“Snoopy,” the Warbird’s gun truck is the namesake of the original gun truck from Vietnam.
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Jackie Iddings is a contributing reporter and photographer for the Paso Robles Daily News.