Tank on Bridge
The Viet Cong blew up the bridge at Phou Cong to keep the Americans from being able to move supplies and equipment over the Saigon River. The Phou Cong bridge was at the town of Phou Cong. This was in 1968 that they blew the bridge and it took a few months for the Americans to rebuild a three-span cement bridge over the river. It was completed in late 1968 or early 1969.
Probably in January or February of 1969, I was the duty officer one night, which means that I stayed up all night and was responsible to see if there any missions and to wake the commander if necessary, launch aircraft, and so forth. During the night the call came in for a gun team, meaning two Cobra helicopters, to be launched to go out to Phou Cong. The bridge had been blown up again and they wanted helicopters out there because they were afraid of an attack. They said an M-60 tank had been on the bridge and was dropped in the river when the bridge blew up. In the days that followed we found out what had happened.
The north side of the bridge and the land surrounding it was the responsibility of the South Vietnamese Army. The south side of the bridge and the land surrounding was the responsibility of the US Army. The Viet Cong had dressed up as workmen and had come down the river on a boat during the daylight hours and stopped under the bridge. They planted explosive charges under the bridge while the South Vietnamese Army and the US Army were watching in the daylight.
Both the South Vietnamese Army and US Army thought these were workmen to check the bridge which had just been completed and that the other ones knew about it. Then at night the US Army would park an M-60 tank in the center of the bridge to be there to defend it. So, knowing this, the Viet Cong put charges under the center of the bridge and not only blew up the bridge but dropped a tank in the middle of the river.
The moral of this story is that many times we assume someone else is aware of what is going on and we don't check things out ourselves and that can lead to disastrous results. There are many things we need to check for ourselves. There are things we need to learn for ourselves. There are things we need to know for ourselves!!
Probably in January or February of 1969, I was the duty officer one night, which means that I stayed up all night and was responsible to see if there any missions and to wake the commander if necessary, launch aircraft, and so forth. During the night the call came in for a gun team, meaning two Cobra helicopters, to be launched to go out to Phou Cong. The bridge had been blown up again and they wanted helicopters out there because they were afraid of an attack. They said an M-60 tank had been on the bridge and was dropped in the river when the bridge blew up. In the days that followed we found out what had happened.
The north side of the bridge and the land surrounding it was the responsibility of the South Vietnamese Army. The south side of the bridge and the land surrounding was the responsibility of the US Army. The Viet Cong had dressed up as workmen and had come down the river on a boat during the daylight hours and stopped under the bridge. They planted explosive charges under the bridge while the South Vietnamese Army and the US Army were watching in the daylight.
Both the South Vietnamese Army and US Army thought these were workmen to check the bridge which had just been completed and that the other ones knew about it. Then at night the US Army would park an M-60 tank in the center of the bridge to be there to defend it. So, knowing this, the Viet Cong put charges under the center of the bridge and not only blew up the bridge but dropped a tank in the middle of the river.
The moral of this story is that many times we assume someone else is aware of what is going on and we don't check things out ourselves and that can lead to disastrous results. There are many things we need to check for ourselves. There are things we need to learn for ourselves. There are things we need to know for ourselves!!
posted by Bruce | 3:53 PM
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