(One night time, one morning in Vietnam, ’71)

So I’ve heard, a bullet, rocket or shell that hits you, you by no means hear it upon impression. The reason is, all is over, stated and performed, and if not you’re normally unconscious.

However I personally-for myself anyhow, considerably disagree; I heard each rocket that hit our ammo dump, that night till morning. Every incoming rocket got here with a whistling sound, like a siren in low key, that by no means reached a roar standing till it hit one thing, like our water tank, or five-ton tuck, or just the guard shack, or dirt-then crash, and a bathe of particles, and damaged boards together with this and that, and scraps of steel flying all about, hunks of burning steel hovering by my face, I had seen and heard all of it, had I been hit, whose to say what then, you are lifeless, and the lifeless do not discuss, clarify, and even query.

After which proper after the impression, you pay attention for the subsequent one to come back, if it comes, even when it doesn’t come, you are ready for it nonetheless. In such instances of incoming rockets, or shells, there’s little to no combating occurring round you-believe it or not, each one round you is racing for some form of cowl, leaping, hiding, digging holes within the floor to cowl their heads, sides of their our bodies, laying flat and soundless on embankments-as your thoughts and physique stay in a state of alert, excessive alter-or you freeze or panic (I’ve seen all such instances).

Ammo dumps usually are not shelled all that always, much less usually than you’d anticipate, they’re stored normally fairly far behind the principle strains of fireplace, some months there have been no shelling in any respect.

There was one soldier killed that night, by a rocket, within the 17 wsm Ammo for sale dump subsequent to ours. That night time and the next morning, it was a protracted and enduring brush with loss of life; rockets got here in half the night time, and half the morning. Everybody beginning to grin nervously, I noticed a couple of officers there, low rating, none past captain, I did not see any like majors to generals, you by no means do these days, or in my day, not prefer it was. Unsure how they received all their Vietnam Medals, I might guess they ordered some Battalion, or Brigade, clerk to kind them up for them.