'03 Springfield Picture of the Day

[CapnJohn]

KOREAN WAR
5th Marine Sniper in Punchbowl
M1903A1/Unertl, 1951

Another difference in sniper action between the USMC and the Army was that Marine scout-sniper teams often had a BAR for a support weapon. In street fighting, the BAR automatic fire would flush the enemy out, and the sniper would finish him off.

East of the Hwachon Reservoir a key segment of the Kansas Line ran through the southern rim of the Punchbowl, on its way to the coastal town of Kojin-ni, five milies above Kansong. This section of the line lay well above Route 24, so both X Corps and ROK I Corps could use that road as their MSR, and also receive supplies through the port at Kansong.

Information

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[Chuckindenver]

iv seen this pic before, notice the Lyman Ak setting on the A4???

[Jim Tarleton]

That picture could have been taken in the Que Son Mountains west of Danang. Looks the same, includng the sand bagged fighting post. I sat in just such a position for countless hours, looking down on whatever highway that was that ran to Danang. We had it indexed to a "T".

Range was very hard to estimate in the mountains.

Jim

[CapnJohn]

You got better eyes than I do!!!

Jim,
I went thru the same mountains in late '63 and early '64. Tough terrain!

[Jim Tarleton]

Chuck,

You are right, that is an A4, not a A1 Unertl. I am not so sure that is a Marine either. If you blow it up and look at the rifle shadow, you will see it is a C stocked rifle.

Jim

[Jim Tarleton]

You got better eyes than I do!!!

Jim,
I went thru the same mountains in late '63 and early '64. Tough terrain!

I tell people that it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever "lived". Freezing cold at night and hot as Hades in the day. I was shot at the day I arrived, and shot at the day I left. The area was infested with the biggest rats I have ever seen. I have a picture somewhere around here of one that I shot with an M16. Looks like a housecat.

Watched a B52 bombing mission over the valley. Never heard or saw the B52's, but we could see the concussion waves coming off those blasts like a text book pictures. Someone or something at or near Danang (maybe Firebase Baldy?) would occassionally fire rounds over the first ridge (my first firebase) that were so big we could hear them going through the air. Way bigger blast than a 155. I always firgured there was a battleship in the bay firing 16"'ers over our heads, but never knew for sure.

A lot went on in that valley that we never knew about. We would see smoke from the firefights and watch the Bumblebees fire spotting rockets for the jets. The Phantoms would scream down the valley like angels from hell itself. It was kinda weird to see a fight from such a distance and not be able to help. Listened to some unit begging for help over the radio one night. It went on for several hours. Never knew who or where or the outcome, but there was no card game that night. Our radio reception was terrific.

Got stuck on resupply runs while hitching a ride on a CH46 one time. They wouldn't let me off. I was riding with a Chaplain and another officer (other than the crew). I remember the Chaplain was sweating like a stuck pig everytime we came into the LZ to unload the cargo net. The door gunner had some fancy multi-M60 setup that keep throwing hot cases everywhere. He would start firing as we approached and he never quit until we were some distance away. We made either two or three passes that day, and I learned to have a deep respect for air crews.

We called them the "Misty Mountains".

Jim
Lagrimas de Luna

[Chuckindenver]

dont think it snowed much west of DaNang, look at the far hill side,
a bit of the white stuff is spread all over..looks like Colorado,s flat top area. or closer to Rifle Co..

[Chuckindenver]

come to think about it, if i remember right that picture is actually bigger, and a Browning Machine gun sits right next to the guy, just right of the binoculars.
i cant think of what book i saw that picture in. old age aint fer sissys

[CapnJohn]

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY JIM Tarleton
We called them the "Misty Mountains".

Jim

Well, from late October thru the spring, the northeast monsoons arrived and we'd sit around until it cleared up.
I saw a bunch of puppies that people had and said "Man these people sure like dogs!!" Well the retort was, "Hey LT, they'll be gone by the early part of february!! They eat 'em like we do turkeys for their new year!!" Sure enough, they were gone!

[Jim Tarleton]

I ate a couple of dog sandwiches in RVN, and years later, I helped eat a Black Lab (Rambo the Rig Dog somebody shot - we BBQ'ed him). The sandwiches came from the Skivy Girls we escorted to and from home from the FLC OC. I was temporarily on light duty at China Beach for about 10 days due to a non-combat injury (105 breach block closed on my left hand), and I was assigned the light duty of being the turret gunner on the duece and a half that transported the girls back and forth. I had a 50 cal I knew squat about. I did get some neat pictures of Danang City that show the squalor in which the Vietnamese lived. I also saw one of the really big fuel tanks at Monkey Mountain (I think - I never really knew where I was) hit by a rocket and catch fire, and got a neat picture of the fire teams trying to put it out.

Got to play "Jungle Rules" football on China (Red) Beach. We had to hide the injuried for a few days. It was just a little rougher than "Jungle Rules" volleyball. I will NEVER forget my first Marine Corps "Jungle Rules" volleyball game. Like a real DA, I ran up to the net to hit a ball and the guy across from me ran towards me and kicked me in the cajones so hard I laid out the rest of the game. You don't play the net in those games unless you are wearing a cup!

Did you ever go to one of the bars that served snake blood in your drink?

Jim