Bill Patterson - Quan Loi Vietnam 1968-69

As I grow older, I realize some things in my life are incomplete. One thing is I spent a year in war and have not told the story adequately to my family or some close friends. Telling now will ease my mind and possibly help others understand me better. The Quan Loi incident is one of my most vivid memories because I felt most threatened by death or capture on that day. My job in Vietnam was driving a five- ton tactical truck delivering food, ammunition, supplies and anything else I was told to. Our 319th Transportation Company was based at Long Binh, about 10 miles north of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). The Quan Loi run was one of our most dangerous as the base was located near An Loc in western Vietnam near the Ho Chi Minh Trail and Cambodia. It was also a long drive of 80-100 miles each way over dirt and broken paved roads. The convoys averaged only about 20 miles per hour. Our convoys did not stop for breaks. We had seen much action in this area, being involved in ambushes and firefights. I had been relatively safe for most of my time in Vietnam however. On this one day in particular that would change. Our convoy had driven to Quan Loi from Long Binh, unloaded and was returning to our base. The day had been a long one and it was late afternoon. We really tried hard to not be on the roads after dark as the enemy was most active then. As we drove through an especially dangerous area, I noticed brass machine gun spent shells in the dirt road ahead of my truck. Not anticipating any immediate problem, I continued on the road. Immediately the truck came to a quick and unannounced halt. It would not move despite all my efforts. I jumped out to see what was wrong as the other trucks continued past me. I found three of my ten tires were flat. The gun shells had worked quickly but silently on the inflated tires. A Military Police jeep of regular Army soldiers (I was an activated reservist) with a driver, radioman and M-60 machine gunner stopped with me. My friend Wendell Blanchard, also from Augusta, stopped and offered to help but was told to go on by the MP in the jeep. Wendell threw off his spare tire for me. I went from being in the relatively secure convoy with friends to being the driver of a stalled truck with three strangers in a jeep stranded in dangerous country with 3 flats, 2 spares, no firm surface to jack up the truck and the sun setting. Things got quiet as the convoy went out of sight. the MPs did not offer to help me change the tires but waited for me to do so. You never saw a 150 pound man work so hard! Our five-ton truck had dual axels on the rear. Each axel had two tires. By driving the inside tire onto a big block or rock, the outside tire would elevate off the surface and could be changed. In this way I was able to remove all 3 flats and install the 2 spares I had. The tires were nearly as tall as I was, were heavy of course and had to be loaded onto the empty truck to be repaired back at base. As I completed the work I realized I was shaking and exhausted in the high heat of Vietnam. The MP jeep now saw my truck was drivable and left to rejoin the convoy, now many miles nearer to base. I was alone and really scared. I started the engine, put it in gear and was joyous that the truck moved. I raced the setting sun with my foot to the floor. The truck reached 50 MPH I'm sure and was bouncing into the air and sometimes off the road. After an eternity I spotted the convoy ahead. Of course the other trucks were doing their usual 20 MPH or so. I was flying up on the end truck around 50 with my foot frozen to the floor in a near panic. I passed several of the trucks and noticed astonished looks from their drivers. Finally realizing I had panicked and was endangering the other vehicles and drivers, I relaxed my foot, slowed and rejoined the convoy. They could see I was missing a wheel and probably understood my wild action. We made it safely back to base that evening. I don't know if the enemy was watching that day. I do know that Wendell, the MPs, my hard work and God's grace (probably not in that order of importance) saved my life or prevented my capture that day. I will probably tell more of these stories as time passes......