| Alpha Battery 6/27th Artillery Lai Khe and Quan Loi - 1966 -1967 Photos by Leonard Mulholland |
| When I arrived in Vietnam it was early November 1966. Alpha Battery
6/27 Artillery was base camped at Bearcat, (See Note below). We were almost immediately deployed
to the Mekong Delta. We were supporting the 173rd airborne in the biggest air
drop of Vietnam War. We returned to base camp at Bearcat for Thanksgiving and
returned to the Delta until Christmas Eve. While we were in the Delta between
Thanksgiving and Christmas , I believe it was the 1/83rd or 1/81st Artillery had
arrived and took over our base camp at Bearcat. We, then, moved to
Lai Khe Dec. 26, 1966. To the best of my recollection we were there until Feb.12, 1967 when we moved to Quan Loi. I was at Quan Loi until late June 1967 when I was transferred to Charlie Battery 6/27th Artillery at Phouc Vinh to finish my tour of duty on October 31, 1967. I once had a complete catalog of names, dates and places, but unfortunately they were destroyed when my house burned in Sept 1973. A good friend of mine put what was salvaged on a CD for me last year. Any photos I had during my service with Charlie Battery were regrettably lost in the fire. After forty plus years my memory is not what it once was and several soldiers in the following galleries are not identified. Can you help? If you recognize a face and know his name send the image number and the name to the webmaster. Hope you enjoy the photos. |
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Leonard
Mulholland
Then and
Now Alpha & Charlie Battery 6/27th Artillery Nov 66 to Oct 67 |
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Webmaster's Note: According to the official history of the 6/27th Artillery, "A Legacy of Honor": "A and Service Batteries were the first to assume their tactical positions, departing the staging area on November 10th [1966]. These two batteries jointly occupied an area east of Bien Hoa, near the 'Widow's Village'. Though this area was supposed to be a permanent location, it was not, for the battery's fires were found to disrupt the air traffic of the Bien Hoa Air Base. Air traffic had to be stopped whenever the battery fired to the north. Soon better locations for the two batteries were found adjacent to the base camp area of the 173 Airborne Brigade [Bearcat]. The batteries moved [to Bearcat] on December 9th [1966]." (See page 17) (Clarification information added in brackets) "Bravo, Charlie and Headquarters Batteries displaced to their tactical positions near the town of Phouc Vinh on November 19th [1966]. The wheeled vehicles moved by armed convoy from the 1st Division staging area to Phuoc Vinh, while the tracked vehicles went by convoy to the Song Be river crossing where a 50 ton ferry (provided by the 1st Engineer Brigade, 1st Infantry Division) took them across the river. The track vehicles closed into Phuoc Vinh on the the 21st [November 1966]." (See page 17) "Battery 'A' also engaged in a series of moves. The first occurred on December 27, 1966, when they moved from Bearcat to Lai Khe. No incidents occurred during this move. A second permanent change of station occurred on February 3, [ actually 4] 1967, when the battery moved to Quan Loi." (See page 42) Unfortunately, "A Legacy of Honor" takes the history of the 6/27th Artillery only to mid 1967 when the history was published. So far I have not been able to locate a follow-up document that completes the history to the end of service in Vietnam. If you know of any such document, please let me know where to locate it. Each of the Batteries of the 6/27th Artillery moved to temporary locations for various support missions as well as short "turkey shoots" while in Vietnam, until the battalion finally left Vietnam in November, 1971. John Wavra, Webmaster. |
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