Quan Loi
Photos by H. L. Barbee
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(Click Photo to Enlarge)
| "These three
photos show damage to the Motor Pool from the 1968 Tet Offensive. Don't remember
the date photos were taken but, as I'm sure you know, Tet is the Vietnamese New
Year which is celebrated for three days each year beginning at the first new
moon after January 20. To the best of my recollection, the '68 Tet offensive
occurred around the end of January. (Ergo, the date of photos would probably be
Jan/Feb, 1968) The Allied Forces, at the request of the Vietnamese, agreed to a
cease fire in honor of their Tet Holiday. In appreciation for our honoring their
holiday, the Viet Cong launched a surprise country-wide attack on all Allied
Forces. They hit us unmercifully. At the time, Quan Loi was the farthest south the Viet Cong had used 102mm rockets, and anything else they could find. We knew almost immediately from whence they were firing upon us, however, because it was from a "friendly" village, we could not get permission to return fire. Finally, after ten days/nights of being fired upon, we finally received authorization to retaliate, and that ended that particular nightmare. (I must admit, during the course of their attack, they bracketed the FDC bunker, and that was the most scared I ever remember being in my life.)" Howard L. Barbee |
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