ST 2122:

The El Cid Incident

by

William H. Edwards

 

[Re-written August 8, 2009 based on primary source information received August 3, 2009 from SP/5 Robert Bogison, PBR Platoon, B Company (Bushwhackers), 720th Military Police Battalion]

Article written for the Army Transportation Association Vietnam ATAV

 

I had been assigned to the 5th Transportation Company (Heavy Boat) in September 1969, when the company was operating out of Vung Tau.  While my MOS was 61C20 (Marine Engineer), I was assigned various company jobs by Captain Jerry Murphy (later replaced by James Krobert), Lieutenant Paul Zeller and 1SGT William V. Rucker.

 

SP/5 William H. Edwards

South China Sea near Vung Tau, Feb 1970 (Edwards)

 

I was a fresh-out-of-school SP/5 raring to do what I could to help out the organization.  Subsequently, I became a jack-of-all-trades for the company – night CQ for a while, going on occasional airplane hops or “shotgun runs” by Jeep to conduct company business, assisting with administrative and operational reports for Top and the CO.

Being in a U.S. Army heavy boat company meant most of our vessels were LCUs

(Landing Craft Utility).  LCUs were 115 feet long, 34 feet wide, had large bow ramps,

Bill Sager, Mamasan, Bill Edwards, 50 caliber machine gun

On an LCU in the Long Tau channel, Rung Sat Special Zone, Feb 1970 (Edwards)

 

and were armed with two 50 caliber machine guns, one on either side of the wheelhouse.  The LCUs were used to “long haul” resources to the troops in the field, using the intricate water system known as the Mekong Delta.  Ports-of-call included Vinh Long, Long Xuyen, Can Tho, My Tho, Vung Tau, and Dong Tam.

 

There were a number of other vessels assigned to the unit, however, two of them being Army tug boats.  One of those tugs was the ST 2122, nicknamed the El Cid.

 

The El Cid the day after the ambush (Edwards)

 

 

On February 16, 1970 the entire company was moved from Vung Tau up to Cat Lai, southeast of Saigon on the Song Dong Nai River, some of us traveling by LCU convoy through the 45 miles of the Long Tau channel in the infamous Rung Sat Special Zone.  Cat Lai was a primary unloading point for ships carrying ammunition for III and IV Corps venues, and the Cid was used primarily to tow ammo and other loads by barge up the Dong Nai River to Cogido and the Long Binh/Bien Hoa areas.  Ocean going ships could go no further upstream than Cat Lai due to river conditions and water depth.  They were tethered in the middle of the channel to anchor buoys and their cargoes unloaded unto barges or LCUs for further distribution.

 

 

Ocean freighter off-loading ammo onto barges in mid-channel.

Vietnamese LCVP patrol boat coming in from a run (middle of picture).

Military Police PBRs used for interdiction and river escorts (foreground).

Song Dong Nai River, Cat Lai, RVN, 1970.  (Edwards)

 

 

On the morning May 18, 1970 Captain Jim Krobert and Lieutenant Paul Zeller, who happened to be in the 159th Transportation Battalion communication room in Cat Lai at the time, overheard a frantic radio call indicating the El Cid had just been hit by RPGs on a run from Cat Lai to Cogido.  They could barely understand the request for help that was coming in from Chief Warrant Officer Bob Smith, the skipper on the boat.  Word of the situation spread quickly through the company area, but all we could do was hope for the best for the crew and wait for those not wounded in the incident to bring the boat back home.

 

The Viet Cong had fired two bazooka-like rounds from the east side of the river into the starboard side of the Cid’s wheelhouse.  It was a direct hit.  Lt. Zeller would later find a piece of one of the rockets lying on the wheelhouse floor.  The nomenclature indicated it was an American-made 2.5 inch rocket.  Lord knows how Charlie had gotten hold of them!

 

The impact of the rockets blew all but three of the wheelhouse windows out and sprayed shrapnel into the crew.  The skipper, CW2 Bob Smith, had been sitting on the step to the wheelhouse on the starboard side when a large piece of shrapnel hit him squarely in the chest.  He was saved by an aviator-type flack vest he was wearing.  The front plate of the vest was left with a large dent in it. He was also peppered with glass shards.

 

Starboard side damage to the El Cid’s wheelhouse, ST 2122, May 19, 1970 (Edwards)

 

A Vietnamese who was piloting the tug was killed instantly (this was during Vietnamization, when we were gradually turning our boats over to the South Vietnamese).  CW2 Cheshire and Staff Sergeant Jerry Folse were seriously wounded.  Folse had received a serious jaw injury caused by the rocket shrapnel.

 

Mr. Cheshire (Warrant Officers were referred to as “Mr.”), the Chief Engineer, had been manning a gun on the starboard side when the rounds hit and was sprayed with shrapnel down the entire front of his body.  His helmet was later found on deck with three holes in it made by shrapnel or bullets.  He was hit at least once in the side by a bullet in addition to being sprayed with glass.  The bullet hit just where the pieces of the flack jacket lace together, the most vulnerable spot.  He took a towel he had around his neck and stuffed it inside the jacket to help stop the bleeding and continued to fire on the enemy.

 

When Captain Krobert and Lt. Zeller finally got to the boat up in Cogido, there was blood all over the deck and inside the wheelhouse.  They said it looked like brown Jello.  They learned that two or three of the crew who were not seriously wounded were able to return fire and call for helicopter gunship and medivac support.  River patrol escort PBR’s provided immediate fire support and security while the most seriously injured crew members were removed from the tug, placed on PBR’s, and moved to the river bank where a medivac “dust-off” was hovering.

 

US Army PBR (Patrol Boat, River), RVN

 

The Captain and Lieutenant took some of the less injured crew members to a hospital in Long Binh to have glass picked out of them and returned to the boat just before dark.  Krobert had to get back to Cat Lai and left Zeller with the boat.  That night’s supper, which had been started before the attack, was served that evening by the Vietnamese cook.  It was barbecued ribs – probably not the most appetizing of fare to be served on a blood-covered boat, but they were so hungry they ate it anyway.

 

Port side damage to wheelhouse door, March 19, 1970

About halfway through the meal a small tug came alongside and a crewman yelled over that the El Cid’s wheelhouse was on fire.  Since Zeller was the only one onboard at the time who wasn’t wounded – other than the cook – he ran topside.  He found a smoldering plastic-covered mattress from a bunk on top of the radio cabinet.  When the tug had been hit someone had apparently been sitting on the mattress and had dropped a cigarette on it.  Paul picked up the mattress and threw it over the side.  In the process of opening the fold in the mattress, however, blood, hair, teeth, and flesh came running out all over him.  The plastic had apparently kept the blood from congealing.

 

A few days after the incident, I volunteered to ride shotgun on a Jeep run to take mail to Mr. Cheshire at the 24th Evac Hospital in Long Binh.  I remember a large, open bay of wounded people, both Vietnamese and Americans, some moaning incoherently.  I made my way to Mr. Cheshire’s bed (he was at the end of the Quonset hut-like building, on the left hand side) and found him wrapped in bandages from head to toe, like a mummy from some Boris Karloff flick.  He couldn’t speak to me and simply shook his head ‘no’ when I quietly asked if he’d like me to read a couple of the letters to him.  I put the letters down next to his bed, patted him on the shoulder, wished him luck, left the bay, and never volunteered to make the hospital run again…

 

When I returned from Vietnam I still had about nine months left in my three-year enlistment.  I was assigned to Fort Story, Virginia, the Army’s amphibious base on the east coast.  The gate to Fort Story opened onto the main drag of Virginia Beach.  Not a bad duty station.  Some weeks after I had settled in, I was walking down one of the company streets when I noticed a familiar face.  It was Chief Warrant Officer Cheshire who had been seriously wounded on the Cid.  He recognized me but didn’t remember too much about my visit with him in Long Binh.  When I asked how he was doing he responded, “Well, other than about a pound of shrapnel still in me, I feel great!”  He looked good, but you could see a couple of fresh scars.  We wished each other luck and went our separate ways.  That was the last time I ever saw Mr. Cheshire.  I’m glad he made it.

 

William H. Edwards

Specialist 5th Class, US Army

5th Transportation Company (Heavy Boat)

159th Transportation Battalion

4th Transportation Command, 1st logistical Command

USARV

Vung Tau and Cat Lai, RVN

September ’69 – September ‘70

 

~

 

 

 

 

 

Postscript

The Unexpected Email

 

On August 3, 2009 I was absolutely floored by an email I received from a Vietnam vet who had read the article I had written on the ATAV website in 2008 entitled ST 2122 – The El Cid Incident.  The email was from a Robert Bogison.  Here’s what Bob had to say:

 

William:

 

I am Robert Bogison, formerly SP5, and on May 18, 1970 I was the NCOIC (Non-commissioned Officer In Charge) of three PBRs (Patrol Boat, River) assigned to the PBR Platoon, of B Company, 720th Military Police Battalion patrolling the Song Dong Nai River several miles south of Cogido near the Song Boung River.  At approximately 1100 hours, we heard several explosions and intense 50 caliber fire less than a mile away.  As we responded with two PBRs, we observed several river convoy escort PBRs raking 50 caliber machine gun fire into the east bank of the Song Dong Nai River just south of the Song Boung.  Simultaneous to this activity, I observed a medivac chopper attempting to set down on the north bank of the Song Buong River just east of the Dong Nai. 

 

I directed my boat to provide security for the dust-off.  Myself along with others moved four badly wounded men onto the medivac chopper.  For the past 39 years I have believed that all four men were killed.  I cannot identify the PBR units assigned to escort your tug convoy.

 

I have mistakenly believed that this was a US Navy tug boat and that the casualties comprised one Vietnamese and three US Navy personnel.  B Company (Bushwhackers) was comprised of three Ambush and Reconnaissance Platoons and one PBR Platoon which provided fire support for the ambush platoons.  This was not the kind of duty normally assigned to the Military Police Corps.  We were a first in its history to be assigned a TAOR (Tactical Area of Responsibility) which included 22 square miles south of Long Binh Post.  This ambush of the tug boat occurred just yards south of our TAOR.

 

Several years ago, I tried to find out some kind of documentation on this incident, but to no avail.  It was only when one of my guys emailed a picture of the hit on your tug boat, which revealed the number ST 2122,  that I was able to stumble on your detailed description of the incident that we responded to on May 18, 1970.  I must tell you that I am elated that three of the four survived the ordeal.

 

Attached are several photos taken within minutes of the ambush.  Hopefully you will be able to open them up.

 

Our Battalion has been assembling an operational time line of our mission from 1966 through 1971.  This was a major incident and all we have had are recollections and a few photographs.  Accuracy is important and your article fills in a lot of blanks.  I am respectfully requesting your permission to submit your article to the 720th Military Police Battalion Association, website 720mpreunion.org.  Naturally, if you should want to contact me, feel free to call me at my residence or email me.

 

Thanks for clearing up a lot of mystery.  I don’t think a day went by when I didn’t wonder about those guys.

 

Sincerely,

 

Robert Bogison

Class of July 69 – September 70

 

~ SEE BOB BOGISON’S PICTURES BELOW ~

 

~~~ 720th MP Battalion Reunion Association ~ Vietnam History Project ~~~

Photo G015: B Company, 720th MP Battalion, & 458th US Army Transportation Company PBR provided assistance and security to a Navy Tug that was ambushed on the Dong Nai River south of the Buong River on 18 May 1970. If anyone can provide any additional information, please use this Email Link. Courtesy of SP/5 Robert C. Bogison, B Company, 720th MP Battalion and 188th MP Company, 504th MP Battalion, July 1969 to September 1970.

 

The 720th MP historians have corrected their 39-year-old misunderstanding and now have correctly identified the tug as the US Army Tug ST 2122, the El Cid.  The photo was

blown up by both Bob Bogison and myself and we have identified features that positively identify the tug as the El Cid.

 

In recent conversations with Bob, he told me these photographs were taken minutes after the El Cid was ambushed at 1100 hours, May 18, 1970.

 

 

 

~~~ 720th MP Battalion Reunion Association ~ Vietnam History Project ~~~

Photo G0156-G0157: B Company, 720th MP Battalion, & 458th US Army Transportation Company PBR crewmen provided assistance loading casualties into a Dust Off helicopter. The casualties were crew from a Navy Tug that was ambushed on the Dong Nai River south of the Buong River on 18 May 1970. If anyone can provide any additional information, please use this Email Link. Courtesy of SP/5 Robert C. Bogison, B Company, 720th MP Battalion and 188th MP Company, 504th MP Battalion, July 1969 to September 1970.

 

Bob Bogison and the PBR crews assist in getting one of the 5th Heavy Boat wounded on the Medivac “dust-off” helicopter.  Bob is the one with the MP armband, lower right in both pictures.

 

My heart-felt thanks and gratitude to Bob Bogison and the 720th B Company “Bushwhackers” for providing critical help that day to my fellow 5th Heavy Boat soldier-sailors.