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Fire Support Base Salem |
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FSB Salem was home to the six 105mm howitzers of B Battery, 3/319th Artillery, 173rd Airborne Brigade. Two Dusters from the 4/60th provided perimeter defense for the firebase. |
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Our hootch was built with ammunition boxes filled with dirt and re-enforced with sandbags. We slept on folding metal cots under poncho liners, and had sporadic electricity for lighting. |
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Our primary responsibility was perimeter defense. The tower on top of the hootch was always manned during darkness, with one of our team watching the perimeter wire until dawn. We rotated the duty in 2-3 hour shifts. |
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Our two Dusters were positioned at opposite corners of the firebase. Each provided a 270 degree field of fire that covered the entire perimeter. |
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Our crew also was responsible for patroling outside the perimeter wire to look for evidence of enemy reconnaissance or incursion attempts. That's me in the middle, with my dog Dai Uy (The Vietnamese word for Captain) |
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Here's Dai Uy giving me instructions on how to drive our 49,000 pound Duster. There were many dogs living on firebases; all were mongrels, free spirits, and made good companions. |
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"Satan's Child" had a crew of six - a gunner, an assistant gunner, two ammunition loaders, a driver, and a crew chief. |
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The two loaders fed clips of 40mm ammunition into the guns from the top as the guns were firing. This was a difficult and dangerous job especially when we were taking incoming fire. |
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FSB Salem was a semi-permanent installation which provided a mess hall for hot meals, electricity from a gas generator, and a supply of running water. I would come to appreciate those luxuries as our team was relocated to support new infantry/artillery operations in the An Loa Valley. |