Little story
.101st Airborne 2/327 Charlie company 4th platoon/ (no-slack)1967-68
A 17 in basic training, we were trailing in 2nd place to God only knows how many training battalions. I had already qualified as a sharpshooter, but the sergeant came back to me and asked if I thought I could shoot “expert” given a chance again; he told me whatever I shoot that would be my final score; I remember smiling at him telling him I had only missed by one shot. If my memory is correct, 72 was a perfect score and 70 and above “was” expert; I hit 70, and everyone’s company was congratulated me, my first real accomplishment as an individual in the Army. We thought we had won, but after all the counting, we were tied; the company commander told the sergeant to pick 3 of his best shooters to go against their three best; he didn’t choose me, I was upset, but everyone in the company wanted me to be the one, that made me feel good. With two shooters from each company, everything was tied; their last shooter shot a 69, and now it was up to ours to win, secure, or lose. With all the marbles on the table and in his hands, our shooter decided he was too sick to be the man; they called me up to the front to shoot, with thundering applause from my fellow soldiers. There were four targets left. I was at 68, the target popped up, and I fired; the next one popped up, fired again, the win, missed the next two. Not even 18 and have already gotten glory amongst men.
Some men are meant for the M-60; I was one of them. I arrived at Hq co 1/325 82 airborne my company about 2 o’clock Friday; I hadn’t even unloaded my duffel bag when a sergeant screamed for everyone to be ready for a night jump C-141at 1800 hours. I get nervous and ask, hey! I just got here; I have only had five jumps from a C-119 and no jumps in a C-141. My foot was still swollen from my first jump at Fort Benning. The sergeant laughed nothing to it, don’t worry. I discovered that, unlike a C-119, where you jump past the propeller blast, in a C-141, you step out and fall; I got nervous and jumped into the jet stream the helmet hit the side of the plane. ( i was not able to jump for months after this jump with my foot)Now back to the M-60/machine gun. A few days after arrival, I was on a list to qualify for the M-60. I had never pulled the trigger on one or held one up to my shoulder, but when I did, it felt like I had been born with one and was a qualified expert, the only one to do it in the battalion.
Vietnam m-60,
If you have never been in combat, the firing of the machine guns is a site to see and hear; as a gunner, you can’t hide behind anything; you are in the open, and your only protection is guts and firepower. Numerous times, two or more machine guns on opposite sides are going after each other as a two-person show; I won all of those encounters, but many bullets hit my M-60; their tracers were inches away, so I was blessed and lucky.
Note:
Not all men are created equal, not all men want to take chances in life, money doesn’t equal happiness or fulfillment, I believe when life is coming to an end,that when you look back, you have few regrets.
richardwboyanton 