 |
|
While this Rome Plow mows down elephant grass near
the Mang Giang Pass, a scout helicopter pilot,
background, takes a breather to check out his ship. |
|
|
 |
|
Drivers eye view through the steel protective cage
of a Rome plow belonging to the 538th Land Clearing
Company |
|
|
 |
|
Mine crater and broken track serve as constant
reminders of the hazards of land clearing in Mang
Giang Pass |
|
|
 |
| This Rome
plow operator goes about his business knowing he is
safe under the watchful eye of a 4th Infantry
Division APC, which provided the armored securtiy
for the Mang Giang Pass operation. |
|
| |
|
|
June
24, 1954, shortly after the fall of Dien Bien Phu, the French
Groupement Mobile 100 was ordered to evacuate the garrison at
An Khe. |
|
Before
dawn, supported by armor and mobile artillery, the task force
of over 300 battle-hardened elite troops comprised of French,
Cambodian and Vietnamese units struck out for Pleiku across 80
kilometers of Communist held road. The road was highway
QL-19. |
|
Mobile
Group 100 never reached Pleiku. A little after 2 p.m. the
lead elements of the convoy entered the small valley that
precedes the entrance of Mang Giang Pass. Waiting for them
was the Vietnamese People's Army Regiment 803 (Viet Minh).
Taking advantage of the six-foot high elephant grass growing
almost to the shoulders of the road, the attackers virtually
wiped out the entire task force in a matter of hours. |
|
Ten
years later an Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
ammunition convoy out of Quang-Ngai, bound for Pleiku entered
the same valley. The lead trucks were destroyed by land
mines, stopping the trailing vehicles. Before air support
could be called, the Viet Cong had severely damaged and
partially stripped the convoy. |
|
Until
recently, anyone who passed down QL-19 through the valley
found himself flanked by the same elephant grass, with its
grim history and ever present threat of ambush. |
|
The men
of the 538th Land Clearing Company, under the supervision of
the 299th engineer Battalion (Cbt), have recently changed all
that. Using Rome plows, giant bulldozers that cut a swath
through the jungle trees and under- growth, they have cleared
the vegetation away from the critical stretches of the highway
out to 300 meters on either side. |
|
The
dangers of such an operation are obvious. Enemy mines are a
constant threat. However the chances of ambushes are cut down
by the armor security provided by the 4th Infantry Division,
but there are no guarantees, especially at night. But from
now on, QL-19 will be a safer road for all Allied forces
Article submitted by Bobby Bunch |
|
|
|
|
|
| Rome
Plows of the 538th Landclearing Company, 299th Engr Bn (Cbt)
move to the "cut". the area surrounding Mang Giang Pass. |
