Dan Ward's Memories
Dan Ward's Memories
Welcome to the C Battery 5/4 Arty web site. My name is Dan Ward, and I live in
Johnson City, Tennessee. Do you remember me? I arrived in Vietnam on 4
September 1969, just after the big typhoon hit I Corp. The next week I
received my orders for 5/4 Arty. I flew into Dong Ha and hitched a ride to
Camp Red Devil. The Battalion C.O. told me to report to CPT. James Pittman,
the B.C. of C Battery at C-2 . I reported to CPT. Pittman at C-2, and he
assigned me to the FDC. For the next eight months I served as the AXO (Fire
Direction Officer) of C Battery. In the spring of 1970 CPT. Pittman left C
Battery after he was promoted to Major. CPT. John McKenna, who had been with
the CatKillers down at Phu Bai, became our new B.C. After 1Lt. Ed Segawa left
C Battery, I served as XO of C Battery until we returned to C-2 from a three
gun hip shoot out at FSB Vandergrift in late July, 1970. I then served as a
Battalion Asst. S-3 (Fire Direction Officer) at Camp Red Devil until my DEROS
on 3 September 1970.
Reading your correspondence and looking at your photographs brings back a lot
of memories to me. SFC Ira Royal was the Chief of Smoke of C Battery . He
became the 1st SGT after we left C Battery. Do you remember SFC Sefferino
Romero? He was the best MESS SGT I ever saw. None ate better than C Battery.
Were you on Gun 3 when we fired the 300,000 round? Do you remember the rocket
attack in April 1970 when the first rocket hit just outside the FDC bunker. The
next rocket came directly over Gun 4 and scored a direct hit on the new NCO/
Officer bunker that was under construction. I never did move into that bunker.
I remember SGT Eldon Redfish. Do you remember any of the men who worked with me
in the FDC? SP4 Dewitt Allen from California; SP4 Leon Jackson from Utah; SP4
Bruce Kaufman from Illinois; SP5 Gene Selk from Nebraska; SP4 Nick Wyckoff from
California; SP4 Mike Lockett from Illinois. Were you on one of the three guns
that went out to Ca Lu in May 1970? We were ambushed near the Rockpile coming
back to C-2 on Highway 9. SP4 Mike Lockett jumped out of our FDC M577 track
to check for wounded men on the guns. I didn’t know what happened to him until
we got back to C-2 and I saw him get off one of the guns. It is getting late
so I will stop.
Again welcome to the C Battery 5/4 Arty web site.
Sincerely,
Dan Ward
danward-tn@att.net