M102 105mm Howitzer: Battle for Quảng Trị

Source: The Associated Press

     On March 30, 1972, the Chiến dịch Xuân Hè 1972 (1972 Spring - Summer Offensive), better known as the Easter Offensive, was launched by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) supported by Việt Cộng forces. In the attack, the PAVN took the city of Quảng Trị as well as Quảng Trị Province along with a portion of Thừa Thiên Province. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), while initially thrown back, dug in along the My Chanh River north of Huế and halted the PAVN advance with the assistance of U.S. air support. On June 14, 1972, I Corps commander Lieutenant-General Ngô Quang Trưởng commenced planning to retake Quảng Trị Province with a combined U.S. and ARVN mission called Operation Lam Son 72.

     On June 27, 1972, the U.S. 9th. Marine Amphibious Brigade launched a feint assault along the Cua Việt River but on the ground, RVN Marine and RVN Airborne forces met stiff resistance from PAVN troops as they moved northwest of the Thạch Hãn River. To assist, on June 28, U.S. Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 164 (HMM-164; the “Death Riders”) and HMM-165 (the “White Knights”) airlifted the 1st. and 4th. RVN Marine Battalions behind PAVN positions. After further fighting, both the Marine and Airborne forces reached the outskirts of Quảng Trị on July 7. The defenders within the city were not the cream of the PAVN crop and instead, were relatively untrained replacement soldiers and militiamen. This was because the PAVN 304th. Division and 308th. Division had pulled their more experienced fighters out of Quảng Trị to protect them from U.S. air power. Despite this, PAVN forces in the city had artillery support, terrain advantage, and had well prepared positions to the point that ARVN attacks against the city met with stiff resistance. On July 11, U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52 bombers bombarded the city and in an effort to cut off the PAVN supply line, HMM-164 and HMM-165 were again called in to drop the RVN 1st. Marine Division north of the city. It was costly as three helicopters were downed with another 25 receiving various amounts of damage from viscous anti-aircraft fire. After three days of brutal combat against the PAVN 48th. Regiment of the 320th. Division (the Đồng Bằng Division or Delta Division), the regiment was forced to retreat. By July 20, the Marines had consolidated their positions while the RVN Airborne forces continued to penetrate into Quảng Trị. Two days later, the 5th. Marine Battalion was airlifted by HMM-164 to interdict PAVN supply lines near the Cua Việt River and combined with two additional Marine battalions, including tanks, managed to defeat PAVN forces in the area after two days of fighting. By July 27, it was the RVN Marines assaulting the city after relieving the diminished RVN Airborne troops and for weeks, combat raged in bitter house-to-house fighting. On September 9, 1972, the 147th. Marine Brigade and the 258th. Marine Brigade pushed on the heavily defended city center which finally fell on September 15. The brutal combat cost ARVN forces 3,658 dead with 20 U.S. servicemen killed while it is estimated PAVN losses were at least 10,000 killed. In support of the RVN troops, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy (flying from five aircraft carriers) flew 5,461 close air support sorties while the U.S. Air Force launched 2,054 B-52 bomber sorties.

     The Associated Press photograph shown here was taken on July 10, 1972 and shows a RVN Airborne artilleryman manning a U.S. built M102 105mm howitzer. The location was a firebase situated near La Vang which was 3 miles south of Quảng Trị. The M102 was a lightweight (1.5 tons) howitzer whose design commenced in 1962 with the first examples entering service in 1966 to replace the World War Two era M101A1 howitzers. The gun used a box trail that had a platform beneath the gun that when in place and the wheels raised, allowed the gun to be traversed a full 360 degrees. Gun depression was a maximum of 5 degrees with a maximum elevation of 75 degrees. Recoil was via a hydro-pneumatic system and the gun used a vertical sliding-wedge breech. The standard high-explosive shell weighed 33lbs. and with the maximum powder charge, the range was 7.1 miles. With a rocket-assisted shell, the range was increased to 9.4 miles. Today, the M102 is no longer used by the U.S. Army, having been replaced by the M119 though it still exists in some U.S. National Guard inventories. It is also still used by the U.S. Marine Corps but usually only for ceremonial duties. The U.S. Air Force continues to use the M102 in the Lockheed AC-130J Ghostrider gunship. Outside of the U.S., a handful of operators still use the M102 with the largest user being Jordan that maintains 50 guns on inventory.

The Colt 40mm XM148: The First Service Under-Barrel Grenade Launcher

(Associated Press)

     Taken by Associated Press photographer Đặng Vạn Phước on February 26, 1968, a U.S. Marine patrols through the urban terrain that made up the city of Huế during the Battle of Huế which raged from January 31, 1968 to March 2, 1968. The battle was one of the biggest engagements of the Tết Offensive that had been launched by both the Quân đội Nhân dân Việt Nam (People's Army of Vietnam; PAVN) and the Việt Cộng on January 31, 1968. While the Battle of Huế ended in victory for U.S. and South Vietnamese forces and spelled decline of the Việt Cộng as a fighting force, the battle was the longest single combat of the war and also the costliest in terms of the lives of troops as well as civilians. In addition, the Battle of Huế and the Tết Offensive as a whole was one of the pivotal moments of the Vietnam conflict which majorly swayed public opinion against the war. In part, this was due to military officials having reported the Việt Cộng menace as being well under control. The reporting by public media on the Tết Offensive clearly showed that the Việt Cộng and their allies were still well able to attack in large numbers and inflict significant casualties which were displayed across television screens and print media.

     Returning to the Marine, he likely belonged to either 1st. Battalion, 1st. Marine Regiment or  2nd. Battalion, 5th. Marine Regiment, both of which were heavily involved in the street combat within Huế. The photograph is of interest because of what can be seen underneath the barrel of his Colt M16A1 5.56mm assault rifle: the short lived Colt XM148 40mm grenade launcher.

     Called the CGL-4 and designed by Karl R. Lewis for Colt (development having commenced in 1964), the intent was to replace the M79 40mm grenade launcher which was similar to a squat shotgun as it used a break-open breech for loading the grenade. But for the grenadier, it meant not only did he have to carry his M16 rifle (some grenadiers only carried a pistol sidearm instead of a heavier rifle), but he also had to carry the M79 which added to his burden in the field. The XM148 was designed to integrate the grenade launcher with the rifle and thus eliminate the need for the grenadier to carry two separate weapons. The CGL-4 was accepted by the U.S. Army following a competition and in July 1966, Colt received an order for a little over 20,000 XM148 grenade launchers with the first deliveries to be completed and received in South Vietnam for issue by December 1966. By the summer of 1967, the order had been delivered in full.

     The XM148 was connected to the M16A1 by way of a special handguard that replaced the standard M16 handguard of the rifle. To load, the grenadier pushed the barrel forward by depressing a button on the back of the grip (seen here held by the Marine's left hand) and tilting the grip forward to release it from the catch. Once the single 40mm round was loaded, the grenadier then pulled the barrel back to the closed position using the grip until it locked on the catch. The launcher was cocked by pulling back on a lever (hidden in shadow in the photograph) on the rear of the breech. The trigger for the XM148 was interesting in that it extended past the magazine well. This allowed the grenadier to fire the launcher without taking his hand off the rifle's pistol grip. The trigger can be easily seen in the picture. Not visible is the launcher's sight which was fitted to the left side of the weapon. This was an adjustable, articulated sight with a front post that had a maximum graduation of 400 yards. Also on the left side of the XM148 was a safety lever. All told, the XM148 had a weight of 3.1 pounds (compared to 6.5 pounds of the M79) and was 1.4 feet long. With a muzzle velocity of 244 feet per second, the effective range of the XM148 was 400 yards.

     Unfortunately for the U.S. military, the XM148 did not perform well in the South Vietnam theater of operations. The launcher was relatively complex and had numerous small components that had a bad habit of getting lost when soldiers serviced the weapon in the field. Another major problem was the extended trigger. As it was exposed, the launcher's trigger was subject to accidental discharges either by the soldier himself or the weapon getting caught on foliage or the soldier's own equipment. Despite the trigger having between a 6 to 11 pound trigger pull, in the heat of battle, this could easily be overcome. Another complaint by troops was the 30 pound trigger pull of the cocking lever as well as the sight that protruded from the left side was also prone to getting caught on equipment and branches. 

     By May of 1967, the XM148 was declared by the U.S. Army to be unsuitable for field use but some lingered on in front-line service (mainly with special forces) until it was replaced by the 40mm M203 under-barrel grenade launcher in 1969. Besides U.S. Marines using the XM148 in limited numbers, the U.S. Air Force Security Forces also utilized it as well as the Australian Special Air Service Regiment. Amazingly, the U.S. Air Force continued to use the XM148 for training purposes through the 1980s with the last XM148 launchers finally disappearing from military use in the early 1990s.

Primary Source:

Owen, J.I.H. Brassey's Infantry Weapons of the World (New York: Bonanza Books, 1979)

 

Virginia E. "Ginny" Kirsch: Justice Still Not Received

     Virginia E. Kirsch, best known by her nickname Ginny, graduated from Brookfield High School in Brookfield Township, Ohio in 1966. That same year, Kirsch enrolled in Miami of Ohio college in Oxford, Ohio where she joined the Alpha Chi Omega sorority and became a cheerleader. A good student, Kirsch graduated in 1970 at the age of 21 but rather than enter into the workforce, she decided to join the American Red Cross (ARC) and chose to serve in the ARC's Supplemental Recreational Activities Overseas (SRAO) program. Women in the SRAO program were known by U.S. troops as Donut Dollies.

     The SRAO program traced its roots back to the ARC's Clubmobile Service which began in late 1942. A clubmobile was a converted bus or GMC truck that contained a doughnut maker and primus stove with the kitchen side of the bus opening outward for serving food and drinks. In the rear of the clubmobile was a lounge with bench seating (that doubled as beds), a Victrola record player, speakers, a record collection, books, snacks (such as candy and gum), and cigarettes. Each clubmobile had a British driver and was manned by three ARC women. By June 1944, some 100 clubmobiles were in the European theater following the invasion and traveled within the rear area of each U.S. Army Corps. Clubmobiles remained in service until 1946. The SRAO program itself began in 1953. While the ARC had clubs within Korea during the war, they were not mobile which meant soldiers in posts outside of divisional and corps areas could not partake of the clubs that troops in those areas enjoyed. Following the armistice in July 1953, the SRAO revived clubmobiles with the first clubmobile arriving in South Korea on October 3, 1953 and commencing operations near Inchon as part of ASCOM (Army Support Command) though the majority of SRAO operations finally wound down by 1960 although some services remained open. In May 1965, the U.S. Army officially called on the ARC to provide recreational support to U.S. forces in Vietnam as, at that time, only two USO clubs were operating (one in Saigon, the other in Danang) and the U.S. Army's Special Services (sports, film exchange, and mobile library) were mainly confined to the Saigon region. By September 1965, the first clubmobile was set up in Danang, a second operating at Bien Hoa by October 1965, and a third clubmobile unit in Nha Trang by December 1965. As more U.S. troops poured into Vietnam, the SRAO stood up more and more clubmobile operations to support them. By the time 1970 came, the women had to contend with poor morale in the men they served and not only did they have to maintain their own cheerfulness in order to help improve the mood of the soldiers they interacted with, but also to keep up their own morale.

     After receiving her training, Kirsch was deployed to Vietnam for her one year hitch, arriving in-country on August 2, 1970. Her clubmobile unit was based at Cu Chi, the home of the 25th. Infantry Division. Cu Chi was sixteen miles to the northwest of Saigon. Kirsch quickly took to her mission and adjusted to the environmental conditions of the region, to include enemy fire. Kirsch and her fellow Donut Dollies often flew in helicopters to firebases and outposts which the clubmobiles couldn't reach, bringing with them refreshments, doughnuts, recreational materials, and their smiling selves to lift up the spirits of the men manning those posts. Except, it wouldn't be enemy fire that took Kirsch's life on August 16, 1970.

     At 1:45am, Kirsch retired to her room. At 3:30am, one of the other women in the billet had been unable to sleep and was washing dishes when she heard a commotion. As she went down a hall to investigate, a man in civilian clothes exited Kirsch's room, ran past her and out the door behind her. The woman looked into Kirsch's room and found Kirsch dead, covered in blood, a knife on the floor near her. Military Police (MP) and U.S. Army medics soon arrived and while the medics fought to save Kirsch's life, she was pronounced dead at the base's hospital, the cause of death being hemorrhage caused by the multiple stab wounds. MPs, had, in fact, seen the man running from the billet at 3:40am but could not catch him. The MPs locked Cu Chi down and the ARC evacuated all of their women personnel from the base. Two suspects were questioned. One was caught with property stolen from one of the ARC women though he denied killing Kirsch. The other suspect claimed that, while under the influence of heroin, he stabbed someone in a dark room and with this confession, the soldier was charged on November 6, 1970 with unpremeditated murder under the USMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) and was shipped back to the United States to stand trial. Unfortunately, the case was dismissed in 1971 for insufficient evidence as the man could not be identified in a line-up by one of the eyewitnesses.

     The first suspect was investigated by military authorities for larceny for the stolen property but nothing came of these charges as the man was declared unfit for duty (mental disability) and was discharged from the U.S. Army. Returned to his home state of Wisconsin, the man was charged with murder of another man and while in custody, confessed to having killed Kirsch. The U.S. Army CIC (Criminal Investigation Command) sent an agent to Wisconsin and took a statement from the man on June 22, 1972. However, on September 6, 1972, the authorities holding the man were informed the U.S. Army had already closed the Kirsch case as the man had been discharged. The man was eventually found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity and was committed to a mental institution. To this day, Virginia Kirsch has not received any justice for her murder.

     The photograph shows Kirsch (on the left as you look at the picture) and a fellow Donut Dolly on a M48 Patton main battle tank, likely belonging to the 1st. Battalion, 69th. Armor which was under the 25th. Infantry Division. She is wearing the usual ARC in-country uniform which consisted of a pale blue short-sleeved dress. On her left collar is a red enameled cross while on the right would be a pin with the letters A.R.C. There does seem to be something above the A.R.C. pin but what it is cannot be determined. On the left sleeve of the dress is the round ARC patch which was white with a red border, a centered red cross with American Red Cross in red around it. On Kirsch's right sleeve is the “Tropic Lightning” unit patch of the 25th. Infantry Division. The name plate was standard U.S. Army, being black with the last name in white with a white border. Footwear was typically sneakers, tennis shoes, or in some cases, casual loafers. Kirsch's companion is wearing the ARC boonie hat, also in pale blue to match the uniform. The dress uniform was a pale blue two-pocket, button-down blouse and skirt, black low-heeled pumps, and a pale blue cap.