MSG Holt returned....

[RetPara]

While a SFC at Lang Vei SFC Holt was given credit with a number of tank kills when the SF Camp was over-run. He was last seen going to ammo bunker to find some LAWs after he ran out of RR rounds.

The Lang Vei site has actually been excavated (by JPRC) looking for the remains of Holt and others MIA from the fight. I know for a fact a friend was on a patrol out of Khe Sanh a couple of months after the battle and found the destroyed jeep and two US KIA (names elude me).

I wonder if anyone has any details on the discovery of SFC Holt's remains.

 

[CDG]

Welcome Home SFC Holt. RIP.

 

[Grunt]

Welcome back, SFC Holt!

Rest In Peace, Warrior!

 

[Gunz]

Welcome Home, Warrior.

There are a couple of paragraphs in Robert Pisor's End of the Line regarding SFC Holt and his exploits that night. He was the Senior SF Medic at Lang Vei. He killed two of the tanks with the 106 and hit a third. Then fired flechette rounds at running NVA. He ran to get more ammo and was never seen again.

An interesting battle in many ways. Not only because of the tanks and the gutsy heroics on the part of the defenders, but there were female NVA soldiers armed with M16s among the attackers. IMO it also stands as an indictment of the M72 LAAW, a weapon I thought was an undependable POS even before a spontaneous detonation killed two men in my company.

"Colonel Schungel [Lt Col Daniel Schungel, CO of Special Forces in I Corps] knelt in the middle of the camp, with green tracers from enemy machine guns criss-crossing the ground in front of him, and widly swinging parachute flares overhead, and fired a LAW at the lead tank. The shell hit in a great shower of orange sparks, but the tank kept rolling. He moved closer with another LAW, but this time the disposable launcher refused to fire. Now he was close enough to roll hand grenades under the tank treads, and to fire his rifle into the eyeslits. The tank kept rolling. Another team hit one North Vietnamese tank nine times with the shoulder-fired LAW rockets, and the tank kept rolling." -- Robert Pisor

Again, Welcome Home SFC Holt, who can now, finally, Rest in Peace.

 

[RetPara]

I still play WinSPMBT. It contains a Lang Vei scenario. I haven't played it for a while; it makes the Koybishu Maru (Star Trek) look easy (before Kirk puts in the cheats).

Gonna have to revisit that one again...... Even did some modifications to the friendly OB last time.... didn't really help....

 

[x SF med]

Welcome home, Brother, may you rest easy.

 

[Viper1]

Welcome home SFC Holt. Rest in Peace.

 

[Red Flag 1]

Welcome home warrior. Rest In God's Own Peace, SFC Holt.

 

[Totentanz]

Welcome home. The PR mission should never lose the gravity we currently give it.

 

[Teufel]

I used to work for JPAC doing underwater recoveries. I can ask around and see who handled the SFC Holt case. What did you want to know?

 

[RackMaster]

Welcome home.

 

[RetPara]

I was wondering where they found the remains. It's was thought (by more than a few) that he had basically been 'vaporized' when the ammo bunker he was headed to took a direct hit from a NVA rocket; like a B9(?) or 120mm. Now it would seem that he may not of made it to the ammo bunker at all. In Nam and the South Pacific it seemed just really easy for a person to disappear because of the terrain.

 

[Centermass]

Welcome home Sergeant Holt to your proper resting place.

~S~

 

[BloodStripe]

Welcome home. May you rest easy.