I
was off-duty in a bunk at the time of the attack and the strangest
thing happened. We all got up and knew something was
wrong--even though the explosions had not occurred and "Giant
Voice" wasn't even activated. Then all hell broke loose. We
heard explosions and saw a giant fire ball. Since all the security
vehicles were in use we grabbed weapons from the conex box setup
for that purpose and boarded a bus. I thought at the time how ironic
it was to be going into a possible fire fight by the school bus
and Air Force blue. We ended up in the base dump as a blocking
force and you know our mamasans let us know about the smell the
next day. I did not hear that the airman on duty in the pump house
ran out of it during the first explosion and right into a VC carrying
a satchel charge. Not having a weapon he exercised the better part
of valor and ran back into the pump house followed by a satchel
charge. It was a stroke of luck he was not killed. But the exception
of one airman, the POL tanks themselves, the news service reporting
that the base had been overrun (scaring the hell out of loved ones)
we all came out "Smelling Like A Rose".
