Friendly Fire

Errors or Inaccuracy

I was the radio guy with the Blues of Charlie Troop I/9th. It was a typical recon mission searching for the enemy. All was quiet then sniper fire began. Our platoon leader grabbed my radio to contact our helicopter gunships circling high above. He called for a gun run (minigun and rockets) as tight to our position as possible which we marked with smoke.

Suddenly, bamboo was flying everywhere with explosions all around us. I looked up and saw the gunship pulling out of a gun run which was right on top of us. We were very fortunate this time with just a few minor injuries.

Limited visibility in a tropical jungle makes identification of a target very difficult.

As many as 8,000 friendly fire incidents may have occurred in the Vietnam War. Nobody knows for sure. No one was keeping count. Not all events were reported or even recognized as friendly fire, and the military did not want this to get out.