Vietnam-era gun trucks hold special meaning for MTMCer.

Whenever Paul Gardiner walks by the U.S. Fort Army Transportation Museum, Fort Eustis, Va., he gives it a special glance.

Among an array of trains, planes and vehicles parked outside the building is a Vietnam-Era gun truck. The "Eve of Destruction," is the last of some 300 to 400 trucks, upgraded with armor and heavy weapons, used to protect convoys during the Vietnam War.

Gardiner remembers the gun trucks well from when he was an Army captain in 1970 and 1971, leading the 24th Transportation Co., Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam.

"We had several gun trucks in the battalion," said Gardiner. "We'd request them when we needed them.

"They were a true Army innovation, required to save lives."

Early American convoys in Vietnam had modest security, although heavy vegetation that ran along most roads in Vietnam invited ambushes. In 1967, ambushes prompted the Army to take action. The first gun trucks, from the 8th Transportation Group at Qui Nhon, were two-and-a-half-ton trucks, with sand bags lining the floor and sides, and two M-60 machine guns mounted on top of the truck cab.

"I never saw a gun truck in action--luckily," said Gardiner. "I sure knew of their effectiveness. I remember being in the battalion operations center one afternoon and heating radio messages about a particular ambush at Buon Me Thuot.

"A single gun truck went into action and fired 5,000 rounds in a minute; that ended the ambush. The fire power was overwhelming."

To carry the heavy armor and heavier weapon systems, the Army soon switched to five-ton trucks, and upgraded the firepower to .50-cal machine guns and mini-cannons, which were capable of firing thousands of rounds per minute. With such an armament, the crews gave their vehicles such nicknames as "The Untouchable," "Satisfaction," "Outlaw," and "Pandemonium." Among the missions, the gun trucks escorted Army Transportation Corps convoys of ammunition and supplies from coastal ports, such as Qui Nhon and Cam Ranh Bay, to various inland locations, such as Bong Son, An Khe, Pleiku, Da Lat and Buon Me Thuot.

Probably the most authoritative source for information, pictures, crew lists and historical narrative of the Vietnam-era gun trucks may be found in The Hard Ride: Vietnam Gun Trucks, by James Lyles, a former gun truck commander. The book was published this year by Gallant Warrior Press, Planet Art Publishing.

The lore of the gun trucks also lives on in the Army Transportation Association Vietnam and its 500 members. Information is available at 7090 Summit Wood Drive, Kennesaw, Ga., 30152, and Web site: http://academic.uofs.edu/faculty/gramborw/atav.

Association members include William Parker, who was a vehicle mechanic at Qui Nhon in 1972. In 2000, after a lapse of 28 years, Williams built an exact replica of "The Untouchable," the gun truck in which he served--which he displays at military-related events.

The reason?

"He doesn't want the public ever to forget what a gun truck was like," said Gardiner.

Parker may be contacted at: redcatcher @prodigy.net.

"The gun track was a tree field expedient," said Gardiner. "It's an American legacy that should not be forgotten. It stands to be lost if something is not written."

Gardiner has written such an article. Recently, he was notified the article was selected for publication in Army Logistician and the Defense Transportation Journal of the National Defense Transportation Association.

By Mike Bellafaire
Command Historian
MTMC Headquarters Alexandria