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Dong Ha 20 June 1968 Ammo Dump Hit

I spent 10 hours trapped in a grave with 3 other Marines. Artillery from North Vietnam hit the ammo dump at 1600 on 20 June 1968. Is anyone else out there? I was with Maintenance Company, Engineer Platoon, FLSG Bravo. A 2nd Lt and a volunteer crew rescued us about 8 or 10 hours later, I have connected with one other individual. If you are out ther, pop smoke.

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Comments

Larry Lockard - February 2, 2024

I was there army 1/44 Artillary Dusters we had just come back from Da nang on a convoy my first sergeant Morgan told me to get the tanker truck and go down to the river and get some water and fill the shower up and i got on top of the shower building then it started raining Rockets one hit real close and blew me off the shower building i hurt my back and cut my legs and arms pretty bad I didn’t get hit by shrapnel I guess it was the tin from the roof and splinters. Anyway i have a picture of the dump while it was blowing up it blew up 3 days or more im just glad nobody got killed.

Ed Cerday - January 26, 2024

Allen Funderburgh, Marine Montelones first name was Dominic. We lost him to Covid, actually more due to the poor medical treatment at VA in Hawaii. They wouldn’t give monoclonal antibodies until he was almost dead !
Yes, I was there with Dominic, 20 June 68, Dong Ha. We were perimeter guard for the dump. He was down at the tower, machine gun I think. Our bunkers were on top of an old railroad track.
My bunker was about three from the command bunker./tent.
I was standing that day outside the command tent.
It had been quiet. I wore only jungle trou and boots, my flak jacket was in my bunker when the first rounds hit. They were zeroed in on us. We just jumped in the bunker by the command tent. The bunker almost immediately took a hit, We came out, I grabbed a flak jacket going out, thick smoke already made it hard to see, I fell into a fighting hole by the bunker. Another marine fell on top of me. He had a sharpnel wound on top of his head. The fighting holes as you know are small, not much space. Tried to find bandage for him in one of the pouches hanging from the jacket, I pulled it out, it was an ammo clip ! I said damn, just what we need, more ammo, i dropped it and pressed on his head. My flak jacket rode up my side as I reached for him. Luckily there had been two clips in the pouch as a piece of shrapnel slammed into it. The dump was totally going in no time.
Several thousand tons of all types ordinance plus large fuel bladders was right beside us ! It was non-stop hell ! There is no way to describe those next several hours.
We were going to die, no one to fight just trying to breathe, guess if you were water boarded none stop never stopping the water, and
Slammed side to side with massive explosions, burned with sharpnel, trying to get it off you but can’t move more than a couple inches because inches about your head are thousands of different size buzz saws going non-spot ( shrapnel flying by ). You wait for the one that’s coming for you.
Anyway, hours later Lt Schribner came with a couple other marines in an APC. Rounds still going off just not as much . They came into hell to get us. I recall him hollering ‘ Marines lets go’ and we did. I know we ran over all types hot burning ammo on the way out but we made it . After having some shrapnel removed and some burns treated we were back at it within the week.

I left Nam Jan. 69, I didn’t want to come back to the states. I wanted to try and forget a lot of that crap while stationed in Okinawa for six months. Did damn good job of that until years later while I was setting in a dentist chair that feeling of being confined came back ! I left and have never gone back nor will I ! I awake all too often when I manage to sleep with dreams of being in some type of confined space.
Other than that, doing ok, not bitching but I am thankful for what I do have.
Hope anyone needing some help will reach out
There are programs that can help, and there advocates to help assist you.

I miss my friend Dominic

Semper Fi

Donald Stopa - October 23, 2023
just returned from the Rock pile, had some bad ordinance to return to the dump. I was with two others. Drivers name was Delgado don’t recall the others name. Delgado herd the pops of the rockets and pulled us into a trench. then all went downhill quickly. I was an ammo humper with the 1/40 service battery. and have video of this if interested. thanks
Robert A Pittenger - August 19, 2023

I was a Combat Engineer who had been reassigned to FLSG/B 3rd platoon, to replace L/Cpl Mike Bewert (Topeka, KS) who had been KIA at Dong Ha in the fuel compound on March 25, 1968. Many fuel bladders got punctured by explosions in the ammo berms. Most of the fuel platoon moved underground soon after.

Joe Herrera - January 30, 2023

My fireteam and I were there. Although I don’t remember how we got there from Phu Bai, we were on an LZ which was spitting distance from the ammo dump. A TV news crew had just finished interviewing all of us and was walking away, when the first explosion happened.

Allen Funderburgh - August 23, 2022

I was in the same flsg-b maintenance platoon. My friend was in the bunker that a grave that day and night montelone

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