THE DAY THE CRAP WENT UP IN FLAMES
By Gary Graves, HM3

The story is based on his experience as a Hospital Corpsman in Vietnam while on duty with Bravo Co., 1st Recon Bn, 1st Marine Div.


As any war time veteran has a war story, so do I. I just don’t know how to start this story so it’s going to be right off the top of my head. I thought this would be a good war story for Veteran’s Day so I decided to tell this true war story.

First let me set the background. Vietnam, hot, humid, with a less than a platoon of marines on a mountain top refer to us as Hill 200 observation post (OP). There were several bunkers that were connected by a trench and the bunkers and trench formed a circle around the crown of the hill. From the trench line to the perimeter wire was about 25 yards.


As many Vietnam veterans knows there were no privacy when going to the toilet, which was often call the “head” by the Sailors/Marines and the latrine by the Army, but was often referred to in Vietnam as the “shitter”. The head/latrine, back in the secure area, was an enclosure with 4 holes inside with a 55-gal drums that was cut in half and these drums slid in and out from underneath the seat. Fuel oil was kept in the drums so the excrement could be burned during the day. Not a pleasant job for a marine private, but also was contracted out to the locals in secure areas.


Now to my war story on Hill 200. As the Hospital Corpsman it was my responsibility to see to the Marine’s hygiene, which included seeing that the latrine was burned on a daily basis. The shitter was a barrel that was cut off, just high enough to sit on, with a piece of plywood laid on top with a hole cut into the plywood. This barrel was located just inside the perimeter wire and was not enclosed. So, when you took a dump you did your job in front of God and the rest of the Marines on the OP., I always had this terrible thought when I took a dump. I was shot by a sniper while sitting on the shitter and a letter was sent home to my parents and it read, “Your son was killed with his paints down while sitting on the shitter.”


Well on this particular day I thought I would take care of the latrine (shitter to some folks) and burn the excrement myself. I asked the LT where the fuel oil was located and he replies that the fuel oil was gone. All the fuel oil was used the day before. I when on to explain to him the latrine needed to be burned. The LT says to me, “since the fuel oil was gone there might be an ammo can with some napalm”. For those that done know what napalm is, it’s a thickening/gelling gasoline, very flammable. I told myself, “what the hell, the shitter needs to get cleaned out and burned”. I walked down to the shitter and kicked the plywood seat off. As I looked with steadily and intently gaze, I began to wonder why did I volunteered to do this job.

A quick thought ran across my mind as I gazed into the barrel “Jesus, what has these marines being eating”.

I took the ammo can and begin to pour the napalm into the barrel, which the barrel also contains some residual fuel oil from the last clean-out. As I poured the napalm into the barrel I begin to wonder if I was going to have enough napalm to the job. So, what the hell, I dump the hold ammo can of the mixture into the barrel. I knew from experience that I dare not stand next to the barrel and light a match. So, I went into the ammo bunker and found a flare grenade, which had a delay fuse of about 3-4 seconds. I stood at the trench line, which was a good 10 yards away from the barrel; I pulled the pin and tossed the flare into the barrel. I was really impressed myself. With all those years of basketball in high school the flare went into the barrel. It was all net, 2 points.

The flare grenade went off and do I need to explain what happen next. It was pure jet engine afterburner. The barrel didn't even move. Flames shot straight up into the air along with all the crap. Crap was everywhere. I went to inspect the barrel and it was nice and clean and shiny.

I thought to myself that this is the cleanest shitter in Vietnam. I thought only a jarhead was capable of doing stupid stuff, but I found out this corpsman was also capable of doing stupid stuff.

Doc Gary Graves

Hill 200

Great Story

Doc

Comments

Mark Curtis
Funny story Doc! I wasn’t on the hill when you did that, but heard about it. Sorry I didn’t see it. Teddy Bear!!

Michael L Bennett
Thanks for sounding off, Doc. You gave this old Marine a good laugh. That made me think of The Phantom Shitter Burner. In late '68 or early '69 there was someone who about once a month, in the dead of night would set an incendiary to a random shitter in the battalion area. The guy was never caught but I'm told that comparing when it stopped against a list of guys rotating out that the brass had a pretty good idea of who it was. He must have burned 7 or 8 shitters. I was with 1st Force and we'd just came back from Phu Bai when it started. There was a lot of talk that the Phantom was one of us and who knows, maybe he was.

Jim Pearston
Gary, I was Senior Corpsman of Bravo from May to July 1970. When did your experience happen?

Gary Graves
Jim Pearston don't remember the month, but I left oct 1969

Jim Pearston
Gary Graves I left in July to go to Med Bn, after 6 months with Charlie Co, and 3 months with Brock. When I went to Bravo as Senior Corpsman, I found out we were short of Corpsmen, and I instituted policy where as soon as a Corpsman came off patrol, you cleaned up, geared up, and went out with the next deploying team, the following day. Do you remember anything like that?

Gary Graves
Jim Pearston when I first arrived oct 68 the corpsman were signed to a hootch. Soon afterward they put us all together in together and we started rotating between patrols. If I remember I would spend two- three days. Most cases back out on the third day. The CO of bravo company at the time was Little

Gary Graves
Jim Pearston I did a year wi bravo co.

Jim Pearston
Gary Graves Sounds like you were long gone by the time I got there. Glad you make it.
 
Doug Wolfe
Doc before your time, but Frank Beltran did get killed on the shitter on 200.

Duane D. Massey
Good fertilizer finds its way even in Vietnam.....

Denny Eller
I am very familiar with said shitter and used it on every trip to Hill 200. I have a picture of our LT. sitting atop it, threatening me with horrible punishment if I snapped that picture. I thought to myself, "what can he do? Cut off my hair and send me to Nam?". The camera went click and I have preserved that moment for more than 50 years.

Denny Eller
Denny, this is Sgt. Lee Castañeda. The email address I have for you isn’t any good. Send me your email and phone number. Here’s mine:
rlc4154@hotmail.com


Doc Graves,
After you left country, our Platoon, (1st) the Moon Platoon, (69-70) in Bravo Co., went down to the Air Force compound in Da Nang and took a “Water Buffalo” out of their inventory. We repainted the USAF with USMC and started getting it ,
 airlifted and delivered to hill 200 as needed. We towed the Water Buffalo with a Jeep and towed it up the hill to Reasoner, with the Jeep’s front wheels off the ground. It saved everyone from having to carry those heavy 10 gallon water containers up hill 200 from the LZ.

Denny Eller
I stole it with the jeep and another guy I can't remember for sure. It could have been the company driver, Shoene (Shaney) or however it was spelled.

Cpl Beltran #2361853
MOS:0311 Rifleman.

Frank was born in Rochester and lived there all of his life.
He attended McQuaid Jesuit High School and graduated from East Rochester High School with the Class of 1967. He was a choir boy at Saint Jerome's Church.
After graduation Frank enlisted in the Marines July 1967, at the Buffalo Recruiting Office.

He was a member of Platoon 2002 at the Parris Island MCRD.
Frank arrived in Vietnam 1 January 1968 and was assigned to Bravo Company,1st Recon
Battalion,1st Marine Division,where he was assigned to helicopter patrol reconnaissance.

He died of fragmentation wounds to the head and body from an accidental explosion of a
Claymore Mine at Hill 425, 10 kilometers southeast of Liberty Bridge.

Frank was single and served his country for 1 year and 13 days and was KIA #31,425.
He had been in Vietnam for 7 months and 13 days.

Frank was 20 years and 3 months old. He was buried 26 August 1968.

Survived by his mother; Mary Beltran, 3 sisters; Margaret, Michele and Julie (his twin sister) and 3 brothers; Ralph, Ricardo and Roberto of 110 Garfield St, East Rochester, NY.

His married sisters; Delores Gallo of Ontario and Mary Kay Peck of Livonia.

His father,Roberto Beltran died in 1950.