Bong Son— Three enlisted men, all with the counter-mortar radar unit
supporting the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry, stopped a North Vietnamese Army
mortar attack on the battalion’s fire support base after 140 rounds and a
hectic night.
Their fire base was mortared three times during the night and it was the
job of Sergeant Allan Carswell (Detroit), Specialist 4 Ernest M. Correia
(Boston), and Specialist 4 John D. Sutherland (Radford, Va.) to plot the enemy
mortar positions and direct counter mortar fire on their locations.
The ever-moving NVA were in three groups of at least one mortar per
group. "We would locate their positions and throw 100 rounds or more at
them only to have them fire at us from a different location a few hours
later," said Specialist Correia.
"We finally got them about 8 a.m. It was an all-night job, but they
won’t be bothering us again," he said.
The three men, part of the 3rd Brigade Task Force, 25th Infantry
Division, and the 2/35th are in the Central Highlands on Operation Sam
Houston.