History of Oceania, South-East Asia and Pacific: Vietnam War-Era Artillery Shell Explodes; 2 Dead

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Vietnam War-Era Artillery Shell Explodes; 2 Dead

Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Regional History or Period History
Forum Name: History of Oceania, South-East Asia and Pacific
Forum Discription: Discuss the history of SE Asia: Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore etc.
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=30909
Printed Date: 25-Apr-2024 at 12:32
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Topic: Vietnam War-Era Artillery Shell Explodes; 2 Dead

Posted By: tjadams
Subject: Vietnam War-Era Artillery Shell Explodes; 2 Dead
Date Posted: 02-Jan-2012 at 23:46

Vietnam War-Era Artillery Shell Explodes; 2 Dead
Published January 02, 2012

| Associated Press

HANOI, Vietnam – A Vietnam War-era artillery shell has exploded in central Vietnam, killing two people and wounding two others.

Police officer Nguyen Thanh Hoai says a man who was collecting the shell for scrap metal on the side of a highway in Binh Thuan province died at the scene following Monday's explosion.

He says shrapnel killed a passer-by who was sitting on the back of a motorbike, while her companion was injured.

He said Tuesday that shrapnel also injured someone in a passing truck.

Vietnamese government figures show unexploded ordnance have killed more than 42,000 people since the war ended in 1975.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/02/vietnam-war-era-artillery-shell-explodes-2-dead/?test=latestnews - http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/02/vietnam-war-era-artillery-shell-explodes-2-dead/?test=latestnews

Replies:

Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 03-Jan-2012 at 21:05

I have a feeling the current Iraq and Afghan wars will have similar consequences for the children of those currently living there. I hope the Americans pull out soon Unhappy

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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!

Posted By: Logicv
Date Posted: 03-Jan-2012 at 22:00

In a place like Vietnam, you'd think metal collectors would know better than to touch unexploded shells.

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If it is not logical don't waste time thinking about it.

Posted By: lirelou
Date Posted: 03-Jan-2012 at 22:03

Binh Thuan province is in extreme southern Central Vietnam, where Phan Thiet is. It did, of course, see combat during the war, primarily between Southern and Northern Vietnamese forces, but also between the Americans and Viet Cong and NVA from time to time. It's heaviest combat appears to have been between the two Vietnamese sides in April 1975, with Phan Thiet falling on 18 April leaving Gia Dinh as the last major obstacle for the NVA on their drive to Saigon. There were, of course, no American forces there at that time.

So, exactly who fired that artillery shell is open to question. Had the U.S. never been in Vietnam, that shell could still be U.S., since we supplied the South Vietnamese. Likewise, it could be a Soviet, north Vietnamese, or Chinese munition. People in Europe still occasionally get injured by WWI and WWII munitions, as war tends to be messy. As for an American pull out from Iraq, it has already resulted in increased attacks against the populace, or more correctly, the Shiite populace. Unless a deal is cut with the Taliban, I don't see Afghanistan as faring any better.

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Phong trần mài một lưỡi gươm, Những loài giá áo túi cơm sá gì

Posted By: lirelou
Date Posted: 03-Jan-2012 at 22:28

Logicv, the chance to earn a few more dong a day overcomes logic. Plus, there is a tremendous amount of naivete. Understand that after the war, Vietnam's population more than trebled. Since all lowland areas susceptible to rice cultivation were already overcrowded, many people began looking to unsettled lands which during the war had been jungles, swamps, or mountain tribal areas. Since many of the American battles against NVA Regular forces had taken place in these marginal areas, the new pioneers often found themselves ploughing up mines, bombs, and old artilery shells. On a visit to a former battlefield (Duc Lap) in 2005, I picked up a piece of shrapnel from a likely NVA artillery shell. Duc Lap had been nearly overrun twice, with the last battle taking place when the ARVNs held it. My unit had called in close B-52 strikes in 1968, and such strikes had likely been called in during subsequent attacks. In any event, my wife's niece's husband, a 40 year old high school educated Vietnamese, was accompanying my as I climbed a hill newly planted with coffee trees. He spotted what appeared to be a half-exposed 500 pound bomb. To check it, he banged on with the piece of artillery shrapnel. Needless to say, I physically removed him from the area. Again, this was an educated Vietnamese. Obviously he had never paid attention to the programs that the Vietnamese government runs on television warning people of such dangers. Then again, there is a fatalism that sees such incidents as one's karma. If bad things happen, that is your karma.

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Phong trần mài một lưỡi gươm, Những loài giá áo túi cơm sá gì

Posted By: tjadams
Date Posted: 03-Jan-2012 at 22:39

I would have thought with time and the dampness of the country, the ordinance would have

just rotted.

Posted By: Centrix Vigilis
Date Posted: 03-Jan-2012 at 23:42

Ah yes unexploded ordnance. Real bitch eh. Seen a lot blew a lot.

When in doubt fall back on rule number one: when in doubt.... call EOD. And try to convince the locals a pound or two of brass ain't worth their ass.

Worked well in Korea when we showed them the pics of the friends bodies. Death rates went right down.

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"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"

S. T. Friedman

Pilger's law: 'If it's been officially denied, then it's probably true'

Posted By: Logicv
Date Posted: 11-Jan-2012 at 23:44

Originally posted by lirelou

Logicv, the chance to earn a few more dong a day overcomes logic. Plus, there is a tremendous amount of naivete. Understand that after the war, Vietnam's population more than trebled. Since all lowland areas susceptible to rice cultivation were already overcrowded, many people began looking to unsettled lands which during the war had been jungles, swamps, or mountain tribal areas. Since many of the American battles against NVA Regular forces had taken place in these marginal areas, the new pioneers often found themselves ploughing up mines, bombs, and old artilery shells. On a visit to a former battlefield (Duc Lap) in 2005, I picked up a piece of shrapnel from a likely NVA artillery shell. Duc Lap had been nearly overrun twice, with the last battle taking place when the ARVNs held it. My unit had called in close B-52 strikes in 1968, and such strikes had likely been called in during subsequent attacks. In any event, my wife's niece's husband, a 40 year old high school educated Vietnamese, was accompanying my as I climbed a hill newly planted with coffee trees. He spotted what appeared to be a half-exposed 500 pound bomb. To check it, he banged on with the piece of artillery shrapnel. Needless to say, I physically removed him from the area. Again, this was an educated Vietnamese. Obviously he had never paid attention to the programs that the Vietnamese government runs on television warning people of such dangers. Then again, there is a fatalism that sees such incidents as one's karma. If bad things happen, that is your karma.

Good thing you were with him.

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If it is not logical don't waste time thinking about it.

Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 12-Jan-2012 at 19:18

Originally posted by tjadams

I would have thought with time and the dampness of the country, the ordinance would have

just rotted.

Vietnam wasn't that long ago. In Belgium farmers still dig up WWI ammo, most of which is still live

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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!

Posted By: lirelou
Date Posted: 12-Jan-2012 at 22:19

Vietnam runs over fifteen hundred miles from south to north. There are areas where the rainy seasons are particularly heavy, and areas, especially along the coast in the old I Corps boundaries, where it seldom rains at all.

Yes, in Flanders fields the artillery was much heavier.

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Phong trần mài một lưỡi gươm, Những loài giá áo túi cơm sá gì

Posted By: Nick1986
Date Posted: 13-Jan-2012 at 19:25

Flanders is also a very wet, muddy place with constant rainfall. Being a flat country, Belgium can become waterlogged if the drainage ditches become overfilled

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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!

Posted By: Wondering
Date Posted: 26-Feb-2012 at 01:04

Originally posted by lirelou

Vietnam runs over fifteen hundred miles from south to north. There are areas where the rainy seasons are particularly heavy, and areas, especially along the coast in the old I Corps boundaries, where it seldom rains at all.

Very heavy rains Con Thien -Gio Linh area . There was enormous amounts of artillery fired from both North Vietnam and the American firebases in 1968. EOD units could work for years and still hardly scratch the surface . I understand that Con Thien has been closed off altogether because of the heavy growth covering all the unexploded ordinance .

I wonder if Vietnam offers to allow EOD training to clear all of those explosives ?