Thursday, May 4, 1972
Last Newsman Out Of Fallen City
SAIGON (UPI) --I didn't believe we would get out. I thought we would be killed.The ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) were running away. Some of them took off their uniforms and mixed in with the refugees. They left some brand new rifles and ammunition behind.By late Monday our chances were getting slimmer and slimmer. I knew we would have to rely on the American helicopters to get us out.I arrived in Quang Tri last Wednesday by hitch-hiking from Phu Bai to Hue and taking a taxi from there to Quang Tri. I think my car was the last one to get through before the road was cut.When I got into Quang Tri I tried to find out what was going on. I realized the situation was very bad. The civilians were panicky.People were packing to move to the south. Then the heavy shelling started.The enemy guns were concentrating on a bridge to the south, which was later blown by the Americans to try to slow the Communist advance.I made my way to the American compound. The people there were glad to see me.The Americans wanted to know what was happening south of Quang Tri.They were very nervous. So was I.The next day, Friday, I left the compound to take pictures of wounded and got wounded myself.I was taking pictures of some trucks of civilians that had been ambushed on Highway 1 just south of the city when I was lifted from the ground and dropped back again. I got some shrapnel in my leg. It was a slight wound.The truck I was in had hit a mine. People were screaming.I took pictures. Here on the road, mines had killed about 30 people and injured about 60 who had been in three big trucks.When I returned to Quang Tri the shelling was heavier.Helicopters could not land. There was too much fire.I decided to try to get out. I thought the only way to do this was by road. I got a ride in a jeep to the point where I had seen the trucks mined.I went past the site by going off the road and through some dunes.There was no traffic coming north from Hue. I was frightened. I was alone. I decided to go back to Quang Tri.I passed the bodies I had photographed the previous day. Refugees were streaming south as I went north. Shells were impacting all around. I saw bits of arms and legs lying along the highway.When I got back to the American compound there was only a few South Vietnamese still there with the Americans. Everyone was scared. Sunday, when I went back into Quang Tri City, I saw there were fewer soldiers then there had been.The refugees were leaving in droves. The soldiers were all mixed up with them.I realized the danger so I went back to the American compound. On the way back I took pictures of the ARVN moving out with the refugees.The B52 strikes were getting closer and closer. At this point, we all wondered how we could get out. I was pinning my hopes on the Americans.Late Saturday, we moved to Quang Tri's old citadel, the ARVN headquarters. When we got there, we knew we were still surrounded.I was told by the Americans we would march out to the coast and a ship on the gulf would pick us up. That night we slept on the floor of the citadel.About mid-day Sunday, the incoming rounds landed very close. The ARVN packed up and tried to run south to Hue by road.A South Vietnamese general tried to make it to Hue in an armored personnel carrier. He returned about an hour later.The citadel was burning and then they began to fire on us with mortars.I was sure we would not get out. I thought it would be a disaster.Then the choppers came in."Last Newsman Out of Fallen City", by Ennio Lacobucci, published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes on Thursday, May 4, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.