How not to use a 50 cal round and a 1911 pistol
Anyone in military probably observed something really dumb. Here are a couple of my stories of dumb when in the 2/47th Mech Inf Bn of the 9th Divison stationed at Bien Phuoc, Vietnam during 1969.
One especially hot day, chuckle had a few of those in the Delta, I'm walking through our motor pool where our unit parked its APCs. I walked between two APCs and found a large overweight spec 4 motor pool guy squatting over a can of beer that was on the ground. In his right hand is a 1911 45 acp pistol that he was holding by the barrel and in his left hand is a 50 cal round. He is lining up the tip of bullet on the top of the beer can, that the tab had broken on.
Realizing he was going to hit the primer end of the 50 cal round with the butt of the pistol, I questioned his wisdom on opening a can of beer with a live round as a punch and the pistol as a hammer. Guy was sweating up a storm.....he replied: its too damn hot and I need a beer....I've done this before to open a beer with a broke tab.
I replied, it was a dangerous way to open a beer and for him to wait a few seconds so that I could get a safe distance from him before he hit the round. Guy kinda smirked at me and said he would.
I got about 10 yards from him when I heard his first whack. Still walking, I turned my head to see him lining up the round for a second whack and then turned my head back in direction I was walking.
Well, with 2nd whack, he caught the primer right and round exploded. I turned around to observe him holding his left arm at the wrist, with his right hand, in front of his face. I could see he'd lost at least one finger and another one or two were dangleing, held on to the hand only by skin. A couple of other motor pool G.I.s were running towards him.
As for me, I shook my head, mumbled you dumb S.O.B., and continued walking back to battalion headquarters where I worked.
Another dumb thing I saw also involved our motor pool. Our mech battalion was going to have some kind of I.G. inspection, think it was a C.M.M.I one.
Once again, I'd gone to the motor pool to do something in our S-2 sections APC parked there. I observed two APCs back up to what appeared to be a brand new trailer, kind you'd see pulled by a deuce and 1/2 truck. Guys were waiting to hook up chains attached to the trailer's axles to the APCs tow hooks. I stopped a motor pool guy and asked what that was about. He shrugged and told me we had one or two more trailers than our battalion was to suppose to have and we had to destroy them before the inspection. I pointed at another deuce and 1/2 trailer that was obviously well used and not in the best of shape, saying why not tear up that one, instead of a new one. By that time, the chains had been hooked up and the APCs began pulling the new trailer apart. Motor pool guy just shrugged and walked away.
One especially hot day, chuckle had a few of those in the Delta, I'm walking through our motor pool where our unit parked its APCs. I walked between two APCs and found a large overweight spec 4 motor pool guy squatting over a can of beer that was on the ground. In his right hand is a 1911 45 acp pistol that he was holding by the barrel and in his left hand is a 50 cal round. He is lining up the tip of bullet on the top of the beer can, that the tab had broken on.
Realizing he was going to hit the primer end of the 50 cal round with the butt of the pistol, I questioned his wisdom on opening a can of beer with a live round as a punch and the pistol as a hammer. Guy was sweating up a storm.....he replied: its too damn hot and I need a beer....I've done this before to open a beer with a broke tab.
I replied, it was a dangerous way to open a beer and for him to wait a few seconds so that I could get a safe distance from him before he hit the round. Guy kinda smirked at me and said he would.
I got about 10 yards from him when I heard his first whack. Still walking, I turned my head to see him lining up the round for a second whack and then turned my head back in direction I was walking.
Well, with 2nd whack, he caught the primer right and round exploded. I turned around to observe him holding his left arm at the wrist, with his right hand, in front of his face. I could see he'd lost at least one finger and another one or two were dangleing, held on to the hand only by skin. A couple of other motor pool G.I.s were running towards him.
As for me, I shook my head, mumbled you dumb S.O.B., and continued walking back to battalion headquarters where I worked.
Another dumb thing I saw also involved our motor pool. Our mech battalion was going to have some kind of I.G. inspection, think it was a C.M.M.I one.
Once again, I'd gone to the motor pool to do something in our S-2 sections APC parked there. I observed two APCs back up to what appeared to be a brand new trailer, kind you'd see pulled by a deuce and 1/2 truck. Guys were waiting to hook up chains attached to the trailer's axles to the APCs tow hooks. I stopped a motor pool guy and asked what that was about. He shrugged and told me we had one or two more trailers than our battalion was to suppose to have and we had to destroy them before the inspection. I pointed at another deuce and 1/2 trailer that was obviously well used and not in the best of shape, saying why not tear up that one, instead of a new one. By that time, the chains had been hooked up and the APCs began pulling the new trailer apart. Motor pool guy just shrugged and walked away.
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