My name is Harry Hahn. In March 1969 I was assigned to River Division 131. After training in California, we arrived in Viet Nam in Saigon and then transited to Dong Tam on March 26th, 1969. I had an exciting ride on a Caribou that was diverted to My Tho as Dong Tam was under attack that afternoon. Early in the evening my friends and I were watching tracer fire from a Helo on VC Island (just South and East of Dong Tam). This was the first real shooting we had seen since arriving just days before in this country. At 9:00 PM that evening, there was a mortar attack. This being my first attack, I took my time getting my boots on and looking for the bunker. Way too long for a serious attack. I then went back to my hooch, which was the closest hooch to the ammunition dump, and went to sleep with my boots and trousers on. At almost exactly 12 midnight, there was another mortar explosion. This one was close. I ran for the bunker, but in doing so looked to my left and saw what appeared to be a fire ball where they had told me the ammunition dump was located. In between me and the dump were two Navy Seawolf helicopters trying to take off and clear the area. I ran as fast as I could for the bunker, but before I could get there, and as I was diving for the bunker, the dump blew while I was in the air. It threw my further North and covered me with debris. I could hear large pieces of shrapnel going over my head as they were "cutting" through the air. Now safe in the bunker, someone ran past the bunker and told everyone to evacuate as there was a ground attack. we ran from Navy side to Army side of Dong Tam to seek shelter. There was a few strands of zip wire between the two sides and I cleared both strands with a single bound. While running north through Army side, we absconded weapons from Army hooches....a couple M-16's an M-14 and some bandoliers of ammo. My friends and I were ready for a ground attack now, if it occurred. Fortunately it did not. We sat all night long listening to rounds cooking off and being thrown everywhere. After the attack I wrote a letter home telling Mom not to worry, that I was OK. A letter from her crossed in the mail and asked me if I were anywhere near Dong Tam as there was a big ammo dump that blew up there. I assured her that I was not that close (a white lie that Mothers can be told!).

Attached is a clipping from the Erie, Pa. Times News that my Mother saved for me and I keep in my scrapbook.