SOGCast 044: Gene Pugh Ran SOG Recon and Survived Sapper Attack

Quick Overview

Gene Pugh recounts his harrowing experiences in MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War, detailing a near-ambush situation in 1968 where his team survived overwhelming odds by employing hit-and-run tactics after their helicopter refueling left them isolated, and later surviving a massive, coordinated Sapper attack on FOB4 where command structure collapsed and survival depended on individual initiative.

Key Points: Pugh describes a 1968 mission where the team was compromised, forcing them to survive alone for an hour and a half while enemy trackers and NVA soldiers pursued them, relying on 'hit and run, hasty ambushes all the way to the LZ.' He explains that the enemy used 'talking sticks,' the Vietnamese version of African drums, to channel teams into pre-planned ambush zones. Pugh shared that his initial SOG mission involved a 'stay-behind' ruse where a small group remained after helicopters departed to collect intelligence, which went poorly when he and another operative accidentally wounded the same NVA soldier during a botched capture attempt. The discussion covered the massive August 1968 Sapper attack on FOB4, which Pugh experienced from the message center, where multiple 'Zulu messages' warning of 'attack imminent' were dismissed by Major Moore due to perceived geographical impossibilities of an attack. During the FOB4 attack, Pugh sustained shrapnel wounds while assisting the heavily wounded Lieutenant Dah ('No neck') to safety, witnessing the chaos and the failure of command structure. Pugh highlights Larry Trimble's recon team on the mountain as the camp's savior for taking out two mortar pits and repelling ground assaults, stating, 'without Larry, I would not be here talking to you. Larry saved the camp.' Pugh details his post-Vietnam experience confronting anti-war sentiment at the Seattle airport, where he faced an individual who asked him to 'Show me the medal you got for raping women. How do you feel? How did it feel to squash a baby's head?', to which Pugh responded, 'Mister, I've never killed a man in anger. Please don't be the first.'