Mission Dove Cambodia
Nico Sadiq
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What was it like to be one of the few Americans within a Special Forces Mike Force during the Vietnam War? Follow the author on his secret missions with the Montagnards in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
While the exact origins of the MIKE Force are disputed, it was activated sometime in the mid-1960. Each Corps had its own MIKE Force, which was responsible for the Special Forces requirement of that Corps.
Additionally, a MIKE force was stationed in Nha Trang (Nha Trang is a coastal resort city on the South China Sea.). They were a reaction force for the whole of Vietnam. Nha Trang was also the location of the headquarters of the 5th Special Forces Group.
A last-minute change to the Operations Order sent us about 15 kilometers southeast of BuPrang to find some missing military equipment. This was a Search and Recovery mission. There was a circled X on the briefing map. For the first time, we carried thermite grenades. These were for the destruction of the equipment. Thermite burns around 4,000F and will melt most metals. Three days were wasted covering about 12 square kilometers of triple canopy jungle. The triple canopy jungle consisted of brush and vines up to eight to ten feet in height. Then there was a middle layer of trees again with vines. Finally, the upper canopy was a variety of different species of tall trees. Trying to move through this dense wall of vegetation was at times impossible. Trying to find the missing item that fell into the same category, impossible.
We came across a huge sinkhole with a twenty-foot vertical shaft in the middle of the jungle during the extended search. I thought that this would be a good cache location and decided to investigate. I descended into the shaft on a thick vine.
On the second day of our journey, returning to our original Area of Operations (AO), we came to the large flat rolling hills that are found in southern II Corps. These are bald hills with knee-high grass. They can be 1-4 or more kilometers long and half as wide. They are separated by a triple canopy jungle, which can be 1-2 kilometers in width.
DUH! Within 10 seconds, the rounds started cooking off. Gordon and I dove into the ground, trying to become moles digging into the hard red clay. We stayed in that position, on our bellies, for about fifteen minutes as the exploding ammo whizzed all around us. In the background, I could hear Ronnie Nash and the Yards laughing their asses off at our predicament. They were smart enough to move far away before we started. Well, at least the ammunition was turned into a slag pile
We dug in around the building in old foxholes. I set my CP on the second floor, looking to the west, into Cambodia. It soon proved to be the right location. We used the Villa as our patrol base for the next two days.
During the second day at the Villa, I took a patrol across the Military Demarcation Line and toward the border. We got down into the triple canopy that is between the bald rolling hills surrounding BuPrang.
Later I found out that the Yards were very superstitious about meeting elephants in the jungle (I never fully understood why.) Then they told me that the guy was probably a VC/NVA out to find us. The Yards wanted nothing to do with him or his elephant.
My map showed the abandoned French airfield at Camp LeRolland that was just across the border. About 2 kilometers inside, Cambodia was lit up. Being almost 10 kilometers south of the airfield, we could see that the whole length of the 3,800-foot runway was awash with man-made illumination!
Right after sunrise, we left the villa. I wanted to put some distance between that place and us. It was less than 10 km to Bu Prang, so we covered this distance rather quickly. After we closed on the camp, we resumed our original mission of providing security
Soon after the start of this April offensive, most all of the II Corps MIKE Force was involved as a Reaction Force for the defense of Dak Seang. Once inserted, the battalions were pinned down on the LZ outside of the camp.
Captain Mike McCarten, USN, (Ret.)
LTC Rick Dyer, USAFR, (Ret.)
Captain Bill Albracht, US Army, The Hero of FSB Kate, and a member of the Kontum MIKE Force.
1st Lieutenant Dale Abbuhl, US Army, the former MIKE Force assistant adjutant and the finance officer.
Mike, Rick, Bill, and Dale, Thank You for your help and encouragement in writing this true adventure story.
Tom Burke, the author, is a retired Army major who spent fifteen years in Special Forces. He now resides in Northwest Montana.
Great article. I, too, was a medic in the 11 corps mike force -with the 3rd Bn. My first operation was to go to Bu Prang to provide security at the location. I think this late January/early Febuary. I do not remember meeting you, but our paths probably crossed back in the Compound.
Thank you for a very interesting story. With the 1st Cav during the Cambodian Incursion I had occasion to meet some Montagnards and to observe their village elephant. The Montagnards were fine, industrious, tough people, and friends to us in a place where we had few.
Cagey Bengal (B Team Cmdr-Kontum) gave me and one other Bikini slick the mission of taking in a new O-3 along with ammo and med supplies into Dak Seang. We landed inside the compound and were only on the ground less than 15 seconds as it was like landing in a hornets nest. I think there was a battle going on inside the compound and they were walking mortars in. We made it out but later I saw many downed and destroyed aircraft all around Dak Seang. The big man upstairs got us out of there.
Most interesting composition of events happening 50 years ago. Though I was there and experienced many events that I thought I would never forget, somehow many have faded into the dust of my mind. Occasionally when blessed with the occasion to chat with a fellow
soldier, that I served with, and a topic arises, it will creep back through the dust and my memory will be stirred, bringing it in to focus again.
Awesome story here. I enjoyed it very much.
I met Jesus when I was very young, and have had the honour of walking with Him ever since. My first mission trip was when I was 16. I went with my church youth group to inner-city Toronto, and was so blessed to minister to the people there! After high school, I attended a Discipleship Training School with Youth With A Mission in South Africa. My worldview broadened, my heart expanded, and I really began to feel stirred by the Lord to devote my entire life to missions. I was marked by spending time in remote villages, loving on the sick and lonely. I started dreaming with the Lord and found a growing excitement about what He had in store for the future.
In the years that followed, I got my nursing degree and dove right into an area that the Lord was stirring in my heart; labour and delivery nursing. It has been a massive joy and an important tool that the Lord has given me to add to how I can partner with Him to love on the broken, vulnerable, and those needing His love; in Canada and abroad.
I first became involved with Iris in 2009 when I completed the Harvest School in Pemba, Mozambique. This season was SUCH a gift from the Lord to my heart! I absolutely loved my time there and found such joy in getting to know new parts of His heart and Bride there. In 2012 I visited a couple of different Iris bases and was so stirred. I decided to join the Iris Fortaleza base in Brazil and ended up helping with that team as they built the base and raised labourers for the harvest from 2013 - 2016. Two things that impacted me the most about my Iris Fortaleza family was the closeness we got to share as we lived in the community and the hearts that became fostered among the team to give one hundred percent to Jesus and never say no to Him. What a joy it was to spend time worshipping Jesus, interceding in our house of prayer, and ministering the truth and love of Jesus on the streets and in the slums with this team of laid-down lovers! I was so impacted by seeing Jesus touch the hearts and lives of former drug addicts. Seemingly helpless situations were turned around in an instant by the power and love of Jesus as He came crashing in when we called on His name.
During my time in Brazil, the Lord also really got a hold of my heart for the unreached; those who have never heard about who He is, and have no access to the Gospel. In 2017 He led me to begin training and serving in the Middle East. I had the tremendous opportunity to grow and serve alongside people I had just met, who were also being stirred to bring the truth and love of Jesus to that region of the world. After helping on a medical team there for a season and later having the team pulled out of our area due to political unrest, it seemed that the Lord was leading me to spend more seasons with my Iris family.
I began getting involved with Iris Cross Culture in 2020, which included helping with some of our pioneers that had recently been sent out. I spent three months with the team on the ground in Japan earlier in 2023, and am going back to continue helping and building with the Iris Cross Culture team in Japan in September 2023. While on the ground in Japan, I will be helping with regular ministries and outreaches that the team is involved with there, as well as continuing to help build and network our team of pioneers in the nations.
Matthew 24:14 says that this Gospel will go to the ends of the earth, and then the end will come. I think this means that the Gospel needs to go to every corner of the earth before God will send Jesus back for His Bride. This deeply motivates me to share the Gospel with those who have no access to a Gospel witness. Please join me in praying that the Lord of the harvest would send labourers to the harvest fields!
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