In April 1967, Co Rentmeester, a noted photojournalist, accompanied 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, during a clearance mission along Highway 13 leading out of Saigon north toward the regional center of An Loc.
Mr. Rentmeester captured many outstanding images during the operation. Some were published in an article titled “The Cavalry Moves Out in Vietnam,” which appeared in the 2 June 1967 issue of Life Magazine.
The above photo shows an M48A3 of 3rd Squadron’s Company M, the heavy direct firepower for the cavalry. Mike Company was equipped with 17 tanks, which were frequently attached out by platoon or section to the squadron’s line troops. On the day Mr. Rentmeester took these photos, this tank was working with India Troop.
As you can see, while the tank was crossing the stream, the water came right up over the hull, flooding into the open driver hatch. There wasn’t too much serious danger of flooding out the engine since the stream was fairly narrow. All this muddy water ended up in the bilges, and once the crew was back on land, the driver just had to open the drain plugs and let it all run onto the dry-ish ground.
Now take a look at the next photo in this sequence as the tank drives up out of the stream.
I love the look on the loader’s face. He’s smiling, probably laughing, because the driver has just gotten doused with cold, muddy water. You can see he’s standing up as high as he can to look down and see how wet his battle buddy has gotten. The tank commander apparently also thinks it’s pretty funny, because he’s wearing a smile too.
Meanwhile, I can almost hear the driver saying to himself, “Why in the hell didn’t I close my hatch?” There’s probably fifty or a hundred gallons of mud and cold water in the bilges that came through the open hatch.
In reality, tanks crews in Vietnam seldom closed their hatches. The extreme temperatures and humidity were even worse inside the armored vehicles than outside. The heavy armor soaked up heat until the crew compartments became like ovens.
To me, these two pictures really showcase one of the best traits about America’s Soldiers, and especially the troopers of the Blackhorse. No matter how grim the situation, they can almost always find the silver lining and a reason to smile. In the moment this image was captured, that loader wasn’t just a Soldier in deadly combat, but a young guy riding in an-terrain monster on a giant off-road driving course. He was having fun. Pretty amazing.
Allons, Mark
E 2/11 ACR, 1985-89