DODSON/ECKES ESCAPE

On the 6^th of May 1966, USMC SGT James Dodson was surveying for a road construction team in friendly territory just south of Da Nang, South Vietnam.  While investigating a peasant hut about 200 yards from his buddies, Dodson suddenly felt a sharp blow to the back of his head.  When he came to, he was being led on a six-foot rope down a jungle path by several Viet Cong soldiers.  Four days later LCPL Walter W. Eckes was hitch-hiking south of Da Nang close to the location from which Dodson had been taken.  Three jovial soldiers in South Vietnamese uniforms approached carrying American rifles.  But as they pulled abreast of Eckes they suddenly became sullen, leveled their rifles, and led him off on a similar tether.  On May 12^th the two Marines were united in a temporary POW encampment 20 miles south of Da Nang.

Dodson and Eckes remained at this camp nearly a month, under the constant watch of their VC guards.  They were fed a steady diet of rice with fish sauce and given liberty to bathe and wash their newly issued black “pajamas” in a nearby stream.  Each noon they were forced to read Communist propaganda, and around 1700 they would be subjected to a 30-minute English language broadcast of Radio Hanoi.  Their chief captor occasionally grilled them on the propaganda they endured, taking particular interest in Dodson, an African-American.  But though they were treated better than many American prisoners of the Communists, Dodson and Eckes never abandoned hopes of escape.

One day in June, as they were being marched for several days to a new camp, the constant vigil of their guards relaxed.  As the Marines and three guards sat in a semicircle eating their evening meal, Dodson suddenly jumped up and grabbed two carbines leaning against a tree.  He tossed one to Eckes, and in a flash their three VC guards beat a retreat into the jungle.

Eckes and Dodson rummaged through the packs abandoned by their captors and quickly shed their VC pajamas for green fatigues.  Taking only the rifles, canteens, and some hard candy, the two Marines struck off in the direction of Da Nang.  Their trek was not an easy one.  They stumbled down steep mountains, fell into the paths of wild boar and water buffalo, and survived a brush with quicksand.  They endured fatigue and received numerous cuts and bruises.  One night their sleep in the underbrush was disturbed as a VC search party passed a mere three feet away.  Finally on June 22^nd, the exhausted Marines stumbled into a South Vietnamese Army camp near Da Nang, where they were sheltered and fed.  The next day the two were taken to a nearby airfield and flown to the Marine Corps airbase at Da Nang.

Watch for more “Today in Naval History”  27 JUN 25

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

“Guests of the VC.”  Newsweek, Vol 68 (2), 11 July 1966, pp. 36-37.

Rochester, Stuart I. and Frederick Kiley.  Honor Bound:  American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia 1961-1973.  Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1998, pp. 272-73.

The post Dodson/Eckes Escape appeared first on Today in Naval History.

                                             TWO WEEKS LATER

                                            THE “APACHE” (cont.)

Two weeks had gone by since a captured Marine had suffered a grizzly death at the hands of the notorious female Viet Cong sniper and interrogator “the Apache” (see story 28 NOV).  Marine sniper SGT Carlos N. Hathcock and his CO, CPT Edward J. “Jim” Land, had spent fruitless days hidden in the underbrush.  Such is the lot of the sniper, endless days of lying motionless in wait, unable to swat the swarming mosquitoes or the biting ants that crawled inside their pantlegs.  Often their sufferings were in vain.  This morning, they lay before a bomb-cratered hill three miles from their base camp.  Before them was a spot thought to be a transit point for the “Apache’s” movements.  When a lone figure stepped from the trees at 200 yards, their intelligence seemed to be confirmed.  At the moment Land was attempting to wrest the sniper rifle from Hathcock in exchange for the spotting scope.  His eyes were tired after hours of squinting.  Hathcock resisted at the sight of the enemy.  The argument continued uncharacteristically as the enemy stepped into view, even becoming a bit of a physical tussle.  Alerted, the enemy scout slipped back into cover and disappeared over the crest of the hill.  “He’ll be back, with help” thought both Americans.

The snipers waited through the rest of that hot and particularly buggy day.  Having re-established a new hide within view of their previous position, just as sunset was about to call the day’s efforts, an armed figure re-appeared on the crest of the hill.  Six additional figures showed themselves and cautiously began descending the hill toward the American’s previous position.  From her command movements, one of the figures was definitely “Apache.”  The close grouping of the figures presented a good target, and when “Apache” squatted to relieve herself, Land called an artillery strike.  The round came screaming in with pinpoint accuracy, before the enemy had time to react.  Three of the VC were thrown through the air to their deaths.  The round panicked “Apache,” who bolted down the hill exactly in the direction of the waiting Americans.  One of her operatives chased after her shouting, probably trying to warn of the possible American presence, but it was too late.  Hathcock’s first round struck her shoulder as she turned toward her follower, cutting her spine and exiting from her other shoulder.  Hathcock chambered another round, this one impacting her squarely in the chest.  She lay motionless while her frustrated salvor turned to flee.  A third shot from Hathcock laid him flat.

“Apache” and four of her six comrades died in this short minute.  Hathcock and Land made it safely back to their base camp at Hill 55 later that night to the celebrations of many!

Watch for more “Today in Naval History”  16 DEC 24

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

Henderson, Charles.  Marine Sniper:  93 Confirmed Kills.  Briarcliff Manor, NY: Stein and Day, 1986, pp. 91-96.

Podlaski, John.  “Who Was Known as Apache?”  Operation Triumphus website, AT: https://operationtriumphus.org/story/who-was-known-as-apache/, retrieved 19 November 2024.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  Carlos Hathcock went on to amass an enviable record of 93 confirmed kills as a US Marine sniper.

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