Britt Small is reading the packing slip, CID, MP Platoon AO, LZ English. "Yep, that's me all right. The man standing next to me is Leo Spencer. He was the head of our team, & my first partner. He was from Louisiana, & was a school-trained CID agent. Leo was also a Korean War veteran, & had been a tank commander during that war. As you can see, he was a big man, about 300 lbs, & he could really make that jeep behind us roll. We were coming back to LZ English on QL-1 late one night, after investigating a shooting at LZ North English, & we got ambushed from both sides of the road. We were following the MPs V-100, which was carrying the shooter for safety. The V-100 was an armored vehicle with big tires, & angled sides, so that the bullets would bounce off of it in all directions. We could see the tracers going in all directions. Leo was driving, & I was in the back seat behind him on the left. There were four of us in the jeep. John Entwhisle was in the backseat on the right side next to me. He was scooted down behind the radio, & firing his Car-15 to the right. I was scooted down too, & firing to the left. Leo had the lights off, he stomped on the gas, & put the nose of the jeep right under the back of the V-100, so that the rounds went over us. We were going about 70 mph, & Leo was fearless driving that jeep. The V-100 got at least one tire hit, but it was made with an inner tire, so they just swerved a little, & kept on going. None of us got hit, but the canvas on the jeep didn't fair very well. We made it to LZ English, & stopped just inside the gate. We had to pull the other Lifer CID guy out of the foot well of the right front seat. He hadn't fired a shot. He did wet his pants, though. Well boys & girls, that's the end of my war story. I was supposed to start it with "& this is no shit," but I forgot. There were many more adventures after this one. Leo, the old tanker saved our asses because he was fearless, & he could really wheel that jeep. I'm sure Leo is gone now, but he saved our lives. God bless your memory, Brother. We'll always remember you. The 173rd Airborne Brigade Frontier Cops." - Britt Small. Photo by Jerry W. Colwell
