Quote · The Shawn Ryan Show
#317 Johnnie Clark - Surviving One of the Deadliest Jobs During the Vietnam War
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3-Man Killer Teams, First Kills, and the Mercy Killing
At 1:14:04 · chapter starts 1:08:20
In the aftermath of Troy Bridge, Clark begins volunteering for 3-man killer teams assigned to stop NVA death squads that were beheading village chiefs' children to enforce rice quotas. These tiny units moved silently where platoons could not. The most harrowing episode comes when a patrol expecting a small enemy squad suddenly finds itself paralyzed as 200+ NVA soldiers file past within arm's reach [1] — Johnnie Clark "On a 3-man killer team ambush, Clark's squad expected a small enemy patrol. Instead, over 200 NVA soldiers marched within inches of their p…" 1:19:10 . One Marine had already pulled the pin on a grenade in anticipation of a fight; when the column finally passed, he released the spoon in relief, detonating it harmlessly beside them. Clark also recounts his first confirmed kill — lingering at the body of an NVA officer long enough for the moment to carve itself into memory — and the chapter he calls 'Mercy Killing': a female NVA soldier with a skull cracked open by grenade concussion, still breathing, her full ID later recovered by a sergeant who showed it to Clark 30 years later at the Big Red memorial.
Clark typically carried 400 rounds of M60 ammunition on top of the gun itself. His team was supposed to be five men — but often it was just him. He never had a spare barrel, so when the gun went white-hot he'd pee on it or pour a canteen to cool it down. His .45 was so neglected it rusted shut the one time he needed it. He carried a K-Bar and a Bible wrapped in plastic.
On a 3-man killer team ambush, Clark's squad expected a small enemy patrol. Instead, over 200 NVA soldiers marched within inches of their position. One Marine had already pulled the pin on a frag grenade thinking they'd have to fight out. When the column finally passed, he let go of the spoon in relief — setting off a grenade right beside them. Nobody got hurt. Everybody wet themselves.
During a 3-man killer team ambush, over 200 NVA soldiers walked so close that Clark could smell garlic and see their Ho Chi Minh sandals — and none of the Marines dared fire or move.
After 17 straight days of combat contact, Clark was dozing on ambush when he heard the Young Rascals playing 'In the Midnight Hour' — and thought he was dreaming about home. Then an NVA soldier, already shot by a teammate, tumbled on top of him. The enemy was carrying a boombox tuned to Armed Forces Radio Network, which played that song every night at midnight. Clark reached his K-Bar. Decades later, he told the story to Felix Cavaliere of the Young Rascals at a party.
