SP/4 George E. Wellock
A Company, 720th Military Police Battalion,
89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade
December 1969 to February 1971

Honorably Discharged

       I was drafted into the Army at the end of June 1969 and was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for my basic training. Once I figured out what a 95 Bravo MOS was, I was sent to Fort Gordon, Georgia for basic military police school training. My duty assignment was to Republic of Vietnam and in November, 1969 following a short leave, I was on my way to Fort Lewis for transport to Cam Ranh Bay. I was then transported to Bien Hoa Air Base on December 3, 1969 and was assigned to the 90th Replacement Battalion. A couple days later I was assigned to A Company, 720th MP Battalion, at Long Binh Post.

SP/4 Wellock (left), SP/4 Lanny Christensen

During my entire tour in Vietnam I was assigned to A Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, in the III Corps Tactical Zone. During that time, I worked many different assignments – all consisting of convoy escort missions - the only exceptions were when we had to support the MP Company guarding Long Binh Jail during a couple of riots. We worked regular escort runs to Newport (Operation Overtake Darkness), Cu Chi, Tay Ninh, Dau Tieng, Vung Tau as well as special runs to the Can Tho in the Mekong Delta in northern IV Corps or to Bao Loc in southern II Corps.         I joined A Company in December 1970 and was assigned to convoy escort in Operation "OVERTAKE Darkness." They were all night runs on Highway 316 and we frequently came under hostile fire. We would have two escort teams every night – each crisscrossing in opposite directions between Newport and Long Binh.

        One unit would race down to Newport at the start of the night and form up the Newport convoy while the other would start outside the gates of Long Binh for the trip in the opposite direction. I worked the Overtake convoys from my initial time-in-country until the responsibility was transferred to the 557th MP Company at the end of March. The four weeks around the Tet Holiday in late January and early February seemed like a very explosive timeframe with several convoys taking enemy fire and with the untimely death of Joe Hardee in the jeep accident.

        Starting in April, we began to run the convoys to Tay Ninh, Dau Tieng and Vung Tau. Each of these had its own character. The Tay Ninh convoy was usually the largest of these runs and provided the most diverse logistical issues, especially when President Nixon gave the go ahead to move into Cambodia. Whether it was keeping the convoy together or supporting trucks with mechanical problems or dealing with congestion / traffic in the villages that we went through, it seemed like we always had a new set of challenges. The Dau Tieng convoy was the most dangerous of the runs – going through a variety of back roads and rubber plantations to get to that destination. This was a run that we would frequently change the route to avoid being too predictive. Vung Tau convoys were always a great assignment. Whether you spent the turn-around time at the beach or downtown, this convoy duty was part work and part R&R.

        There were several special assignments that we worked on during the fifteen months that I was in-country.
I got to make some one-time runs to places like Can Tho or Bao Loc to support troop and equipment movements. The Bao Loc Convoy went through some beautiful but treacherous terrain into the Central Highlands to move the 554th Engineer Bn to Camp Smith.

        We also had a couple of experiences with the Prison system when the prisoners rioted at LBJ. They brought us in to provide extra security for the guard detachment. I was assigned to the maximum security cells and found it to be more frightening than anything else that I experienced in Vietnam.

        I was in Vietnam for Christmas in ’69 and ’70. During my first Christmas, we stood in reserve for the Bob Hope Show – sitting in the sun throughout the afternoon with full gear in case of an incident with such a high profile visiting group. But in my 2nd year, I was tapped as one of two people from A Company to be selected to have dinner with Bob Hope and the USO Troupe. Sgt Lee Rose and I sat at the dinner table with Johnny Bench, Miss World and a couple of the Gold Diggers – tough duty, huh?.

        I departed Vietnam in February 1971 after a fifteen month stay. I received my “early out” for the extra three months in country and was flown to Fort Dix, NJ for my release back into civilian life. I went back to my pre-Vietnam employer to pursue my careen – not in law enforcement. Like many of our peers, I received my Honorable Discharge and used the "GI Bill" to attend college, receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Widener University in Chester, PA. My career has taken me to a few locations around the country with stops in Philadelphia, PA; Miami, FL; Boston, MA; and St. Paul, MN (where I currently reside). I have been married to my wife Joan for more almost 30 years and I have a 25 year old son and a 16 year old daughter.