The basic Roadrunner vehicle was a modified quarter-ton truck (gun-jeep). Tops and windshields were removed (the latter in 1968), and armor plating installed. Sandbags were also used on the floorboards to add some protection against mine blasts. Each jeep mounted an M-60 machine gun that could traverse 360 degrees, and the occupants also carried M-16s, M-79 grenade launchers, .45-caliber pistols and various grenades. Occasionally, something exotic (such as M-72 light anti-tank weapons (LAWs) was added to the arsenal, but only when available. It seemed as if the ordinance sergeant would rid himself of aging explosives by outfitting the highwaymen with anything, whether they needed it or not.

In 1967, the patrols also used the infamous Cadillac-Gage V-100 Commando armored car, which required a three-man crew. Although C Company was reported to have had success with it (such as protecting the occupants from a mine explosion), B Company patrols never really took to this strange-looking monster. Because of the constant malfunctioning of the twin .30-caliber machine guns and difficulties with the engine starters, the V-100 (nicknamed ‘coffin on wheels’) never gained the confidence of the Roadrunners. By mid-1968, the use of V-100s was discontinued on B Company’s section of Route 19.

Flak jackets and helmets were required for road patrol, but during the dry season these were often found missing from the uniform. In their place, Roadrunners might don scarves or sunglasses as they sped down the road. Large goggles were supplied and used to keep dust or rain out of the driver’s eyes; they were mandatory if one was to see through a driving rain. Two other unofficial items rounded out the highwayman’s basic equipment–the Roadrunner patch and an ever-present paperback book to help relive the boredom of a long day on the road.

Of course, along Highway 19, there were times when it wasn’t safe to be reading a book. Just about everything in the U.S. arsenal was brought to bear at one time or another on this road. Besides the MPs and their firepower, armored units from black Hawk Firebase (situated between Pleiku and Mang Yang Pass) stationed themselves at key checkpoints.

The road was like a giant snake, winding its way through the red soil of the Highlands, for it seemed to have a life of its own and was constantly changing. Built during the French regime, Colonial Route 19 had seen many historical battles and was the site where the Viet Minh had savagely attacked Mobile Group 100 in June of 1954. Now, involved in yet another war, the road took on a different look. As they had done on Highway 14 from Pleiku to Kontum (a stretch of road also patrolled by Roadrunners), engineers used specially equipped Rome plows to clear the jungle for 100 yards on both sides of the road. And, in almost a year’s time, the two-lane dirt road of Highway 19 was paved.

Both of these improvements contributed to the well-being of the Roadrunners and truckers by making mining and ambushing more difficult for the Viet Cong. The part of the road at Mang Yang Pass had earned the foreboding name ‘Ambush Alley,’ and the defoliant Agent Orange was sprayed there in 1968 to make life more difficult for enemy snipers. Unfortunately, during one of these aerial sprayings, a Roadrunner patrol was also given a dose of the defoliant.

Perhaps the most imaginative change along Highway 19 was the construction of an above-ground pipeline that was being water-tested in July 1968. By September, petroleum products were being pumped more than 100 miles from Qui Nhon to the storage tanks in the Pleiku tank farm. Even though the VC sabotaged these pipes quite often, the success of the pipeline lessened the necessity to line-haul with the 5,000-gallon tankers. It also gave birth to new bases, called pump stations, that were spread out along the road.

The typical patrol (usually eight jeeps) on Highway 19 pulled out of the camp gate each morning at 7:00. Checkpoint 36A was the kickoff point from Pleiku onto Highway 19. The Roadrunners grouped there, waiting for the ‘big boys’ (the tanks and APCs) to clear the road of mines; then, with the words, ‘Highway one niner Echo is now open,’ all the gun-jeeps (except for one that remained at the CP to coordinate the convoys) sped off into the fate of another day. Responsibility on the road was divided: one patrol (two gun-jeeps) took one half of the road, while another patrolled the other half. In charge of everything was another patrol that included the leader (usually a buck sergeant) of all the Roadrunners in the field that day. This patrol would roam over the entire area, reacting to events and assisting where needed. Usually four convoys would make the hazardous trip down Highway 19 (two in each direction) each day.

At the end of each day came a mandatory operation known as ‘the sweep.’ After the last westbound convoy of the day had passed, a Roadrunner patrol would begin the sweep at Checkpoint 27 (the farthest point of responsibility for the Roadrunners) and double back west, over the Mang Yang Pass. At CP 30A (midway point), this patrol would join the rest of the highway patrols and together they would sweep back to Pleiku. If any allied vehicles were found stranded, the returning patrols stayed with them until the problem was fixed, and then escorted them to safety.

While a typical day of patrolling might be long and boring, the danger was always there. Death on the road could come suddenly in the shape of a mine explosion, a sniper’s bullet or a B-40 rocket. Accidents also took a heavy toll and were a constant frustration for the highwaymen. Roadrunners tried to convince themselves that the real targets for NVA (North Vietnamese Army) and VC gunners were the American convoys, and not the men in jeeps. As it turned out, the philosophy was probably correct; in any event, it helped control the fear of being so exposed and relatively small in number.

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