Many Vietnam Vets came home from their service telling tales of this aggressive and prolific being.

When I saw the title of the paranormal show this spring that stated they were featuring the Rock Apes, I was impressed. Finally, something new.

Well, no. Despite all the first person stories, all the printed tales, and all the information that could have been featured, it turned into a rehash of the Minnesota Iceman. And one of Hansen's many versions of the story of how he obtained the specimen. YAWN.

Don't get me wrong. The stories surrounding the Minnesota Iceman are intriguing and open up all sorts of lines of inquiry. And I like Loren Coleman. But I cannot agree with him that the Minnesota Iceman is a Rock Ape shot and killed in Vietnam.  But that's for another post. Maybe. Back to the Rock Apes.

The Rock Apes are described as being bipedal, hairy ape-like creatures.  We have also heard of them called by other names : Ujit, Batutut, Nguoi Rung, "Jungle People".  They are further described as being around 6 ft. tall, stout and very muscular with protruding stomachs. Rock Apes are said to be covered in hair ranging from brown to black in color. The knees, soles of the feet, and their hands and face are bare. 

Bold and aggressive, they are noted for travelling in troops and known for attacking humans. They are said to be most active at dusk and during the night. The accounts given mention only adults; not much reference given for family groups or young ones.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS BY THE SOLDIERS

A six man unit from the 101st Airborne Division was hiking through the mountainous jungle terrain. They took a rest period; all of them on alert for the presence of Viet Cong. As they sat there, about 15 yards uphill, some of the men noticed some trees begin to shake violently. Believing it to be Viet Cong, they prepped their weapons, keeping watch on the trees.

A being with an oblong head with a face covered in reddish hair peeked out from the brush. He had a huge mouth and dark, deep set eyes. He stepped out from the brush. The reddish hair extended down the muscular body. Standing about 5 foot tall, he seemed to be looking the men over. Thinking that the being was probably a rather large orangutan, the men took no action. Then someone commented that there were no orangutans in Vietnam. As they argued that point, the being seemed to lose interest in them and walked off into the jungle.

Not all encounters were this benign.

In 1968, Robert Baird told of an encounter in 1968. His unit had begun hearing strange noises coming from the outer perimeter of their camp late at night. A Corporal "Poncho" went out to investigate. Everything seemed to be well, until he began to make his way back. The others saw him suddenly let off several short bursts of fire from his weapon. He then hurried back to the camp, looking "unsettled".

That was when the unit's Lieutenant came on the radio demanding to know who had fired and at what. Poncho explained to him that while he was walking back into the camp, he noticed a bush that had not been in that location on his way out. He leaned down to take a closer look and the "bush" then "snorted" at him. He panicked, firing his weapon.

Said Baird : "What he had encountered was the ubiquitous Rock Ape of Vietnam. I would come to learn that they were nearly everywhere, and quite fearless. That is what we had heard near the wire that night."

Here is a short interview with Sgt. Thomas M. Jacobs shown on the Discovery Channel. 

In 1969 a patrol was caught off guard by enemy fire, causing everyone to scramble for cover. The witness telling this story, told how he was lying quietly, trying to avoid getting shot. Suddenly a figure came out of the thick vegetation. He watched it approach, thinking it was a large man. But as it ran past him, he realized it was no man. The being was about 7 foot tall and built huge. It was mostly covered with reddish hair and it moved extremely quickly.

As the figure ran, it got caught in the crossfire, getting hit by some bullets. It stumbled, but kept going. The Viet Cong suddenly began yelling at each other and the patrol could hear them running away. Some even dropped their weapons, leaving them behind. The Americans regrouped and continued to make their way towards a more secure area. That night, they heard "strange animalistic noises" : whines, barks, howls and grunts.

The next day, several members of the patrol were given permission to go and investigate the area they had come across the Viet Cong. During their search, they came upon one of the Viet Cong who looked as if he had been torn apart.

Said one of those men: "The rest of the time we were in Vietnam, I never heard the sounds or saw anything like it again. The talk of what we had seen spread very quickly, and some of the locals called it a name that I can neither pronounce or remember, but the translation if I recall was 'Stench Monkey' or 'Foul Monkey', something like that. I can't remember for sure. What I do know is that it bothered me so much that I transferred from there, to a job on a helicopter so that I wouldn't have to be in the jungle anymore."

Michael Kelley, D Co 1st/502d Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division, talked of there being hundreds of them. [Rock Apes].

In 1969, while the men were having lunch, 8 of the creatures came walking up a trail on the Nui Mo Tau ridge. Thinking it was a party of Viet Cong, the surprised men opened fire - M-16s, M-19s and grenade launchers. 

Kelley was at the far end and took cover with those further away, to access where the attack was coming from. Emerging from cover to engage the enemy, they found the others appeared to be firing at "ghostly images" moving quickly through the bushes and trees all around them. 

These beings were around 5 1/2 foot tall, covered in hair ranging from light brown to a reddish brown. One was almost black in color. He was a particularly aggressive male, rushing at the men through the underbrush, snarling with bared teeth. All of the creatures were making dog barking types of sounds.

The creatures all disappeared into the jungle. Afterwards, the area was searched. There was no trace of the strange beings -- no bodies, not even fur or blood.

Kelley : ". . . I searched the site and . . .  found not a drop of blood, which totally amazed me given the amount of firing that had gone on. I wonder to this day if the men were shooting just to scare the Rock Apes away or whether they were really just poor marksman! The men who'd suffered the surprise looked a bit worse for wear, and I'm sure a few had to wash their shorts out as a result of the unwelcome visit. It really scared the crap out of them, I kid you not."

ROCK APE BATTLES

Hill 868 is located in the Quang Nam Province. It is said to be so full of Rock Apes that it was called "Monkey Mountain". This is the alleged site of a battle between the Marines and a large group of Rock Apes in 1966.

Reported movement in the brush was radioed in. It was suspected to be a large force of Viet Cong headed towards them. The Captain instructed the Marines to stay in place, do not fire, do not give away their position.

The patrol reported back that it was not Viet Cong approaching, but a large group of "hairy, bipedal humanoids" surrounding them. The Captain again commanded them not to fire. They were instructed to throw rocks at the creatures to frighten them away. Instead of running, the Rock Apes hurled rocks back with "great force". They were screeching and growling, just flinging rocks. It was estimated that there were "hundreds of them". Despite this attack and impending threat, they were still told not to shoot but to use their bayonets instead.

Shortly after that command, the Captain began to hear screeching and screams of pain from both Marines and Rock Apes over the radio with the frantic message : "We're going hand to hand!"

Before much time passed, the "hill erupted in a roar of gunfire, screams and screeching."

The men that the Captain sent to investigate found the area littered with injured men and allegedly bloodied bodies of several Rock Apes. There were no Marine deaths but several were so seriously injured, they had to be evacuated by helicopter.

This alleged battle became known as the "Battle of Dong Den".

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