THE MAIL
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I have been inspired and encouraged by some of the e-mail I've received since I put
my Vietnam stories on the Internet. I appreciate these men giving me permission to
share their stories with you. The following selections from letters I have received
belong to the authors and should not be copied or used without their permission.
to send a personal message |
AUTHOR | COMMENT | |
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WOUNDED | Jerry Horton | An incredible account of being wounded. |
REACTING AT NIGHT | Don Swody | Responding to a night attack. |
NIGHT ATTACK | Don Swody | An NVA night attack. |
ARMY REQUISITIONS | Bob Lenigan | How to Aquire 50 Caliber Machine Guns & Mini-Guns |
MAKING THE CALL | Bob Lenigan | Reflecting on a 30 year old decision |
SPIDER | Jerry Horton | Reminder of the characters we met. |
WOUNDED - by Jerry Horton
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Sgt. Jerry Horton served as a squad leader with |
On March 12, 1969, our company moved into an area of the Plei Trap Valley that had
been bombed by B52's. There was supposed to be a NVA hospital in the area. We were
ambushed and became pinned down. Myself, my platoon sergeant (who was a career
soldier) and one other guy charged an enemy bunker, while one of my squad members
laid down fire with a M60 machine gun off to our right. We were right on top of the
bunker shooting down into it, when we were hit with a B40 rocket fired from the
enemy off to our left. When it hit, it knocked me in a complete summersault and
everything went into slow motion. When we recovered, we ran back to our lines. After
that, I could not walk because of wounds to my leg. I was wounded on my right leg,
right shoulder, right arm and was bleeding from the head. Because I was bleeding from
the head, I was lucky enough to be chosen to leave on the first Medivac (Medical
Helicopter). Once the Medivac came in, they piled us in on top of each other and set
one guy who was not hit to badly in the gunner's seat. The enemy let the chopper get
to the top the trees and then let us have it. They killed the guy who was in the
gunner's seat, wounded one of the pilots and several of the guys who were already
wounded. We were lucky. We made it back. There were no other choppers that day, so
the rest of the wounded had to wait till the next day. My wounds were not that bad.
I ended up with nerve damage to my right hand. The platoon sergeant was shot in the
stomach and I do not know what happened to him. He did make it out on the chopper
with me. I have learned a lot from my experiences and I have used them to give me
courage in life. From this experience, I know that every day I live is a bonus and I
had better make the most of it.
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REACTING AT NIGHT - by Don Swody
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Sgt. Don Swody served as RTO and a squad leader with |
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Early in November, 1969 I was on guard on top the APC. I was sitting behind the 50 caliber
machine gun and there was an explosion in front of me about 75 meters away. I thought it
was an artillery high intensity round. Tracks started firing behind me and more explosions
followed. I never even thought about the claymore mines. I lowered the 50 as low as it
would go and started sweeping the area in front of me.
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NIGHT ATTACK - by Don Swody
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Sgt. Don Swody served as RTO and a squad leader with |
We were in a defensive night position next to a small village. Around 3am,
the NVA dropped a mortar round or B40 rocket right on top of our track. It was a
direct hit. Cpt. Larry Bates and I were both sleeping in the track and I was
blown out of the back ramp and landed about ten feet away. Cpt. Bates wasn't
so fortunate. I tried to call for help on the radios but all my antennas were blown
away. I also couldn't hear for a period of time. The top of the track was engulfed
in flames and the spare 50 cal ammo was cooking off. Both Cpt. Bates
and I took pieces of that round but Larry wounds were much more severe. He
ruptured both eardrums but was still standing and directing our defense. We
finally got artillery support and Puff the magic dragon to squash the enemy
fire. Larry was dusted off that morning and went back to the world. It
wasn't until last year that I found out that I was knocked out for awhile
after that blast. I just never knew.
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ARMY REQUISITION - by Bob Lenigan
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Lt. Bob Lenigan served as the Platoon Leader for
the Second Platoon from Jun, 69 to Nov, 69 then became the XO for |
I met the XO (Executive Officer) of the Base Camp Company. In his bunker, was a Mini-Gun
sitting over in the corner. It belonged to the CO (Commanding Officer), and he was tired
of seeing it and kicking it around. I offered him two cases of beer. The XO was short. I
think, he had less that a week left in Vietnam, and the two cases would tied him over,
until he left.
I can still remember coming back into base camp a few weeks later, with the Mini-Gun in-place over the Battery compartment. As we were leaving for the field, we ran across the old CO of the Mini-Gun. He was going back into base camp. He looked at us, and he realized that his prized toy just went by. He took a double take!! Exclaiming to all "That's MY Mini-Gun". I waved to him, and told my delta (Driver) John to step on-it. To this day I can still hear the CO's words. As this whole situation was evolving, Don Swody (my RTO) just looked over and smiled. That afternoon return trip was quiet. I guess, my real claim to fame was all of the Second Platoon tracks had two Fifties on each box. We got them by going into base camp, and telling the Leg Outfits that we were there to inspect their fifties. Most of the leg outfits gave the fifties to the cooks, and they were a pain to drag around. The cooks were happy to get rid of them. We were obliging.
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The Call - by Bob Lenigan
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Lt. Bob Lenigan served as the Platoon Leader for
the Second Platoon from Jun, 69 to Nov, 69 then became the XO for |
The box that Garrison was on, was out of commision. As I remember the situation, he was Short.
He was going home. I was the person who told him to get on the tank. Thinking that it would be
the safest place. Boy, I was wrong. I still feel rather funny about it.
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SPIDER - by Jerry Horton
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Sgt. Jerry Horton served as a squad leader with |
Warren, did you serve with unforgettable characters who almost always had nicknames. The most unforgettable one we had was a guy called Spider. He was about 26 from New Jersey and he had ran numbers for the Mafia. He had saved enough money to have a pleasure boat off New Jersey when he got drafted. Spider was the Jack of all trades and was in my Squad. On New Year's Day he showed at midnight to offer me some booze he got thru the mail. He would always get booze. At night in the highlands he would tell us made up stories about his adventures on the high seas of New Jersey and could make his voice sound just like Long John Silver's. In one area where we were set up for a couple of weeks he built a complete bamboo hut into the side of the hill. He was certainly something else. |
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