The Boys of Bravo Company
By Dan Marquardt
This is the story of one man's adventures with Bravo Company 2/12 Infantry 25th Infantry Division in the Vietnam War from October
1968 to December 1969. I am writing this in 2002 from my memories, letters I sent home and memories of some of the men I served
with some 33 years ago. Time has dimmed some of the events, while others remain as sharp and as vivid as they were at the time they
were burned into my memory, never to be forgotten.
Over the past 33 years I have been in touch with many of the men that have shared these experiences with me. By the nature of
combat, each man has his own perspective on the events, depending on where he was and how he felt at the time they took place.
We were a very diverse bunch of guys thrown together from every part of the country and had it not been for the war, we most likely
would never have met. Through the combat we experienced together, some of us have become closer then brothers. This is a bond that
shall never be broken.
I grew up in a middle class family near Bowler Wisconsin. My father was a factory worker and my mother was a housewife. I was the
second of 6 children with an older sister and 3 younger sisters and a younger brother. My dad enjoyed hunting and fishing and as soon
as I was old enough to tag along I went with him as often as I could. By age 8 I was learning to shoot a .22 rifle, a shotgun and a deer
rifle. At age 12 I shot my first white tailed deer. We were Lutheran and went to Sunday school and church every Sunday. We attended
Bowler school and I graduated from Bowler High with the class of 1966. I played baseball and basketball in school and studied
Agriculture, planning to be a dairy farmer. In 1965 my dad bought his father’s farm and we started to raise Holstein heifer calves and I
also had a few hogs. I was president of the Bowler chapter of the Future Farmers of America my senior year of high school.
I began to work in the same factory as my dad when I turned 18 on July 22,1966. We worked the second shift, from 4 to midnight, and
continued to build up the farm.
In July 1967 I started dating Phyllis Pehlke and we were engaged on Easter Sunday 1968. I knew I would be drafted soon and we
planned to get married after I had completed my two years of military service.
I took my induction physical on April 18, 1968 and was inducted into the US Army on May 17th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was sent to
Fort Campbell, KY for basic training. After 8 weeks I graduated from basic and was assigned to Fort Louis, WA for 8 more weeks of
Advanced Infantry Training. I graduated from AIT as a PFC in September and got a 15day leave with orders for Vietnam.
I flew home and spent my time with my family and Phyllis, enjoying my time as much as possible with the future uncertain. Up until now
war was only a game, now I was about to face the real thing and had no idea of what to expect. The time went by all to fast and it soon
was time to say good-by. I flew to San Francisco CA and spent the weekend with my dad’s cousin and her family. They showed me
around and on Sunday afternoon I reported in at Oakland Army Terminal to begin my processing for deployment to Vietnam.
It took several days to get everything in order before I was ready to ship out. There were many of the guys that I had taken basic and
AIT with, all heading for the war and all of us as replacements. After all was in order we boarded a Flying Tiger Airlines plane and
headed for the war zone. The first leg of our flight was from Travis Air Force Base, CA to Anchorage, Alaska. Things were pretty lively as
everyone had so much energy to release. We batted balloons around the cabin and joked with the stewardesses. After an hour layover
in Anchorage we re-boarded for our next leg to Japan. Now things were pretty quiet as everyone was trying to sleep or just be alone
with their thoughts. We made our stop in Japan and then it was on to Binh Hoa, Vietnam.
As we landed in Vietnam I remember the flight crew thanking us for flying with them and saying “we hope to see most of you, back with
us in a year”. Everyone was looking around and wondering which of us wouldn’t make it through our tour of duty. It was now October 17
and when they opened the door the heat and the smell hit us like a blast furnace. We went from a comfortable air-conditioned plane to a
very hot and muggy state that instantly opened all our pores and we were soaked in sweat. This was in the middle of the night and the
sounds and smells of jets and choppers taking off and landing filled the air and overwhelmed us. We were promptly marched to a
holding area. There we saw the troops that were headed home on the plane we had just vacated. They all looked so old and had a
haunted look in their eyes. We soon boarded busses, with screened windows, that took us to the 90th Replacement Center in Long
Binh.
Here we started in-processing which lasted until about 0400, at which time we were assigned bunks and spent the next two hours trying
to get some rest and listening to the sounds of war going on outside the perimeter. We were up at 0600 and had breakfast and then had
2 formations to make every day until our names were called to ship out to the unit we would be assigned to. I was assigned guard duty
for a couple days until my name was called on October 24th and I boarded a cargo plane for the short ride to Cu Chi and was assigned
to 25th Infantry Division.
From the 24th to the 31st we were in-processed and went through an in-country training course. This was to prepare us for the war that
we would soon enter. Everyone was really paying attention now, as the next step would be on the job training. On the 31st we were
paid, I drew $137 plus $65 hostile fire pay and $9 overseas pay. I was then assigned to Bravo Company 2/12 infantry and finally had an
address to send home so I could start to receive mail. Up to this point I had been writing home but could not receive any mail because I
didn’t have a permanent address. One of the perks of being in a war zone was we didn’t have to buy stamps. We just had to write free in
place of a stamp. This was one of the hardest times, as mail call would come to be the best time of the days ahead.
On November 1st Joe Trainor and I were sent out to Fire Support Base Stewert at the Trang Bang Bridge by truck convoy. We were
assigned to the 3rd platoon, led by LT George Curtis from NY; it had 39 men assigned with the average age of 20 years. Our squad
leader was SGT Norris Dwyer from ME. The other members of the squad were Ben Wilson, George Gonzales, and Joe Trainor, all from
CA, Jimmy Kemp from TX, Terry Harrison from IL, Mike Givens from OH, Bill Vanwey from CO, Larry Christiansen from IA, Tim Cook
from MS, Charles Jennings from NC, and me from WI. This was one of the few times during my tour when the squad was at full strength
of 12 men.
Bravo Company’s CO was a CPT Wissenger. Other members of the 3rd platoon were SGT Bracey and platoon medic Larry (Doc)
Feikema from MI, Bob McReynolds and Jim Crumley from TX, Ernest Shannon from OH, Glenn Boettcher and Bill Richard from WI, JR
Whitehead from TN, Bob Renkin from FL, Ron Carey from NY, Jerry Jenkins from SC, SGT Jerry Luffman, SGT Dias and Ruben
Ramero. They were others but their names escape me after all these years.
From the 2nd to the 10th of November we had road and mine sweep security from Trang Bang up route 6/A toward Fire Support Base
Pershing. This entailed providing security for the 2 engineers, who would use mine sweepers to search the road for mine and booby
traps that the VC may have put out the night before. We would drop off men at different checkpoints along the way to keep the road
open until the daily convoy would make it’s trip to Pershing to deliver supplies of food, ammo, fuel and mail to the FSB. Another unit
would sweep the road from Pershing and we would meet halfway and secure the road until the convoy made its return trip. If all went
well we would then return to the FSB and maybe have an ambush patrol that night. We would also have sweeps in the area east and
south of the FSB. This area was along the river and the patrols were intended to disrupt enemy infiltration routes and to keep the VC off
guard. Our ambush sites were also in this area and would often be very wet locations. After laying in the water all night a few times we
started to sandbag some of our ambushes by going to an ARVN compound or to the four bunkers by the bridge and calling our sit-raps
in every hour as if we had actually gone to our ambush site. One night I remember roaming around Trang Bang with the ARVNs for a
couple hours. One time on a sweep our squad was to make a clover leaf to check out an area. After we were away from the platoon we
spread out and had a little recon by fire, as we started firing at the bushes, we started getting some return fire, and here we were just
standing there. It didn’t take long for us to hit the dirt. We called in some mortar fire and then checked out the area and didn’t find
anything. That was the first time I had been shot at but no one was hit so we went back and joined up with the rest of the platoon. We
didn’t make any other contact that day. At this time I was carrying ammo for the M-60 machine gunner, George Gonzales. Jimmy Kemp
was the other ammo bearer and we each carried 400 rounds for the machinegun plus our basic load of 21 magazines for our M-16s and
four fragmentation grenades and a couple smoke grenades. This made walking 4 or 5 clicks in the heat and in wet areas a very long
hard days work. We each carried at least 2 canteens of water and a first aid bandage.
Finally on November 4th I started getting mail. Phyllis wrote me almost every day for my whole tour. Those letters and packages from
home really helped to keep my spirits up. My mother sent me the Portals of Prayer so I would always find time to read the lesson for the
day and the verses in my little New Testament Bible that I carried in a plastic bag in my left breast pocket. These were the things that
really helped me get through my tour.
On the evening of November 8th a squad from the 2nd platoon ran into a VC ambush as they were moving toward their ambush site.
They had a claymore mine blown on them and they had 6 men dusted off with a verity of injuries.
On November 11th I went on my first Eagle Flight/ Combat Assault. The choppers picked us up at Trang Bang and our LZ was about 8
clicks away in the Ho Bo Woods. It was a real thrill circling around in the choppers as the artillery and gun ships prepped the LZ. As we
came roaring in the door gunners opened up with their M-60s. As soon as we touched down everyone unloaded and ran toward the
wood line and spread out and got down. It was a cold LZ, but being my first time the adrenaline was really pumping through my system.
We spent most of the day checking out the area and blowing up some tunnels that we found, but made no contact. Then we spread out
on the PZ and popped smoke so the choppers could find us and in they came to pick us up and take us back to the FSB. I always
enjoyed the ride home because we knew we wouldn’t be getting shot at on the LZ at the fire base although a few times we got mortared
as we were coming back in the wire. It was always nice and cool riding in those birds after humping around in the jungle all day, trying to
find Charlie.
On November 12th we were on a combat patrol east of FSB Stewert when I had my first encounter with a new enemy. I was going
through a bamboo hedgerow when all of a sudden I was being bitten all over by the biggest meanest red ants that I had ever seen. They
had fallen off the bamboo and were all over me. I was shedding my gear and my shirt and finally got them off of me. The other guys, that
had been in the field a while, were roaring with laughter and though it was very funny. After I finally got rid of the ants I could also see
humor in the situation. I learned to look out for all sorts of insects after that. We didn’t make any contact with the enemy and returned to
the FSB. We continued to rotate from road security to patrols and ambushes until 22nd when we started our move to FSB Pershing. We
packed all of the gear that we couldn’t carry and sent it on the convoy. The plan was to go about half way to Pershing and then spend
the night in the field and continue on the next day. As it turned out we made contact the first day. After returning fire we called in an air
strike and then checked out the area. We found 4 dead and 2 wounded enemy and captured 7 AK-47 rifles, 2 RPG grenade launchers
and an M-79 grenade launcher. We sent the 2 wounded VC and the captured equipment in by chopper and then set up a NDP for the
night. All was quiet over night but as we were getting ready to move out we once again made contact. After being in contact for most of
the day, we got a ride back to FSB Stewert with the 1/5 on their APCs. We spent the night there and the next morning started out on a
more direct route to FSB Pershing. This time we encountered no resistance and got into Pershing in the afternoon of the 25th. On the
26th we had an Eagle Flight to the Ho Bo woods with 2 LZs but made no contact. We got back to Pershing a little after noon and started
work on our new homes. These were 12’X 12’ bunkers that were 4’ into the ground and 2’ of sandbags above ground with PSP for the
roof covered with another 2 rows of sandbags. Each bunker housed 4-6 men. We lined the dirt walls with boards from 105mm ammo
crates.
On Thanksgiving Day we had a patrol south of Pershing and didn’t make any contact, but as we were heading in the wire we started to
get mortared. The rounds hit behind us so we came in on the dead run as they tried to walk the rounds into the base. As we got in the
105s were firing and the mortars stopped. We didn’t have anyone hit. Just as we were getting ready for our evening Thanksgiving Day
meal, we got word to saddle up and get ready to reinforce another company that was in heavy contact. So with all our gear and
weapons we ate our turkey diner and waited for the choppers to arrive. After a couple hours the mission was called of so we stood
down. George Gonzales and I had to go on LP, so we spent the night lying outside the wire watching and listing for any sign of Charlie.
When we came in that morning we found out that we would be going into Cu Chi and riding point jeep in the convoy to and from
Pershing with the M-60 machinegun in a few days. We got some rest and then spent the day working on our bunkers.
On Dec 1st George and I road the convoy into Cu Chi to begin our convoy security duty. Dec 2 we road in the rear of the convoy as rear
security. We left Cu Chi at 1030 and got back at1400. Everything went smooth, except that we really got dirty riding in the cloud of dust
that all the other trucks and jeeps threw up. B and C companies had an Eagle Flight to the Ho Bo woods and ran into a bunch of booby
traps and had some contact. C company lost 5 men killed and 12 wounded. B Company had 3 wounded. SGT Dwyer stepped on a
booby trapped 81 mortar round and was thrown in the air and had both legs and an arm broken and was all cut up by shrapnel.
Shrapnel hit Lt. Curtis and Sgt. Luffman from the same blast, but they were back in the field shortly. Dwyer would be going back to the
World. George and I went to the hospital to see Dwyer when we got back to Cu Chi he was improving, but still was in pretty rough
shape. We were now riding point jeep in the convoy and so far we hadn’t had any trouble with the convoy getting hit. So far we had
been at this for 8 days and I supposed it would just be a matter of time till Charlie would try to hit it again. We continued to ride point
jeep in the convoy and everything went, as it should.
On Friday Dec 13th B Company was in contact. When we got back to Cu Chi, Top asked us if we had known Bill Vanwey. We said, “ yes
we know him, why?” He said Bill had been killed and we had to go to Graves Registration to identify the body. That really hit us hard.
We got in the jeep and drove over there and when they opened the body bag there was Bill with bullet holes across his chest. I said to
George on the way back to the company area, “I have to get back to the field.” I felt that I should be with the platoon instead of just
riding convoy security. When we got back to the company area, Bob McReynolds was there. He had been slightly wounded and dusted
of and patched up at the hospital. The company was still in contact and we listened to the radio, while Mac told us what had happened.
He said that Bill and Terry Harrison had been moving the M-60 machinegun up to a new location when a VC popped up out of a spider
hole in a nearby hedgerow and got off a burst that killed Bill. Terry had been right next to Bill caring the ammo. Some of the bullets hit
Terry in the ammo he was carrying and bounced off, throwing him to the ground. When he rolled over to see if Bill had been hit he found
him already dead. Mac said that the medivac chopper that he was on took ground fire as they lifted off and the copilot was hit. The next
day, B Company came in for a 48hr stand down. George and I were still riding convoy security. The 16th there was a tank going out to
Pershing so it led the convoy. Just as it was about to cross the little bridge on 6/A it hit a mine and blew off a track. Then the truck
behind it hid another mine and 2 men were wounded. They called in a dust off for the wounded and we had to wait for a tank retriever to
get the tank and truck out of the way, so the rest of the convoy could get through. We had to put out security to make sure Charlie didn’t
sneak up and try to take out the trucks with an RPG. We made it out and back ok, but it made us wonder what would have happened if
we had been on point and hit those mines with our jeep. We didn’t get back to Cu Chi until 1700, but at least we made it safely. On Dec
18 we road the convoy to Pershing and stayed so we were back in the field again. The 19th we had an ambush and didn’t make any
contact so we had the 20th to finish our bunkers. Phyllis sent me a Christmas wreath that I hung in our bunker to make it seem a little
more like Christmas.
On Dec 22 we had road security on 6/A and the engineers found and disarmed a couple anti-tank mines. Joe Jerkawiez tripped a
booby-trapped hand grenade and was dusted off with shrapnel in his neck and legs. I didn’t think it was too bad, he should be back to
the field after couple weeks in the hospital. There were so many booby-traps all over that area, It seemed we lost more men to booby-
traps then we did when we made contact and there was no way to fight back it really got frustrating. We had Church services the last 2
nights so that always helped to keep our spirits up. I got the Hoards Dairyman magazine at mail call along with my usual letter from
Phyllis and a letter from my mother. The 23rd we were suppose to go on ambush, but we hide inside the wire and got caught. Terry had
to go see the CO and then we went out northeast of Pershing. We were set up for a while when an ox cart came by. Terry decided that
the way things were going for us that night, we would just let it pass. The rest of the night was quiet. When we got back in some of the
guys got to go into Cu Chi to see the Bob Hope Christmas Show. Terry was suppose to be one of those, but because of the events of
the night before he had to stay back at Pershing with the rest of us that weren’t in-country long enough to get to go.
There was a Christmas truce in effect from 1800 on the 24th to 1800on the 25th. We ran some small patrols around Pershing but it was
pretty quiet. I had LP on the 24th and at 2100 everyone was shooting up red and green flares to celebrate Christmas Eve. They started
a few fires around us so we were crawling around to put them out. On Christmas the BN Commander walked the bunker line to wish us
all a Merry Christmas. In the afternoon Billy Graham and a choir of medical people from Cu Chi came out and sang Christmas carols for
us. They also had a long sheet of paper that folks from back in the states had signed wishing us a Merry Christmas and thanking us for
serving our country. That was very moving to know that not everybody is protesting the war.
I got orders promoting me to SP/4 on the 26th and I started caring the M-79 grenade launcher on the 27th. We had road security both
days and the engineers found and disarmed a couple mines each day so we knew Charlie had been busy at night. The Rome plows
were working to remove the brush from the sides of the road. That should make it safer for the convoy and eliminate a lot of the booby
traps for the guys that have to walk flank while we are on road security. It will also give us a better view of the road when we set up our
ambushes along the road to try to catch Charlie setting his mines in the road.
On Dec 30th we got up at 0330 and left on an Eagle flight a 0500 in the dark. The whole company was on this operation along with a
few other units. We surrounded a village and at first light we rounded up everybody and they had a special team from MI to interview
everyone and they took a bunch of VC suspects in for further questioning. Then we went through the village and looked for weapons
and tunnels. We found a few and the engineers came in and blew them up. It was really different flying in the dark but everything went
good and we didn’t lose anyone. We got back to Pershing about 1400. On the 31st our squad stayed back at Pershing while the rest of
the company went on another Eagle flight. At midnight the place was all lit up with flares as we celebrated the New Year. We had road
security on New Years Day and everything went fine. It has really helped that they cleared the jungle back a 100 feet or so on each side
of the road. They haven’t found any mines in the road lately and the convoy hasn’t been ambushed either. It has been pretty quiet
around here and that’s the way we like it. On Jan 2nd we were back at Pershing and a chopper flew over. It was about 500 meters south
of the FSB when we heard a pop and it started to rotate faster and faster ant went down and burned. We don’t know if it was hit by
ground fire or if it the tail rotor broke, but all six people on board were killed. The first platoon went out to secure the site while they sent
another chopper to recover the bodies. That gives us something else to think about when were riding in those choppers. There sure are
a lot of ways to get killed over here. We worked most of the rest of the day on another bunker.
It started to rain every night and some of our bunkers caved in and all of them were leaking, so we put plastic sheets over them and
covered them with another layer of sandbags. We only had 2 companies in Pershing so we had to start pulling bunker guard at some of
the other bunkers. That meant we got less sleep and had to pull longer shifts every night when we were not out on ambush. On Jan 4th
George Gonzales went into Cu Chi to take over the job of supply Sgt., he was glad to get out of the field. We gave him a hard time
about becoming a “ Base Camp Warrior”, but it’s always good to see someone get out of the field, so we were happy for him. We should
be able to get the supplies that we need out here now because he knows what it’s like out here.
On Jan 6th B company had an Eagle flight south of Pershing. We made a sweep of the area and found a tunnel complex and some
bunkers with a lot of rice and salt. We called in a couple choppers and loaded it on to be taken in and then blew the bunkers and
tunnels. Then we moved to an open area where we dug in to spend the night. Our squad went out on ambush at about 1800 and
checked out our ambush site. At dark we moved in and set out our claymore mines and got ready for a long night. About midnight we
had some movement, but a group of about 12 VC walked between our position and our claymores, so we let them go. Then all hell
broke loose at the NDP. They were really getting hit hard. We decided to move to a better location so we pulled in our claymores and
found a better site. By now the battle at the NDP was winding down as Doc Feikema was out setting up the first claymore, a group of
VC, coming back from the attack on the NDP, walked by and sat down on the dike. Doc just sat still between the rest of us and the VC.
We had also lost radio contact with the NDP so we just sat tight and waited. If they had spotted us and opened up Doc would have been
caught in the crossfire. We all breathed a sigh of relief when they got up and walked away. We couldn’t call in artillery on them because
the radio wasn’t working. We set out the rest of our claymores and waited to see what else could happen. It wasn’t long before we had
some more movement to our rear but our radio still wasn’t working so we just sat tight for the rest of the night. At daylight we pulled in
our claymores and headed back to the NDP. The guys had held them off and only a couple of them had been wounded. One of the other
platoons had blown their ambush and killed 4 VC. The choppers came in and picked us up and took us several clicks away and we
swept back to the NDP and found parts of 12 bodies and lots of blood trails leading off in all directions. When we got back to the NDP
we were flown back to Pershing. Ron Carey was awarded the Silver Star for his efforts at the NDP that night. Mike Givens was one of
the wounded; he had a head wound and was evacuated. The Good Lord sure had been with us that night, it could have been far worse
for us than it was.
On Jan 8th we moved to A Company’s logger site, south of Pershing and started to provide security for the Rome plows with a unit of
the1/5 (M) Inf. We rode around on their APCs while the Rome plows knock down the jungle and set off a lot of the booby-traps and
sometimes found tunnel openings. Our job was to keep the VC from sneaking up on the Rome plows so the could do their work. At night
we sent ambushes out from the logger site while the Rome plows and the APCs stayed inside the berm. The 9th we tore down the
bunkers and moved to a new location and the Rome plows carved out a new logger site and we began to build our bunkers. We got a
re-supply chopper in and they also brought our mail, so we took a break to read our letters. I just finished reading a letter from Phyllis
when we started taking some small arms fire. Our machine gunner had gone into Cu Chi so I had the M-60 and I put out about 200
rounds and everyone else opened up so that took care of that. After it was over I found my letter and it was all shot up, apparently it had
gotten in front of the machinegun. Well we got busy and started building our bunkers while the Rome plows started clearing the jungle
around the new logger site. One of the other platoons sent out an ambush and about midnight they blew their claymors and got 4 VC.
So we knew that they were around there and probably didn’t like it that the Rome plows were clearing out all the jungle that the use to
hide in. This riding around instead of walking was pretty neat, but we really got dirty from all the dust and the APCs made good targets
for RPGs. But they really had the firepower with that .50 cal. Machinegun and 2 M-60s.
We continued to work with the Rome plows and on the 13th we moved again. This time we set up on the West Side of Highway 1, a
couple clicks south of Trang Bang. I got back to carrying my M-79 again and everything was going pretty smooth. Jan 14th I got orders
for my CIB so now I was officially a veteran infantryman.
We continued to provide security for the Rome plows and take turns going out on ambush. The ambush that comes to mind was one
where Terry Harrison was the squad leader. We were suppose to go north of the logger site and set up at the intersection of two roads,
but the whole area had been worked over by the Rome plows and it was hard to find where a road had once been. I was keeping pace
count and when we got close to 800 meters I told Terry this should be it. He said we have to find the road intersection so we kept on
going and I kept on counting and when I had 900 meters I told him but he said he hadn’t seen the intersection yet. I asked him if he was
looking for a road sign or a centerline. If we kept on going we would be in downtown Trang Bang. He didn’t see the humor in my
remarks, but I still kid him about that to this day. We finally set up and then we started to get some sniper fire that was hitting pretty
close. I think they were trying to get us to return fire so they could pinpoint our location. To make matters worse, the .50 cal
machineguns at the logger site started firing at the snipers, over our heads. Eventually things quieted down and we spent the rest of the
night without any contact. It sure was good to see the sun come up that morning, as it always was when we were out by ourselves with
only 12 men. We continued to provide security for the Rome Plows and finally got back to Pershing on the 20th. It was good to be back,
but our squad had ambush that night. Another easy night no contact, so we had the morning off to rest up. Then we had to help unload
the convoy and do some other details around the FSB. We were short handed at Pershing with only 2 companies in there, so we had to
pull bunker guard at bunkers on the other side of the firebase. On the 23rd we had a platoon size patrol along the river. I’d been walking
point for the last few days, found a few booby-traps, no contact but it was wet and when we got back everyone had a few leaches that
had hitched a ride back and were feasting on our blood. So we had to check ourselves over and either burn them off or squirt some
insect repellent on them and they drop right off. All things considered it had been a pretty easy day. Ben Wilson got back from LCLC and
Joe Jerkawiez got back from the hospital recovered from his wounds.
Jan 24th we had road security from Pershing down 6/A toward Trang Bang. All went well, it sure has helped that they had the Rome
Plows cut the jungle back. I know Charlie is still out there but he doesn’t seem to be as active lately and that’s just fine with us. We were
getting mortared every night but only a few rounds at a time. We had another squad-sized ambush on the 25th, but no contact. The 27th
we flew out to the Ho Bo woods and dug in for the night. I was on LP and everything was quiet. We got back to Pershing at 1500. The
29th we had another Eagle flight with 2 LZs didn’t make any contact just found a few tunnels and dud rounds and had the engineers
blow them. I had bunker guard on the other side of the fire base again, another quiet night.
Jan 30th we started what was suppose to be a 4 or 5 day operation. We waited on the PZ at Pershing for about 4 hours for the
choppers. When they finally got there, A and B companies were lifted to a LZ near the Saigon River. We were in the air about 30
minutes while the artillery prepped the LZ. As we came in the LZ was still smoking from the HE and the door gunners opened up with
their M-60s. We didn’t get any incoming fire so we moved to the wood line and set up security. Our squad moved into the woods and
checked it out. Terry and I found some rice in a pot that was still warm and some clothes, so we knew that there were VC in the area.
We moved back into the open area near the river and started digging our foxholes. This would be our base of operation for the next
week. There was waist high grass and lots of insects of all kinds. The CH-47 helicopters started bring in sling loads of wire, sandbags,
shovels, PSP and timbers to use to build bunkers. They also brought in C rations, water and ammo. We got our bunkers done about
2100 and started guard at 2200. We were expecting to get hit that first night, but it passed without incident. We rotated between going
on patrols, around the logger site, securing the logger while other platoons went on patrols, and sending ambushes, out from the logger
site. We also sent out LPs every night. On one patrol we came across a couple burned out APCs and we took the .50 cal machinegun
and humped it back and sent it in to have it repaired. We eventually had it mounted on a line bunker at Pershing. On that same patrol
we found the bodies of 2 GIs that the enemy had buried in shallow graves. The third night we were in the logger we got mortared twice.
About 30 rounds of 82MM mortars cane in at 1800 and then at midnight we got another 15 rounds. A Company had 3 wounded and B
Company had 1 Wounded. We expected a ground attack after the mortars, but none came.