Al's Vietnam War Story

you know I was a graduate of the ROTC program from San Jose State I always wanted to be an army officer and it was at that time I thought I'd be a career officer I thought the Marine Corps was conducts know if you're gonna if you're gonna to me the if you're gonna go into a join a military unit the infantry army infantry seemed like the basic thing I graduated on January 24th 1964 and I reported the Bene in a January 30th well I went to I was there initially to go to the infantry off infantry officers basic course upon graduation I was I was assigned to the Headquarters Company 2nd Brigade of the 38th 38th Infantry of the 2nd Infantry Division which was at Benning and that was actually the we had a second designation which was the 11th Air Assault Division and so I was sent there as a communications platoon leader I was there maybe less than maybe a less than a year less than a year then I was sent to Charlie Company 2nd battalion 38th Infantry 2nd Infantry Division and then became a rifle platoon leader at that time just prior to Vietnam I was promoted oh I had been promoted the first lieutenant and I was made more I was taken out of the field as a rifle Patil later made a mortar platoon leader as before we went to Vietnam actually we left in August of 1965 from Benning we went by ship so we didn't get into Vietnam actually until September of 65 I've never been on a ship before in my life and it was it's an experience and now I know I'd never joined the Navy but we went from the East Coast from Charles from Charleston down through the Panama Canal which was an interesting segment of our journey and just basically was just interesting going through the canals then went up to Long Beach California to reef yes they were going to resupply the ships prior to prior to arriving in Vietnam a couple days outside port we had a meeting in we works like the commander and Italian commander told us we were gonna have a hot beach that we would have to assault a beach take the beach and then after that we would ride in convoy two on K we had a party had been sent there earlier had flown over and it started building the base so when we came off the ship we went on the I don't know what they call them LCIS or something like that but the landing craft the U in World War 2 we did we went down the rope ladders jumped in the landing craft did some circling around and we were told we were going to assault a beach so we got pretty we were pretty hyped and ready to go we hit the beach and the guy we all came screaming off the screaming out of the LC eyes and general westmoreland in the army band greeted this so it was kind of a letdown see Elise and then they just threw us in Chinooks and they flew us down k we were involved some with the cleaning up of the area and also police security at night but there was there wasn't a lot going on it was just a security the base basically pretty much but then I got sent out excuse me I got transferred out and it's about the 1st of October down to the 173rd airborne so I left the unit knowing K and when it had the flight down the Benoit it was interesting because I was what I was I was going from the first cab which was considered a very elite unit in the army and I was going to an airborne unit which is really the elite of the army and it was a great experience it was you really would new year with some very sharp soldiers and I had a company commander named Walt Daniel who was called diesel stamp that was just that's what everybody called him well we didn't call him that we call him sir but he was a fantastic company commander it's and they had a pretty gung-ho unit platoon of about 40 40 young paratroopers we actually were a little heavy who not even had 45 probably over two actio and he yeah typical mission was the company went out and we went as a company or battalion sometimes and it searches destroys basically just looking for the enemy trying to make contact usually in pretty high pretty heavy jungle war zone deal was just about 10 kilometers 15 kilometers north of our base so we spent time in there went to the Iron Triangle that was my first mission was the Iron Triangle triple-canopy jungle swampy really just it was just a miserable type of terrain to go through wasn't necessarily hilly or anything but it was just thick with jungle and you were basically and you knew an enemy territory you had no idea where they were you couldn't see her here or anything it's a little it's a little hairy I think the thing that made a little easier was the fact I was with 200 guys so I wasn't overly overly worried that we were going to get wiped out or anything but you know you're still walking through something you can't see a lot of wait a minute vines which means that they hook up on your pack and you'll take a step forward and they'll drag you two steps back there you would just keep fighting this terrain all the way in the vegetation and why there was leeches and you know snakes and everything else that you have to deal with in a jungle we went out there for about four or five days I think we didn't make any contact and then we finally went back in and then the next major operation was in the war zone D operation hump 1965 was a life changer we went out for five days on the 5th of November and war zone D is just above Ben Watts right across the river from Benoit and had it was a Viet Minh what do you want to say stronghold ever since the war with the French and South Vietnamese I don't think ever went in there we were one of the first units to go in we in this effort operation which was called hump we knew they were there because we had our radio Research Unit had intercepted radio signals out of war zone d so we were told that if we received the codeword sour apples and that they made cotton they knew where they were so on the third day the night of the third day which was the seventh of member that night we set up on a trail just off a trail and we got sour apple was sent over the brigade net so we sent units out looking see if we can make contact there was nothing but there was one of the great quotes was one of the company commanders says it's been reported that there was chickens cackling and you know was where chickens doing in the jungle and then that try to get the sequence that night of Viet Cong and or NVA soldier walked into our perimeter somehow and we killed them unfortunately nobody asked him questions he was killed first the next morning 8 o'clock we we went out all the units went out different areas my unit went east Bravo Company went north and northwest Charlie Company went west and southwest and we made contact about 800 300 Charlie Company made contact first they ran into about well he ran into probably a battalion there were about 1200 and we were about 500 I think and we ran into him on Hill 65 Charlie Company made first contact Bravo Company who which was to their north turned around and moved towards them was heading south to bolster Charlie Company my company was brought back in and then we were brought in to make an assault on the gooks from the-from to see if I get their directions right we were gonna go south heading north and try to cut the gooks off as we got to started moving there was we were just hooking up we got the key we got the order from from Captain Daniel he said first jingo 1st 3rd platoon go second and 2nd platoon be last and we would make a circle just pick each other up and head out well Dave Davis 1st platoon picked me up and I came in next and about that time we were walking close to the 2nd platoons command post a mortar was dropped in the middle of the it killed the 10 sergeant a couple of squad leaders wounded the platoon leader wounded the medics and I think there was some like seven or eight casualties it landed right in the middle so second Platoon had to be slayed stayed there they couldn't move because there's too many casualties so Dave and I took off for the hill company commander brought us online we made an assault towards the hill Dave saw machine-gun nests attacked it he was killed by the by a gulet been wounded had still enough life and then pull trigger and shot Dave and they had Dave was West Point 64 and my roommate we then broke contact we we moved back they attacked us we thought we we killed probably a hundred of them in the process and then we finally made it back to base camp the reason we had to break contact was we were the only force left in the battalion that can do anything and the battalion commander was concerned that he needed us to keep that area where he was secured something you bring helicopters in the next thing gets the hell out of there so that's why he brought us out rather than having us pursuing the attack more there was a all-day battle and it came close to will you get us getting overrun we fortunately we had air support and artillery support and I think we have navels for two excuse me and were able to able to basically get down the retreat the final tap of final numbers were 403 enemy dead 51 Americans died probably about another 85 90 were wounded so we lost just about a rifle company on that battle the guys who did the kick some of the guys who were counting the dead body said that there was the whole hill of dead gooks that they never got to and so the figure 400 has been questioned at different times supposedly according to the commanding general a few months later the 1st Infantry Division one in the war zone D found some written material in that same general area that stated there was that the VCE had to field hospitals and that one of them took in 700 dead you know I said Dave's body was Dave was brought back by one of his sergeants and his body was laid down by the company command post and I remember going over to pulling the poncho off and looking at him and I can't remember that all I know is I did it but I don't know what I saw in fact might remember says more than I was I see myself kneeling by the poncho and raising it but I see myself from 20 feet back and somebody overlooking me that's where the life-changing part was yes I went to the wall in 85 I've only been there once and I have time on going back well there's a homeless a-hole there's almost a whole section I just had saw our guys names on it I have a picture of myself waiting for the plane to take me out of there and it was a big smile on my face I know that just happy we all cheer this is our playing the wheels off the ground yes one big chair we have flown at the McCord and then from accord another captain and I and another guy came here who was three of us jumped a cab and came down with the C tack and I flew home to Los Angeles that night a button 9 or 10 o'clock I think it was first of all in the plane I had a rifle with me that I had it was a token trophy my units have found and we all got one you know we all got rifles so I brought that home well I got I was sitting on the front part of the plane was basically empty I was sitting in the front part of the coach section and what to get up to go to get a bathroom I was gonna right go right through the first-class section I don't even know if anybody was in there and the stewardess stopped me and gave me a bunch of crap basically and looked me up and down like I was a piece to piece of dirt so that wasn't too bright I mean I wasn't too welcoming I won't fly United Airlines because that it was just it was shock it was culture shock coming back it took it took weeks to try to get some kind of semblance of order again I was still in the army and I was a problem well first of all he couldn't worry I was in Los Angeles you can't wear a uniform because you this is 1968 you'd be in big trouble so he had to sneak around kind of thing you know it was it's it was I was a little disgusting too and the reception we got wasn't anything you know obviously and I was a pretty uptight anyway so it probably contributed to my well-being their not well-being

Channel: MrMwebberley

Views: 90,429

Keywords: Army, Story, Military, Vetran, Vietnam, Vietnam War (Event), War

Id: sJ5dZZckCiQ

Length: 14min 30sec (870 seconds)

Published: Wed May 22 2013