Vietnam_Hill 943

there is a hill in Vietnam a nameless uninhabited hill known only by a number 943 943 meters five this is a story of the men of Alpha Company who tried to take that hill in particular it is the story of three men Jim Buckner 26 private first class a draftee in private life he is manager of his father's restaurant in Derby New York what after this Bruce blind 21 a California college dropout he threatened to go over the hill rather than go to Vietnam in a year he is promoted to sergeant JC Perry Charles Joseph Coons 29 from Georgia married two children one third of his life in the army a sergeant a career soldier for six hundred $15 a month [Music] jaesi the professional Bruce black the college kid and Jim Buckner the draftee have become friends in there for months in Vietnam they share an equal dislike for their one year tour of duty black calls it a jail sentence [Music] the region where they are fighting is among the most remote in the world the mountainous backbone of Indochina virtually uninhabitable rainforest [Music] Dokdo one district in the wilderness it is the area of the border junction of South Vietnam Cambodia and Laos a sanctuary supply base and staging area for North Vietnamese operations into the highlands in recent weeks the enemy has moved in on Dokdo and the Americans are driving them out one of the objectives is held 943 the fight for Hill 943 will not appear in any history of the Vietnam War it was an insignificant unspectacular fight near the end of what was called the Battle of docto and those of us reporters here covering the larger campaign did not notice 943 we did not witness the fighting there there were three men who went up the hill with the soldiers cameraman Eric der Schmid soundman septum--ah and assistant cameraman sound man Hubert la Campione and they recorded what happened in the lives of a few young men in a few days this is not a typical war story but more is something of the typical routine the drama of daily life in the field it is something about why the war in Vietnam is so unusual and why these men are so similar to those who have gone to war before this is a CBS News special Hill 943 with CBS News correspondent John Lawrence this broadcast is brought to you by your local quality Buick dealers wouldn't you really rather have a Buick quality Theresa Moran Theresa Moran come in Teresa here over I'm approaching D Manhattan first I'd like to see you down at Pier five Brooklyn we better get this festival this is Danny grand on New York tug dispatcher talks about the 1968 Buick Skylark I must depend on an automobile especially in on emergency situations where I have to get right down to the waterfront dependability and performance is a very important factor for me owning a few oak it's an excellent car the interior that's just fine quality I've been parking my fuel cars down by the waterfront now it's 20 years very little rust or corrosion I've always depended on the cart and it's never never let me down you were gonna keep selling Buicks for us wouldn't you really rather have a Buick the last day of November 1967 Alpha Company 3rd battalion 12th infantry 4th division advances on Hill 943 a half mile away their own artillery pounds the area around the men as close as a hundred yards there are 114 men in the Patrol four platoons 16 squads JC leads a heavy weapon squad in 2nd platoon a company has been in the field for 10 days 10 days of walking crawling through the jungle 810 hours a day it has been two weeks in serious contact with the enemy the colonel battalion commander Jamie Hendricks code name grizzly [Applause] [Music] grisly recalls this mission we're making a reconnaissance ahead of the rifle companies which are moving over land to 943 intelligence has reported that enemy occupies 943 and we always make it a habit of making a visual reconnaissance from the air before our LMS on the ground move into it I'm thinking about the route entity companies are covered from the ground below me making this reconnaissance is supposed to pre top-level as possible in order to get a better view down through the trees and coming over Hill 943 we just made a sharp Bank with a chopper suddenly there was a an explosion and then suddenly a massive red smoke the aircraft had been hit by a 50 calibre anti-aircraft gun one round came in about three inches past my left foot went up through my radio equipment detonated a red smoke grenade I had hanging on my radio came out through a clipboard I was riding on on top of the radio and it was metal fragments from the grenade and parts of radio they hit me in the face [Applause] [Applause] cider 1-0 versus this recipe make sure we have the coordinates to strike now where we just receive light regular 8 0 1 1 1 5 we're gonna fire a 15-minute preparation is more in before these companies move out the wounding of grizzly affects the attitude of Alpha Company suspicion becomes certainty the enemy is up ahead on 943 JC moves his squad up Jim buckler stick to three daughters from find our convention six fights at excite to try to fight to battle roar 30 meters from six go contact should be catching up son okay be BEC long sergeant Williams another squad leader in second platoon the Hales jungle beating your way through it didn't snipe that no know where he's coming from shooting that shadows are too are we going around us now and that's hairy you don't know when that Jeff was coming in on you I want a new one if I get one in a skate what I'm looking for is a fist on a roasting day unless we find an officer up there is done you think put you on ambush for the next 10 days three days be nice no big thing we're all fairly mean some got five might start to do over here and then hope it goes faster than it is no big I'm fine I'm looking forward to getting out of here the column moves forward again it is one day's march to the hill the first evidence of the enemy bunkers black has thrown in a grenade there are new men in his squad reluctant to searches the whole black goes down himself the bunker is 40 feet deep with stairways wells interconnecting tunnels and an underground miss Hall JC has taken a look it is the most elaborate bunker complex 2nd platoon has seen [Applause] the enemy has left behind some supplies a barbershop communications wire bedding a sardine can the men are aware that the enemy they are chasing is not Vietcong but a regular unit of the North Vietnamese Army a bamboo helmet is proof a landing zone must be cut and blasted so that helicopters can bring in supplies one soldier has been hit by a falling tree what's wrong with her what's this poster she working on ELC this was behind the tree alpha company's commander captain David Floyd what behind a tree curve back pity [Music] as often as they are resupplied the men get mail hey where's my mail Burt got to boo me some of these letters they can sure make you homesick a letter from home or Jim Buckner can't wait till I get back next dog is boy and they have one big party I hope when I get back I'm not sure mr. good times and all the people it's funny I you sure miss it when I was back there working I really didn't like it that much and working for your family but now when you're away from it you miss it [Music] Oh white JC's wife writes him almost every day today's a good day talking about being older and 30 years old she's only young chick nice I'll leave out through the other parts an airstrike one thousand pound bombs to blast the hill [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the airstrikes and the artillery found the hill throughout the night the next day 200 yards from Hill 943 the enemy's command post is discovered grizzly makes a personal inspection devices I use to raise and lower things down to the gate like the old-fashioned well that's the other nightmare Oh yes sir they're looking around by putting them up there for security you know just to see what the area looked like okay won't destroy this ladder here yes sir please it's your recon patrol ready to go grizzly orders his men to move out it is two days since he was shot this beauty is the newest baby from GMC that truck people from General Motors take a good look we're going to tear it apart just to prove a point what a difference our name mates GMC pickups have double headlamps the world's greatest selections of pickup engines v8 engines with up to 310 horsepower more color combinations and you can get on a lot of cars plus buckets and carpeting an exclusive front coil rare leaf suspension rugged yet comfortable a load box with double double steel walls GMC gives you a lot more truck for your money and yet there's no difference in price talk about it with your GMC truck dealer GMC the truck people from General Motors ladies and gentlemen the Esso advertising manager wants to get rid of ESO Tiger do you want to see the tiger go you're going to get a chance to tell us in an election between the ad manager and the tiger who will win that's up to you we're strictly neutral the ad manager wants to fire the Esso tiger how do you feel about that it's a funny thing you should ask I think that's so unfair why are we tiger well I think lots of people know so much about why should they find we're asking people who they're voting for in the election the Esso tiger or the ad manager who wants to fire him I'm gonna vote for the tiger Tiger the tiger Tiger the tiger a future question oh the tie there for the tiger a tiger all the way I'm gonna vote for the admin [Music] Alpha Company has reached the base of Hill 943 the patrol begins a reconnaissance squad is on the point up ahead JC Buckner and black with second Platoon in the rear fifty yards from the top the point squad is Ambler the word is passed down the hill Alpha Company has taken casualties you guys sure how betty was hit she hear anything about it [ __ ] up hey rip JC don't be real careful one guy got hit d rekt lookin out real good hey Jim black tell them not just to watch out in the trees but for spider holes like that where ya Buckner's fireteam is 50 yards from the front I think to you and probably left a handful behind snipers and in spider holes sent up a ton treason later off there probably ain't more than five of them at the most they live back more for harassment than anything else didn't get a couple okay if we go up online they'd probably fall out this makes it a little harder that's not you scared a little little one when you're first doing those shots first one off you get real scared you know now that you're down on their cover a little bit you start thinking about it calm down but I glad I'm not up and lead yeah I got rich over on that side times over there down the banks did you like the video tonight right now I'd like to be back home sitting on a beach with a cold six fat I don't know it's I don't believe that we should sit back and pull off the way everybody's talking I think we should be here in stop it stop communism here I know from some of the things I've seen I wouldn't want anything like this to be going on in my country so it's better to fight in somebody else's country I have everything messed up there's a law as Alpha Company waits for an airstrike JC makes it so bad over here you can't even see the people you're shooting at is they just fire him you just scare the sound and that's it you can't see live no time you seem really is what I did that's about the best time soon yeah yeah I'm scared everybody else is out here too any war is bad when his desk going on more is war I'm scared too I'd like to be home my wife I'm good you know that there aren't they're waiting for you I know they're out there but so far you can't see them like the sergeant says you know they're out there but let's get you nowhere guide the guys that are just going home are scared no matter how many firefights you get into get shot at you're still just as scared as the first guy coming over here Bruce black well these are back in bed or at home mostly at home I think but if a gym get down think the vinner droppers joke this makes me nervous to leave in the air for some sometimes come in I don't like that they very seldom make mistakes but it's always the first time I hope they vomit real heavy before we have to try and take it there's no doubt about it we'll try and have to we'll have to go up and today tomorrow we'll probably have to take it now it we know something's up [Applause] long as you're overanalyzing you'll ever get used to that fireman when they start bombing this close that's what I really started [Music] [Applause] let's sort of Meet a Tall like this I'm glad they're on our side pretty heavy was a big stuff [Music] you're ready to move the move it is decided that Alpha Company will not press the attack but evacuate its casualties and withdraw for the night tomorrow they will try again to take ill 943 two men are wounded in the ambush they did not see the snipers who shot them another man is dead hit in the head by fragments from a 500-pound bomb a freak accident one of the bombs from the air strike exploding in the trees overhead his one boy went up that hill his Derrick talking boy one up it didn't go home he just had a few days alone he's joking but I said well boys I just blaze he'll I'll have to take get up and go kill he's married but he just like me married just a few weeks boy come on I seen a lot of boys get wounded and I seen a lot of boys get killed - has it been over here I'm over here there's no segregation which one I mean a colored man white man is is they're all the same I mean you're here for one reason I said at the CBC one of you one of you boys Lena I mean it really I don't really hit you real bit and I looked at him and I had tears my eyes right then there you know when I see it that the NVA or VC it don't bother me one bit I can just walk on top and walk around and keep on going but I see it that the icy stares me just where a daddy I just tears me on pieces and it's I know is it it really gets on you I mean you really start thinking about it work right yeah I could have it

Channel: Denise Passaretti

Views: 559,111

Rating: 4.8087406 out of 5

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Id: wp_pibIP2SQ

Length: 30min 45sec (1845 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 25 2019