August 23,1967

Was up all night watching the fire fight on the hill about a mile away from us. Tried to offer support but the Cong was in the wire And Arty was afraid of hitting friendly troops.                              

I was wired and ready to go, but the CO said no we’d take off just before Dawn, which at this time we could see a reddish orange glow on our eastern Horizon. The CO and Squad leader started down the Mountain in the heavy fog tripping and stumbling to the bottom over 308 meters away. It took us over an hour to get to the next hill where all the action had been. 

        During this slow process we could here the Rotor Blades of the Gun ships overhead and prayed they wouldn’t mistake us for the Cong. It was a long Thousand Meter walk due to the Booby Traps that we knew were there and most important the ones we didn’t know of and not wanting to find them by accident. You developed a keen since of sight, odor and hearing for all three or maybe one of these would save your life or keep you from being wounded by a Booby Trap.

Upon reaching the bottom of the Hill we could see fresh meat (newly arrived soldiers) setting up new barbed wire around the perimeter. They were bagging the Dead and loading them on to the Jolly Green Giant (Chinook helicopter) .                                                                                         

         I took notice as so many times before of the men waiting to start their journey home on the inside of a bag, not only was their life stripped away but their boots, watches, rings, and other personable articles. All their rifles, ammo, claymores, hand grenades and other objects of war had been taken.

       I heard someone scream Medic and I ran to see if I could help. There was a Noncom laying there kinda jerking he had been knocked unconscious and lost a lot of blood but this had saved him.  

It was kinda weird the first thing he said " Where’s my Frigin Boots?"                                      

Then they found a badly wounded but alive LT. (Lieutenant).                                                         

The Noncom told of how they were attacked by women and children in front throwing satchel charges, and they didn’t want to fire on them because of their Gender.

Here over ninety men were killed because of a Gender.

Then the CO yelled "YobosayO" (Korean for saying hello)
"Ediwaba" (Lets go) and I started the long trek back to my OP (out post) 

On the way faces with no names rushed through my brain, faces that would come to Haunt years later of all the Dead I had seen, and killing to this day I am not able to justify, neither friendly or Fo.

Respectfully

SSGMack

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