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Date Posted: 07:16:09 03/11/03 Tue
Author: Kilus
Author Host/IP: dialup-190.193.220.203.acc01-lord-gla.comindico.com.au / 203.220.193.190
Subject: Couldn't be bothered finding the post, here is a repost
In reply to: DammitBoy! 's message, "Re: ??" on 04:57:50 03/11/03 Tue

I was fresh out of college. It was an interesting time. Of course interesting times are never good. It was 1968 and America was at war with Vietnam. Being fresh out of college I didn’t have any more deferments left so I was drafted. After my training in the 101st airborne I returned home for a few days to bid my family farewell should I never come back. My father saw me off at O’Hare in Chicago where I flew to Travis Airforce Base in California. From there they airlifted me to Hawaii, refueling on Wake Island, then to Okinawa. It was hot as hell in Okinawa, but at least I was safe. It was one of the few times that year that I remember I slept well. When I awoke to my sergeant barking I knew it was time to go. My arrival in Nam was rather uneventful. We landed in a place called Firebase Blaze and they gave me a bunk to sleep in. Firebase Blaze was rather small at five hundred meters by a thousand meters. It was however twenty kilos south of Ap Bia Mountain.

Life in Nam was rather uneventful most of the time. Occasionally it would be speckled with moments of sheer terror. It was May 10th 1968 and we had just received orders from headquarters to mount up and prepare to clear and occupy Dong Ap Bia, a mountain that rose to 970 meters at its highest point. It was 7:30 in the morning when we were told to take our seats in the Hueys and prepare to be inserted into a combat zone.

I landed at around 8:00 at the assigned LZ. There was no opposition. We moved out to our assigned locations and set up our defensive positions. At about 3:30 we got the order from our battalion commander to begin our ascent up the mountain. We began our climb to the sounds of artillery barrages and bullets whistling over us. We would fire blindly up the hill and they would fire blindly down the hill. When night came our commander told us to dig in and establish a defensive perimeter. All throughout the night the artillery pounded that mountain. I think I got all of an hour of sleep, which was pretty good.

The next morning we moved out and began climbing the mountain again. On our way up we found bloody trails, weapons, gear, and about 8 dead enemy soldiers. At about 4:00 we hit the enemy dead on. A friend of mine ran straight into an enemy soldier who popped up from a hole and shot him in the chest he died shortly thereafter. I vowed that I would not end up like that. An RPG shred another guy near him. Three other of my comrades were shot up. We knew we wouldn’t be able to break them so we retreated back to our previous defensive position. During the following artillery barrages and air strikes, our commander was wounded when an errant rocket hit the command center.

Over the next day and a half air strikes and gunships turned the mountain into an ordinance range. When the fire would invade the NVA spider hole, they would roll grenades down the hill injuring or killing our advancing soldiers. Through all this I had managed to get nothing but a bit dirty.

On the 15th some shrapnel from an errant RPG hit me. It wasn’t life threatening or inhibiting in any way, but it was the closest I had come to death so far. Others were not so lucky. I watched one guy next to me get shot in the head with an AK round. His head exploded and his brains sprayed out all over me.

It was the 20th of May. We had been fighting for the mountain for 10 days. Both sides were rather weary, however we had the advantage of continuous air support. We decided that today would be the final charge. We were going to take the hill. After the customary morning air strike we began our ascent from the defensive position. The hill was eerily silent for 10 minutes, until all hell broke loose when the point man ran into some previously set up claymores. Him and 6 others were killed or wounded. Right after that some NVA soldiers ran down the hill firing satchel charges and before we could get them then had already run back up the hill. Our m60 man Johnson had had enough. He got up and started charging up that hill spraying wildly. He fell into a spider hole with 2 enemies but before they could do anything he wasted them. Seeing that energized the other men and they began charging too. I knew that this was probably going to be the only time I’d have a chance. I stayed somewhat behind everyone else as they charged the hill. I then spotted a nice punji stick hole. I lowered myself down and impaled one of my legs on a stick. There was no way in hell that they were going to send me out for another operation. I figured the best way out would be to give myself a nice leg injury. Unfortunately what I didn’t know is that they taint these sticks with all sorts of infectious agents. So when they finally flew me back to the hospital, it was a little late to save my leg.

Looking back on it, it seemed like a good idea at the time. I didn’t have to fight anymore and I get a nice disability check every month, but I really do miss that leg.

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