Apache Recon
Because of the Brave
by
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Based on a true story
While the riflemen were searching, all of the dwellings Jon and I set up our machineguns so as to cover the entire village incase we are needed. When a homemade grenade comes rolling up to me, my entire body stiffens up as I prepare to get as far away as possible, the sweat flows into my eyes where I lose my vision by the salty liquid running into them. My heart was pounding so loud I thought it was going to jump into my throat. I felt that I surely would die from that grenade, and it took but 3 or 4 seconds for it to explode.
During that time, so much went through my mind, I saw Mom, Dad and both of my Brothers. Then it goes off; with about the same power as a cherry bomb, now I must look up to see where it came from. I wipe the sweat from my eyes and look up to where the grenade came from and see a little old woman digging frantically into an earthen pot; pulling out her second grenade? Or was she? I didn’t take the chance, the repercussion might have been that the next one was a real grenade and I couldn’t take that chance. So I raised my gun and let her digest about 20 or so into her gut. Needless to say, that second grenade went off by her feet and her upper torso was there next to her bottom half. I had actually cut her in half and I felt good about doing her that way, really good. Had I become some bloodthirsty person that loved the kill? It was a test to me, a test I must pass each day. Fail once and the testing is over and you are a done deal. It wasn’t the kill that gave me a chill it was the praise I got from the guys when I kept them from getting hurt or killed dead. The fact I cut her in half in front of the villagers will be something they will remember for a long time. I will never forget it myself, what an awesome sight. I don’t know if it will be a good thing (them not wanting the same to them) or a bad thing (because I killed her). I look around and scream out “Does anyone else want to die?” That was when Jon calms me down and tells me “it’s over and we need to leave as quickly as we can. We don’t need the villagers to get their weapons and kill us nor do we need to kill anymore of them”
No one was as brave as that old woman, I say old, but she probably led a hard life and was only 40 or so, but to a 19 year old, she was old.
As we were gathering up and getting ready to leave the village 2 shots rang out from outside the village and hitting our RTO Jimmy with 1 of them. It hit him in the left shoulder so Doc tells us he might have a million dollar wound, one that isn’t life threatening but bad enough to get him a ticket home, he was hit in the shoulder blade and it appears to have shattered the bone. It wasn’t fair for them to shoot then run and hide, but that’s what guerilla warfare is, it happened everyday to someone and almost every-time they get away after shooting someone. We now have to leave the area, but first we offer to bury the old woman, and we were told the village will bury her after a funeral. We tell the villagers we were sorry it happened that way, but we can’t have people pitching grenades at us. I believe they understood what was said and it might have made them think it was the correct thing to do. But we will never know what they thought.
We now must get away from the village so we can come back and watch for enemy that might be going into that village to talk someone into joining up with them. We set up about 900 meters West of the village and around 2400 hours we hear someone coming down the trail. It was an enemy soldier riding a bicycle dressed in his starched uniform and carrying a pistol. He got about 20 meters from us when we decide to jump him before he got into the village. We took him to a place where we could have a chopper pick him up, but first we need to have Reggie ride that bicycle into the village wearing the shirt of that soldier and see who would be waiting for him. When he gets to the village there were 2 men waiting for him and as soon as they recognize he was not a Gook they start to run, Reggie was carrying that mans pistol and he shoots both of them. A few of the villagers peeked out of their doors but no one came out to see what had happened. They wanted no part of it, there was too much killing that day, and they wanted no more of us or the other side.
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About the Book
Based on a true story
The story starts out while in a line company in the Central Highlands of Vietnam where he was a standout machine-gunner, getting the praise and slaps on the back he so cherished; by killing the enemy and keeping his fellow soldiers in a safe zone by not allowing the enemy to be the aggressor when he could, and the few times the enemy did a full scale assault on their position he would again take control of his area allowing his fellow soldiers to get involved in the fight, while staying alive.
He was “recruited” to join the Reconnaissance Platoon where he and four others went out on 3 to 5 day and night missions, looking for an enemy that was looking for them. Most of the time they were able to move through the thick jungle without being detected, but not each mission ended that way. There were times they had to fight their way out of a bad situation; sometimes using their support (mortars, artillery, and bombers), you had to know what you were doing when you called in, a 20 meter mistake could end up killing yourself.
Going out on a mission with little time left wasn’t his idea of anything smart; but it still was his job to go. The 40th reinforced Artillery Regiment surrounded them; they thought it was all over for them. They had them surrounded and were crawling their way up to where they were. Lt. Hadley was among those that came to relieve us and 30 minutes after we were back safe at the firebase the enemy began firing rockets into those that came to save us. In a short time, 15 young men including Lt Hadley were slain.
About the Author
He was an average student that could have gone and done better in school then on to college, his parents were breaking up, and he thought it was his fault; so he went and joined the Army for Airborne Infantry. When he injured his knee in jump school, it was another thing gone badly for him. Then he was sent to
When he was “recruited” to join the Recon Platoon, he thought his praise was over, little did he know the Reconnaissance was considered an elite one. When he was about to come home he was trapped on a hilltop by an enemy regiment. The 5 of them had to use their wit and guts as they held the hilltop for 2 ½ days. When their old Platoon Leader relieved them, Van and he looked into Hadley’s eyes , as they looked into his soul.
After getting back to safety where they could look across the valley at the hilltop they had just left, he could see the rockets striking those that had taken his place. 15 men lost their lives that day and he and the others have to live with guilt. A woman spit on him while changing planes and she asked “ Why did he get to come home, when her son didn’t?” That is the question he asks everyday and on August 14 1968 he started a new life. He has a PTSD rating of 100% and can’t hold a job.