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| Vietnam events April 1968 to April 1969 for Rex in 2nd Plt. Co. D 4/21 11th Bgd Original info pieced together from reading my letters home. Many additions from Bob W. |
|
| Date | Event |
| 01-Jul-67 | Arrive for Basic Training. Ft. Jackson, S.C. |
| 15-Aug-67 | AIT training, Ft. Polk, LA (date approximate) |
| 20-Sep-67 | Arrive Schofied Barracks, Hawaii, some time around here |
| 11-Apr-68 | Left Hawaii 5AM Thursday |
| 12-Apr-68 | Arrive in Vietnam Noon Friday - Chu Lai |
| Initial training in Chu Lai | |
| 16-Apr-68 | Move to Duc Pho - LZ Bronco |
| 25-Apr-68 | First Patrol. (about 8 days) First night was in rain on beach. |
| 1st ambush. 1st of many lame ideas. Target was trail that was lower than the open field we were laying in. We were exposed to a hill behind us. Someone started shooting while I (and Valdez?) were out to arm the claymores. Fortunately we were protected by the stupid design of the ambush - just got down on the trail which gave cover. Even more fortunately, nobody blew any claymores or fragged us. | |
| Found 105 mine at top of a hill (breakfast time?) Tied a rope to it. Marquez pulls rope while casually standing up. Boom! Image of Marquez diving for ground is in my mind. Nobody hurt. | |
| 05-May-68 | Out to mountains for about 3 wks |
| 13-May-68 | David Worthey died. Suffocated after crawling down a "spider hole" tunnel to investigate. Don Robinson and Gary Ratledge went in after him and were both overcome, but survived. |
| 18-May-68 | Benny Lewis killed. |
| 20-May-68 | I was promoted to SP4 -- $200/mo. |
| 26-May-68 | Back to Bronco from Mts. |
| 27-May-68 | One day blocking force near Bronco |
| 28-May-68 | In Bronco 1 day. Mortar attack that night. |
| 29-May-68 | Platoon is working from LZ thunder -- several miles South of Bronco 3-day cycle of patrols, ambushes |
| 08-Jun-68 | Lt. Bobadillo trips a mine in hedgerow about this time. Out of Nam. Think this was NW base of Thunder's mountain. Lots of injuries, but later recovered. He never returned to our unit. |
| 15-Jun-68 | to LZ Baldy Attached to 196th Choppers from Thunder to Bronco; plane to Baldy |
| 16-Jun-68 | One night at Baldy, then… Plane back to Bronco and Chinook to Dragon |
| 17-Jun-68 | LZ Dragon -- Several miles N of Bronco on Hwy 1. 8-to-5 daily patrols across Hwy 1 then through paddies to villages near beach. Alarm gongs, snipers, women & children, booby traps. |
| 17-Jun-68 | Nyles Skyles killed. I think bouncing-betty type mine. |
| 18-Jun-68 | Eddie Mauldin killed. I think another mine. Joe Kraus upset and volunteers for LRRPs to get away from us. |
| 30-Jun-68 | From Dragon to Baldy again. |
| 02-Jul-68 | Start patrol from Baldy. |
| 05-Jul-68 | Fast hike back to Baldy then CA out. Pretty sure this is start of walk to Laos. Called Operation Pocahontas Forrest. |
| 05-Jul-68 | Robert Hollie dies. A black guy from 1st platoon, drowned on 7/5/68. That was when we were trying to cross a swift river near start of Laos walk. They gave him a rope and told him to see if he could get to the other side. The water was so swift it swept him right away. The ARVNs found his body four days later. |
| 08-Jul-68 | In boonies W of Chu Lai -- one platoon started fire with smoke grenade and lost some of their equipment(?). |
| 09-Jul-68 | Hottest day - 126 in shade. Sitting top of hill surronded by elephant grass. Drawing lots to see who will go down for more water. |
| 11-Jul-68 | First land leeches we saw. Everybody doesn't know what they are and at first break, most of us find several on our bodies. |
| 23-Jul-68 | End of walk to Laos about this time. We come back to… |
| 25-Jul-68 | LZ Ryder -- Mountain hilltop LZ with dangerous little OP (Observation Point) up trail. I think somebody saw a bear or tiger out trail to that OP. -- I heard Ryder was later overrun after we left. |
| Just after getting to Ryder, I was almost squashed by water trailer coming in under a Chinook. Shredded my pants on concertina wire running for my life. |
|
| Ryder was rainy, cloudy. We did short patrols. | |
| 01-Aug-68 | Off Ryder, patrol near Baldy. |
| 06-Aug-68 | Baldy again -- road clearing support. |
| Lt. Marion joins 2nd plt. May have been early as Jun. | |
| Rex's R&R sometime around Early Sep. Got horrible stomach problems and wound in hospital for several days. |
|
| Stand down at Baldy around 9/16 - 9/20. Or was it Chu Lai? | |
| 22-Sep-68 | First day of big Tam Ky battles in mountains. Scotty (James Scott), the RTO for Cpt. Gasdek killed. Frank Gonzales and John Priesthoff of 3rd platoon killed. |
| 25-Sep-68 | Tam Ky Battle continues in low-lands. Michel Sublett (machinegunner), Mark Ellsworth (medic), and Hiney Willis, also from 3rd platoon killed. |
| 08-Oct-68 | On patrols. Monsoons. This is Operation Duke's Glade. |
| 12-Oct-68 | Dale Reavis wounded. Hospital for ~ 2 mo. Then back to the field. |
| 18-Oct-68 | 24 hrs in Baldy to dry out. I think this is the time everone got in line to see doctor or medic for feet and rot. All of the first few got put on light duty, so they called off the medical consultations. |
| 21-Oct-68 | Monsoons. In boonies. Worst of the rains around this time. |
| 01-Nov-68 | In Baldy -- supposed to be on way to stand down in Chu Lai No stand down. I think this is when they sent us outside Baldy for 1 day. I got pissed and used my signal mirror to annoy choppers and planes. I got busted back to PFC. |
| 01-Nov-68 | Detached from 196 Bde, back to 11th. No longer to Chu Lai. |
| 03-Nov-68 | Operation Vernon Lake II begins. Starting around LZ Cork. Runs to 14-Feb-69. |
| 09-Nov-68 | Start building LZ Amy. Chinook takes us to top of mountain with elephant grass and leeches in a light rain. |
| Lt. Spudnick to 2nd Plt sometime around here. | |
| 26-Nov-68 | D Co leaves Amy for field near Amy |
| 27-Nov-68 | Thanksgiving in boonies. |
| Probably when we climbed big mountain, then got stuck on side of near vertical slope overnight. |
|
| 03-Dec-68 | Rex becomes 2nd Plt RTO |
| 10-Dec-68 | D and other Co's from field to Minh Long air strip |
| 20-Dec-68 | Battalion CA to S of Amy, W of Cork. |
| 25-Dec-68 | Christmas in field N of Minh Long |
| 26-Dec-68 | Probably the day we dug up 2 NVA |
| 29-Dec-68 | Rex in rear at Bronco for birthday. Supposed to get infused to different unit on Jan 10. Because of that, to stay in rear till then. |
| 06-Jan-69 | Got malaria while on bunker guard at Bronco. |
| 08-Jan-69 | In hospital at Chu Lai, so missed infusion. Hazardous weather. On light-duty till 23rd. |
| 10-Jan-69 | D Co to Amy and Cork OP. Must be when our 2nd plt was on Cork RADAR site. |
| Rex probably out to Cork about same time. | |
| 18-Jan-69 | Main Cork hill attacked. We watched from RADAR Hill. |
| On Cork OP is where we found and fired 90 mm recoilless rifle. | |
| 05-Feb-68 | About this time, get word someone applied for leave and got it. I am one of first to apply on paper after this and get it! |
| 11-Feb-69 | D Co to LZ Cedar Mountain. |
| 11-Feb-69 | In boonies. |
| 14-Feb-69 | D Co to Bronco AO |
| 01-Mar-69 | Rex at Cam Rahn Bay (w/ F. Mathiason) trying to get flight out to start 7-day leave. Okinawa for a couple hours, then Tokyo. I stay gone almost two weeks -- why waste good leave order papers? I almost get Article 15, but they let me off (too short to bother I guess). |
| 24-Mar-69 | On "last hill" about this time. Rex blows up big rocks. |
| 01-Apr-69 | About this time, original grunts back to Bronco. |
| 10-Apr-69 | Original grunts homeward bound. |