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Alex J. "Bud" Dziekonski, “All the Way,” 1965 - 1966, Republic of Viet Nam
By Mrs. Phyllis Lee and Mrs. Marnie Mowles, as told by Bud.
Combat Army Veteran Sergeant Bud Dziekonski,
a tall and strapping man at 65, is self described
as 110% Polish. He was living in Yonkers ,
New York when he was drafted on June 23rd,
1965. Bored with life he joined the Army so
he could be a Paratrooper-“all the way”-
and fight communist aggression!
He and his lovely wife Pam are
happy to call Helena, MT home.
They’ve raised 4 children together,
and according to Bud, Pam, his
wife of 38 years, “has only had
to threaten to use her “Polish
remover” about once a week,
to keep him in line.“
When you meet Bud, you
can’t help but be impressed with
his upbeat and positive attitude
which belies the things he has seen.
After boot camp, infantry and Airborne training, Bud was sent to the 1st
Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, in the Republic of Viet Nam. He served with A Company, 2nd Battalion (AIRBORNE), 8th Cavalry, December, 1965 to December, 1966, from the Central Highlands, Plei Ku, Bong Son and Phou Kat, Cambodia and the South China Sea.
He had a number of assignments as an infantryman, from ammo carrier, for the mortar platoon, assistant gunner on an 81 mm mortar, sniper, forward observer/radio telephone operator on Recon Team ( Pony Team ), Forward Observer with 2nd Platoon, ( Staff Sergeant, "Duke Dushane ( Platoon Sergeant), to machine gun squad leader.
When asked if there were casualties in his unit, he said, “Oh yes,” and he remembers them vividly even now. He described how on February 23rd, 1966 early in the march, single file, on a trail along a river a sniper got one guy in the 1st Platoon. An hour later, the ew CO got the whole company pinned down in a rice paddy, including the mortars. He said, “We were told to return fire from an exposed position in the rice paddy.” Bud responded, saying that it was too wet ...and he was right. The first round buried the base plate and tube so they couldn't adjust it to fire again. While taking fire they had to dig the tube and base plate out, and withdraw to cover in a village. Six wounded men, one being Mike Fredericks, were lost to the North Vietnamese who kept them pinned down
for several hours, when 2, F-4
Phantoms swooped down and dropped
napalm on the enemy. Hueys then came
and medi-vaced the wounded out. “
Bud continued, “On the next day we
found a North Vietnamese company a
couple of klicks from the village, "Hospital
Hill," it was called.” Bud was told
afterwards that the CO’s R.T.O. got
hit by a sniper in his white phosphorus
grenade and was screaming. The CO
went to get it off of him when he got it
in the head. “We lost a few more men
that day before being pulled out to re-group.”
In March, a 2nd Lieutenant, by the name
of Cochran, got his whole platoon with a butterfly bomb. They were on point
that day when the point man found an anti-personnel mine dropped by U.S. aircraft. Not recognizing what it was, Lt. Cochran picked it up and called his platoon around him to explain how it was nothing. To prove the point, he dropped it on the ground in the middle of them. No one was killed, but all fourteen were wounded by his stupidity. The company was now down to 48 men.
One of Bud's most memorable experiences was when they were sent back to the I Drang Valley to run search and destroy operations. This was the place where the outfit was bloodied in November, 1965. Bud summed it up, “It was a ‘hell-hole’ of 100-plus degrees, and high mountains. There was no re-supply, so we had to live on what we carried. I drank water out of a rotted tree stump, and later out of a water buffalo wallow. Iodine pills didn't improve the taste any.”
“In April we reached Bong Son, LZ Hereford. We were to go up the mountain and take it back from the N.V.A., which had over run Bravo Company. We watched from the LZ as we shelled our own positions on the ridge line. We were going to be in the 1st flight to re-take the position after shelling. Everyone hurried to Mass when it was announced that a special service would be held by the Catholic chaplain. He gave absolution and said our sins were forgiven. I said, ‘B.S., I know mine aren't,’ and gave up on all religion for 8 years.”
“In the early afternoon we mounted the choppers and took off. I was really scared. We landed and took cover. Amidst the NVA bodies there were Bravo Company fallen. We took up defensive positions and readied for a counter attack. It never came. I was in a fox hole on the perimeter and one man from each position had to go help load bodies. There were 22 dead and 1 wounded, and 1 Sgt. who was never recovered. He is listed as M.I.A. today. One Sergeant played dead and pulled bodies on himself to survive. Looking at them lying there, I wondered how we could explain those young lives away. What could anyone possibly say to a mother who had lost her son? Tears came to my eyes when I thought about it. We loaded them on choppers and night came.”
“It started to rain after dark and the fox holes all filled up with water that came off the ridge top; something in the water burned the skin. I had a severe 1st degree burn up to my naval. None of us got any sleep for a couple of nights.”
In April of ‘66 Bud became a Pony team member.They had many hair raising recon missions.
Bud remembers, “One time we were dropped off on a mountain top. We made our way down to the valley floor, and came upon an old Vietnamese cooking his morning meal of rice & fish heads. We took up positions around his camp and surprised him. Using a mix of english, vietnamese, and sign language, we understood him to be a farmer. He told us he had two sons and where to find them, that they could give us more info. We went to where he told us and found a camp with a smoldering fire, 8 beds and various parts of NVA uniforms. We quickly radioed our position and what we had found, and what we suspected, then moved out. After going a short way we found a deserted farm house, radioed our new position and were told to wait, as 1st platoon was being choppered in to re-enforce us. We scouted around and sat down to eat. Osh and Isat together against a hay stack and began to eat when a shot rang out. We heard the nasty whine of a bullet going between us, as we came under attack by an NVA squad charging across the field. Just then choppers with 1st platoon started landing behind us, and the NVA began retreating. We chased them for a few hundred yards, and they took up positions behind a burm in the tree line. We started a flanking maneuver and they took off again, headed up a mountain trail. We started off in pursuit. We advised battalion and were told to back off, as we were operating out of our area of operations. Disgusted, we pulled back and were lifted out.”
“In *October of ’66, I was assigned to the 2nd platoon as a FO under platoon Sgt. ‘Duke’ Dushane. We acted as a blocking force for the sweep and picked up some more prisoners.” Bud continued, “We got a new “cherry” named Perkins. He was a nice kid, a Pima Indian from Arizona. He was made the ‘Lt's' RTO. I spent the 1st night taking turns monitoring the radio with him. I was struck by his innocence. He didn’t walk or talk like us who were seasoned.” The next day we were sweeping a ‘VC’ village and bunker complex when we heard a loud explosion. We rushed back and found Perkins dead, on only his 2nd day.”
With obvious sadness, Bud told me how years later, when he visited the Vietnam Wall, he left his Bronze Star there in memory of, PFC David Drake Perkins, Coolidge, AZ.
Born: 08/20/43
Died: 10/11/66, whose innocence and sacrifice he will always remember.
In summing up the interview, I asked Bud how his time in the service had affected him, and he was quick to respond:
“Positively! I took an oath to support and defend the constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, to the best of my ability. I watch my elected officials and see them sell our rights for their own profits and their own agendas,” which disgusts him. He is especially upset with president Obama and the Democratic Party.
And one more thing... Bud would like everyone to know that we are a Republic, not a stinking Democracy!
*Bud wanted to be sure everyone knew that his memory of exact dates may not be correct after 43 years.
Dziekonski*, “All the Way,”
by Clairice Still Minkler
In the print edition of The Veterans' Voice, we made a glaring mistake
obvious to any person of Polish heritage....we spelled Bud's
name with an "e" at the end! We ask one and all to forgive us..
and especially we hope Bud does!
Bud returned from the jungles of Vietnam
(see story below) in the winter of ’66. He flew in
on a C-141, landing in Oakland. He then
headed on to White Plains, NY, outfitted in the
new bare bones Class A uniform he had been
issued. When he got to NY, he was stuck by
the cold. He had not been given a coat when
he left Oakland, so he walked the streets
feeling the full force of a New
York winter on
his rather thin frame. He had
lost 50-60 poundsfrom the month
he spent in Cam Rhon Bay
Hospital with malaria. Thankfully,
upon return, he was spared the
protests caused by the John
Kerry/Fonda types, because they
had yet to organize to undermine
the war effort. He would encounter
that obnoxious rhetoric all too soon
…and deal with it a manner that
sure shut them up in a hurry!
Bud said he was given a nice
welcome home celebration and
his dad was determined to fatten
him up a bit and he spent the
next month trying to do just that.
During the time Bud had malaria,
he didn’t eat anything at all, and though he bought 2 cheeseburgers and some apple pie during his stopover in the Philippines, he found it just wasn’t possible to get down more than a small portion of 1 burger.
When Bud returned to his job that he held before being drafted, he experienced what now would be quickly recognized as PTSD, though for Bud, that recognition didn’t come until 2003. He worked for General Labs and they were in the midst of consumer testing, working 16 hour days, 6 days a week. Bud described what happened, “A co-worker was sprinkling water on me, I told him to quit it, but he wouldn’t listen. I got mad and grabbed a butcher knife and tried to stab him in the back. Fortunately, I slipped and fell short of my target, giving him 6 stitches between his legs. He lied and told our boss that he fell with the knife.” When I asked why this guy would do that Bud said, “He was a good friend, and he knew I
had just lost it.”
This is also where he ran into his first insults for having gone to war. They came from his boss who was from Israel and an officer in their military. He insinuated that Bud had wasted his time in Vietnam. Knowing that his boss had been here during Israel’s 6 Day War, Bud let him know that he had done his job for his country, and asked him why he was over here and not back fighting for his country. Bud said, “He didn’t like me, and I didn’t like him, but it was my job.”
Bud decided to use his GI Bill benefits
to go to college. He was accepted at a
college in Kansas. That is where he
spent the next 6 ½ years and met Pam,
his wife to be. It was during his time on
campus that the war protests were getting
started. Bud remembered how one
particular student would go out of his
way to yell across campus to Bud,
“Baby Killer," or "How many babies
have you killed today?" Bud said,
“I took that crap for 2 years, then
I walked into a class we shared,
and he said, ‘Hey Bud, How many
babies have you killed today?’ I walked over to him, picked him up out of his chair, dragged him over to the window, and started to pull it open and throw him out when the professor walked in and asked, ‘What are you doing back there?’ “I told him I was just getting rid of some trash. Then I told the guy that if he ever said that again that he was going to go out the window, no if, ands or buts, I was gonna kill him.” Bud told me, “I lost it that day too.” Perhaps it’s needless to say, but the guy never bothered him again.
There were some he roomed with who disagreed with the war, but were reasonable and discussed the issues surrounding IT. Bud said that he didn’t know anything about the “domino effect or about politics” when he went to Vietnam, but he loved his country and was doing what he considered his duty to defend it. He has learned quite a bit about both since then.
He knew he had fought so that others might be able to speak or protest without fear. He had good buddies who had died for a noble cause and he refused to speak against what they were trying to accomplish. Bud said that when he went to war, he didn’t know what a liberal or a conservative was. He went to war to fight communist aggression. He told his roommate how the NVA were stealing the grain from the farmers, who barely had enough to eat, and killing them, and em-pressing them into their army. He told them about how the NVA chained a 14 year old to a heavy machine gun so he wouldn’t run away. He was killed in the battle Bud said, “we searched their bodies and found his I.D. card telling his date of birth as 1951.” It did not sway his friend.
I asked Bud if he thought much about his days in Viet Nam while he was in school, he said, “Yes, he was frequently reminded by ban the bomb posters, and the blood drives for the NVA that were held on campus.” Bud happened upon a Reg Manning cartoon which showed an NVA soldier receiving a blood transfusion from U.S. students, while sticking a wounded American soldier with his bayonet. He promptly posted it on a school bulletin board when he went to eat dinner. When he went to leave, after about 10 minutes, it was gone, torn off the bulletin board by some one who did not respect the rights of others. He asked a group of students that were standing around, “Who took it down?”, and nobody said a word. He said, “I want to know who took it down, “still nothing. He said he was really hot when they tore that down, and then didn’t have the guts to stand up to it either. It took him 3 days to find another one. He cut it out and taped it to a yellow piece of paper and wrote, “I don’t care if you want to protest and ban the bomb, but I fought for your right of freedom of speech, even though I don’t agree with it, and I have the same right, and if you don’t agree here is my name and address, you come down and talk to me if you want to tear this down.” It stayed up there till it faded, and he got tired of seeing it.
Bud went on to graduate in 1972 with a degree in Biology, and moved to Montana in 1974. He said he chose Montana because he wanted to be a cowboy and live in the mountains! A dream he lived at one point.
He and a friend had 20 head of cows, until the winter of 96, when because of government subsidies, the price of hay doubled to $150.00 per ton, he said, “we had to sell our 10 replacement heifers to buy hay, making it impossible to turn a profit, we had to sell off the balance of the herd in the spring.” He worked in various professions, while he and Pam raised their four children. The position he held longest (10 years) was as a tax appraiser. He found that most jobs bored him once he learned them.
In 1988 Bud joined the Montana National Guard, “Air Troop” Helicopter Assault Battalion. Bud said, “General Mosley was a Major back then, and knowing that Bud was a Vietnam Vet, from the 1st Cavalry Division as was Major Randy Mosley, he asked Bud, “Do you want to see how we fight them today?” and he invited Bud to ride in the command helicopter where he got to watch the troops practice 3 pronged assault tactics, an artillery barrage followed by A-10, “Wart Hogs” then helicopter assault with rockets, then A-10’s and ending with an artillery barrage. This was the first time it had been done. This tactic was used for the first time in Desert Storm. He said Mosley was very personable, even calling him, by his nick name, “Bud.”
Then in March ‘95 something happened that drastically changed his life. He went to his doctor to have her sign off on his D.O.T. physical. After doing his glucose test, she informed him that she couldn’t, because his test results showed a blood sugar level of 323. This news was totally unexpected. The previous November, during his National Guard physical, his blood sugar had been 79, well within the normal range. Bud said, “I had no idea that I had a problem. When sores didn’t heal and stuff, I just figured I was getting old.” He was 51 and the only symptoms he had noticed were thirst, and his sores not healing.
He left the Guard in ’97 with a medical discharge due to two crushed disks and a torn rotator cuff that had gone untreated even after 10 trips to Madigan Army Hospital in WA. In early 2000 Bud received a VA letter informing him that Type II Diabetes was now service connected for veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange, but he didn’t pursue a claim, preferring to work instead. However, in December of 2001, things took a change for the worse.
While Bud was refereeing a Capital High basketball game, he felt a burning sensation on the bottom of his foot. His daughter, Aubrey, who was training to be a registered nurse, looked at it and told him he needed to see a doctor right away. The doctor found a callus there; when it was removed it revealed an infection that went all the way to the bone. Soon after this, Bud developed diabetic retinopathy, a disease which damages the tiny blood vessels in the retina (the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye) causing blindness. He didn’t file a claim until 2002 and received 100% on January 1, 2003.
It was then that his Voc-Rehab counselor also suggested he see a counselor for PTSD, and the diagnosis was confirmed. Though Bud has learned to cope with his PTSD without drugs, he has participated in some group sessions with other vets that were helpful.
His biggest challenge has been the loss of eyesight. He found some help at a 6 week program offered by the American Lake V.A. Blind Rehab Center, in Tacoma, WA. There he learned to cook and use power tools to make various crafts. He now has tools that “talk” making these tasks possible, and giving him the confidence to do things he couldn’t before. He also has an adaptive monitor for his computer that opens the door to internet communications as well. He is looking forward to returning for another course in the near future, so that he may continue broadening his horizons, and highly recommends them to others who may be dealing with the same issues that he is.
 | ||||||
BUD
Date and place of the interview? APRIL 29, 2009,
HELENA/TOWNSEND, MT
War and branch of service? REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM / U.S. ARMY.
What his or her rank was? SERGEANT / E-5.
Where he or she served? BASIC & INFANTRY TRAINING / FT. DIX, N.J.; AIRBORNE/JUMP SCHOOL / FT, BENNING, GA.; A Co. 2nd Bn (AIRBORNE) / 8th CAV., 1st CAVALRY
DIV.,REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM; HHC, 1/502, 101st AIRBORNE DIV., FT. CAMPBELL, KY
Were you drafted or did you enlist? DRATED
Where were you living at the time? YONKERS, N.Y.
Why did you join? BORED WITH LIFE & TO FIGHT
COMMUNIST AGGRESSION!
Why did you pick the service branch you joined? I
WANTED TO BE A PARATROOPER. “ALL THE WAY”
Do you recall your first days in service? VIVIDLY.
What did it feel like? EXTREME TRAUMA.
Tell me about your boot camp/training experience(s).
Do you remember your instructors? SFC. PESTA, HAD AN (EIB), SFC. MARIZ & SSG. PAUCHANELLO, SGT. COOPER.
How did you get through it? I SURVIVED.
Which war(s) did you serve in (WWI, WWII, Korea,
Vietnam, the Persian Gulf)? THE REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM.
Where exactly did you go? CENTRAL HIGHLANDS / FROM THE SO. CHINA SEA, IN CAMBODIA, PLEI KU, BONG SON & PHOU KAT.
Do you remember arriving and what it was like? YES.
What was your job/assignment? INFANTRYMAN, ASST. GUNNER 81mm MORTAR, SNIPER, FORWARD OBSERVER ON RECON TEAM, (PONY TEAM), F.O. WITH 2nd PLATOON, [SSG “DUKE”
DUSHANE(PLAT. SERGEANT)], MACHINE GUN SQUAD LEADER.
Did you see combat? YES! DOCUMENTED IN THE BOOK, “HONOR & COURAGE,” AN 18 MONTH HISTORY OF THE “JUMPING MUSTANGS.” PUBLISHED IN 2005, CO-AUTHORED BY GARRY OWEN BOWLES & EDMUND H. POLONITZA
Were there many casualties in your unit? YES! ON FEB. 23rd, EARLY IN THE MARCH, SINGLE FILE ON A TRAIL ALONG A RIVER A SNIPER GOT ONE GUY IN THE 1ST PLATOON. AN HOUR LATER THE NEW Co. GOT THE WHOLE COMPANY PINNED
DOWN IN A RICE PADDY, INCLUDING THE MORTARS. WE WERE TOLD TO RETURN FIRE FROM AN EXPOSED POSITION IN THE RICE PADDY. I SAID, “ IT WAS TOO WET,” AND I WAS RIGHT. THE FIRST ROUND BURIED THE BASE PLATE AND TUBE SO WE COULDN'T ADJUST IT. WHILE TAKING FIRE WE HAD TO DIG THE TUBE AND BASE PLATE OUT, AND WITHDREW
TO COVER, IN A VILLAGE. WE LOST 6 WOUNDED TO THE N.V.A., WHO KEPT US PINNED DOWN FOR SEVERAL HOURS,
WHEN 2 F-4, “PHANTOMS” SWOOPED DOWN AND DROPPED NAPALM ON THEM. THRN HUEYS CAME & MEDI-VACED THE WOUNDED
OUT.
ON THE NEXT DAY WE FOUND AN N.V.A. COMPANY, A COUPLE OF “KLICKS” FROM THE VILLAGE. “HOSPITAL HILL,” IT WAS CALLED. I WAS TOLD AFTERWARDS THAT THE Co's RTO GOT HIT BY A SNIPER IN HIS ‘W.P.’ GRENADE AND WAS SCREAMING HIS LUNGS OUT. THE CO. WENT TO GET IT OFF HIM WHEN HE GOT IT IN THE HEAD. WE LOST A FEW MORE THAT DAY AND THEY PULLED US OUT TO RE-GROUP. IN MARCH, A 2ND LIEUTENANT BY THE NAME OF COCHRAN, GOT HIS WHOLE PLATOON WITH A BUTTERFLY BOMB. WE WERE DOWN TO A 62-MAN COMPANY, AND HE HAD 14 IN HIS PLATOON. THEY WERE ON POINT THAT DAY WHEN THE POINT MAN FOUND THE ANTI-PERSONNEL MINE WE HAD DROPPED. LT. COCHRAN CALLED HIS PLATOON AROUND IT TO EXPLAIN HOW IT WAS NOTHING, AND WHEN FINISHED DROPPED IT ON THE GROUND IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM. NO ONE WAS KILLED, BUT 14 WERE WOUNDED BY STUPIDITY. DOWN TO 48 MEN.
Tell me about a couple of your most memorable
experiences. WE WERE SENT BACK TO THE I DRANG VALLEY TO RUN SEARCH AND DESTROY OPERATIONS. THIS WAS THE PLACE WHERE THE OUTFIT GOT BLOODIED IN NOV., 1965. IT WAS A "HELL-HOLE" OF 100-PLUS DEGREES, AND HIGH MOUNTAINS. THERE WAS NO RE-SUPPLY, SO WE HAD TO LIVE ON WHAT WE CARRIED. I DRANK WATER OUT OF A ROTTEDTREE STUMP, AND LATER OUT OF A BUFFALO WALLOW. IODINE PILLS DIDN'T IMPROVE THE TASTE ANY.
IN APRIL WE REACHED BONG SON, LZ HEREFORD. WE WERE TO GO ACROSS THE SADDLE ON THE RIDGE LINE. WE WERE GOING TO BE IN THE 1ST FLIGHT TO RE-TAKE THE POSITION AFTER THE SHELLING. EVERYONE HURRIED TO MASS WHEN IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT A SPECIAL SERVICE WOULD BE HELD BY THE CATHOLIC CHAPLAIN. HE GAVE ABSOLUTION AND SAID OUR SINS WERE FORGIVEN. I SAID " ‘B.S.’, I KNOW MINE AREN'T,” AND GAVE UP ON ALL RELIGION FOR 8 YEARS. IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON WE MOUNTED THE CHOPPERS AND TOOK OFF. I WAS REALLY SCARED. WE LANDED AND TOOK COVER. AMIDST THE N.V.A BODIES THERE WERE BRAVO COMPANY FALLEN. WE TOOK UP DEFENSIVE POSITIONS AND READIED FOR A COUNTER ATTACK. IT NEVER CAME. I WAS IN A FOX HOLE ON THE PERIMETER AND ONE MAN FROM EACH POSITION HAD TO GO HELP LOAD BODIES. THERE WERE 22 DEAD AND 1 WOUNDED AND 1 Sgt. WHO WAS NEVER RECOVERED. ONE Sgt. PLAYED DEAD AND PULLED BODIES ON HIMSELF TO SURVIVE. LOOKING AT THEM LYING THERE, I WONDERED HOW WE COULD EXPLAIN THOSE YOUNG LIVES AWAY. WHAT COULD ANYONE POSSIBLY SAY TO A MOTHER WHO HAD LOST HER SON? TEARS CAME TO MY EYES WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT IT. WE LOADED THEM ON CHOPPERS AND NIGHT CAME.
IT STARTED TO RAIN AFTER DARK AND THE FOX HOLES ALL FILLED UP WITH WATER THAT CAME OFF THE RIDGE TOP, AND SOMETHING IN THE WATER BURNED THE SKIN. I HAD A SEVERE 1ST DEGREE BURN UP TO MY NAVAL. NONE OF US GOT ANY SLEEP FOR A COUPLE OF NIGHTS.
LATER IN APRIL I JOINED THE PONY TEAM. ON MY FIRST OPERATION AS A PONY TEAM MEMBER SOMEWHERE IN THE JUNGLES OF VIETNAM WE WERE SENT ON A RECONNAISSANCE MISSION FOR THREE DAYS. AFTER BEING CHOPPERED OUT, THE TEAM WAS DROPPED OFF ON A MOUNTAINTOP ABOUT 10 KLICKS FROM THE BATTALION. WE QUICKLY DISEMBARKED FROM THE CHOPPER AND HEADED INTO THE JUNGLE. WE GATHERED TOGETHER AND STARTED TO HEAD DOWN THE STEEP MOUNTAIN TRAIL. AT SOME POINT IN TIME THE TRAIL TURNED INTO A 2 TO 3 FOOT WIDE PATH ALONG A ROCKY CLIFF. I HAD TO FACE THE MOUNTAIN AT TIMES TO KEEP FROM FALLING OVER THE EDGE BECAUSE I WAS PACKING THE RADIO. AT ONE POINT THERE WAS A GAP OF ABOUT TWO FEET IN THE TRAIL. IN TRYING TO STEP OVER THE GAP I GRABBED A ROCK OUTCROP. THE ROCK GAVE WAY AND A BOULDER THE SIZE OF MY UPPER BODY HIT ME ON THE LEFT SIDE, SPUN ME AROUND BACKWARDS AND LEFT ME FACING OUT ON THE SIDE OF THE GAP I HAD JUST CROSSED, WATCHING THE BOULDER DESCEND THE MOUNTAIN THANKFUL I WAS STILL IN A POSITION TO WATCH IT AND NOT FALLING WITH IT. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I DIDN’T HAVE ANY SHORTS TO CHANGE INTO! I GAVE A SIGH OF RELIEF AND KEPT ON GOING DOWN THE SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.
THE FIRST NIGHT OUT WE CAMPED IN A SMALL GRASSY DEPRESSION UNDER THE JUNGLE CANOPY. WE PULLED TWO HOURS ON WATCH THROUGH THE NIGHT. I WAS ASLEEP WHEN FIRST LIGHT CAME. I WOKE UP WITH A START, THINKING WE WERE BEING OVERRUN BY BONZI CHARGE FROM THE NVA. I GRABBED MY WEAPON AND IMMEDIATELY TURNED OUT. I LOOKED AROUND FOR SOMETHING TO SHOOT WITH MY HEART POUNDING STILL HALF ASLEEP WITH ICY FEAR RUNNING UP AND DOWN MY SPINE. I STILL COULDN’T SEE ANYTHING TO SHOOT. I HOLLERED, “WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?” IT DAWNED ON ME WE HAD SLEPT IN AN AREA OCCUPIED BY HOWLER MONKEYS. WE HAD DISTURBED THEM BY CAMPING IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM. THEY WOKE UP AT FIRST LIGHT AND STARTED HOWLING. NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE WERE ALL GIVEN QUITE A SCARE FOR BREAKFAST THAT MORNING AND WERE WIDE AWAKE FROM THAT POINT ON. WHAT A WAY TO START MY FIRST OPERATION ON RECON.
THE RECON MISSION ENDED WITHOUT INCIDENT AND THREE DAYS LATER WE WOUND UP JOINING ‘A COMPANY,’ PICKING UP MAIL, CIGARETTES AND CHOW.
ON ANOTHER MISSION WE SET OUT ON A SCOUT TO LOCATE THE NVA UNIT OPERATING IN OUR AO. ON THE 2ND DAY OUT WHILE PATROLLING DOWN A CREEK BED, STRONG HELD UP A FIST AND WE HALTED. SUDDENLY AUTOMATIC WEAPONS OPENED FIRE, AND ‘SNAKE’ YELLED OUR CO-ORDINATES TOO ME AND WE MADE A RAPID RETREAT UNDER FIRE UP THE MOUNTAIN. I WAS SCREAMING INTO THE MIC, MAYDAY, MAYDAY, AND OUR CO-ORDINATES. ABOUT HALF THE WAY UP OUR GUN SHIPS CAME TO OUR RESCUE. AS WE BROKE INTO A CLEARING ON TOP WE SET UP A PERIMETER, QUICKLY A CHOPPER CAME AND WE GOT PULLED OUT. STRONG LATER TOLD US THAT 8 N.V.A & A CHINESE ADVISOR WERE FILLING THEIR CANTEENS AT A WATERING HOLE. HE OPENED FIRE ONLY 25 YARDS AWAY AND STITCHED THE ADVISOR WITH A BURST OF TRACERS AND THEY RETURNED FIRE AND WE STARTED TO RUN UP THE MOUNTAIN. ABOUT ½ WAY UP, GUNSHIPS CAME TO OUR AID, AND THE BRASS FROM THEIR GUNS WERE FALLING DOWN ON US. WHEN WE GOT TO THE TOP, WE FORMED A DEFENSIVE PERIMETER, AND SHORTLY THE CHOPPER CAME IN AND PICKED US UP. WE WERE TOLD BY BRIGADE THAT WE HAD FOUND A BATTALION. C.P. & BOMBERS WERE CALLED IN FOR A BOMBING RUN.
ONE TIME WE WERE DROPPED OFF ON A MOUNTAIN TOP. WE MADE OUR WAY DOWN TO THE VALLEY FLOOR, AND CAME UPON AN OLD VIETNAMESE COOKING HIS MORNING MEAL OF RICE & FISH HEADS. WE TOOK UP POSITIONS AROUND HIS CAMP AND SURPRISED HIM. USING A MIX OF ENGLISH, VIETNAMESE, & SIGN LANGUAGE, WE HAD UNDERSTOOD HIM TO BE A FARMER. HE TOLD US HE HAD 2 SONS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM AND THEY COULD GIVE US MORE INFO. WE WENT TO WHERE HE TOLD US AND FOUND A CAMP WITH A SMOLDERING FIRE, AND 8 BEDS AND VARIOUS PARTS OF N.V.A UNIFORMS. WE QUICKLY RADIOED OUR POSITION AND WHAT WE HAD FOUND, AND WHAT WE SUSPECTED AND MOVED OUT. AFTER GOING A SHORT WAYS WE FOUND A DESERTED FARM HOUSE, RADIOED OUR NEW POSITION AND WERE TOLD TO WAIT, AS 1ST PLATOON WAS BEING CHOPPERED IN TO RE-ENFORCE US. WE SCOUTED AROUND AND SAT DOWN TO EAT. OSH AND I SAT TOGETHER AGAINST A HAY STACK AND BEGAN TO EAT WHEN A SHOT RANG OUT AND WE HEARD THE NASTY WHINE OF A BULLET GOING BETWEEN US, AS WE CAME UNDER ATTACK BY AN NVA SQUAD CHARGING ACROSS THE FIELD. JUST THEN CHOPPERS WITH 1ST PLATOON STARTED LANDING BEHIND US, AND THE N.V.A. BEGAN RETREATING. WE CHASED THEM FOR A FEW HUNDRED YARDS, AND THEY TOOK UP POSITIONS BEHIND A BURM IN THE TREE LINE. WE STARTED A FLANKING MANEUVER AND THEY TOOK OFF AGAIN. THEY HEADED UP A MOUNTAIN TRAIL AND WE STARTED OFF IN PURSUIT. WE ADVISED BATTALION AND
WERE TOLD TO BACK OFF AS WE WERE OPERATING OUT OF OUR AREA OF OPERATIONS. DISGUSTED, WE PULLED BACK AND WERE LIFTED OUT.
IN JUNE OF 1966, WE WERE SCOUTING FOR OUR COMPANY IN RICE PADDY COUNTRY AND WERE LEFT AS AN LP AT A TRAIL HEAD. AFTER DARK WE TOOK UP POSITIONS BETWEEN 2 TRAILS BEHIND SOME BRUSH. A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER WE HEARD 2 COLUMNS OF MEN MARCHING BY AT A VERY QUICK PACE. WE RADIOED THIS INFO TO THE CO, AND THAT WE
WERE SURROUNDED. HE TOLD US TO FOLLOW THEM. FOR ABOUT AN HOUR THEY KEPT COMING. WE FIGURED THEY WERE AT LEAST A COMPANY OR MORE. DISCRETION BEING THE
BETTER PART OF VALOR, WE DID NOT OBEY THAT ORDER, BUT PREPARED OURSELVES TO THROW GRENADES AND RUN LIKE HELL, IF DISCOVERED.
IN AUGUST – SEPTEMBER OF ’66 WE WERE OPERATING ALONG THE CAMBODIAN BORDER AND THE HO CHI MINH TRAIL FOR A WHILE. WE DISRUPTED THE FLOW OF SUPPLIES FROM THE NORTH. WE CALLED IN ARTILLERY AND MORTARS ON A NUMBER OF SUPPLY TRAINS KILLING PACK ANIMALS SUCH AS ELEPHANTS AND HORSES, AND CAPTURING AMMO AND GUNS. ON ONE SUCH MISSION WE WERE OUT ABOUT 10 KLICKS FROM THE COMPANY, WHEN WE CAMPED FOR THE NIGHT ALONG A MOUNTAIN TRAIL. WE RADIOED IN OUR CO-ORDINATES AND SETTLED IN. I FELT VERY WEAK AND SLEEPY, AND CRASHED DOWN IN PLACE LEAVING MY GEAR STILL ON. SNAKE CHECKED ME AND SAID I HAD A FEVER AND WOULD HAVE TO GET A MEDI-VAC OUT IN THE MORNING. DURING THE NIGHT WE HEARD MOVEMENT ON THE TRAIL. IT WAS AN NVA SUPPLY TRAIN USING WATER BUFFALO AS PACK ANIMALS. WE CALLED IN A FIRE MISSION AND KILLED 15 N.V.A. AS WELL AS 6 BUFFALO AND CAPTURED A MORTAR AND AMMO. SNAKE HEARD MOANING FROM THE SOLDIERS WE SHOT UP, AND IT TOOK ALL OUR POWERS OF PERSUASION TO KEEP HIM WITH THE TEAM AS HE WANTED TO GO OUT THERE WITH MY .45 AND A KNIFE TO CHECK IT OUT. AS I WAS OUT OF IT BY MORNING WE HAD TO GET OUT OF THERE. WE HAD TO HUMP 5 KLICKS TO AN ‘LZ’ WHERE I WAS CHOPPERED OUT. SOMEONE POPPED A FLARE TO SHOW THE CHOPPER WHERE TO LAND AND I HIT THE DIRT READY TO SHOOT. THEY ALL LAUGHED, BUT I'M STILL ALIVE.
I SPENT 36 DAYS IN THE HOSPITAL WITH MALARIA. BY THE TIME I GOT OUT THE RESTOF THE TEAM HAD ROTATED OUT, AND I DIDN'T GET TO SAY GOOD BYE.
IN OCTOBER OF ’66 I WAS ASSIGNED TO THE 2ND PLATOON AS A F.O. UNDER PLATOON SGT. ‘DUKE’ DUSHANE. WE ACTED AS A BLOCKING FORCE FOR THE SWEEP AND PICKED UP SOME MORE PRISONERS. WE GOT A NEW CHERRY NAMED PERKINS. HE WAS NICE KID, AN 18-YEAR-OLD PIMA INDIAN FROM ARIZONA. HE WAS MADE THE ‘Lt's’ RTO. WE SPENT THE 1ST NIGHT TAKING TURNS MONITORING THE RADIO. WE WERE SWEEPING A ‘V.C.’ VILLAGE AND BUNKER COMPLEX WHEN I HEARD A LOUD EXPLOSION. WE RUSHED BACK AND FOUND PERKINS DEAD, ON ONLY HIS 2ND DAY. HE AND THE ‘LT’ HAD PASSED A BUNKER IN THE VILLAGE AND HE WANTED TO THROW A GRENADE. THE ‘Lt’ LET HIM, AND DIDN'T TELL HIM THAT THEY WERE SLANTED OUT, SO THE GRENADE ROLLED OUT AT HIS FEET. THE GRENADE SET OFF THE OTHER ONE ON HIS AMMO BELT AND WIPED OUT HIS FACE AND TURNED HIM INTO A BLOODY, FACELESS, TORN-UP, RAG DOLL.
Were you a prisoner of war? NO!
Were you awarded any medals or citations? YES! BRONZE STAR, (MERITORIOUS), AIR MEDAL.
How did you get them? SERVING MY COUNTRY!
How did you stay in touch with your family? BY
WRITING LETTERS.
What was the food like? C-RATIONS & MERMITE CANS OF WARM BRKFST & SUPPER.
Did you have plenty of supplies? . ON THE 24TH OF
DECEMBER, MY COMPANY WENT ON A THREE WEEK SEARCH & DESTROY ON HWY 19. I DUG MY FOXHOLE IN THE GRAVES OF FRENCH SOLDIERS KILLED IN THE 50'S. WE SPENT CHRISTMAS THERE AND DECORATED A SMALL TREE WITH AMMO & HAND GRENADES. AFTER THREE WEEKS, MY COTTON FATIGUES &
BOOTS HAD ROTTED OFF ME AND WERE IN RAGS. I HAD GONE THROUGH ALL OF MY STATE SIDE UNIFORMS & BOOTS, MY BOOTS WERE ROTTED & THE SOLES WERE HELD ON WITH
C-RATION WIRE & DUCT TAPE. MY FATIGUES WERE SPLIT FROM THE CROTCH TO THE BOOTS. GROUND LEECHES & BITING
BUGS HAD A FIELD DAY ON ME. IN THE MIDDLE OF FEB., WE GOT A 3 DAY R&R ON THE BEACH OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA. THE 1st TIME WE HAD STEAK & MELTED ICE CREAM, IT WAS
WELCOMED. NEW JUNGLE FATIGUES & JUNGLE BOOTS WERE ISSUED TO ALL, AS WE WERE ALL IN RAGS. WE SPOKE WITH THE Bn. Co’s RTO, AND HE SAID THAT THE ‘Lt.COL.’ WENT TO QUE NON AND FOUND THE JUNGLE UNIFORMS & BOOTS BEING SOLD IN THE VIETNAMESE SHOPS. HE CALLED THE M.P.’s,
AND HAD ALL THE UNIFORMS & BOOTS APPROPRIATED AND ISSUED THEM TO US. IT SEEMS THAT SOME SUPPLY Sgt’s WERE TAKING OUR SUPPLIES & SELLING THEM ON THE
VIETNAMESE BLACK MARKET. WE NEVER WENT WITH OUT CLOTHING AGAIN.
Did you feel pressure or stress? READ MY EVAC.
EXPERIENCE!
Was there something special you did for "good luck"? I WORE A St. MICHAEL (PATRON SAINT OF PARATROOPERS) MEDAL I FOUND ON MANG YANG PASS IN DECEMBER, 1965.
How did people entertain themselves? PLAYING CARDS(IN A SECURED AREA. WHICH WASN’T OFTEN.
Were there entertainers? BOB HOPE CHRISTMAS TOUR DEC. 1965.
What did you do when on leave? ‘N.Y.O.B.’
Where did you travel while in the service? THE
REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM, 3 DAYS R&R IN TOKOYO & FT. GULIC, CANAL ZONE FOE JUNGLE WARFARE SCHOOL, IN APRIL, 1967.
Do you recall any particularly humorous or unusual
event? NO!
What were some of the pranks that you or others would pull? ONE COULD DIE WHEN PULLING PRANKS AROUND LOADED GUNS.
Do you have photographs? NO!
What did you think of officers or fellow soldiers?
READ MY ACCOUNT!
Did you keep a personal diary? NO!
Do you recall the day your service ended? YES!
Where were you? Ft. CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY.
What did you do in the days and weeks afterward? I
WENT BACK TO WORK AT GEN. FOODS RESEARCH LABS, TARRYTOWN, N.Y.
Did you work or go back to school? YES!
Was your education supported by the G.I. Bill?
PARTIALLY, I BORROWED $ FROM THE BANK FOR MY TUITION AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH SEMESTER, AND MADE MONTHLY PAYMENTS.
Did you make any close friendships while in the
service? YES!
Did you continue any of those relationships? LOST
TRACK FOR 40 YEARS. WE HAD OUR 1st REUNION IN 2005. WE NOW KEEP IN TOUCH, HAVE NOT FOUND ANY OF MY RECON TEAM.
Did you join a veterans organization? YES! AMERICAN LEGION & VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS, WAS NOT READILY ACCEPTED. THEY SMOKED & DRANK AND I QUIT.
What did you go on to do as a career after the war?
MANY & VARIED JOBS. THE LONGEST AS A TAX APPRAISER. (10 YEARS) I GOT BORED AFTER LEARNING THE JOB.
Did your military experience influence your thinking
about war or about the military in general? YES!
Do you attend reunions? YES!
How did your service and experiences affect your life?
POSITIVELY! I TOOK AN OATH TO SUPPORT & DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION AGAINST ALL ENEMIS BOTH FOREIGN & DOMESTIC. TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY, I WATCH MY ELECTED OFFICIALS & WATCH THEM SELL OUR RIGHTS FOR THEIR OWN PROFITS & THEIR OWN AGENDAS, ESPECIALLY PRESIDENT OBAMA & THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
Is there anything you would like to add that we have
not covered in this interview? YES! WE ARE A REPUBLIC NOT A STINKING DEMOCRACY!
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Left to right: Dave Dement, Bud Dziekonski, Juan Fernandez at their first reunion in 40 years, held in 2005.
Never Forgotten
These are the guys we lost on Feb 24...
CPT JAMES BW DETRIXHE
A Co 2nd Bn/8th Cav
PFC RICHARD ALLAN MARSHALL,
A Co 2nd Bn/8th Cav
SP4 ROBERT DELL MERRELL
A Co 2nd Bn/8th Cav
PFC THOMAS JAY OGLETHORPE
A Co 2nd Bn/8th Cav
SP4 LUTHER JOSEPH ROBINSON
A Co 2nd Bn/8th Cav
