This event occurred during
the Battle of Tam Quan and we had just completed a combat assault south of a
hamlet called An Nghiep, in the late afternoon of 19 Dec 1967. Our battalion
was in the process of surrounding a NVA battalion in this hamlet and
tactical fighter aircraft had just completed their bombing missions on NVA
positions. I was one of the new guys who joined Bravo in late November and
apart from a few sniper rounds, I had never been involved in a firefight.
As my platoon moved across an open area toward a treeline with palms and
shrub bushes, we proceeded to swing slightly to the right as if in a
flanking maneuver. We hadn't moved very far toward the right when my squad
was told to take defensive positions and wait for the order to continue our
advance toward entrenched NVA positions. My squad was deployed roughly in a
"V" formation and I found myself at the apex of the "V" facing the direction
of advancement. There was gunfire to our front but I couldn't see any enemy
soldiers or fortifications such as bunkers. Suddenly one of my squad members
who was located on my right rear, yelled "C'MON, LET'S GO!" I thought he
meant "CHARGE", so I gripped my M16 firmly and ran towards our objective
just like we learned during advanced infantry training. I remember running
through the palm trees and low plants scattered about and with the sound of
bullets whizzing by as the gunfire seemed to increase. The bullets passed me
with a "snap", something like a micro sonic boom, and more rounds were
hitting the palm fronds with a "splat" and the tree trunks with a "thunk",
and leaf debris was falling like rain about me. After 50-60 meters, I
stopped and turned around only to see that I was all alone. I don't remember
my exact thoughts but I think it was something like "Oh God! What do I do
now?" Within a few seconds the guy who had yelled "C'MON, LET'S GO", caught
up with me screaming "What the hell are YOU doing? We're pulling back!". I
think I felt even worse now, not only was I being shot at, but I was also in
deep trouble with my squad leader. We returned to the area where we had set
up a defensive position and my platoon leader was standing there with a
scowl on his face and as I approached him, he shook his head and muttered
something like "Stupid FNG!!!"
The 2nd Bn, 8th Cav Regt had encircled an NVA battalion in the village of An
Nghiep and later that night while serving my watch, I was sitting with my
boots dangling at the edge of my foxhole which was slowly filling with water.
I watched the brilliant arc of parachute flares from the continuous
artillery illumination and it seemed like a new one was popping off every 30
seconds or so. I was thinking about the absolutely dumb thing I had done
that day with my solo charge. But I also felt a new sense of confidence....in
myself. This was my first confrontation with enemy bullets fired in anger
and I must admit that I was extremely proud that I had passed the test with
flying colors. This was the most challenging test of my lifetime and it is
one that every combat trooper has to take on the battlefield. (Prepared by
Jim Beck)
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