Jan 15th 1968

[DMZ-LT]

Always tough not knowing if you were the toughest son of a bitch in the valley that night.Lucky you got out of there Ron

[39mto39g]

LT
We never thought of ourselves as tough, Just survivors would be more accurate.
Again, I wasn't actually in the SF camp of Lang Vei. I was outside their perimeter.
There is no place to run when the enemy is all around you, I know what the 101 must have felt after jumping behind Normandy.
The SF started to send out patrols again and at some point sent out a forward LP, so to speak.
I wasn't in communications with the SF but the Duster commander was. I had to rely on what he told us .

Ron

[39mto39g]

We were getting Mortared every day now. Two choppers landed and 5-6 guys got off and went into the Camp, the rest of the room was taken up with what looked to be, food.
Those SF guys are good, but 5 guys as re-enforcements?

Ron

[39mto39g]

The SF sent out, what they called a early warning team, I'm not sure what that is, I guess an ambush team or some Yards. There are thousands of people all around here now, I don't have a clue who is who, It's hard to run when the enemy is all around you. We stay close to the duster and take turns watching everything. All day, all night, it's so cold at night, what I would give for a small campfire. Not even a c-4 square to heat the c-rations, cold stew with a fat scum on top, MMMMM, at least it filled the hole.
Incoming.

Ron

[exlrrp]

I hadn't really looked at this post before----man you have a vivid memory and a great way of expressing yourself.
"Daylight was a painting sent from God" I'm amazed at how profound and poetic that is.
Stay good, Ron

[39mto39g]

James
It is what I was thinking as the sun came up that day. The reason I remembered it and other thing is that I could feel death coming that night and it didn't happen, as the sun came up it looked like a painting and God was on everyones mind at the time.

How can you remember a guy pee on you, It has to do with the closeness of death I think.

Ron

[39mto39g]

1-31-68
The SF are sending out patrols. I have no idea why. Talk is that they have a NVA deserter, who claims to have reconded Lang Vie for the NVA just a couple days before.
This deserter says that before they take Kah Shan they must first deal with Lang Vie. OMG. In present day lingo, a far colorful adjective would have been used in 1968.
Why am I here.

Ron

[39mto39g]

2-2-68
We got word this morning that they would be sending choppers to pick us up, seems there was this thing going on in Hue and the 101 was on RT 1 , Naturally we were going to assist in our own special way. Couldn't be more glade to leave this place.

The Duster fired off several rounds after a mortar attack, Funny thing, no calibration.

Ron

[39mto39g]

2-3-68
We are still here, seems some Cav unit west of Hue is useing all the Choppers. They want us to walk out at daybreak.
This is not going to be a Walkinthepark (in Top Gun talk) .
Marines to the north of RT1, Cav to the South of RT 1, people itching to shoot at anything that moves, everywhere.
Oh well, here we go.

Ron

[39mto39g]

Seems we only made it a couple miles or so, Did you ever hear and see a 175 go overhead? I have. Rt 9 and a creek are to our left or North of us. We are walking (sort of) east. There is so much firing going on all around us, any second we could be next. I don't know what’s worse, Night when you can't sleep or day when you can't hear.
I wish I was back in Illinois fishing.

Ron