I looked at Nguyen. His features remained as impassive as ever in the face of our dire situation. We could not get to the end of the bridge without being carried down past the tank into the rapids below that led deep into enemy held territory unless Kilo Company had moved in to support our rear and there was no indication of that. We had no radio. I had my .45 and my K-Bar knife while Nguyen had an M-16 and his own exotic knife. We didn’t have our packs, or anything else, and we were laying on the flats next to a river that was about to become the most perfect and deadly field of fire the NVA had ever seen. The light was fast improving, and it wouldn’t be long before we started to take the kind of fire we would not be responding to, other than to get hit and die. The Skyraiders would come back but they’d be too late. What remnant of my company was left on the other side of the river couldn’t be expected to hold the fire back from what gave every evidence of being an entire regiment of well-equipped and experienced enemy troops.
Nguyen’s limited English didn’t call for my coming up with a cool sounding plan. There was no plan, and Nguyen didn’t need one. Without saying anything he eased to his feet, crouched down and headed off across the open sand and mud flat toward whatever crease might exist between that surface and the bottom of the cliff to our west. I followed. Both of us ran low and bent over at first, but after only a few yards abandoned the idea of trying to avoid bullets that would be delivered by automatic weapons, if they were to be fired at us at all. No zig-zagging was going to save us from machine gun fire at close range, and the longer we were exposed the more likely it would become that we wouldn’t make it to any kind of cover.
While the Lt stares into his screen, probably with a cool beverage in his hand, here’s a commentary on NAVY air.
http://www.midwaysailor.com/midwayva25bomb/
Thanks a lot SCPO. I got a good chuckle out of something else in Vietnam that I did not know.
And much appreciate…
Semper fi,
Jim
Morning Jim, You doing OK? Digging up the past can be rough, Been there and done that, Yes, actively dealing with PTSD and trying to keep it under control for 45+ years, Hope things are going good, My prayers for you brother, Hope all is well.
I am working one a project, If it turns out I would love to send it to you.
Semper Fi/ This We Defend Bob
Yes, this is quite an exercise in true grit. Some segments are easier than others and the there is
regular life that keep son intervening! Thanks for the care and please send me the project!
Semper fi,
Jim
When will Book Two be available at AMAZON ?
The second book is still underway, being written as you may observe if you go to the front page
and check out the Second Ten Days. I am on day sixteen part III…so there are a few more segments to do.
Sorry about the time but these do not come out very easily….as you might have guessed.
Semper fi,
Jim
Sorry I missed the party , but tradition dictated that I stayed in the DFW area !! We touched off over $1,000 worth of fireworks !! Kids had a ball !! Sounds like y’all did also !! Interesting segment !! Was gunny going upriver or headed back to cross the river where you are !! I’m kinda confused!! You’re doing good !! Keep on keeping on 🏈🍉!!
I am asking the Gunny to come back across the river but he does not want to,
obviously. We’ll see in the next segment…
Semper fi,
Jim
How long before the next segment James?
J. It will be up in 24 hours or less.
Getting back from the rendezvous was more time consuming
than I thought.
I live a really active life and when I push the ‘hold’ button, everything stops all right,
like the water behind a dam…
and then when I get back the spillways open up…
Thanks for asking and caring…
Semper fi,
Jim
I give up
When does the book come out???
The second book will come out in August. I am sorry that I have not been quicker or more regular with the segments
I’m writing but this is no ordinary series of novels, as you no doubt already figured out or you would not be so frustrated
with me. Thanks for the unmentioned compliment!
I’m working as fast as I an able under the circumstances…
Semper fi,
Jim
Mr. Strauss, I received your book The First Ten Days as a gift from a retired Marine Colonel Glenn Dyer. Glenn and I have had a couple of afternoon discussions about Nam, he’s one of the few people I’ve opened up to about some of my experiences in Nam. I’ve read all the chapters you written to date and will say I’ve truly enjoyed what I’ve read. My experiences do not mirror yours but we were in different parts of the country and I was a Ma Deuce gunner on a Weapons track in the U.S. Army. Here’s a website of the unit I was with http://www.1-5th-m-25th-inf-1966.com .I wasn’t in Nam until 1968,things sure hadn’t changed much from what those before me said it was like in 66 and from what I experienced in 68. Keep up the good work, I can’t wait for the next story. Welcome home and thank you for your service, Sir.m
Glenn ia class act all the way around and it was wonderful to spend all the time with him I could.
Talk about intelligent and erudite, not to mention just plain cool as hell.
thanks for reading and liking the book. I am hard at work in getting out the second…
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim take your time and catch up. Writing can’t be forced and we will wait. This purposeful journey you are on definitely has to be like a roller coaster ride with ups, downs, twists, and turns of true emotion. God Bless you and protect you on this journey.
You are a joy and your concern makes me smile. I am doing okay. I stay really really busy, what with my weekly newspaper and all.
Thanks for the advice and the blessings…
Semper fi,
Jim
Not talking about your book, I think, was an unspoken desire not to get tipped off about what might be next. Some of us may have heard bits and pieces we didn’t want to. The gathering was an experience I’d repeat in a heartbeat. I am so impressed with all of you that went, so welcoming, friendly and fun to be around. I heard a lot of stories about a dark place that you all excused me from sharing. And for anyone that didn’t go, you’ve got to meet Jim in person! We know the author, newspaper editor, warrior, but the standup comedian that drives all that will make your sides hurt! It would seem Keystone Kops follow everywhere he goes, driving skills foremost. What a great time, Jim, everyone!
Thank you Walt. It was a wonderful meeting and absolutely everyone who came was
a stand up guy, accompanied by wonderful women and even some kids.
What a delight, and it was much appreciated by me. That we could all laugh as much
as we did, my antics aside, is a credit to the healing we have experienced, those of us
who could get that far, in a culture not set up to comprehend, understand or respond to returning
combat veterans needs.
Semper fi,
Jim
Glad you had a good time with the brothers on the 4th. It would be interesting to hear how that meet affected you once you got back home and had time to think about it.
You mentioned that one of the vets at the meet had been in your unit, how did he know about the meeting, had you been communicating with him previously?
I noticed on Facebook that your post were getting over 1K hits, so apparently the word is getting out on your book. The more the better!
Nobody from my unit was at the rendezvous in Kansas. I have communicated through email with three.
The rendezvous was wonderful, although catching up back home has been rather demanding because I let so much
go to go. Thanks for your concern and your interest, of course…
Semper fi,
Jim
Really enjoyed meeting everyone at our gathering! The locals were truly amazing! I must say watching and listening to your stories of your time in the CIA was very entertaining! You’re a gifted storyteller my friend! I didn’t want to discuss the book because I for some reason it didn’t seem appropriate. If the gunny is playing chess with you “check “! Hanging in for the next chapter! Semper Fi Jim!
Thanks Jack, it was great to meet you too. Thanks for the comments about my storytelling. Life has been
pretty varied and wild for me and recounting the tales can be fun with the right people. You are certainly
the right people.
Semper fi,
Jim
Lost a friend in Bong Song. SPC4 Butch Follett.
Good story telling.
So sorry dale, that river consumed a lot of men at the time.
Thanks for he compliment and writing it on this site…
Semper fi,
Jim
Another rip roaring segment LT. thank you. Have you been back to the Nam..Just curious….
Went back with the CIA but they would not let me off the airplane. I sat on the tarmac
for nine hours of so before the plane left for Seoul. So I never made it back in any real sense of the word.
Thanks for asking and the compliment written on here…
Semper fi,
Jim
Great read, thanks so much for writing, lost a couple great friends in 70. UDT. Very proud to know there are guys like you in the world.
Thanks a million Paul. Neat compliment and I don’t know what to say. My wife thinks I’m pretty neat
but there are some I’m living out my life in redemption about too!
Thanks for the neat compliment and for writing it on here where everyone can see it.
Semper fi,
Jim
I am 53, have never been in the service. I just wanted to say reading these passages brings a little more understanding of the great duty and sacrifice fir those who have served. For a guy like me I can only hope to live a life up to the standards for what the military has sacrificed for. Humbly appreciative to all who serve.
Thanks Steve, really appreciate your comment and your thanks to all.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thank you James for the get together at Winfield, it was excellent to get to shake your hand. I enjoyed meeting other vets as well, and laugh as we walk together down a memory lane that most of the time we avoid like a dark abyss. Sorry I had to leave early, I don’t have an excuse. Just that sometimes the unspeakable past is too close to today, and walk down memory lane becomes a slow crawl down a slimy dark unthinkable. Don’t mean nuthin. Semper Fi.
And we did have some good and a few great leaders in 1/4. 1st Lt. Noel of Charlie company sticks in my memory. He earned his purple heart in March before I got there, and a Navy Cross to go with it.
I remember you distinctly Randy and would have loved to have spent more time with you but
fully understand how hard these things really are. Hell, I was surprised anybody at all showed up!
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim,
I really enjoy Your writting. Thank You for inspiring me to continue writting my own poetry and short stories.
Regards and Semper Fi
John
Thanks John, your words and compliment mean a whole lot to me, and thank for writing them for all to see on here…
Semper fi,
Jim
Hi James,
I am sorry to miss the gathering, but the big C, courtesy of Agent Orange, prevented it…..my best to all.
A small thought: the NVA 50 cal that is your nemesis, might more likely be a .51 cal, or 12.7mm…..just spitballing!
Fraternally,
Bill..
Cobra driver
We had a terrific time Bill and I am so sorry I missed you. Next year.
This time we’ll plan it a little better and hold it where the scenery is a little more stunning
and hope to get the same wonderful people, not to mention the locals who were superb!
Semper fi,
Jim
I wish I could have made it, but life gets in the way. Don’t worry about writing and getting it out. You know the old saying, hurry up and wait. The wait in this case is well worth it.
You might want to drop in a segment about the get together. It would be fun to read.
Take care, be safe and we will, like always, be here.
Yes, there will indeed ba a segment and a photo of the event, not to mention video!
Thanks for bringing that up…
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim,
My dad was a combat medic at the Battle of the Bulge. He is 94 and healthy as a horse, but since he expects me to write and deliver his eulogy, I have been working on it and sharing it with him. To describe his service, What an impossible burden to put on a young man’s shoulders will be included. Your story moves me deeply, and the combined weight of the enemy threat and the violence from your own fellow soldiers is hard to fathom. Glad that there are men like you, and my dad. Live long and keep writing.
Thanks Jim, and thanks for what you wrote about your Dad and me.
Means a lot to me…and likely to him…
Semper fi,
Jim
Another good read James!!! But I got to thinking. It really don’t matter how much one of those artillery rounds weighs as long as it kills the enemy!!!! That being said my Gramps hated those 88’s the Germans had. He said they killed more of his guys than German soldiers did. He told me they had those damn things everywhere. But he knew we’d win the war when his outfit ambushed a column of 88’s being pulled by horses and wiped them out. He did most of his fighting in a place he called The Gap. He died years ago but his stories made me love and admire the U.S. soldiers because of there bravery and devotion to each other no matter what branch they served with.
Thanks Russell for you comments written on here and for the compliment inside them…
Semper fi,
Jim
Well Jim, another great segment…and Nguyen, always there, he was the stuff…you left us hanging again…I hope all went well for your festivities today…I salute you all and wish I could have been there…keep up the good work and have safe travels back home…
Hey, it was great to be with those guys and so many had so much to say
when I wasn’t talking…which wasn’t often!
Semper fi
Jim
I was not in Vietnam during that war, but I was in college and listed as 1A and ready to go at the end of the draft. Your writing has helped to make me more aware of the sacrifices that you and your brothers made for me and I now wish I had left school and enlisted to help. Being older makes one reflect on what they should have done years ago. I just wanted you to know how much we respect you and the others who sacrificed so much to help keep us safe and alive in our own Country. God bless all soldiers still with us and those who have gone on for us. John
Glad you missed the show! One of the guys who came to Winfield talked about missing it. I was overwhelming in my happiness that
he was there to talk to me and not laying down next to the Bong Song in the bottom of that valley.
Thanks for the comments and compliment in your writing here…
Semper fi,
Jim
One of two things must have happened to the Gunny on hearing those words. His hair stood up, or that sick feeling in the stomach. Actually probably both. I know I wouldn’t want to hear those words knowing exactly what they meant. Great writing. Have a Happy 4th of July!
The 4th was great in Winfield!! What a group of guys, mostly from this site!
Thanks for your well wishes and making the comment on here…
Semper fi,
Jim
Have a great time, Jim. Wanted to make an appearance but a death in the family, and with my wife having Shingles, travel is not possible at this time. Hope y’all have a blast and everyone has a good time. Stay safe and know we are with you in spirit.
Would love to have seen you Ed and you would have loved the guys who made it.
What a crew they were and I’m so happy I made a big deal about going.
Thanks for being upset with missing us. Next time, my friend…
Semper fi,
Jim
Happy Fourth of July. In the paragraph that starts “I looked at the microphone like it was some sort of alien device,” the last sentence “reaing”? maybe a word or not? Oh well, typo’s happen. Have a great time at the reunion.
thanks for the help Jerome. Had a great time at the reunion and some guys gave me their numbers
so I have been harassing them over the phone too!!!
Take care,
Semper fi,
Jim
If the NVA kept firing, or got hold of one of their seemingly plentiful RPSs, or got another fifty caliber in place, then our ticket was punched, many times over.
Should RPS be RPG? I’m not a military guy.
Yeah, Mike, as RPS was the registered publication service for classification!
Thanks for pointing that out. Wordspell is a bitch when I am not wrong out of the gate…
Semper fi,
Jim
drop 3000 puts gunny in direct impact zone ? I’m waiting for his reply too . going to get very hot soon .how you could get sent into this mess with=out better support is hard to understand .
Not really, in retrospect bill. at the time it was tough but since I figured out that they sent
all the ‘losers’ out to one company and then wrote it off it got a lot easier. We were like a punishment
company and my lipping off to the general got me my ticket punched. 2nd Lieutenant’s need to learn to shut the fuck
up!
Semper fi,
Jim
Good read Jim. I don’t know how I got this, but it’s first I saw. Im going to go back to beginning and catch up. I was with 3/1 in Quang Tri province in 67′-68′. We heard stories of the A-Shau Valley! Thanks!
I wondered if anybody really heard much about that valley before I wrote this.
Found out that a lot of guys know and some have even written other books about it.
Thanks for writing on here…and I’m happy you are catching up.
Semper fi,
Jim
Just a side note here James. At Ft Campbell Ky. there is a “A Shau Valley Road. Probably plenty of other places too, but it just goes to show what an impact one piece of real estate can have on us.
I did not know that Glenn. Back here I’d seldom heard the A Shau mentioned until recently.
Thanks for that data…
Semper fi,
Jim
Great stuff, Jim! I look forward to each segment.
I would love to have a diagram or map so I can keep up with positions and movement better.
Book II will have a map of the whole A-Shau. It’s going to be a fold out and I am doing the
cartography with facts gathered from about a dozen maps I’ve collected. There is nothing out that that
does a really good job so I’am doing it.
Thanks for wanting one and writing about that on here…
semper fi,
Jim
Those 175s in a 4 gun battery would cover a grid square on a map with shrapnel if done right. I was a corpsman with a mech infantry unit in the Central Highlands in 1969. I often watched as the FO attached our unit would call in fire missions. We loved 8-inchers best- as they had better accuracy and bigger bangs and they had the fire cracker rounds- CBU bomblets the rained down from above. 175s had long range and big shells but were known to be inaccurate. The barrels wore out faster, we were told. A platoon in one of our sister leg units got hit by mistake by a battery fire mission of 175s and every man in the platoon was hit though we heard no KIAs but still- it knocked out the whole platoon. We many times observed the impacts of these fire mission. I thought they were hellish things to hit with. Loud sharp explosions. The danger close for them and 8 inchers was farther back than 105s or 155s. Great tale so far, you write it well. Keep up the good work.
Receiving fire is something else. You don’t get trained in that and that is why a lot of units without
Sill trained FO’s would not call in the arty they might need. Being near the receiving end is loud, frightening and
very very dangerous. Thanks for the comment and accuracy of your comment…spot on…
semper fi,
Jim
One little edit.
I hadn’t given them a position “reading” since the last time…
thanks for the help Ron!!!
Semper fi,
Jim
some corrections:
Nguyen sprawled behind the inadequate barrier and I followed, flipping around to lay flat on my stomachs
I hadn’t given them a position reaing since
Thanks for the help Steve, changing it…
Semper fi,
Jim
Hell yes sir!!!! Just with those last two paragraphs you let his ass and everyone else know you still held the key to their survival! In a Marine Infantry unit there should never be any questioning of orders! Being a Marine GRUNT for 20 yrs of my life I never did it or put up with it.
thanks Joe, but the bottom of the A-Shau was a kind of different place.
You went in looking and being one way and come out, if you came out, something else entirely…
Semper fi,
Jim
Good call Lt great segment !! 1911 not much help over 50 yards
Thanks, Stephen. Being outgunned is never a very comforting feeling and being in that situation was more’frightening
than the writing is letting on. So damned paralyzing…
Semper fi,
Jim
Why would you not have picked up an M16 and ammo instead of counting on the 1911? Surely they came available every time someone was killed or wounded.
There was no ability to face the NVA with one more M16. Against a hill occupied
by at least a battalion loaded with AK-47 automatic rifles. No, my job was to think our
way through and then act our way through. The company was there to fight and to survive.
I was there to get them to survive themselves and me both.
The .45 was correct.
Semper fi,
Jim
Great reading,thank you for your service. Heroes all.
Thanks Chuck!!
Semper fi,
Jim
Are you going to post pics and narrative of the Vets 4th get-together in Kansas?
Yes, they are coming up just as soon as Chuck gets back from the rendezvous….Thanks for asking!
Semper fi,
Jim
Wonderful writing Lt. I’m still hanging in here I haven’t missed an installment yet! Keep em coming sir and once again thank you for your service!!
thanks for the compliment and the reading all the chapters. I am working away again…
Semper fi,
Jim
The 175 rounds were 196 pounds not 93. I know I was FDC for A battery 3/18th artillery and we had 2 175 and 2 8 inch guns and those rounds were 204 pounds..
You could not be more accurate about that Richard. I fired the 175 so few times that I had forgotten
so looked it up on the Internet and somehow got it wrong. Mea culpa.
Thanks for the correction. I will correct the story…
Semper fi,
Jim
Keep trucking. Nice read, but scary.
thanks for the compliment Ralph and thanks for writing it on here…
Semper fi,
Jim
James, I shot 175’s for 5/10. I remember the HE rounds being 147 pounds. Richard is correct about the 8-inch rounds being 204 pounds. Great story!
I am not certain of the weights of artillery rounds. it was not a figure that was much trotted out and there
is, for whatever reason, considerable contention and difference about the subject on the Internet.
My apologies.
Semper fi,
Jim
Going on memory here but I think 105 rds were 33 lbs which makes your comparison with 175 rds at 93 lbd 3x not 2x. JP USMC 1970-1993 in country at the very end of the war.
Since I was wrong about the 175 rounds (they are close to two hundred pounds) the comparison is shit, anyway.
The 105 rounds can weigh in at anything from 33 to nearly fifty pounds, depending on what the round is and
who made it. The data on such things online is not as readily available as I would have thought.
Thanks for the intensity of detail you are putting into the reading. Sometimes, I am going to wrong
about how I recall things.
Semper fi,
Jim
I just happen to have the firing tables for the 155 on my bookshelf. The weight of the fuzed projectile ranges from about 93 pounds to just over 100 pounds, depending on both the particular projectile and fuze.
That range of weights for the 105 seems a bit large, but what do I know?
That book will put you to sleep PDQ! Unless you are in the FDC, of course.
Yes, I read that too Mike. The 175 fired 174 pound projectiles, although there’s a lot of discussion about
what the ‘real’ weight was. I would have thought the tables were dead on with the reality because of FDC necessity.
Weight is a big deal in launching an artillery round.
Thanks for the work and putting it up here…
Semper fi,
Jim
Damn Brother!!! Don’t get so crippled up at the gathering that you can’t write. Down a couple A.P.C.s before you hit the pit Then roll out and get start bangin on that keyboard. I want that sit rep here on my screen ASAP. You’ve got me hanging here. Gunny knows his position is no longer tenable and some really pissed off help is on the way. All joking aside, I am there with you and the rest of my Brothers. Happy Forth of July. My favorite day of the year. Gonna have me some Hungarian hot dogs and cold fifty cent beer.
Some really great people have come to Kansas. Rained hard last night so I don’t know what the grass will be like
for today’s festivities. Much more like a great friendly get together than a book signing or any of that.
I bought lots of beer, which helps I think!
thanks for the well wishes and writing it on here.
Semper fi,
Jim
Pretty sure beer helps in most things. The misaligned 175-105 comparison did not detract from the story a bit. The comments for the correction make it that much more interesting. I love it that some of the readers are so into this that they gently, but clearly, lend their expertise to make the story factually accurate (adjust fire?). Thanks to all for taking me/us on this crazy ride. The comments are the gravy that keep me engaged until the next serving.
Thanks a million Daddy for the neat comment here. The guys who came were really special too (Winfield). Also engaging in a dialogue
with one of my men I did not know survived and that’s going so damned well. He said I was “throwing one fast ball right down the center
after another.” That means a lot to me too. Thanks your my friend and I am motivated to go by people writing here like you…
Semper fi,
Jim
I’m with You Bud! I don’t care so much about the details. I am hooked on the store and Jim’s style of writting. John
Thanks John!!!
Semper fi,
Jim
Love reading your stories…Happy a safe and Happy Fourth of July !!
Thanks Roger, spent most of the fourth with the guys in Winfield, Kansas.
It was terrific to be among them. Putting faces and identities with names on here was
kind of astounding. Thanks for your comment.
Semper fi,
Jim
That should be Mertke, Don
I think we got it Don…
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks for anther chapter LT. James. Don
Yes, Don, I know but I just got back from the rendezvous, for Christ’s sake!
I’m doing my best with phantom Harvey looking over my shoulder…
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim I think you misunderstood my comment I was thanking you for that last read, not rushing you. I take um as I get um. no hurry no worries.
Not a problem Mertke. I am working away trying to get through the vagaries of life
we all have to allow for some open writing fields of fire!
Thanks for that comment about the writing though.
Semper fi,
Jim
A couple of typos;
flipping around to lay flat on my stomach(s) and see what I could over the top lip of the berm.
I hadn’t given them a position rea(d)ing since the last
Helluva situation Jr. is still in. Brings to mind that song – clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am stuck in the middle…
Good suspenseful and intense reading James !!
SEMPER Fi
Thanks for the song association. Spot on for sure.
Thanks for the compliment written into your words, as well.
Semper fi,
Jim
I was in hopes we would get another fix before the meet in Kansas. I hope there is a great turn out with many finding new long lasting friendships to aid in the healing for all.
Seems the chess game is headed toward a climax show down.
Nguyen sprawled behind the inadequate barrier and I followed, flipping around to lay flat on my (stomachs) and see what I could over the top lip of the berm. (stomach)
If the NVA kept firing, or got hold of one of their seemingly plentiful (RPSs), or got another fifty caliber in place, then our ticket was punched, many times over. (RPGs)
Hey, I did get a chapter up while was at the rendezvous! I am working away to meet the demands of outrageous fortune here.
Thanks for wanting more quicker…
Semper fi
Jim
James, as usual I can hardly wait for the next episode , it’s seems a lifetime since last resupply and the crewchief
Well, hardly a lifetime but I get the complaint and compliment buried inside it. Thank you!
Semper fi,
Jim
Another intense chapter. One edit I noticed: I hadn’t given them a position reaing (reading) since the last time they’d helped us out, but they wouldn’t fire until I updated that information.
Got it Kathi. Chuck will fix it tomorrow. Nobody else caught this one!
Thanks for the help and caring enough to write it on here…
Semper fi,
Jim
Salt works good on the suckers you always had salt in your C- Rations. To bad we bid not have anything work that good on the NVA and VC
And a lot of us did not know about the salt! Thanks for the comment.
Semper fi,
Jim
I am waiting for the reply right with you!
Jim have a great time with all your follower on the 4th.
Mike S
Thanks Mike, we did have a great time and some funny times too in Winfield…
Thanks for writing about it on here…
Semper fi,
Jim
James, another good read. Thanks
Thank you Tim for caring enough to comment and then compliment the writing too.
Semper fi,
Jim
go get’em boys blow ’em up get job Lt.
Thanks Bryson. Yes, there’s a good bit of that in all three of the books.
Thanks for being entertained, reading along and making comments on here…
Semper fi,
Jim
I have to say it, “Damn!”, you got time to do a psyche on the Gunny, and are thinking much faster than I thought possible with ordnance flying. But like the Saturday afternoon movin pitcher shows I gotta wait a week and spend another 14 cents to find out if you did let fly on him. Today y’all are gathering, waiting for the posts with some excitement. Be safe, and start a tradition too powerful to fade out. Poppa Joe
Thanks Poppa. Would have been grand to really meet you. Maybe next year.
Anyway, thanks for the great words, as usual as I am hard at work on the 16th third part.
Semper fi,
Jim
“Third Part.”!!!!!! Your combat tour is divided into eight hour shifts like a dang Air Force medic? Sorry, I couldn’t resist, no need to respond to very poor humor. I am really waiting to see if you had really keyed the fire control net, and with some excitement. Gets some rest , sir. Poppa
As always, much enjoy your comments Poppa. I like your bad humor.
Semper fi,
Jim
Holy crap! Did you just threaten the Gunny with the 175s? Man oh man, you are the master of cliff hangers. Can hardly wait for the next chapter to see how this plays out.
A few corrections:
What of my company was left on the other side of the river couldn’t be expected to hold the fire back from what gave every evidence of being an entire regiment of well-equipped and experienced enemy troops. (What was left of my company on the other side of the river….)
Nguyen sprawled behind the inadequate barrier and I followed, flipping around to lay flat on my stomach(s) and see what I could over the top lip of the berm.
If the NVA kept firing, or got hold of one of their seemingly plentiful RPSs, (RPGs,) or got another fifty caliber in place, then our ticket was punched, many times over.
I hadn’t given them a position reaing (reading) since the last time they’d helped us out, but they wouldn’t fire until I updated that information.
I waited for Kilo’s ‘danger close’ mission to run its course, both batteries being on the same frequency(.)
Ripcord didn’t answer after I gave them out (our) position. I looked at the second hand on my Gus Grissom watch.
Four rounds exploded atop the very apex of the hill, their fire and debris not visible but for their compression waves, and the sharp cracking sound of their vicious explosions beating down and cross (across) the rushing river water.
Thanks for the help in corrections. It is hard to write it ‘in the clear’ and catch all the small stuff.
Thanks for the help on here and the neat words about the work.
Semper fi,
Jim
I Pray GOD HIMSELF Blesses You This INDEPENDENCE DAY! THANK YOU SIR FOR YOUR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE !!!
Thanks so much James. Really appreciate the thought, the prayers and the commenting about it here on this site…
Semper fi,
Jim
And…the gunnys eyes got big and round like saucers, fully understanding the circumstances…and Junior’s no fu**s given orders.
Well, something had to be done. Not healthy threatening the Gunny but not healthy doing nothing either.
Combat’s typical dilemma kind of situation…
Semper fi,
Jim
You and your team constantly in the SHIT. Gunny covering his ass as usual. Thought you were on the east side of the river so guess I don’t understand how the sun could be coming up in your eyes? Great story. Keep stomping.
If you are on the west side of the river, looking back east at the other cliff wall
and the hill where the NVA were ensconced then you would be looking into a rising sun
coming up over that cliff face and hill…
Semper fi,
Jim
Wow, just wow !
Thanks Willis, no more words need to be said for that kind and deep of a compliment…
Semper fi,
And thanks,
Jim
Damn…Lt….laying face down in the mud with Balls that big…it’s a wonder you didn’t get shot in the ass more than once….lol Semper Fi “Hang in there Kilo…India’s on the move!!
Thanks Larry, for the usual droll and most excellent remark.
Semper fi, my friend,
Jim
New episode!
EXCELLENT and as gripping as all previous ones!
10 times as complicated as 3 dimensional chess.
Sphincter muscles remain as tight as a sky diver whose parachute was not opening.
I am amazed at how much everyone was dealing with in multiple life and death decisions on the fly…I am pulling for you and your men…
God bless you, and hoping for great weather and nothing but good times (and long overdue healing for many) at your quickly put together Vietnam Vets Fourth of July reunion in the heartland. I hope you provide some video tapes of that event and post on your site. Peace to you, LT. Jim.
Yes, Walt, we are putting up some video and stills of the rendezvous.
And thanks for the usual pertinent and accurate commentary about everything else…
Semper fi,
Jim
That, my friend, was intense. I have learned that just about the time it can’t get any worse “Submit—” comes up so I was prepared, almost! “Drop 3,000–” was probably not what Gunny wanted to hear just then. Would it be accurate to say you all did all this because you had no choice? Well, I guess you could have stood up and waved a finger at charlie. Keep on keepin on.
It was obvious that the Gunny did not want to come back and head down river again.
Emotion runs high when you life is on the line or you believe it is…and threats are uncommon
because they can be filled with death later on even if they are effective in getting immediate
response. Combat is a mother fucker…
Semper fi, my friend, and thanks for all you did at the rendezvous!!!
Jim
I picture in my mind you sitting in your Kansas hotel, smirking that you dropped this chapter in just as you were about to rendezvous with your brothers. Those of us who couldn’t be there now sitting jealous as you all laugh about this latest cliff hanger (literally?). Picturing the Gunny’s face as he heard the command “Drop three thousand, fire for effect,” as he realized now who is calling the shots. Wishing you all the best of times gathering. Welcome home gentlemen, welcome home.
Amazingly enough SSgt. none of us talked about the story or what details surround it
at the rendezvous. Mostly it was about guys getting to know one another and talking about where
we are from and how we’d gotten through to be there at all…
Funny thing, because I thought we’d talk more about the book too…
Semper fi,
Jim
Paragraph begins, “It was obvious,,,,,”, 3rd line from bottom, “of their seemingly plentiful RPSs”; should be RPGs, right?
Saw some really hairy action with 2Bn/1 Marines, H Co, but not like this. Nail biter! Semper Fi!
Thanks Dan, for your analytical help. Will get right to it.
Thanks for the comment on here about it…
Semper fi,
Jim
JIm, I didn’t think you had the Gus Grissom watch yet. The Speed master was mentioned in THE FIFTEENTH NIGHT. Dave.
Ripcord didn’t answer after I gave them our position. I looked at the second hand on my Gus Grissom watch.
Jim, Sorry about confusing the Speed-master watch as being different from the Gus Grissom watch. They are the same, as you obviously know. Please ignore my watch comments and don’t waste time on them. I am getting older. Dave.
Jim, I know you are in formatting. Dave.
=>Should this sentence have Captain Howard Carter, not just his first name?
I switched over to the command net and called for the Gunny. While I waited I listened to battalion making contact with Captain Howard in Kilo Company.