A Shau Valley Archives - Page 11 of 21

THE NINETEENTH DAY SECOND PART, 30 Days Has September

Two 106 rounds went down range, both visible from the distinctive contrails they left behind as they barreled through the thick rain soaked air. The guns were fired from outside the Ontos by the crew. I didn’t know why they’d fired two instead of all six or only one....

THE NINETEENTH DAY, 30 Days Has September

by James Strauss | 114 comments

I tried to relax for a few seconds, so I could get the Heart of Darkness Plan organized in my mind. The night and rain were everything, along with our speed of movement. It had taken me almost three weeks to figure out that the Vietnamese were slow, compared to...

THE EIGHTEENTH NIGHT SECOND PART, 30 Day Has September

by James Strauss | 144 comments

The firing stopped suddenly, as if the return of our company was something for the enemy to take stock of, while the remnants of Kilo Company had figured out they were only making themselves targets for the RPGs. “They’ve quit firing those things,” Fusner whispered in...

THE EIGHTEENTH NIGHT, 30 Days Has September

by James Strauss | 167 comments

I moved back down the river bank, my mind spinning in contemplation of executing the Gunny’s plan, and feeling a bit sick to my stomach at the idea of it. Zippo and Fusner took their E-Tools and dutifully began to dig holes near where the other radio operators worked,...

THE EIGHTEENTH DAY THIRD PART, 30 Days Has September

by James Strauss | 114 comments

With Fusner boosting me from behind I got out of the hole I’d taken refuge in. The Gunny’s words had bitten hard, and I wished he hadn’t said them in front of Fusner but there was nothing to be done for it. It was hard to leave the protection of the wet muddy redoubt,...