The only 25 series radio military occupational specialty in the company, not already serving one of the platoon commanders, was Hultzer. The only thing I knew about him was that he had been assigned to one of the Project Hundred Thousand privates sent in by special act of the Secretary of Defense. Piper, Hultzer’s charge, could not read or write and was very likely slow in other areas, as well. The Secretary of Defense had been in trouble, back in the world, because the draft was catching too many kids from the middle class, and the Secretary had apparently gained political favor by making sure that every class of America had some skin in the game.
Hultzer tried to report in, but I was too pre-occupied with the mud, the rain, the bleeding ruin of my leech-sucked torso wounds, and the fact that Captain Carruthers, the new company commander of Kilo Company, was actually coming down the cliff face first to supply the ‘relief’ so sorely needed by the supposed ragtag loser company I was commanding.
I was scrunched down against the cliff behind where the Ontos sat, it’s small gas engine still idling away, so the turret would move if commanded. The little deadly armored vehicle faced into the jungle toward the direction our attack had taken us through. The trail of its travel was the only part of the jumbled flora mess that was truly visible in the limited light of early dawn. The night had been long, hard and filled with misery, even though the company had taken almost no losses. I looked at the Ontos, knowing Zippo’s body was still inside. As long as I didn’t make any effort to go look or be present for the removal and placement of his body into a body bag I could sort of distantly make believe he was still alive.
There was little cover or camouflage to my position, shared by Fusner, Jurgens, and Sugar Daddy. They waited with me, as the lead party up on the face of the cliff moved gingerly along the indented crack switching back and forth across it, allowing for a moderately safe passage down from the top. I could see the Gunny making his way toward us. I was certain all of us were wishing the cliff face was more like the one that ran up and down the canyon along its eastern side, with a folded under lower lip allowing for complete camouflage and nearly total cover if you were squeezed well back under it.
“We’re here, sir,” Hultzer said, again, his voice almost a whisper.
Fusner tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention, as I stared up into the night. The rising sun would still be low enough that full dawn would not reach the bottom of the valley for some time, and even then the cliff face, positioned as it was, would be dark further up for some time.
“The new guys are here,” Fusner repeated, speaking in his normal voice, no doubt concluding that the NVA were beaten down into their caves and tunnels with the coming of the light, the presence of the Ontos, and the very obvious A-6 Intruder circling overhead.
The noise of the strange looking ground support aircraft seemed aimed down into the valley. The Skyraiders would come and go in days and nights of earlier support, making runs at any enemy positions on each pass, but the A-6 stayed on station, seemingly able to angle itself around in mid-air, and then to swoop in and drop more ordnance where it felt like it. Only the helicopters were more agile, but their ability to carry sufficient amounts of ordnance was severely limited when it came to real ground support.
The first Marine to finally reach the bottom of the valley, some fifty meters from me, had to be Captain Carruthers himself. The big man didn’t wear rank but his utilities were so sharply creased the knife edges could be seen, even in the low light. The man jumped down the last six feet, or so, from an angled-out chunk of hard metamorphic rock. The ground was sodden with moisture, however, and the place he’d chosen to land not covered by any of the normally thick jungle debris. His feet went into the muck with a very audible slap, and before he could move at all the rest of his legs sank all the way up to his knees.
The Gunny appeared out of a nearby bamboo stand and made it to the Captain’s side at about the same time I did.
“Not the best choice of landing spots, eh?” the captain laughed out, not bothering to try to lift one foot or the other because any effort like that was obviously useless.
The Gunny grabbed under Carruthers’ right armpit while I engaged the other. We slowly pushed and pulled upward. The captain’s legs slowly eased from the sucking mud grasp until he was free. The semi-hard muck could be walked carefully upon but would not hold up to steadily applied pressure or the kind of impact the captain had placed upon its surface.
The Gunny guided the captain toward the covering edge of the jungle near where he’d come out of. I followed, along with an entourage that had quickly appeared from the same area of the glacis behind us. Fusner was at my side.
Before we made it to the bamboo stand the enemy guns opened up, as I feared they would.
Although the firing was not directed at us, everyone went down into the muck. The captain stopped, laying down flat. I grabbed one of his mud-covered boots and shook it to get his attention.
“Move to the bamboo stand just ahead,” I said, my voice low but with power behind it. “They’re firing at the rest of Kilo coming down the rock face, not us,” I continued, not certain the captain was fully cognizant of the situation.
We were in defilade from most of the fire, since the enemy had re-surfaced deeper inside the main body of jungle growth. Our attack had been a success, and the NVA had taken casualties, but the main body had had plenty of warning and time to go underground until we passed by. The single most telling characteristic of any Marine attack or movement I’d been a part of since being in country was the very temporary nature of everything we did. We attacked, defended, and then moved on, or back, or sideways. We never stayed anywhere, unless it was at a rare firebase or artillery battery emplacement.
“We’ve got to suppress that fire,” Carruthers shouted out to no one in particular. “My Marines are totally exposed on that wall.”
I resigned myself to not saying anything until there was something definitive that might be said to help the situation. Kilo had been in exactly the same position a week earlier and would likely take the same kind of heavy casualties unless providence somehow provided a different result. That it was coming on to daylight and the A-6 was still providing cover gave some hope that most of the Marines would survive.
As if to illustrate Carruther’s point, two Marine bodies thudded into the mud at the very bottom edge of the cliff face.
Three heavy explosions came from the interior of the jungle and the enemy fire went silent. I knew the A-6 was working the area hard and accurately.
“We’ve got to provide covering fire,” the captain said, slithering ahead of me through the bamboo and into the open interior of the stand that was about as large as a yard entertainment trampoline back home.
I followed him into the relative cover the bamboo provided, checking everything around me for bamboo vipers. The leeches had found me once more, I knew, because of the mud, but I would deal with the ones that made it to the inside of my blouse later.
“There’s no covering fire from the ground that we can apply,” the Gunny informed the captain. “The jungle’s dense and higher than our position. To engage the NVA in there is to fight on their turf. Our Ontos has the same problem. The jungle will simply eat up the flechettes as quickly as they might be fired. Your mistake was in coming down the wall at all.”
“Quite right,” the captain replied, after a short delay.
I was caught unawares by his answer. The officer had admitted he was wrong and I wasn’t at all used to that.
“My first combat order and I sure as hell didn’t want to disobey it,” the captain went on, sounding like I’d felt when I’d violated my own first combat order seemingly so long ago.
“Is anybody going to check the bodies?” he asked, “and does anybody have a cigarette?”
“They fell a couple of hundred feet after being hit,” the Gunny said, producing a cigarette that he promptly lit, and then handed over to the captain. “They’re dead, all right. We’re pretty much experts at gauging the living and dead without moving an inch.”
“I tried to lead them down as fast as I could,” the captain said, between quick puffs on the cigarette.
He didn’t offer it back to the Gunny, which seemed like some sort of violation, but I couldn’t put my finger or mind on why that was so.
“Who are you?” Carruthers suddenly asked, looking directly into my eyes.
I pulled up and pushed my back into a solid collection of bamboo shoots. I wore my helmet, and although the writing on it hard to read in the poor light, the single black bar was pretty evident, painted on the surface of its cover.
“Junior,” I replied, knowing it was probably what he wanted to hear, rather than a formal reporting in comment.
“Thought so,” Carruthers replied, finishing the cigarette. “Now that’s a helmet, indeed.”
Marines began making it to the bottom of the wall, the sucking sounds of their boots becoming a regular series of joining sounds. Sugar Daddy and Jurgens had arranged for them to be greeted and directed into covering positions further down the slope, I assumed.
“What are your thoughts, lieutenant?” Carruthers asked me.
“Your radio man is a few meters away,” I replied. “Have him call the highest elements of the company and get them to move a whole lot faster, no matter what the risk.”
“I was told that daylight would diminish the fire we might face,” Carruthers said. “I was told that the NVA don’t fight much during the day because of our supporting fires, and we own the night with the Starlight scopes.”
“Were you told to lead the men down the wall too?” I retorted a touch of anger at having to try to train another FNG who knew nothing getting to me. “Don’t ever do anything that stupid again. You don’t walk the point because there’s only one of you. You get killed or wounded and that’s it, no officer in charge and the Starlight scope’s fun but owns less than a sliver of that night you speak of.”
Carruther’s called out to Sharky, obviously his radio man.
“You’re telling me that my assumptions are wrong, Junior?” he whispered, as the radio man crawled between a couple of the thicker bamboo shoots.
The captain’s tone once again surprised me. He wasn’t being a smart ass. He was truly interested, or so it seemed.
“Your assumptions are wrong, yes,” I replied, trying to gauge the man. “Make the call. Our artillery support is in defilade or out of range. The face of this cliff, the one with your Marines on it, isn’t beyond the range of their 120 mm guns, however.”
“Damn, how low on the face do they have to be?” he asked, taking the microphone in his hand.
“About where we are,” I replied. “The NVA doesn’t have Willie Peter or variable time in this area, that I know of, or anything else exotic, but their HE rounds will blow chunks of rock off the face that’ll be just as deadly as any shrapnel they might throw from their casings.”
Carruther’s made the call with urgency in his voice. My own attention was drawn away by the appearance of Hultzer and Piper, my replacement team for Zippo. Both Marines had shouldered past Fusner to grab hold of my right sleeve and get my attention with one hand each like they were indigent children in a Dickens novel.
“We’ve got your pack, sir,” Hultzer whispered, as if there was anyone nearby to overhear that mattered. “Where do you want us to set up camp?”
Camp, I thought grimly, and then I thought of Zippo, even more grimly, and the pain went through me. I knew I wasn’t feeling the full measure of his loss, but the shiver up and down my core was real and hard enough that I couldn’t shrug it off.
“Get under cover and wait,” I ordered, sorry that they weren’t Zippo, but gently disengaging their grasping fingers instead of being more abrupt with them.
“What’s the plan, Junior,” Carruthers asked, “since you know the area and I don’t. And, you don’t mind if I call you Junior, do you?”
I was surprised again. Nobody had ever asked permission before. I gave it with a nod.
“You stay on as the company commander, and I have Kilo. We both take our orders from the colonel at battalion so you don’t have to do what I say down here. The colonel’s not a fan of yours so I may be able to help there. We both went to the academy.”
I hadn’t noticed the distinctive ring on the captain’s hand, but maybe I’d missed it in the low light. The Gunny looked over at me, and I noted Nguyen just over his shoulder. Both men’s dark eyes delivered the same message I was probably transmitting wordlessly to them. Carruthers seemed to be a bit of all right.
“The plan is to work our way back along the eastern lower edge of the cliff until we come to a place near the river where it indents under that edge.” I said, delivering the plan to Carruthers with some trepidation.
We’d stayed in that exact location twice before, and the NVA would know that. Which meant that they might have prepared for a third visit. Raking fire by a single fifty across the beaten zone on the other side of the river could be used to drive our companies into the cleft which might be pre-mined to blow us all to hell.
“What do we do about the Marines we’re losing?” Carruthers asked, turning from his position among them to attempt to peer between a couple of the bamboo stalks.
I watched the captain closely. I did not point out that ‘we’ were not losing Marines, he was. That his decision to obey orders was causing Marines to die had become well understood by me. The rank in the rear gave the orders down to the smallest detail if they possessed the smallest details. The job of an infantry officer leading a company in combat was to give the rear area as few details as possible. The reality at the bottom of the A Shau Valley was not a transmittable package of believable detail. Mythology ruled the belief systems of rear area officers and mythology was something not easily countered or modified.
The NVA opened up again, but this time Carruthers did not hug the muck like the rest of us. He jumped up and ran from the bamboo, motioning to his radio operator.
No one made any move to follow him. Fusner crawled inside the bamboo stand to replace him and nobody said a word about that either.
“Where’s he going?” I asked the Gunny.
“He’s probably going to try to get his Marines already down to fire into the jungle and suppress the NVA gunners, but then you probably already figured that out. He’s not seasoned enough to know that sometimes we have to do nothing, even though it might seem we should.
I knew the Gunny was right. There was no possibility that any Marines on the floor of the valley around us could do much effectively against mid-jungle sources of fire shooting up onto the surface of the wall. I watched the captain quickly assemble a team, made up of two squads plus a few extra Marines. To my astonishment, he began using the ropes that had been laid down the slightly angled face to climb back up. I realized what he was doing, or trying to do. He would get his own gunners high enough to return fire on the NVA sources buried deeper in the bracken.
“Carruthers,” I yelled, cupping my hands together over my mouth. There was no time to call him on the radio. He either had not heard what I’d told him or he hadn’t believed me. The fire of the NVA machine gunners, interspersed by the sound of the A-6 making a return to the area, was suddenly drowned out completely. A thunderous blasting continuity of explosions rained down from above. The NVA had reached out to the artillery, as I’d described and feared, having watched that same battery work before. The range was registered. The battery knew the target range, which was ninety percent of the game in artillery. A barrage battered the face of the cliff. I tried to look up but the falling rock and smoking nightmare above me prevented me from seeing anything.
Thuds followed, one after another. Screams and yells permeated the air around us, no doubt caused by the fact that most of the company had been much lower than when they were first fired upon earlier. Marines were hit or knocked free, or jumped, and were landing wounded at the bottom.
In seconds it was over, except for the fading smoke and the more subdued cries of the wounded.
The A-6 dropped another load, just as the sound of Skyraiders diving low came across the surface of the triple canopy jungle behind us. Air was coming to the rescue, but it was too late for so many of the Marines, again, in Kilo Company.
We waited, glued to the mud, all of us face down inside the bamboo thicket and all around the area surrounding the outer edges of the heavier jungle growth.
Fusner whispered over to me, his face only inches from my own.
“What’s the name of the plane, again?” he asked. “The captain didn’t ask the name of the plan.”
There was no early morning music to help me invent something good. Zippo would so have hung on every syllable of every word I might come up with, I knew. Was Carruthers among the dead? Was he wounded? The man was the first officer I’d met in country that I liked right off the bat. Tex had been good but he hadn’t had the captain’s intellect or personality. I looked out at the base of the cliff, fully illuminated in the morning light. Several dead Marines lay where they’d fallen, their blood mixed in with a tiny winding trail of water not big enough to be called a stream. The water wandered around and by them, before proceeding down the valley.
“Red River,” I said to Fusner, after some thought. I’d originally named the move ‘Return to Sender,’ but meeting Carruthers and being part of what happened on Kilo’s descent had changed things. Return to Sender was too smart-assed and too cool as a proper descriptor.
“Cool, like the John Wayne movie,” Fusner replied.
“Yeah, like the movie,” I said back, but my voice so low it wasn’t likely he heard me.
A single wailing scream came cascading down the face of the cliff in the near silence, as the A-6 and the Skyraiders coordinated and went around to make a real mess of the central jungle under them.
One of the company’s corpsmen slithered into the bamboo stand, although there was no room for him to lay or sit down. He didn’t stop, however, simply sliding up and over both Fusner and me as he went. He pushed a package into my hand as he went by. I looked down. The light was improving. I was resupplied with morphine. Fusner looked at my hand, and then looked away.
“Someone’s got to go up there after the guy who’s stuck, and probably hit,” the Gunny stated, flatly and quietly.
“Is it him?” I asked, knowing the Gunny, who’d stayed right with me the entire time, had no better information than I did.
“Lay here, write a letter to your wife,” the Gunny said, his voice almost inaudible. “We’ve got to get everyone back up the valley and fly in a medivac. A big one. You have to wait, like I said. All I need is Nguyen with Fusner on the air radio.”
I held the morphine in my right hand, making no effort to hide it. Everyone in the company knew I had it. There were no secrets in a unit inside a combat zone, at least not among the living.
“Tell me about Carruthers,” I said, knowing Nguyen would scale the wall like a spider, with Fusner and the Gunny using the air support like an artistic team. “He called me lieutenant and then asked if he could call me Junior.”
I looked at the Gunny and then over to Fusner, but they looked away like maybe I was losing it. Only Nguyen stared back at me. He blinked once, slowly, leaving me with the feeling that at least he understood. The Gunny was right. I had to wait or neither company was likely to have an officer. In seconds, they were gone, but I wasn’t left alone. Hultzer and Piper crawled in and plopped down right next to me like they’d been invited, although neither looked at me. I had to wait.
“He needs a new helmet,” Piper whispered to Hultzer.
<<<<<< The Bgeinning | Next Chapter >>>>>>
James- you always gain my interest even though I just read this episode very late and commend you for dedication to all your men that continues to speak volumes of your leadership in Nam! We, who served our time’s in Nam have all found the “War” has stayed with us and opening up of what we all went through is a very slow healing process. Please continue to keep us all on the very edge of our seats and I thank you Sir- Semper Fi !!
Thanks a lot Regis, for the compliments and coming in on your own experiences with reading the story…
Semper fi,
Jim
Just one small edit suggestion. “Their firing at the rest of Kilo….” should likely read “They’re firing at the rest of Kilo…” unless I misread your intent.
Thank you, Jerry.
Always appreciate the help.
Noted and corrected.
Semper fi,
Jim
I’ve been here with you from the first day James, but I don’t know what to say about this one..another good man down.
Yes, we lost a ton of those, although when we got home it was like we never left…on the outside, I mean.
Semper fi,
Jim
Can sense the close of this tour is almost here. Feels kind of like being short. Happy to get to the end but said to be leaving friends.
You are correct. The follow on book will be about surviving and coming home
to what I came home to…and many others with me…
Semper fi,
Jim
One lives in New Mexico and refused to see me or talk to me. Three have commented but only in amazed one-liners, supportive but….
Semper fi,
Jim
The loss of the many brave men who died, as well as those whose lives were changed, in that damned war saddens me deeply. I’m glad that you lived to tell the story.
Thank you for your input, Dave.
And good to have you here also.
Semper fi
Jim
Every time I discover one of your great chapters I drop everything and read it with all the attention I can muster. Even the responses are great reading. Can’t wait for more. Thank you
Really appreciate your loyalty and support, Glen
It humbles me to read so much input from so many.
Semper fi,
Jim
Again Sir a ral hard story to tell as it is real life and not made up, there were times that I felt bad that I was not there as I was discharged in 1959 when they were sending people from my outfit over there called Advisors, 2-3-3 com. in Okinawa. But I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a super healthy New Year.
Thank you for your input and the wishes, Roger.
No one should ever feel bad about NOT being in “country”
A prosperous New year to you and your family
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas to you and your family, Lt Strauss. Hope all is well. I’ve been following your writing from the beginning of this story and I can’t get over how fast you caught on, in that short of time to stay alive and to try and do what was best for your men. Looking forward to the next chapter. Thank you.
Thanks for your comment and loyalty, Tom.
Humans are adaptable…
Sometimes they don’t give themselves the opportunity to express that skill.
Semper fi,
Jim
I read,I see,I hear and smell what the valley offers.The men seem familiar but still no faces. Remembering isn’t always good but not remembering …,I suppose,may be a blessing in disguise. Your writing, some how, brings peace or a resting spot for the mind. Thanks Lt.
I am honored with your comment.
I really appreciate your support, Bill
Semper fi,
Jim
Thank you for this latest section. I was really worried about you with the growing delays. Been on board since day one and have learned so much thanks to your descriptive writing style. Merry Christmas.
The final days are not the easiest memories to bring back to the fore.
Thank you for your Loyalty and support, Bob.
Share these chapters with friends and remember we still have the Two book special and a discount on the Final Volume.
Book Special
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim: I am reading this in Kansas on Christmas night. Surely brings back a fifty year old Christmas haunting as a demo specialist squad leader near the Bong Son that Christmas night. The rain had momentarily ceased but we did have a scope to see into the dark. This was a chilling 25th installment, long waited on and oh the memories it has awakened.
Thanks
I am the one sending thanks for your support, Steve.
For so many in the comment section, the 50 years seems to linger.
Enjoy a prosperous and healthy New Year.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim, YOU have the gift. Keep writing, I’ve been following you since the 4th night. Just haven’t been able to read and then write a comment. But in 1967 I was a grunt in the Army north of Saigon. WIA October “Euphemism–Blown Up”. So I understand the countdown, been very hard for me to look ahead, because we both know what it’s going to mean. Looking back gives hope the outcome might change. It never does.
You are very healing to all of us who served. Countless times in the past I have promised myself that I’ll do my best because I survived and Sgt. Jones did not. Never ask a grunt why the guy on your left 3 feet away died and you took a ride from an AK. Every moment is forever etched in my memory.
Just keep writing and I’ll keep reading!
Merry Christmas from a fellow veteran.
Thanks for the great supportive comment. I hope to finish another chapter today, in fact, now that am sort of running free again.
Semper fi,
Jim
James:
As you continue to produce these outstanding writings, it becomes more apparent that the internal struggles you experience from surfacing these memories is hurtful to you. If it helps, please remember you are also honoring those who gave their lives, those who served with you, those who still live with the effects and, really, all combat veterans. By your writing this story, you pay that respect and document it for others to read now and years from now. While many of us may never be able to truly understand or feel what you went through, we will always be in your debt. Thank you, welcome home and may peace be with you.
Sincerely,
Ed
Thanks for the wishes for peace and the compliment your entire comment really is.
I am working away on that peace thing, but some of these chapters are tougher than others.
I am writing again and in full force this very day.
Thanks for the help there,
Semper fi,
Jim
I’ve missed your chapter but each time you send one out I sense that we are getting closer to the end. I dread when we reach the end here James. This is like therapy for me, yes it brings memories supressed and memories lived with daily, but it seems to bring with it a shared healing. I realize that I am fortunate to have enjoyed 52 Christmas gatherings with family after the one that I didn’t celebrate in 1966. Seems I was busy resuplying outpost and hauling wounded out that Christmas.
Thank you for your service Sir! Welcome Home! See you at the House!
Thank you following and your support, Parker.
Your sacrifice is appreciated and so many of us are blessed to have that 50+ year Celebration time with loved ones.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thank you, James for another installment. I, we, have been waiting in anticipation and this segment brought an interesting, probably short lived, delivery of an intelligent Captain. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Thanks for your support, Donald.
Merry Christmas to you and yours
Semper fi,
Jim
A Christmas gift to your loyal readers! And a very Merry Christmas back to you too Mr. Strauss.
Once again I was drawn into a jungle nightmare that I have never experienced.
Thank you, Monty.
A joyous Christmas and New Year to you.
Remember to share our writing with your friends.
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas and thank you for the next chapter. Can’t wait for the trilogy to publish.
Thanks for your input.
And I also look forward to the trilogy to publish ~~smile
Semper fi,
Jim
The analogy to the spot in the jungle being the size of a backyard trampoline does not fit the 60’s. Might be better to say a backyard above-ground pool. No backyard tramps back then.
Thanks for your note, Skip
They were around in the ’60s.
My cousin in Green Bay had one and we jumped the heck out of it.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thank you ! I was worrying about you. I was born in 63 and never served. I carry some guilt over that, but realize through your words that I am fortunate. I’ve been hesitant to comment here, but here I am. Words can’t express my humble appreciation and utmost respect. Having read all the chapters and comments, I’m in awe. What an amazing phenomenon your work has become. My hat is off to you and all who served.
Love and prayers from Arkansas!
Calvin
Calvin, comments like this are so appreciated and give energy to writing.
If possible share this story with others.
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas to you and your family. Aloha, Bob
Mele Kalikimaka, Dob.
Appreciate your following.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim, its’ been a long time from that first night until now and I’ll be here for the last night. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Thanks for your patience and loyalty, Mike.
Merry Christmas back to you and your family.
Semper fi,
Jim
You and your Marines are still in it deep LT and I fear missing another officer. Thank you for the Christmas present. Merry Christmas to you and your family. JT
Your support and input is very appreciated, JT
Semper fi,
Jim
And Merry Christmas James…
And the same to you, Mark.
Thank you for your support
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas to you in return, Mark.
Semper fi,
Jim
Well James, it was a long time coming but another excellent read. I met a young Marine today in the gun store that had just gotten out of the service in October. I told him about your writings…He immediately went to his laptop and started reading. He told me that he had just lost his grandfather last month, who was a marine in Nam in 67 and 68. He said that he died from agent orange exposure…by the time I left, he said that it was the best combat writing he had ever read…good stuff James…for every generation of veteran…
I really appreciate the support you and so many readers have given to this journey, Mark
If you ever see the young Marine again remind him the Books are available.
Book Special
Enjoy a healthy and prosperous New Year.
Semper fi,
Jim
I told him at the time about all your books…I think you have another follower…
Thank you, Mark.
Semper fi, Jim
Jim, it’s been awhile since I’ve commented, but I anxiously await each chapter. Thanks for taking the time and effort to write your story. Merry Christmas!
Good to hear from again, Jack.
Thank you for your loyalty and a Merry Christmas.
Semper fi,
Jim
Long awaited new chapter (it is understandable that these last unshared days and nights are getting much more difficult for you to share). I have–as usual– immediately devoured this most recent chapter and will contemplate and ruminate on it for the next several days.
I do not see how you did what you did back THEN, and do not see how you do all the various things you do NOW (cranking out various new chapters on a number of books, running a newspaper, handling all the Christmas time tasks, taking care of the vicissitudes of daily living that life throws at all of us).
Sending you heartfelt and warm wishes for a joyous Christmas to you and your loved ones, Jim.
Your comments are so appreciated, Walter.
I am a bit late responding for obvious reasons.
A very healthy and prosperous New Year to you and your family.
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas James I remember being out on Ambush on Christmas Eve. Not knowing I was going to see Christmas again. Good to have you back .
Glad you are here to share that incident, Fred
So many have not.
Merry Christmas
Semper fi,
Jim
SEMPER FI MY BROTHER GOD BLESS YOU, GLAD YOU AND I MADE IT BACK, I WAS IN COUNTRY 36 MONTHS STRAIGHT . They call me Wolf, Alpha FoRCE RECON SNIPER
Thank you for joining us and your service.
Semper fi and Merry Christmas,
Jim
Another outstanding chapter!! Merry Christmas to you & Family Lt.
Thank you, Ronnie.
A very Merry Christmas and Blessed New year to you and your family.
Semper fi,
Jim
An early present Jim. Thank you. A very Merry Christmas to you and yours. I hope you New Year is healthy and prosperous.
Thank you, Tim.
And the same wished back to you and your family.
Appreciate your support.
Semper fi,
Jim
It never fails. With every chapter I am left a bit shaken with pulse racing. This was unusually so. Merry Christmas LT.
Thanks ‘Hagar’
Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New year to you
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks for the new chapter Jr. (with all of my respect Sir!), brilliant as usual! How many times throughout the history of mortal combat I wonder, does a simple, matter of fact statement, seem so laugh out loud funny….”He needs a new helmet.” My God, I do so hate what that place was to us! (Vietnam) Semper Fi, Happy and Safe Holidays to you and yours!
P.S. I own and have read all of your books, and now check eagerly for updates on all of your most excellent stories. Regards, “Al”, my nick name with 1/4.
Merry Christmas, “Al”
I am honored with your support and now feel I know
Randall “Al” Alexander a little better.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Semper fi,
Jim
Happy holiday’s and good tidings to all our wonderful vets! Happy new year also, especially you, LT!
Thank you, Larry and Best to you and your family.
Semper fi,
Jim
The most Merry Christmas to you and yours, Larry.
Thank you.
Semper fi,
Jim
Perhaps rather than “saddened with moisture” maybe “saturated with moisture” … or just “sodden”?
Yes Verl, your sharp eyes are correct.
Noted and corrected.
Semper fi
Jim
Merry Christmas, Mr. Strauss. I can understand how difficult your story is to recall and write. Vietnam ended before I finished high school, but I had two uncles that were there. They came back changed. Your story is helping me to understand. My wife also served in the military and you’re helping me to understand her night terrors. Thank you for sharing.
You are touching on the reason I finally decided to share this story, Mike
The manuscript was written many years ago.
I appreciate your sharing this story with friends.
Happy New Year and I hope your wife’s Terror abates.
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas and thank you, Semper fi.
The best to you and your family, John.
I appreciate your support.
Semper fi,
Jim
Has help really arrived or just more troubles ?? Great read as always on the edge of my seat once again, can’t wait for the next chapter.
Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas Bob.
I also looking forward to sharing more.
Semper fi,
Jim
You may have this edit suggestion already but when Carruthers jumps down “The ground was saddened with moisture” i think you mean “The ground was sodden with moisture”. Thanks for the new chapter. i know it hurts to write about it. Merry Christmas, if you celebrate.
Thank you, Kathi.
I so appreciate the detail our readers share.
Yes, it is noted and corrected.
Merry Christmas.
Semper fi,
Jim
I haven’t commented before James, but just wanted to say this is a Christmas present indeed, have been missing the installments! Definitely can understand why! You make it real because you have been there and also utilize those that have been there, done that to make it more real. No body that hasn’t experienced it can finally experience it through your writings. Thank you sir and Merry Christmas and a truly Happy New year!
Wow, I m humbled and thank you for your input, Doc.
A very Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year to you and yours.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thank you just don’t seem enough. Merry Christmas
I so appreciate all of the support.
Thank you, Michael.
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas; and thanks for this new Chapter. Another good read.
Thanks for your input and support, Ed
Semper fi,
Jim
One edit: “The ground was saddened with moisture, however,” – maybe that could be “sodden with moisture”?
Noted and corrected.
Thank you, Craig.
Semper fi,
Jim
The ground was saddened with moisture, however, and the place he’d chosen to land not covered by any of the normally thick jungle debris.
Did you mean sodden?
Great writing as always, Thank you.
Our Readers are so awesome!
Thank you for the notice, Matt
Corrected.
Semper fi,
Jim
More splendid writing – what a nice Christmas gift!
Been 52 Christmas’s for me, and the thoughts are still rattling around in my brain.
Those A-6’s were miracle machines – our squadron transitioned to the A-7, though – nothing like as good as the -6.
Hope your Christmas is merry and bright, and full of love for you and your family.
Thanks for the compliment, Craig.
A bit late for the Christmas wish, but a blessed and prosperous New Year to you and your family.
Semper fi,
Jim
Glad you are back -it has been too long.
Merry Christmas!
SGT Uffelman
Chu Lai 68-69
Thank you, William.
Shall return a bit sooner.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thank you Sir, this was an unexpected early present. One that I savored, like one of the Gunny’s smokes. It was a few years after Vietnam that I found myself in field radio operators school, but they told us that the life-span of a 2531 in combat wasn’t very long. I’m pretty sure that was based on previous experiences, from Nam to the Pacific. They were right. Semper Fi LT, Merry Christmas to you and yours. And thanks again for sharing your story with us.
Glad you made it Mike and I much enjoyed reading the wisdom written into this comment.
Semper fi,
Jim
I am honored to be able to read of your exploits. How you are alive today Ill never figure out. Have a great Christmas LT
Thank you for the comment and Merry Christmas to you and family, Willis
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks for the new chapter. Been a long wait but worth it. The best to you and your family.
Thank you, Tom.
Your loyalty is appreciated.
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas, Sir
And to you and yours, Paul.
Thank you for your support.
Remember to share with friends.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks for the gift of another chapter. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Thank you, Kemp.
Semper fi,
Jim
James, The timing of this chapter cause me thanks for the last 48 Christmas’. Fate or Providence or whatever spared me the opportunity to make the ultimate sacrifice in RVN.
Sempre Fi James Strauss LT USMC.
Thank you!
I am glad we have been able to experience the past 48 Christmases, Tomas’
More to come.
Semper fi,
Jim
LT
Thank you so much for continuing this monumental and epic account of your service in Vietnam. I await each part with as much patience as I can, knowing it must be incredibly difficult for you to dredge up these memories. I salute your courage in doing so.
A small editing question: In the ninth paragraph that begins “The first Marine”, you refer to the ground being “saddened” with moisture. Do you mean sodden? I suppose “saddened” is perfectly appropriate given everything that has occurred there.
Your comment is accurate in the description. I used the wrong word or the machine helped me.
Thanks for the compliment, as well, I didn’t miss that…
Semper fi,
Jim
McNamara’s 100,000; hope you didn’t have many of them with you Jim.
Merry Christmas!
Yes, I had a few. It wasn’t there fault. I had Piper and he was great in his own way.
Semper fi,
Jim
Always in wait of the next chapter, and not disappointed. As I conduct Christmas Eve services tonight all of you are in my thoughts and prayers. We have much to be thankful for, especially all who served and continue to serve. Merry Christmas Mr. Strauss
I am honored for being part of your thoughts and prayers, Darren.
A Blessed Chrismas and New Year to you and all around you.
Semper fi,
Jim
I think the above covered any wording errors. It was another riveting chapter. I am sorry it happened to anyone, but glad that you are able to make it real for us. Merry Christmas.
Bob
Thank you for the thoughts and wishes, Robert
Semper fi,
Jim
LT, another but more tactical description of the situation. Tactical I think means somebody tells you the big picture, join the companies, and you do the doin’. I sense a maturity being gained in the grisly place you’ve been. But expect more crap headed towards your ever smaller cohort of great Marines. May your celebration be blessed with many unexpected opportunities to laugh and love. God Bless. Poppa J
Brilliant comment, as usual Poppa J. Much appreciate as we head into this new year.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thank you sir. Am wrapping up a visit to the Elgin AFB area. Tonight we had three retired air commandos holiday visiting plus a daughter of one of them in flight training to be a left seat one day. Our boy has sand in his boots again these days. It was an honor to watch them remember good stuff. Blessings for the New Year. PJ
Thanks Poppa and hope you guys have a great New Year’s celebration…
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas, I had almost given up hope, that You could continue Your saga. like being lost and forgotten in the Valley. Waiting on pins and needles for the next Chapter!
Merry Christmas to you, Jole.
More to come soon and thank you for your support.
Share with your friends.
Semper fi,
Jim
Would like to add. Sun Tzu said in Battle, there are nine kinds of situations, nine kinds of “ground.” The final and most distressing type is a situation in which one’s army can be saved from destruction only by fighting without delay. It is a place with no shelter, and no possibility of easy retreat. You have to surrender or fight your way out of it’s predicament. Sun Tzu calls this “desperate ground.” You must be getting close!
Yes, moving units without a fortified place to really hold up can very easily get into a desperate ground kind of situation.
It happened to us over there more than once…
Semper fi, and thanks for the cogent comment.
Jim
I pray for you’re healing and to all those that experienced this living hell as well! Thank you sir for another glimpse of your past and I wish you the merriest of Christmas and a happy new year!
Yes, I am doing better and headed into the New Year okay.
Thanks for caring enough to write.
Semper fi,
jim
This must have been a tough one to put out there.
Thank you & Merry Christmas,
Phil Anderson
Yes, the later ones are tougher. Don’t know why.
But here we are…
Semper fi, and thanks for understanding.
Jim
bEEN WALKING WITH YOU, LT. nEVER FAR AWAY,SIR! kUDOS…..
Can’t imagine and again on the edge of this chair.
Thanks Jim, and for the compliment in that comment…
Semper fi,
Jim
Outstanding chapter Sir! It’s like you’re composing a master symphony and it’s building to one hell of a crescendo! Can’t wait for it. A Very Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Thanks for the compliment, Tim
The best for a healthy and prosperous New Year.
Semper fi,
Jim
“The ground was saddened with moisture, however…”
Perhaps “the ground was sodden, however…”
or “…saturated with moisture, however…”
Regardless, spellbinding as always !
Thank you, and Merry Christmas
Thanks for the kind words. Got the corrections too…and thanks for those too…
Semper fi,
jim
Merry Christmas! This time of year always brings thoughts of the friends I lost in Nam. I’m grateful for everyone that returned, even those of us that did not return as whole as we arrived. God bless every vet and the USA.
Thanks for your input, JR,
We are blessed to be here and have the opportunity to improve the lot.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim All well with judie and me wishing your family a healthy and happy new year. Praying for the best for the USA hopeing god well be merisfull to us and get us through this cayous.Semper Fi. Omer l
Thank you, Omar.
I appreciate your support and loyalty.
Happy New year to you and yours.
Semper fi,
Jim
“The ground was saddened with moisture”
I’m not sure what that means
Should have been sodden….so sorry…
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas James..been along for the ride since the start…think everyone remembers their Christmas over there..for some..just another day..for others..as time permitted..time to reflect..miss home..family..friends a little bit more than usual…looking forward to the release of this one as well…
Appreciate your loyalty, Rodger.
Hope to wrap up the story soon.
Semper fi,
Jim
P.S. Share with your freinds
A very Merry Christmas to you all. Another heart gripping chapter. Thank you LT, Chuck
The same good wishes back to you, Chuck.
Semper fi,
Jim
Wishing you a Blessed and Peaceful Christmas season Strauss. You’ve earned it. We’ve been exchanging these thoughts since the door slammed down on the iron monster that dropped you into Hell. Your writing is all too real for me to ever “get used to” the Marines that continue to die and suffer in the A Shau Valley.
Semper Fi,
Conway
I really am honored to have so many stalwart supporters.
You and so many others are examples of the best, John
A Blessed and Full-Harvest New Year
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas, Jim
Thank you, Joe, and wishes for peace and prosperity back to you.
Semper fi,
Chuck
At long last! Enjoy so much each and every chapter.
Eagerly waiting the next.
Merry Christmas !!
Semper fi
Joyous and BBlessed Holidays for you and yours also, Barry.
More coming soon.
Semper fi,
Jim
Merry Christmas Mister Strauss. God bless you.
Appreciate the wishes, Neil.
And the support.
Best to you and family.
Semper fi,
Jim
Great stuff. Typo:
“There (They’re) dead, all right. We’re pretty much experts at gauging…”
Cheers.
Thanks, Scoot,
Noted and corrected.
Merry Christmas
Semper fi,
Jim
Sucked me right back in, just like every previous chapter.
I didn’t notice it mentioned in the previous comments, so another edit. “There [They’re] dead, all right. We’re pretty much experts at gauging the living and dead without moving an inch.”
Thanks, as always, Ken, for your support.
Noted and corrected.
Merry Christmas.
Semper fi,
Jim
Hello, James. Found one more on the re-read:(They’re) dead, all right. We’re pretty much experts…
Thanks, Floyd.
We fixed it!
Semper fi,
Jim
“Indigent” children , should that read “indignant” children?
Another riveting chapter. Thank you.
Noted and corrected.
Thank you, Bob
Semper fi,
Jim
Another great read Jim. Capt Carruthers reminds me of 1st Lt that took over my Comm Plt when I was a Gy n the early 80’s. That’s another story… Again great read Jim…Wishing you a Merry Christmas sir..
Carruthers reminded me of me, except higher rank, academy education and class, and taller and better looking. He was also braver than
I was from the get go and I knew that. That I admired him right from the start I am proud of. That I could do so and not resent him.
The Gunny was tougher than I was and I admired that too. Maybe the best gift God has given me is that I can appreciate and understand
that I am not the greatest human on earth…and accept that. I can never get over the fact that I was always so damned terrified though.
And, of course, I always think now about how I could have been so much better. But there is that doubt. When I threatened Sugar Daddy, I did
so meaning to kill those men. If I had not meant to kill them and was proceeding to do so, would he have guessed that and not capitulated?
I’ll never know. But I don’t like the fact that I would have killed those men and moved on, like it was just another day in the A Shau.
Semper fi,
Jim
Finally!! Merry Christmas! When can I buy it? Skip, MAJ (R) USA FA.
When it is completed, Skip.
Thanks for your support.
We are offering a Special price on the First Two books and a discount on Third Ten Days.
Book Special
Semper fi,
Jim
God, it’s been a long while, God I love reading about the exploits of Junior, Hunny, Nguyen Fusner, and the boys! Thank you sir!! A great Christmas treat!
And Merry Christmas to you and your family, David
I am honored with your support.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks again for sharing this jungle battle with us. I look forward to the next segment.
Although I know we are close to the end of the 30 Days. It’s Christmas day another year has flown by. Hard to believe how fast time moves any more. Have a good Christmas sir.
Merry Christmas to you Dempsey.
I thank you for your loyalty and support.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks James another great read. MERRY CHRISTMAS
And Merry Christmas also to you and your family, Bud.
Semper fi
Jim
Jim, Wishing you & yours a very Merry & Blessed Christmas. Doug
Thank you, Doug.
Let’s all enjoy a blessed and productive New Year.
Semper fi,
Jim
Oh yeah, “The Twenty (Fifth) Day
Thanks for getting this installment out for Christmas. I was getting a little antsy.
You are Welcome, Floyd.
More coming
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks, and merry Christmas!
…bottom of the valley for some time, and even (then)
… low, but with power behind it (they’re)
…Marines began making (it) to the bottom
…job of an infantry officer …was to (give)
…simply sliding up and over both Fusner and (me)
Merry Christmas to you, Floyd and thank you for the ‘sharp eye’
Semper fi,
Jim
Wow! Been waiting for another chapter. Merry Christmas to you sir. Can’t wait to get the final copy.
Thank you for your input, Don.
Merry Christmas and a sud=ccessful and happy New Year.
Semper fi,
Jim
Keep it coming LT, And a Merry Christmas to you and yours
Thank you, Bob.
The best to your family and thanks for your support
Semper fi,
Jim
ALL I CAN SAY IS ” Beautiful “, well written and right on point !!!!
Appreciate your compliment, Don.
Merry Christmas.
Semper fi
Jim
This must be brand new cause my screen says there are zero comments.
I don’t comment much because each chapter stirs up memories long buried.
And, they are difficult to deal with. But your story is one of the best things that has ever helped me deal with them. It is a very bitter medicine but the healing is real.
Just published this the past evening and haven’t had time to answer all comments yet.
I am honored to have the opportunity to help you.
Merry Christmas, Paul
Semper fi,
Jim
Take the Fifth, Jim and Merry Christmas. This is a difficult one. If there were not so much happening it would be harder to continue. Deja Vu of Red River all over again. How deep is that well of resolve from which you continue to draw? I can only imagine what this revisit takes out of you. You have done it before so many times. Peace.
Thank you ever so much Michael. That was nicely written and made me smile a wry smile. Yes, to all of that. God has put in the way
of so very much. I constantly thank and curse that wild series of adventures He still has me on. Note how I give that over to God and thereby
absolve myself! Thanks for noticing me and my work…means a lot.
Semper fi,
Jim
whispered, as the radio mad crawled between a couple of the thicker bamboo shoots. Should be radio man not mad…
Appreciate your attention to detail, John
Noted and corrected.
Merry Christmas
Semper fi,
Jim
Wow. Thanks for finally coming back up on the net. I was worried about you.
All is fine and thank you for your loyalty.
Enjoy a prosperous New Year.
More coming soon.
Semper fi,
Jim
Good to have you back on TDHS. I’m feeling this in the pit of my stomach. Sadness and pain at the loss. There’s a few small editing points that sharp eyed folks will mention. I’m traveling. Again, always at your own pace. The Cat story is getting interesting. Blessings & Be Well
Enjoy your travels and stay safe, Dan.
Your support is so very appreciated
Semper fi,
Jack
Thank you James for the Christmas present. Having been along for the ride since about day 3 of the first 10 days, I realize it is getting more difficult as you approach the resolution of your term in Nam. I’m sure most of us would like a return to the weekly installments but I understand. Bless you for your service. Whenever you can write, we will relish it. Merry Christmas.
Thank you for your support and consideration, Fred.
More coming.
Semper fi,
Jim
Worth the wait, but please try not to make us wait so long for the next part. I’m a bit confused. I thought you had already named the plan to go back through where you just came – “Return to Sender”.
I am back Bob, and working to try to get a segment out per week again.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks for wanting more faster….
Thanks for the fix. I’ve missed 30 days.
Enjoy and Merry Christmas, Lawrence.
Semper fi,
Jim
Jim,
I don’t know how you did it, and I don’t know how you do it!
As always your writing is outstanding but the pathos is overwhelming!!
I am indebted for your service to our beloved Country and for my Freedom!
I wish you a heartfelt Merry Christmas and Peace for your soul!
Thanks again,
Bill Monnie
Thanks William for the kind and complimentary words.
Semper fi,
Jim
Nice read. Thanks
Noticed One typo
“You’re telling me that my assumptions are wrong, Junior?” he whispered, as the radio mad MAN crawled between a couple of the thicker bamboo shoots.
Thanks for the compliment, Maddogtrey.
Your sharp eyes and others caught the error.
Noted and corrected
Merry Christmas
Semper fi,
Jim
Damn. Merry Christmas Sir! After all that has transpired over the past 24 for days this is a hard one to digest. Thanks for continuing. God Bless you and all your loved ones!
Merry Christmas to you, Jack.
Share with friends who may be interested.
Semper fi,
Jim
Thanks Jim another hard one my friend Semper fi
Thanks for the support, Steve,
Semper fi,
Jim
Whew !
Stay with it Lt.
I am back with it and just finishing the next chapter…
Semper fi,
Jim
You do good work! Please keep it coming.
McNamara’s morons
Yes, I only learned that expression after I got home, of course….
Semper fi,
Jim
Saw an article about McNamara’s morons-did not know that took place. What is wrong with people?
Yes, the 100,000 was another tough burden but usually ended in death when those boys were sent to the bush.
Most commanders had no time to spend helping them and the regular line Marines would reject them to pay attention to their own survival.
Understandable but tough, indeed…
Semper fi,
Jim
Turning up the heat. No wonder took you so long to write this segment.
It will get dicier, Pete.
Thanks for your long lasting support.
Semper fi,
Jim