The next day we were told by L/Cpl. Thomas that the company was going to assault an LZ called Becky, which was about 10,000 meters away. It was supposed to be a hot landing zone, which meant that the NVA were dug in. He also said that the air force was making air strikes on the hill right now and that we would be leaving as soon as they were through dropping their 50-pound HE bombs and napalm bombs. In the meantime, we were going to get a resupply of food and ammo, and get our all our gear together and be ready to move out in two hours.
I was the lowest man on the totem pole which is why I was given so much shit to carry. I was like an apprentice - you gotta learn somehow.
Letter Home about Becky
Well, we landed on the top of the Mountain. And there wasn't any NVA. on it. But the whole top of it was on fire. So now I am on the side, waiting for the NVA to come up. But I doubt if there are any down there. So don't worry about me. Continue Reading July 27 Letter
We were going by helicopter and we were going to be on the third chopper.
We were ready to go, sitting by the LZ for two hours when the squad leader game me an extra LAW to carry. This meant that I would be carrying six canteens of water, three days supply of food, seven bandoleers of M-16 ammo, two LAW anti-tank and burn rockets and all my personal belongings.
The first two choppers came in. I was getting nervous by then. The squad leader said, “Saddle up” as the second chopper was vanishing in the distant sky. I put on all my gear and it was very heavy. As I was standing there, I was thinking, how can I assault a hill with all this shit hanging on me” By then the helicopter landed and I was on board and flying towards LZ Becky.
We landed on a finger of LZ Becky which was covered by elephant grass about twenty feet tall. We ran off the chopper and got on line and started up the hill towards our objective which was full of bomb craters, twisted and burning trees. I was hot and exhausted and covered from helmet to jungle boots in sweat, mud and ashes by the time we got to the top of the hill. We didn’t receive any enemy fire or even see any sign of the NVA, but it was hard enough, charging up that burning hill without getting shot at.
We moved over the top of the hill to the other side, and helped set up a temporary perimeter until the rest of the company could get there. After the rest of the company arrived, we set up a permanent (for us as long as we would be on that hill) perimeter. The perimeter enclosed the highest part of the mountain.
Every two men dug a hole (so a four-man hole would have two fighting side by side). Every third or fourth hole had a machine gun crew in it. The sixty mortars and CP were inside these lines.We were set up in four-man holes. Our hole was close to a 250 pound bomb crater which was about twenty feet deep, so there were no trees around and no shade in the 110 degree sun. We stacked ponchos out between the tops of four-foot stumps for shade.
That night, my fire team had to go out on a LP (Listening Post) out 100 meters out in front of the company perimeter. This was so we could war the company that the NVA were coming toward the perimeter before they got there.
We each took a canteen of water, our rifle and ammo. There were four of us, one man carried a pro 25 radio so we could keep in contact with the perimeter. I received a quick lesson on how to use the radio by L/Cpl Thomas just before going out. Two other guys carried one claymore mine each.
As soon as it got good and dark we headed out of the perimeter and walked about a hundred yards where we found a patch of dense brushers about thirty feet in diameter. This thicket was surrounded by elephant grass. We made our way into the middle of this underbrush and go settled down for the night. We stood watch the same as we did on the perimeter except we had to report in on the radio every hour. We set the claymores out in front of about 50 feet down the slope.
As I was standing watch, I noticed that some of the leaves and sticks on the ground were shining florescent green. I never did find out what made these leaves and sticks glow in the dark.
Nothing happened on the LP and we moved back into the perimeter when it got daylight.
