Today is June 9th and our company has ambush patrol once again. Tonight, the company will leave the base camp and split out into three different ambush sites along a major supply route. We give our equipment the once over and I do a brief radio check. I check the PRC-25 to make sure I have the correct “push” or radio frequency for the day. XRAY is the call sign given to the RTO. The number 6 refers to the company commander. When you add a second number like “3” that is the platoon number so 36 is the 3rd platoon leader. I grab the “horn” which is what we call the handset. I key the talk switch and start talking. “6 XRAY this is 36 XRAY, do you copy? Roger 36 XRAY, I copy, over. Lima Charlie Hotel Mike, over, I call out.” This means I hear you loud and clear, how about me? “Roger, I hear you 6 X 6, out. This is 36 XRAY, out”. We are good to go. The company has orders to leave the “wire” (base camp perimeter) at 1600 hours. The azimuth will take us out into the rubber plantation. It will be dark soon and there is no moonlight. We leave the base camp and move to a checkpoint where we will wait for darkness. Around 1700 hrs, just before we arrive at our holding point we relieve elements from R-6 at checkpoint Golf. They return to Dau Tieng. We arrive at our assembly area around 1830 hrs. The word is passed down that it is time to head out to our AP’s. I check my watch and it is 1917 hrs. It has gotten so dark that everyone in the platoon has a hand tucked into the ammo belt of the guy in front of him. Without doing this, I can’t see the guy to my front. My eyes won’t adjust to the darkness. We are in the trees and there is no starlight, It’s continues to pour now and all one can hear is the water splashing off of the leaves of the trees and striking the ground.

We move forward. I am about 8-10 guys back of the guy on point. I don’t recall any of the names of the soldiers I am with. We move in silence towards our AP’s. I don’t know when because of the darkness but slowly each platoon splits off and moves to their own objectives. The platoon edges along in the rain, trying to navigate to where we are to set up the ambush. The wind is blowing along with a constant downpour as I wipe the water from my eyes and face. The company left base camp close to an hour and a half ago. There are occasional flashes of lightning. Everyone scans left and right keeping an eye out for anything moving. Another lighting flash cuts across the sky and I think I see a group of people, 5 or 6 or more, dressed in dark clothing standing on a road to our front. Is my mind playing tricks on me? Did anyone else see what I did? I am unsure and we continue moving forward, toward those figures. I am guessing they were about 100 feet away. I don’t say anything, unsure of what to do. The sky lights up again and this time there is no mistake.

Shots ring out and the platoon dives for cover. We are as surprised as Charlie as we come face to face less than 50 feet apart. Because of how we were moving not everyone has a clear field of fire. I have a number of troops between me and the enemy. There is random and sporadic fire directed at the VC. They are returning fire as well. I can hear the crack of some AK-47’s and then “Whoosh”. I know a RPG is coming and there is a loud explosion to my right, then another one. This one sprays me with shrapnel. Nothing serious, just small fragments in the hands. Juan is hit in the exchange.  Finally, we are returning a base of fire at any muzzle flashes we can see and Charlie disappears into the darkness and the firing stops and the rain which was pouring down, eases up.

It’s around 2000 hours. We do a quick check to see what our casualties are. Juan Antu from Yvalde, Texas, who was in front of me, has taken a bullet. The round hit his helmet, spun around in the helmet liner and entered his skull in the back. I try talking to him, but I’m getting no response. The medic is busy with other wounded so I try to see what I can do, His head sounds like a cracked egg. He is gone. I radio for an immediate dust off. The weather is bad and the winds and rain are heavy. We are told the dust off will have to wait until the weather lifts. An hour later, Dust off 77 attempts to brave the weather, then radios to us that they are aborting the mission and return to base camp. We wait and we can’t get a Medevac for several hours from anywhere. Finally, a crew from Cu Chi volunteers to come to get us, but the team from Dau Tieng makes another attempt and braves the weather and arrives at 2240 hours. I radio to the chopper and try to talk the chopper down to our location. We have a flash light we are using to get his attention. The light is placed into a helmet so it can only be seen from above. There is a clearing that we have moved to along side a road and a quick security perimeter is put in place. We have more wounded than the chopper can take. It can’t get off the ground. Someone needs to remain behind until a second Medevac arrives. We lighten the load. There are nine wounded on board heading back to Dau Tieng.

Our KIA is left behind and we have instructions to bring him back to camp in a vehicle. It has been a rough night. What’s left of the ambush patrol waits near a main road for daylight and we sweep the area once more. We find 4 VC poncho’s, one with a lot of bullet holes, but no blood trails and no bodies. We report a possible 5 VC body count anyway. As dawn arrives, a second chopper is ordered to our location, then once again the flight is cancelled. We finally get Antu loaded on a truck and the entire company is trucked back to base camp. We give a briefing and afterwards, I along with three others, head down to see the medic to get our wounds attended to. I get written up for my second Purple Heart. After leaving the aid station, I head back to our squad tent to catch some sleep. The final tally is 13 WIA’s, 4 are hospitalized, and one KIA.