Picture of a grunt waking in rice
paddies in the Mekong Delta

On a hot humid morning in March 1969, I arrived in Dong Tam South Vietnam. Headquarters had assigned me to Alpha 
company 3rd Battalion 60th infantry 9th Infantry Division. The unit was part of the Mekong Delta Mobile Riverine Force, and 
I was waiting for a small boat to take me out to a larger ship named the U.S.S. Colleton where my unit was located.

I boarded the small boat, and we made our way up the narrow muddy Mekong River. We arrived at the hull of the Colleton 
about an hour later.

The Colleton was a huge ship, and it was the most ugly ship I had ever seen. It was olive drab green, and it resembled a huge 
green dumpster sitting in the middle of a river. The Colleton was anchored in the middle of the Mekong River near a village 
named My Tho. I wondered what the government had done with all those beautiful air craft carriers that I had seen in the 
enlistment brochures.


On flight deck of the USS Colleton

I grabbed my gear, and stumbled onto the pontoon boat moored to the side of the ship. Upon departure, I found myself 
standing in the middle of the pontoon boat wondering what to do next.

I noticed that there were numerous Navy personnel moving about the ship, and I was in the Army. I was rather confused, 
and I thought that maybe I was dropped off at the wrong place. I picked up my gear, approached one of the sailors, and 
asked him if he knew where alpha company 9th Infantry was located. He did not say a word he just smirked and pointed 
toward a door on the side of the ship. He made me feel as if I had the plague.

I opened the door to the sound of Johnny Cash music, and confronted a private first class who looked as if he had just woken 
up. He was sitting at a small desk. I told the clerk I was eager to join the unit so I could start doing my part for my country.

He snickered and just shook his head. "Let me see your orders," he said. I was starting to think nothing was too important 
around here, and it was evident he did not care if I existed. "Report to the 3rd platoon right down those steps, and find a guy 
named Spanky" he mumbled. I now was under the impression that maybe I had come all this way to join up with the little 
rascals.

I was a typical patriotic 19 year old kid who wanted to serve his country, and I wanted to be a good soldier. I was living 
kind of in a fantasy world when I got to Nam. I was thinking that to go to war was the same thing as watching the Sunday 
morning movie. I thought of John Wayne as the courageous marine who seemed invincible, and Audie Murphy who acted in 
war and cowboy movies doing heroic acts. He actually was a war hero. Audie Murphy was the most decorated soldier 
during World War Two. I guess I wanted to experience that. They seemed like real men.

I went down the steps and met Sgt. Spanky he looked like death warmed over.

Part II



I became an active part of the war a couple of days later. We were flying by helicopter to a village called Ben Tre". I 
remember while flying in the chopper my heart was pumping fast as I looked at the other guys who had been there longer than 
I had. They looked back and shook their heads as if I was some kind of a stupid joke. To them I was just another new guy 
who did not know anything, and they suspected I might do something stupid when we landed. They did not want to be 
anywhere near me.

As we started to descend into the rice paddy, gun ships sprayed the area with machine gun fire and what seemed to be 
multiple colored rockets. I thought this might be what was known as the twilight's last gleaming. One of the guys looked at 
me and told me to do what ever he did after we jumped off. He said that if I did maybe I might live. I thought that was a 
good reason to follow what he said.

As we got off the choppers, I was very clumsy and the blades from the choppers created a din. The water lying in the rice 
paddy swirled around as if I was in some type of typhoon. I felt stupid. This was not like television at all.

Death From Above

The choppers were almost out of sight and I now could hear the explosions and gunfire. I knew that we were being 
ambushed.

I heard someone yell the word "Medic". I was really scared now, I guess I was just being human. I ran over to the medic 
who was running around feverishly overwhelmed by the many wounded. He had a piece of brown medical tubing hanging out 
of his mouth, and he had tears streaming down his face. He was looking at me as if to say "what should I do next?". I never 
saw soldiers on television cry or look scared. I guess this was reality.

We patched the wounded up the best we could and put them on medivac choppers. Some of them waved as the choppers 
left, and some of them just lay there motionless. I never found out if they lived or died.

I know a part of me died that day. It is over 25 years since I was in Vietnam, and I realized that war was no game. I also 
learned that television was not reality. The "Grunt" or infantry soldier was expendable in Vietnam. He was used to flush out 
the enemy, and then the artillery and air strikes finished the job.

Today you will see the military using its air power and artillery first They have learned to be more cautious with human lives. 
I am glad the military is being more protective of our soldiers, and remembering they are human and all have family or 
someone that waits for their return.

Three Servicemen Statue
Viet Nam Veteran's Memorial
Washington, DC

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Vietnam Nurses Memorial