Long ago and far away

Once upon a time I was a member of two elite military units. I served in Vietnam with the 101st. Airborne Division as a member of an Air Cavalry unit, Troop A , Second Squadron (Airmobile), 17th Cavalry. I also later served in Vietnam with the 196th Light Infantry Brigade as a member of the Fire Distribution Center of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 82nd Field Artillery, attached to Company B 3rd Battalion 21st Infantry Brigade.


The Cav consider themselves to be the elite of the elite, and the men of A Troop were no exception. They were an aggressive group of warriors that went out every day seeking to find and engage the enemy. And they were very successful at that.

The 101st was responsible for the area called I Corp along the border with North Vietnam, from the DMZ south to the Hia Vong pass just south of PhuBia and from the South China Sea to the Laotian border. Located at the Quang Tri Combat Base near Dong Ha we were within 11 miles of North Vietnam.

I was very proud to serve with the 101st. But they were so screwed up when it came to how their own people were treated that we often called them the “100 and Worst.” Within a week of my arrival they lost my records.

As I understand the chain of events, as I was processing in another soldier with a name very much like mine was processing out. The clerk who had handled his paperwork saw my packet on the stack on the processing desk and thought that it had not been given to him for transport. It was common back then for a soldier to hand carry his paperwork as he traveled. The clerk then placed my records in an envelope and mailed them to the other man’s next assignment.

It would be two long years before those records caught up with me again.

While I was in the 101st, and the 196th, I was carried as a casual assigned soldier. I had valid orders assigning me to the units but no military history of my prior service. That meant I could not receive any positive actions. My platoon sergeant twice told me I was recommended for promotion, but when the recommendations got to Division all they had was that blank file with my name on it. It was announced in morning formation that I was among those recommended for the Bronze Star for an action, but again I had no records.

When the 101st received orders to stand down and return to Fort Campbell everyone in the unit with at least 6 months service was to return with them. But as a casual I wasn’t included, I was released to a replacement company in Danang as part of the 196th.

With the 196th I was first assigned to a Military Police Company as a mechanic. But within a couple months I was transferred to the Artillery, partly because I was still a casual and partly because the 196th had been alerted that they were extending their area of operations to cover the gap left with the withdrawal of the 101st. . This expansion of area meant the combat arms of the brigade would be stretched thin and every extra man was needed. So I became an artilleryman. With no records to work from as to my training I was assigned to the Fire Distribution Center of the Battalion S2 Section. As a mechanic at first, because that was my assignment at the MPs.

A few weeks later a man was needed to deliver and set up a generator set for a fire base in the north. The generator they had had been hit by enemy fire and they needed someone to setup the replacement. I took the job because I liked to fly and knew about generators.

We arrived as the base was under enemy fire from artillery located to the west in the highlands. The pilot asked if I still wanted to land and I said yes. We touched down and were met by three men of the Fire Control Team to help carry the generator. After we wrestled the unit off the helicopter, along with a few other supplies, the bird lifted off as more shells fell on the hill. WE carried the generator to a bunker that had been rebuilt after a shell got the last unit and started to hook it up.

Once I had it hooked up and running we made ready to return to better cover ourselves. Between shells we ran to cover and I went to the command bunker to make sure they had power.

The next day I was lifted out, and from then on I was a runner for the S2 Section flying from base to base delivering supplies and equipment and bringing back Intelligence reports and mail.

In time the 196th received orders to stand down and a single company of the 3rd of the 21st was to stay behind and defend Danang until the Americans all left.

I was among those chosen. I do not know why but I was told that I was one of the most experienced soldiers they had and as a casual I had no clear orders to leave.

I spent the last several weeks of my time in-country on Hill 55 south of Danang directing artillery fire on enemy troop movements. Every other soldier on that hill was on TDY assignment from Fort Huachuca.

When we at last were ordered off that hill and back to base the base was a ghost town. Everyone had left but us and some Airforce at the air base.

We quickly packed what we had left and had a quick formation where awards were given and orders passed out for new assignments. My orders were to an air defense missile site in Florida.

As we signed out of the company we passed through a building where we picked up our records. Each of us was given a certificate for having been part of the last Army ground combat unit in Vietnam, and each of us then stood before the company commander to receive our medals and ribbons.

I stepped up and saluted, and gave the standard greeting of “reporting as ordered”. The captain shook my hand and we waited as the executive officer looked through a box of papers. After a minute the captain asked what was wrong and was told that my name wasn’t there. The captain then turned to me and asked how long I had been in-country and I answered two years. He asked how long I had been in the 196th and I said about a year and had been in the rear guard since it was formed. After a few seconds he stood at attention and I did the same. He shook my hand and said he would see what was wrong and have my papers forwarded to me. I thanked him saluted and left.

I arrived in Vietnam a SP/4 with a National Defense Ribbon on my uniform, and I left the same way. In Oakland, California I was challenged by an MP for wearing a combat patch on my uniform with no ribbons to support it. It was easier to remove the patch than explain why there were no ribbons.

At my next assignment my new commander wondered why I had not been promoted while overseas. Perhaps I had had some problems?

Almost a year later as I was getting close to leaving active duty I was sent before a promotion board and turned down because I was too close to leaving active duty and could not re-enlist without my official records.

A few months later the clerk called me in to review my records. The originals had finally been found and he wanted to make sure they were correct.

From the time I joined the 101st until those last few months I was a casual soldier and could not be paid like others.

All together I served 22 years active and reserve. But that one clerk in the “100 and worst” badly damaged and all but ended my career.

Back at home an envelope arrived with a paper saying I had been given the Army Commendation Medal for service in Vietnam. It was signed by my last company commander. I never did get the medal.

I do not regret a single day of my service, but I did learn a valuable lesson that I taught to every soldier I met over my career. Keep a couple copies of every paper the military gives you. You may need them someday.