1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Chu Moor D 1-14

LZ Swinger was located to the north
of Chu Moor Mountain and the
1/22 firebase, in the Chu Moor Valley area.

This LZ became the base from which
1/14 Infantry conducted operations
in the Chu Moor AO.

I was in/on Chu Moor, in our unit it's referred to as L Z SWINGER. We were inserted under heavy fire
and as we were getting off the choppers your people were getting back on. I remember a stack of KIA's and a person trying
to keep a poncho over the bodies. Over the years I've communicated with that person, he was one of your medics.
I can not remember his name also I've exchanged e-mails with a chopper pilot that remembers those two days.
In an infantry company the head person is the company commander, the person I was chatting with was a company commanders equal.
They lost a chopper and a crew chief lost a foot, so he remembers it well. So much so he was writing a book about the AO.

I was with Delta Co 1-14th, our people were told this would be a "cold LZ", I remember coming in for a landing
when I saw black puffs of smoke on the helo pad, the pilot had to abort the landing, we circled in the air and came back in.
It was like a John Wayne movie, I know you understand. Anyway after the exchange of troops was made everything slowed down,
so much so we were walking around preparing for the night. At some point that afternoon/evening a NVA ran into the perimeter
and out again .......... he was either drugged out or probing, he got away. Sounds crazy but it did happen, bet he's still running
with all the lead chasing him (grin).

Later that evening I walked over to another platoon's location to talk to a Willian Harff. Each day or two he would write down notes
for a book he was planning on writing after the war. We chatted a bit then I left to go back to my platoons location.
On the way there I stopped to talk to our medic and a person named Pete Peterson when swish mortars came in.
One exploded in the air over William Harf causing him to be a KIA; that same round peppered Pete Peterson's back side
and knocked down our medic. This was my 1st wound of the war, if Pete hadn't been where he was I would have been KIA.
I was hit in the left side with shrapnel and took off running for my bunker, KABOOM, another mortar hit knocking me to the ground;
I was in the open. One of my squad members yelled "here, get in here". It was a very small bunker with about 4 people inside.
Must have been 25 or so mortar rounds that landed in the perimeter, some were aerial bursts, anyway I felt something wet on my back
and was coughing. I was wounded again. All the wounds were small but had to be taken out. I remember the gurgling sound
in my lung from the second wound. We went into the LZ with approxmently 84 men, had 2 kia's and 24 or so that wasn't wounded
or was wounded and could walk.

L Z Swinger was located in a bad spot, the helo pad was in a saddle and marked with sand bags. The next day we were extracted
under heavy fire, you could hear the dinks trying to surround us, bamboo was breaking and snapping all around us.
I never saw a one just muzzle flashes, that was what I was firing at.

Years later I found out LZ Swinger was abandoned and then reopened with a battery of 155's placed on the hills on either side
of the saddle and the dinks had placed boobie traps on the helo pad. It was made out of sand bags, first two birds landed ok
but the third one was blown to hell.

I was on the last flight out of LZ Swinger and all I had left was an M-16 with a empty magazine and my steel pot.
To this day I don't know how that Huey got off the ground unless it was the hand of God that lifted us out of there.
Over the years I have located 65 or so former Delta co members and put together 4 reunions;
when we talk about it we just say it was a "bad place"

Jim Brown (aka Charlie Brown) Delta Co 1-14th 1st platoon, 4th Infantry Division 2/68 2/69

"A young lady that was as brave a person as I know of. I'm on Chris Noel's left side, the person on her right is an unknown.
It was taken on L Z Brillo Pad in May of 1968. Please note a lot of the so called "higher-ups" would not come to this location.
I'm guessing this to be in the middle of May 1968. She deserves a lot of credit because the jungle was swarming with bad guys.
They were trying to get her inside a bunker asap. This was another bad place but she came anyway,
I grabbed "a" m-16 and ran up asking to have my picture taken.
Didn't notice the rifle was unloaded .......... "didn't mean nothin" (grin)"

I was the medic at the LZ. I had rotated out of the field about two weeks earlier after being with C/1/22 for seven months.
Charlie Shyab replaced me as senior medic. When Charlie was wounded (he was the last medic remaining with the company.
The rest had already been wowunded) I was sent back in. I carried body bags and my instructions were to get the WIA's
and KIA's off the mountain--- don't leave anyone. The plan to replace C/1/22 with D/1/14 had already been made.
I rode off the mountain in the chopper with the KIAs. At our reunion last week Bill French, the medical platoon leader, was there.
He was at the Chu Moor firebase. He said I threw my equipment down and said, " they're all dead. ( I didn't remember that)
I went in the aid station bunker and stayed a long time. The people in the bags were my friends.