1st Battalion 22nd Infantry May 1970 Page 2

The following narrative is based on handwritten S3 Daily Journals, 1-22 Unit History, 4th Div Operational Report Lessons Learned or ORLL’s both Infantry and Artillery, my own personal memory, faulty as it may be, and the memories of my platoon buddies that shared that fateful week.

My personal journey towards the invasion of Cambodia started on 5 May 1970 when we assembled on the airfield at Camp Radcliff in An Khe.

An Khe was the base camp for the 4th Infantry Division at the time. Prior to assembling on the airfield, we had been being resupplied and outfitted in the Battalion area for 3 days. Our ruck sacks were so very heavy, I guess they decided to take pity on us and truck us the short distance to the airfield. As we were pulling out of the Battalion area in the trucks, there were 2-4 guys standing at the gate with handmade cardboard signs that said “Cambodia! Hell no, we won’t go!”. To say we were stunned speechless is an understatement! Once we caught our breath, and got our wits about us, we all began to ridicule them. Yelling unprintable insults at them. While none of us were crazy about the idea of going into Cambodia because we viewed it as jumping from the frying pan into the fire, nonetheless just about everyone was supportive of being a part of something that was much larger than themselves and might, perhaps, hasten the end of the war.

For several weeks after that if we were given a task, such as going on a patrol or such, we would ridicule them further by saying “Patrol! Hell no, we won’t go”. I hope they read this and realize what cowardly, shirking buffoons we thought they were. From time to time through the years, I would wonder what might have happened to those guys. Personally, I hope they were given a Dishonorable Discharge.

In any event, once we got to the airfield at An Khe, we boarded C130 aircraft for the ride to the large airfield, Camp Holloway, at Pleiku. Pleiku was appx 53 miles due west of An Khe.

May 6, 1970 – Pleiku airfield - Recon 1-22 Infantry, waiting to go into Cambodia

Waiting in Pleiku for the helicopters to pick us up for the insertion into Cambodia - May 1970

Once at Pleiku, we assembled on a large parade ground. After getting ourselves situated we were allowed a little free time and permitted to visit the Air Force EM club which was within a fairly short walking distance. It was of far superior quality than what we were accustomed to back at An Khe. I recall that they had a guy sitting on a stool at the door and he was checking everyone to make sure they didn’t have weapons. Well, we were grunts and grunts always had weapons, that’s what we were all about. In any case, if you had your weapon, he would refuse admittance and you’d have to go back to the parade field and leave your weapon. For whatever reason, I did not bring my M79 grenade launcher, maybe someone had forewarned me. But I did have my 12-inch Bowie knife and I’m sure they would have turned me away, but I tucked it in my pants pocket and pulled my shirt down over it. I got away with it! Among the things that stand out in my memory was the fact that they had slot machines. I had never been around slot machines before, and I was fascinated by them. They also had a band at times, not on this night, but their equipment was set up on stage. We had one of our guys, Jim Hinzo, who had been a drummer in a band back in the World (United States), get up on stage and play the drums. He was pretty darn good!

Left:

Jim Hinzo on drums at Pleiku EM Club
waiting to go to Cambodia

Photo by James Henderson

Right:

James Henderson in the boonies
prior to Cambodia, note 12” Bowie knife
tucked into pocket of jungle fatigues

Photo by James Henderson

We stayed one night on the parade field. The next day we saddled up and rode in deuce-and-a-halves, 2 ½ ton trucks, in a convoy from the Pleiku airfield to a fire base named Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole was very near Plei Djereng and they were both very near to the Cambodian border and the infamous Plei Trap Valley, sometimes referred to as the valley of tears. Plei Djereng had originally been a Special Forces Camp and was approximately 25 miles, northwest of Pleiku. It was now under the control of the 4th Inf Div. We spent another night here and on the morning of 7 May we boarded choppers and Combat Assaulted, CA’d, into Cambodia and what was to become LZ Valkyrie.

C Btry and 1-22 convoy from An Khe to Pleiku prior to the invasion into Cambodia. May 1970

BN RTO's at Jackson Hole, on the way to Cambodia May 1970.

Standing, L to R, Jim Aarhus, ?, Kerry Sheridan, Henry "Dutch" Velman, George Heidt.

Sitting, L to R, Bill Gottwald, Tom Buhrkuhl, and Ronnie "Tex" Fisher.

George Heidt was instrumental in helping assemble the data and information that went into this story. It would not have been possible to write it without his input. I cannot thank him nor praise him enough.