1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Randy Cox Page 4

1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

Randy Cox

Page 4

Excerpts from letters with associated memories

Jan 1, 1969

I am back at the Happy Hooch (Red Cross) in base camp, playing ping pong with the gang. Last night, New Year’s Eve, at midnight everyone started firing their rifles and shooting up flares. One place they had 12 green star clusters. In other area they were firing red, white and green clusters. Now, I have a camera to start taking pictures. If you have not got your Christmas present, I might have to follow up with the PX. We are about to rebuild an old fire base which we had dismantled previously! They constantly abandoned and rebuild firebases depending upon our area of patrol and operation.

Jan 2, 1969

We are thinning out our supplies prior to going into the field. I will be keeping a few items: a picture of my wife, and paper to write letters. Later, I am going to the PX in hopes of getting some film for my new camera-Instamatic 110. I requested in my next package from home for someone to send me some meat which can survive the trip and exposure to the heat in Vietnam. We are being transported to an area about 20 miles from here to pull ambushes and clear the area. They are saying it is only a 5-day mission, but my last 5-day mission was for 30 days. The area is supposed to be hilly and with thick vegetation.

Jan 3, 1969

It is now 2:30 am and I am on guard duty in a camp which has hot showers and commodes not just boards with holes cut out over part of a 50-gallon drum (see below).

Photo by Randy Cox

Reprint: Attacks on Camp Radcliff 1970

Jan 4, 1970 Rocket attack, 122mm, two separate events @ 0305 and 0400. First event, 5 rounds; Second event, 15 rounds, Light Damage, no casualties. (from Headquarters MACV, Monthly Summary, January 1970)

Jan 5, 1970

This morning we moved to a new area because the NVA was using a HIT and Run tactic. Since we are air mobile this means we are given an hour to be on the helicopters and on our way to any hot areas. The next morning, we were on patrols in ankle deep rice paddies. Later, we took a break at stream which gave us the opportunity to fill our canteens. I got two new guys in my squad-one from Idaho and one from New Jersey. It has been raining for the last couple of days and all my fatigues are wet and my feet are getting tender. Tonight, I need to take my boots off and dry out my feet. We got resupplied two days later.

Reprint: Attacks on Camp Radcliff 1970

Jan 6, 1970 Mortar/Rocket attack, unknown type/size, approx. 10 rounds. No damage or casualties (from Headquarters MACV, Monthly Summary, January 1970)

Jan 8, 1970

We got to take a bath in the stream and take a picture of this event to send home. Patrols were difficult with the rain and the slippery hill sides. We would move forward two feet and slide back one. In some places we had to crawl or reach forward for a limb, root, or small tree to move forward all with our rifle in hand and rucksack on. Because we were resupplied yesterday, we must deal with the extra weight making it more difficult. Patrols were through some streams which had fast running water, and some were waist deep. As we walked through an older GI camp site, I found a 20-dollar bill. We moved to the mountains; 741 feet high. Mix the hilltop with wind and rain and you have a cold environment. Memories about the 20-dollar bill are dull 40+ years later. Did I check it for traps???? If so, what did I do?

Photo by Randy Cox

Jan 14, 1970

On the 12th we started walking toward LZ Hard time before that we were going to different clearings for resupplied. Food was down to a min. We took two days to climb one mountain then spent one day on dead-end route and back. My squad walked point and allowing us to made fast time. We are walking in streams up to our waist which were polluted and generated a foul smell. Several streams have gray running water. At LZ Hard time the colonel got us a boat ride across the river. This the first time I saw the locals use hand grenades for fishing.

Photo by Randy Cox

Jan 14, 1970

We are on the chopper pad waiting to be flown out for a 3-day mission, but rain could delay our mission. After arriving at the LZ, we set up and waited to team up with another platoon. Overnight several people developed Leech marks and I kidded my wife that they were passion marks from kissing. We were on point and the first and third man got leeches. At night everyone took their clothes off to inspect for leeches. It is unbelievable the locations you can find these little devils. The three methods we used to remove the leeches are: burn them off but only in the daytime, insect repellent, or roll them around and around until they fall off. We ran out of water, but it rained that night and I used my poncho to fill two canteens. It is so cold at night you can see your breath. I shared point with another in my squad. We got resupplied by the chopper flying overhead and pushing supplies out. We have been in the field since Jan 3. One stream bath on Jan 1, and it is now Jan 20, 1970.

Jan 15, 1970

Pulling guard duty at 8:00 pm and again at 3:00 am. Tomorrow, we go on a two-day ambush patrol then comeback for guard duty.

Jan 21, 1970

We camped by a stream waiting on resupply. This is the first dry day in a while. I discussed putting in for RR in July with my wife. The nights are still cold.

We got a new Colonel, he seemed concern about the men because he kept asking questions about my health and the others. I think on this firebase is where I had a bad experience with beef liver. We were on a firebase and had access to cooked meals. They had large brown containers which held food as we lined up and progressed down the line. When I got to LIVER, they put a big slab on my plate. The blood and juice from the liver covered the bottom of my plate and since then this thought haunts me whenever you mention liver.

Jan 15, 1970

We have been on the firebase for three days doing details, but tomorrow we are to go 7 clicks to pull platoon size ambushes. Personal condition: two little toes hurt from walking, irritation on my butt from a tick bite, hands scratched up from walking point and a cut on my hand. This is how I got the cut. The hillside was steep and as I was crawling up parts of the hill, I used the machete as a walking cane. My hand slipped off the handle and my hand ran down the blade cutting 3 of my fingers to the bone at the joints. Thank goodness it did not cut any tendons. The Medic bandaged my hand the best he could, but mud, rain and blood saturated the bandage. Because of this I had to drop back a couple spots in the line of soldiers during this patrol. This was my trigger hand and I was thankful we did not see any action during this period. I had to heal in the field. Funny thing was the LT was making fun of me as to how that could happen until a short time later, he had the same accident. Pay back!! We are in Happy Valley and rumors are we will stay here for the next 30 days. This is better than going to the LZ pulling details and going on short ambushes. I mentioned my first experience with Rumen Noodles and got several packages to take with me on the next mission. It is unusual, we were able to purchase Cokes ($.50) and other item from the locals, they have items when we don’t. They were creative on the items they sold to the GI’s for example is marijuana. They would get a pack of Marlboro Cigarettes, carefully cut the cellophane at the seam, and replace the tobacco with marijuana then reseal the pack to its original state. Then, they would sell the packs to the GI’s for $5.00 per pack. The General appearance is they just want us here for our money.

Just before we arrived rumor had it, they stole two M-60 machine guns, ammo, and several claymore mines from the LZ plus other items from the kitchen. We all wore hard helmets but there was a strong desire for soft caps for comfort. In the elastic band around the outside of my helmet, I carried DEET insect repellent and a couple of blasting caps to go with one or two pounds of C4 explosive we/I carried. I often used C4 by pinching off a small amount to heat my C-rations. C4 was a great product. You could mold it, burn it, stomp on it if it were lit and it would not explode. C4 needed the smaller explosion to set it off. Hence, the blasting caps.

red

C4 Explosive used for heating C rations

Photo by Randy Cox

Middle to the end of January 1970

Two preachers came out on the choppers-one catholic and one protestant. After a fast service, we were choppered to LZ Hard time. It was hot and I got in the bunker using my air mattress to prop up and write letters and talk to the other 4 soldiers in the bunker. I asked my wife to send me some instant soup. One day we had a hot Army meal was turkey, corn, noodles, gravy, bread, and cranberry sauce. D/1/8 was rumored to be going home in March 1970. At that point, I would be reassigned to another unit. Several of us got to play a little football; running is different from walking with a 50-100 + lb. pack on your back. It was tiring.

Jan 14-20, 1970

Weather is cold and wet, as we waited to be choppered out. This is an advantage because helicopters do not fly when the weather is bad. Later, we were waiting to team up with another platoon. It was a short wait and now we are chowing down. We are in leech country, and everyone has passion marks (leech marks). I remember walking down trails and the leech would be on the ground kind of reaching out to grab on to our shoes and/or clothes.

Leech

Last night, I finished off all my water but luckily it rained, and we used a poncho to capture what we needed to fill our canteens. It was cold, you could blow across the water and see the vapor rise. Walking was easy because we were on trails which was the most dangerous area. Movement was slow while the point man works forward. The first half of the day I walked point then rotated with my second man. We felt as if we were the best and we wanted the best on point. Point man would look ahead and to the sides the second man would be a little offset and be looking at the trees and the sides. Today is the 18th and I have been in the field since the 3rd or 4th. Resupply consisted of having the supplies pushed out of the helicopter because of the inability to land. Today is Jan 20, and we are supposed to move to the river for baths and additional resupplying. For the past 30 days, I have had one bath in a river and one sponge bath.

Jan 24, 1970

We only humped about 500 meters during the last 3 days. It rained from Jan 1, 1970 to app Jan 11, 1970. We are staying close to a river which is a real change from the last area. We are about to go back in the field but for now, I am sitting on a bunker with my steel hat on watching the area in front of me and writing letters. Just prior to this we took a bath in a stream. We set up security, stripped, and jumped into waist deep cold mountain water.

I have a bandage on my arm like the saying goes “if it doesn’t bite, sting, scratch or cut you it is not Vietnam”. Got a letter telling me my wife just bought her first Mini dress. It is 2:30 am and I am on guard duty with a bright moon, I requested my parents send me a small file, a sharpening stone and a small hunting knife.

Jan 30, 1969

We are out of the bush, and it appears we are in the middle of summer because of the heat. Prior ambush patrols were in thick and rough terrain. Several times we had to hack with a machete for 20 minutes to go forward 10 feet. The brush was like holly bush with stickers and being very hardy. Mix that in with the heat and it was not a pleasant event. We were the point squad; breaking the bush while the remainder of the platoon waited. This action was causing us to use more water. We were getting low when we had an order changing our path which allowed us to go in the valley to replenish our water supply. You indicated you had sent me a recorder which should be arriving the next time we get mail and packages. It appears we will be staying on or near the firebase for the month of February because of the possibility of a TET offensive and our concerns of what happened Jan 1968.

D/1/8

???? (D/1/8) Met a buddy from NCO school and we stayed up a good portion of the night discussing old classmates and where and how they were doing. The rest of the company joined us, and we will be at company strength at this position. Now we must enforce military rules, Steel hat on always, weapon in your hand, shirts on all the time, etc. From this location we went on a three-day platoon ambush

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