1st Battalion 22nd Infantry February 1970 Page 1

I have observed in life, not just my Army adventures or Vietnam adventures but most aspects of life, that with the passage of time facts are
sometimes enhanced. Sometimes such enhancements become an embellishment, which becomes an exaggeration, which becomes a lie.
So, in my opinion, it’s best to try not to enhance the facts, and the truth. Simply let it stand. I tried to do that to the best of my ability.
I desperately want my stories to be historical in nature as well as personal narratives.

I served in Company B’s 2nd platoon, 1-22 Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, I was in SGT Buenzle’s squad. At that time the squad consisted
of SGT Buenzle, me Jim Henderson, Greg Bodell and possibly either Alan Sloan or John Broussard or maybe both. Either four or maybe five
of us. I carried an M79 grenade launcher, the others carried M16’s. Longtime member Paul Flartey left sometime in early Feb, headed home, his
tour of duty completed.

Standing, left to right:
Jim Henderson, Paul Flartey, Alan Sloan
In front - Richard Buenzle

Photo courtesy of Paul Flartey

Greg "Tiger Man" Bodell

Photo courtesy of Paul Flartey

The month of February started off with us having been CA’d, Combat Assaulted, from one unknown location in the field on January 31st
to another unknown location in the field. We had no down time. Simply get on the chopper in one place fly a while, get off in another place.
I have no idea of the place, only the date. So, from 1 Feb until 12 Feb, we are in some unknown particular AO, Area of Operation, until the 12th.
It must have been an uneventful twelve days, which is always a relief. On the 12th we are CA’d to yet another unknown location in the field where
we spend the rest of the 12th , and all day and night the 13th before being CA’d once again on the 14th. We stay that day and night and then on
the 15th we are once again CA’d to another unknown location and spend the night there. You can see how a grunt winds up with an Air Medal,
you ride in the open doorway of a lot of choppers. On the 16th we are CA’d to an AO that comes to be known as the POW AO. This shall
become clear later. The official Unit History refers to this as Operation Wayne Stab II. Of course, we had no idea of such a naming at the time
and I have no idea now as to what it stood for but that is how the Unit History describes it.

I recall that the CA of the 16th was into an area of tall elephant grass, perhaps 5-6 feet tall. It was a large open area that allowed for several choppers
at a time to land. The Logs do not state the exact location, but I believe it to be 498-003. The pilot of the chopper that I was on did not want to
touch down because he could not see the ground because of the tall grass. He was wanting to hover and for us to jump from 4-5 feet in the air.
That is an awfully long way when you have an extra 80-100 lbs. strapped on your back. Some areas were marshy, and guys sank nearly to their
waist in water and muck. A few thought they might drown! I do not recall my landing being marshy, but I did worry about breaking my fool neck!
But we all made it. Being that the LZ, landing zone, was on low ground we immediately began humping up the nearest hill, in order to gain high
ground. We usually tried to avoid low ground whenever possible. Also, everyone within miles would have seen and heard the choppers landing.

Red outlined square indicates AO (Area of Operations) of Company B 1-22 Infantry in February 1970.
FSB (Fire Support Base) Louis is in lower right, Dak Kron Bung River is in center,
winding its way from north to south.

Above: Section of Map Sheet 6737 IV showing locations of events in the story.

Once we got to the top of said hill, Grids 498-008, we were surprised to see that it had been the site of an air strike and that it was somewhat
cleared out and had numerous bomb craters. We liked this, as maybe we could use the craters in place of having to dig our own fox holes.
Some of the craters were quite large, maybe from 500 and 1000lb bombs, although I’m not an expert on that topic. They were, I would guess,
five to six feet deep at the very bottom and could quite easily hold six to ten men.

We immediately began to set up a platoon size, appx 25-man, perimeter for our night location or November Lima, as we often called it. It was
still early enough that we were able to run some patrols. All patrols were to be S&D, search and destroy. Third platoon had found a highly traveled
trail right from their LZ in the elephant grass. They followed it and made contact with 3 NVA, killing 2. They also found a very large hootch,
a hootch being what could be described as a house or a building with a dirt floor and thatch straw walls and roof, capable of sleeping 20 people
in the case of a very large one.

One of 2nd platoon’s patrols had also made contact and employed small arms fire on 1 NVA found in an area with 3 large hootches. One of the
hootches seemed to be a mess hall of some type, being set up for cooking and having a large table. All of the hootches we found and those 3rd
platoon found had a “basement “of sorts, the same size as the hootch, and covered with logs. The logs covered with dirt and serving as the floor
of the hootch. They had tunnels running from hootch to hootch. They were set up more as protection from artillery or air strikes than as fighting
positions. Anything we found was very recently abandoned. The S-3 Daily Logs record these events as occurring at 1700 and 1730, so somewhat
late in the day. As darkness fell, we return to the CP, Command Post, and we spend the night of the 16th atop the hill among the bomb craters.

While in this AO, each platoon operated independently of one another, but each platoon would send out what we called night ambushes, or
bushwhacks, a squad, usually a rifle squad and not generally an M60 machine gun team, would head out of the CP perimeter and would usually
head down a trail maybe 50-200 yards, which is a long way to be out alone so to speak, only 4-6 men. We would set up trip flares in each direction
on the trail, about 10 yards apart. Then we would break brush a short distance off to one side of the trail, maybe 10 yards. We would set up
2 Claymore mines facing the trail. And sit and wait. It was nerve racking and instead of one man on guard while the others slept, usually everyone
stayed awake all night because it was so stressful. If either of the flares were tripped, the general idea was that we would pop the claymores and
open up with everything we had and then hightail it back up the trail to the CP, hoping our own people didn’t shoot us as we came back in.

Claymore mine with its firing device and wire

M49A1 Surface Trip flare

I recall being on one such night ambush and the platoon CP contacted us on the PRC25, radio, and told us to maintain strict radio silence
and break squelch only, no talking. Each platoon had at least two PRC 25’s, maybe more, and the night ambush would carry one in order to
communicate back with the platoon CP. We would usually have one when out on patrol during the day also. On this particular night, it was
Buenzle’s squad only, so 4 maybe 5 of us. The CP tells us to stay on 100% alert because Higher Higher, that’s how we referred to anything or
anyone above company size headquarters, had reported a kilo size element in the area. Scared the crap out of us! A kilo size element! What was a
“kilo” anyway we knew NOTHING about the metric system in 1969-70. A KILO! Didn’t that mean 1,000, we pondered silently among ourselves.
So, we’re 5 guys alone and there might be 1,000 enemy soldiers in the neighborhood! I don’t think anyone even breathed the rest of the night.
We were quiet as little church mice. I don’t think we ever figured out what they meant nor why they used the term “kilo”. The ambush passed
without incident.

On the morning of the 17th , we sent out various patrols, keeping the bomb crater area as our CP, Command Post. The patrols would be squad
size, appx 4-6 men. Usually two patrols in opposite directions. Occasionally, two squads would join together and thus be composed of 10-12 men.
Two squads stayed back with the CP. Most of the time the squad that had the ambush the night before would get to stay in the perimeter and the
other squads would go on the daytime patrol.

According to the 1-22 Unit History, Co B’s second platoon, SGT Buenzle’s squad myself included, finds 2 hootches , 1 bunker with a fighting
position. The records show later we report finding 2 more hootches, barns, big piles of clothes, and animals in pens. We find one hootch with a
bed with wooden stocks for restraining a person’s ankles. Reminiscent of something from the old Salem witch hunts. It was at this point that we
realized we were in a POW camp. We continued to find more items, 7 more hootches, for a total of 12. We continue to find a lot of documents,
malaria tablets, toothbrushes and toothpaste, canteens, a bag of rice, 6 dozen kerosene lanterns, 3 ruck sacks, fish nets, a pack of 2x2 bandages,
candles, an M16 magazine, 6 ponchos and a 40 lb can of corn are among only some of what we found. The S-3 Logs list too much for me to
include all of it here. There had obviously been a lot of people here. We had landed right in their back yard.

There were some pigs running around loose and we radioed for permission to shoot one, wanting to cook it later that night. Permission was granted
and I think it was Bob Frost that drew the honors of dispatching one of them. I recall being surprised at how hard it was to kill, Bob had to shoot it
two or three times before it died. But it eventually succumbed and as darkness begins to fall, we haul it back to the CP.

Above and left:

Above: Three photos of Bob "Rawhide" Frost

Photos courtesy of Paul Flartey and Harry Beck

Once back at the CP, someone begins to skin and clean the pig. Someone else radios to base camp for permission to cook it and eat it. The
Battalion Surgeon, located at An Khe base camp, who is usually an officer and also usually an actual doctor, doesn’t want to grant permission
for us to eat it. He’s, of course, reluctant to give the OK as he’s afraid we’ll undercook it and contract trichinosis or some other food borne illness.
Finally, he relents, and we’re allowed to cook the pig. We cook it in the bottom of one of the bomb craters so the fire would not be visible to our
enemies. Barbecued pork for supper!

Other companies of the Battalion are also finding many hootches and bunkers and equipment and engaging in contact with the enemy,
particularly C Company. The Logs are full of these encounters and contain too much equipment and material for me to list.
At our night location, the night passes uneventfully.