1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Kuhn's Story page 4

1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

TUY HOA
June 1971

I had only been at the Tuy Hoa airbase for a few days before going to the field and didn’t have a chance
to check it out last month. This was a “rear area” with real showers and real latrines. It felt great
to be able to take a hot shower. The airbase also has an EM (enlisted mans) club with lots of beer and even has pool tables.
There was also a gym and a library, nice base! It was an airbase with lots of planes and choppers
and all of the pilots and support personnel that go along with that part of the Army. They had it pretty nice there
and so did we now too. We had barracks to sleep in during the day but we were always out on guard duty
or ambush all night almost every night sleeping in bunkers or rice paddies. During the day I often worked out at
the gym, drank beer, or play cards with the guys. We usually played spades except on payday there were a lot of blackjack
games. We were paid in cash by MPC (Military Payment Certificates aka funny money). I did pretty well at blackjack
and one time I remember winning nearly a whole months pay. I almost always quit when I was ahead,
but I have seen guys lose their whole pay in one day. I would rather spend it at the PX or club.

Military Payment Certificates

We weren’t back at base long before First Sergeant told us that he was expecting and waiting for orders that would
be sending us to Cambodia. I didn’t know anything about Cambodia except that I knew it wasn’t good!

It was around this time that I met Jarvie. He had been away on a 30 day funeral leave back in “the world”. I don’t
remember who had passed away back home in California but he was late getting back to the company because he was
fighting to get a permanent leave to stay home. Obviously that didn’t work out. We were usually assigned guard duty together
and spent many many nights together out there on the perimeter in a guard tower. Soon we became the best of friends and also
spent our days off together on the base. Guard duty was boring boring duty at night, but even worse during the day. At night
Jarvie and I would sit up and talk for hours before taking turns sleeping. During day guard duty I was all alone in the guard tower
from 06:00 (6:00AM) till 18:00 (6:00 PM). 12 hours of sheer boredom and loneliness. We almost always guarded
the beach or the perimeter next to the village.

Once a week or so we would get a break from guard duty and be sent out on night ambush patrols into the rice paddies.
A squad would load up onto a truck and was driven to a location off base and dropped off along side the road somewhere
about an hour before it gets dark. A squad is supposed to consist of 10 men but we were lucky if we had 7 or 8 men.
Replacements were not being sent for some reason. At first it was scary being out there with just a small squad of guys but
once I got used to it I didn’t mind ambushes too much. The nights were usually uneventful. I always found it really odd
that here is a fully armed infantry squad sitting on the side of the road and the Vietnamese on their little motorbikes
would ride up and stop and try to sell us trinkets or beads or jewelry or just about anything. Just before dark we
would move out into the rice paddies walking on the dikes to stay dry until it was completely dark. Then we would move to the left
or right in the darkness until we felt comfortable that nobody knew exactly where we were set up at. We would just stay there
all night, not allowed to talk or make any noise or smoke cigarettes and No snoring! That was always a problem that I had
on ambush and out in the field too. They would keep waking me up or poke me or kick me to roll over.
It wasn’t bad duty though because there are usually about 8 guys and we took turns staying awake. Technically everyone is
supposed to stay awake all night but we each took a one hour shift, so it’s really the best night of sleep that we ever got.
Occasionally one of the squads would get a kill but of all the dozens and dozens of ambushes I have been
on, there was never any contact.

One day we were called out into a formation. The CO wanted to talk to us. I thought to myself that we must be going to
Cambodia soon but the Captain quickly confirmed that those orders had been cancelled. He stated that whole entire units were
standing down now. Shortly the 22nd Infantry would be the only infantry unit left in the entire MR II (2nd military region).
The battalion commander wants QRT’s (quick response teams) established and trained. If any hostile enemy activity
takes place anywhere in MR II, we will be the ones responding when called upon for help. Every squad
was to be trained and ready to go. The next thing I know, McCullough (my roommate now) and I are out on a
firing range brushing up on our M-60 skills. It was the first time I had fired the machine gun since AIT training.
Now they wanted me to carry it as part of a QRT team. McCullough wanted to be a gunner but I wasn’t thrilled
with the idea at all. The M-60 and the ammo is a lot heavier than the M-16. I don’t know why they picked me for this!

ME & McCULLOUGH FIRING THE M-60 MACHINE GUN

Soon the day came when they called on our company (company B). They came into our barracks yelling
to grab our gear and go straight to the chopper pads. Before we even got there the choppers were warming up.
I was carrying the M-60. We were told that another unit had been ambushed and pinned down somewhere.
They were going to drop us into a hot LZ. The CO had ordered the 3rd platoon to go first. My platoon Sgt
decided that we would draw straws to see which squad would go on the first chopper.

The 4 squad leaders drew straws and my squad lost. Now we were just standing around waiting for orders to
load up. The choppers blades were rotating and ready to go. The CO was on the radio. It is one thing
to react to a situation like I did out in the jungle when there was no time to think about it but this was different.
I was sitting there contemplating what was about to happen. My heart was pounding; the adrenalin and fear
were EXTREME! The next thing I remember was the choppers winding down, shutting down. The Captain yelled out
“THE COBRA’S GOT EM, WE DON’T HAVE TO GO!”
Man! Was I happy about that!

Cobra Gunship

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