As the Dawn Breaks

 With machine guns blazing, we start our descent to the meadow below. 

Contributed by veteran Craig I. Monroe, 173rd Airborne
Dedicated to Sgt. Sandy Porter - KIA July 1970, 101st Airborne Vietnam

SPRING 1970, Bon Song, South Vietnam.

A beautiful sunny morning. The sun was just coming up over the rice paddies. The emerald greens and florescent sky so peaceful, only to be interrupted by the sounds of WAR, for the men of the 173rd Airborne Brigade were about to make a early air combat assault that would forever change their lives.

The mission: "Search and Destroy" a unit of the North Vietnamese Army. The men had prepared by packing their rucksacks with food, water, and a stockpile of ammunition. With packs weighing 70-100 pounds, they sat down on the helicopter pads waiting. Two platoons, about 40 men, waited to see what destiny would bring.

As the whop, whop, pop, pop of the Huey helicopters broke the peaceful silence, the men helped each other up to their feet to board their ride to the war. We boarded four helicopters and lifted off the landing zone, LZ English, flying two abreast.

From the perch just inside helicopter, my feet on the landing skids, I saw glistening rice patties giving way to jagged mountains rising abruptly. We headed due west towards the Cambodian border and as the helicopter banked sharply to reveal a sea of elephant grass below in a beautiful meadow, the deafening sound of the Huey gave way to the M-60 machine guns on each side. The door gunners cleared by fire the landing zone (LZ). As adrenaline started to rush through my veins, I knew the helicopter would only touch down and go, so we would have to be ready to jump and run clear of the huge blades, all the while carrying weapons and the 70-100 pound rucksack. And oh yeah, there might also be the enemy's fire to deal with. To signal, this first copter in throws red smoke.

With machine guns blazing, we start our descent to the meadow below. The LZ was full of HOT red smoke. We fell out the doors, emptied 18 rounds from our M-16 rifles in a split-second burst, and ran to cover. No enemy fire returned as my heart pumped like it was going to burst. The elephant grass, thick and sharp, cut into my arms as I moved. We rendezvoused and split into two platoons, one taking high ground, the other walking along a swollen river with a bed of rocks that were the size of the helicopters that had just dropped us in this place. I could only think, as I started up the face of the huge marble-like rocks to high ground, what a beautiful virgin place this was, like we were the first to ever encounter it. We would find out soon, this was not the case.

We moved steadily all day, stopping once for a water break. It was treacherous terrain. Seemed like we were walking straight up at times. Men would slip on the elephant grass and slide down, getting cut by the razor-like grass and losing precious ground gained.

As the sun started to set, the men had made it to the summit, a jagged ridgeline with an outcropping of giant palm-like trees. The trees were used as support, to stabilize our positions atop the mountain and to avoid slipping down the steep face while sleeping. We established our defensive position with claymore mines guarding the avenues of approach and setting the fields of fire for the M-60 machine gun. Along these avenues, a Guard Duty was set up, each man taking his turn. Each man passed one Wristwatch to the next man in turn at the end of his duty. In the morning, the last man on Guard Duty, would wake the rest. Sleeping in this war was a most difficult thing to do. The nights were so dark you couldn't even see your hand if you held it directly in front of your face. The enemy moved at night, due to American superiority in the air, so falling asleep on Guard Duty could be deadly if the enemy came upon your camp. By some evil spirit, the easiest time to fall asleep was when you had that Wristwatch.

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