As the Dawn Breaks (continued)


Contributed by veteran Craig I. Monroe, 173rd Airborne

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Morning came with all secure. The men stirred quietly opening cans of C-Rations and heating water with small pieces of C-4 plastic explosive, which when lit would emit a small flame. At about 0600, we finished eating, concealed all evidence of our inhabitance, and prepared to head down into the deep ravine that lay before us. Each man packed his rucksack and his buddy would help him to his feet due to the excessive weight being carried. Men carried a variety of things, but there were certain things that were a necessity - water, food, and ammunition, which became quite a load.

The men started down the other side of the mountain they had just scaled a day earlier. After about an hour, I could hear water and knew there was a stream at the bottom of the ravine. We always needed fresh water but so did the enemy. Streams were very dangerous places because most likely someone would be there at one time or another. Heading down the steep mountainside certainly wasn't as difficult as scaling the summit had been a day earlier, but it was very hard to keep from sliding down into the dangers below. We made good time though and we were in the bottom of the ravine in about three hours.

It was about 0900 hours. We set up a defensive position close to the stream and sent two men down to get water. The river was running well with a small waterfall as it cascaded down the rocks on its way to the South China Sea. It was a beautiful spot - a running stream in the lush lime green jungle; the beauty soon to be a scene of terror as the Devils Cry of War came.

The men sent for water came in contact with the enemy. A grenade launcher was fired in their direction which hadn't come from any of us. A patrol of five men went forward where the enemy engaged them immediately, with a fierce barrage of fire. One of the men in the patrol was wounded quite badly. We began to engage the enemy with furious volleys of automatic fire from our M-16 rifles. Between volleys, shouts of desperation were yelled out as we tried to figure out from which direction the enemy was sending their killing barrage.

In the Central Highlands of Vietnam, the vegetation was very thick, creating concealed fighting positions for our enemy. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) was very well trained, equipped, and determined. These things made them a formidable opponent. We were pinned down by their knowledge of our exact location and our vague knowledge of their whereabouts. The paratrooper wounded needed Medical Evacuation to save his life. A Medi-Evac helicopter was called. The firefight continued still without a sign of an enemy. At the end of more furious exchanges of fire, the intense yelling of men into the jungle heightened with the still uncertain position of our enemies.

The Medi-Vac helicopter approached, set off a smoke grenade to fix our position. The jungle was so thick a Tether had to be lowered by the medical crew to the jungle floor. These helicopters were clearly marked with red crosses to identify them from the ground. As the Tether Stretcher was lowered, the enemy fire became intense. The men all responded alike in a fury of fire, to hold off the enemy from firing upon the helicopter that was trying to save a man's life.

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