I was in Vietnam from January '66 to mid-May '67. My MOS was a 3531 Motor Vehicle Operator, which in an artillery battery means that when you're not actually driving, you're part of your gun section. I was in Gun Section 5, Battery B, 1st Bn, 11th Marines and eventually worked my way up to Gunner as a Lance Corporal and then in quick succession, and FDC man, the Battery recorder (the guy who passes the fire missions to the guns for firing) and part of the local security patrol section. Most of this was in the vicinity of Hill 55, south and west of Danang with some operations near Cam Lo and Khe Sanh during operations Hastings and Prairie. It was during that point up near the DMZ that we took all those casualties and I volunteered to be a Scout observer and was assigned to Echo Company and sometime Golf Company, 2nd, Bn, 1st Marines. That was a quantum leap up in violence and activity and I really don't remember any single one of those infantry Marines who hadn't been wounded at least once. Nearly everybody had grenade frags wounds from your own grenades. You can't thrown an M26 far enough not to get hit yourself. Most of the grunts just pulled the bits of steel out, rubbed in some Johnson and Johnson First Aid cream into the hole and kept going. Never met any finer people through my long and fortunate career.
I got hit dragging a badly wounded Marine from the middle of an open field and just as I got him to some reasonable cover, I got shot while I was bending over him trying to keep him breathing. The bullet shattered my right thighbone and nicked my femoral artery. I was able to get a tourniquet on around my crotch and thanks to an incredibly brave UH-34D pilot, they got me to Charlie Med Danang very quickly.
I know a gift when I see one and so I have tried to continue my life as the gift that it really was and to pass on to my younger Marines all of the lessons I learned.
Sorry about the femoral artery wound. You were as lucky as I was to be able to get out fast. The grenade accidents are surprising as my montagnards learned to throw that grenade. I also had extra cases of LAWS which every montagnard had learned to fire. Of course having men who make crossbows and have brass bracelets makes good trading material for LAWS and extra grenades. In 72-73 after Vietnam I went through the Infantry Officers Advanced Course at Benning. A Marine Captain became a dear friend and classmate. Buck CC Coffman was a Marine Corps Force Recon legend having fought in Korea at 17 years of age and he had received the Navy Cross in Vietnam with Force Recon.Sadly he is deceased. He had 26 ribbons.