The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Hamburger Hill

HI PhilDragoo. Thanks again for your daily commentary. It's always a good read.

"They failed and they suffered. 'That damn Blackjack [Lt. Col. Honeycutt's radio call sign] won't stop until he kills every one of us,' said one of the 40 to 50 101st Airborne troopers who was wounded."

This is the first time I ever knew the actual name of the asshole I raised hell with over the radio. Because of his call sign,I had always assummed he was "Black Jack" Perhings grandson,who was also in VN at that time.

For those of you who read the book and saw the movie,*I* am the actual guy in real life who raised so much hell with the commander over the radio. I was sitting on our remote radio relay site on a mountain top in Laos,and had been listening to the fight. What caused me to jump in was shown in the movie,the sceen where the young Sp-4 radio operator broke down and started crying that everybody was dead or dying,and the asshole in the LOACH (observation helicopter)stated raising hell with him over not using correct radio procedure,and threatening to court-martial him for it. I got on the radio,and the son of a whore was the nicest address I made to that SOB,and I even suggested that since he was so gung-ho about his troops climbing that hill,that he should land his helicopter and maybe try to LEAD them up the damn hill. Unless he was a coward,of course. You think he went ballistic at the SP-4 radio operator,you should have heard how he reacted to me! He started yelling "Who are you? Whatis your name,rank,and unit? Blah,Blah,court-marital,blah". I told him to suck a diseased monkey dick,and if he was REALLY interested in finding out who I am,he should land and take a stroll around the hill.

Whatever else this idiot was,he damn sure was NOT a leader. When you have young troops breaking down because everything has gone all to hell around them and everybody is dying,you don't go screaming court-martial threats at them over crap like correct radio procedure. You use a CALM voice to talk to them like you were their daddy,in order to try to get them to calm down so they don't continue to panic and end up getting killed because of it. You might can get away with the "kick ass and take names" strategy if you are physically in the crap with them,and they can see you walking around taking the same risks (or more) that they are taking,but not when you are flying around at 12,000 feet or so. You either lead by example,or you lead by calm reason. In the best of all worlds,you lead by exhibiting both. It was obvious to me this idiot was out for personal glory,and was happy to "spend" all of his men to get it,if that is what would have been neccessary.

A pox on him,and all officers like him.

If I find the enemy on any other hills in the A Shau, I assure you I'll attack him there also

The trick in the Ashau Valley was to try to find a hill where the NVA weren't. A unbelievably dangerous place for recon teams to operate.

Only this time, we finish it.

Your grandchildren may live long enough to see it finished,but you and I won't. Then again,your grandchildren are going to be the ones paying most of the expenses for rebuilding and occuping,too.

Thanks Sneakypete for your contribution.

I thank you for your service.

This was the first "Vietnam" movie I thought got close to being accurate compared to the crap that Hollywood had been putting out previously.

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