WEBVTT 1 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:16.320 Welcome to Veterans Chronicles. I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in this edition is 2 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:20.559 Ray Hildreff. He's a US Marine Corps veteran and a US Army veteran, 3 00:00:20.920 --> 00:00:24.839 and he served in the US Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He received 4 00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:28.440 a Silver Star for his actions at the Battle of Hill four eighty eight in 5 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:33.200 June of nineteen sixty six. We're going to discuss that battle in great detail 6 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:36.000 today, and Ray, thank you very much for being with us. You're 7 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:38.719 welcome. Where were you born and raised? Sir, Born and raised Tulsa, 8 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:41.719 Oklahoma, nineteen forty seven, night, Pril sixth. And was there 9 00:00:41.719 --> 00:00:45.439 a history of military service in your family? There was not. My dad 10 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:49.840 ran away from home when he's like ten or eleven years old and joined a 11 00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:54.799 wild wist show and was a pony rider and check rider there and didn't have 12 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:59.479 any schooling, And so by the time the World Wars came around, he 13 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:03.759 had a family and didn't have to go. And so I'm the only one 14 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:06.920 in the family that served. I take it back. I had a half 15 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:11.799 brother served in World War Two. He was a gunner on a bomber got 16 00:01:11.799 --> 00:01:15.200 shot down over Belgium and Second World War. Why did you decide to join 17 00:01:15.239 --> 00:01:19.840 the Marines? Well, I had seen some movies and Wallsbury movies, and 18 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:23.000 you know, I tell it to the Marines, and I just from watching 19 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:26.359 movies. I just determined, well that that's the kind of fighting unit I'm 20 00:01:26.359 --> 00:01:29.799 want to be in. And for a long time they'd asked you a school, 21 00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:32.079 what are you gonna do when you get out, I'd say, joined 22 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:34.400 the Marine Corps. Joined the Marine Corps, And eventually I did, but 23 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:38.799 it wasn't really for the reason expected. My mother died when I was fifteen 24 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:44.719 years old. My dad was in the sixties, and I was started to 25 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:47.879 get a little bit wild and run around doing things I shouldn't have been doing. 26 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:51.719 And me and her friend had went to a laundromat and broke into the 27 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:55.439 coin operated and soap dismissed her to get some gas money quarter back then desks 28 00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:57.200 only twenty five cents to gallon, but we didn't have the twenty five cents 29 00:01:57.239 --> 00:02:00.599 to buy a gallon of gas. So we've done and unbeknownst to us, 30 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:05.400 there was a eyewitness seeing us and called the police. And it's not about 31 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:07.800 a half an hour they tracked us down and taken us to jail. After 32 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:13.280 five days of the Tusson County jail, my dad got me out and we 33 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:15.159 had a heart to heart talk on what my future was going to look like, 34 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:17.639 and I decided it down after he asked, well, what are you 35 00:02:17.639 --> 00:02:21.120 going to do? I said, well, I guess I'll join the Marine. 36 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:23.120 So I fell have me. So I went down to talk to the 37 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.879 recruiter. The recruiter says, well, let me talk to your probation officer 38 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:30.240 and I'll talk to Judge and see what you say. And so the probation 39 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:31.919 officer agreed to let me off probation. Judge says, well, if he 40 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:35.599 does, he can going to the Marine Corps. So March twenty fifth, 41 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:38.599 I joined the one hundred and twenty day lay program from the Marine Corps when 42 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:40.319 after duty in July first in nineteen sixty five. Now, Ray, one 43 00:02:40.360 --> 00:02:46.479 of the things that we hear a lot from enlisted Marines is what basic training 44 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:49.319 was like and how it changed them and woke them up real quick. What 45 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:52.240 was it like for you? Of course, everything you see in the movies 46 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:53.919 is true. It was eye opening experience. I mean they were right in 47 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:58.360 your face on the moment you got off the bus until you graduated. You 48 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:00.879 were always i'll say, being harassed one way or another. But it's the 49 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:05.080 way they have of tearing you down ability back up, making a machine out 50 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:08.000 of you instead of an individual making a team number. Now later on you 51 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:13.039 also went through Sniper's School. What kind of criteria did you need to pass 52 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:15.280 that course? Well, while I was in boot camp all back up to 53 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:20.319 high school. In my high school we had a rifle team like football program 54 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:23.879 or other sports program. They called it a six hour after hours program. 55 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:28.400 And my sophomore year and junior year I was member of that rifle team and 56 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:32.199 I attained the level of distinguished Expert. And the senior year, the person 57 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:38.479 that had been I guess our overseer during the process for training decided he didn't 58 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:42.199 want to do it anymore, so they canceled the program. And so I'd 59 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:49.039 already had an interesting guns and so whenever the Marine Corps at a meeting says 60 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:53.159 when we're looking for volunteers to become Scott Sniper's I raised my hand. The 61 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:57.680 qualification pre qualification that you had to fire the expert, and I fired expert 62 00:03:57.879 --> 00:04:01.199 in boot camp. So that made me be eligible to go to Snipper school, 63 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:05.120 but before that I had to become a recon marine, and so I 64 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:11.520 had to go through a short version of what's called rip RIP, the Reconductor 65 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:16.519 Notion program, which entailed a lot of recon training since a rubber boat training, 66 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:21.279 beach recon patrol, recons, things like that, and so I went 67 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:28.279 with the short version than it spent four weeks scout sniper training on Okinawa, 68 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:31.839 and so when we left Okinawa on the twentieth of March of sixty six, 69 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:38.160 I was attached to the first Recon Battalion and landed in July five days later 70 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:42.000 on March twenty fifth, and for the first few days it wrote shotgun while 71 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:45.000 they were unload the trucks, and then I went on working party for two 72 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:48.000 or three days afterwards, and that got assigned to First Patoon Charlie Company around 73 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:51.639 the first of April sixty six. What were your first thoughts of Vietnam, 74 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:56.959 not only the state of the war, but the very different climate and foliage 75 00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:59.920 and people and all that. Well, it was a little bit exciting because 76 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:03.959 we left Okinawa on a LST, a lanting ship for tanks. The USS 77 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:13.319 Woodfield County and spent five days traveling from Naha Okinawa to July and of course 78 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:16.720 we could see the coastline a couple of hours before we landed. Just excitement 79 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:20.160 filled the air and didn't know what to think, what to expect, and 80 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:24.800 they told us so when we disembarked from the ship order to go off hot 81 00:05:24.839 --> 00:05:28.839 Man, you were going to have our rifles and our m O and lockslad 82 00:05:28.839 --> 00:05:31.079 and ready to go, not knowing what to expect, and so it was 83 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:35.240 just different. And it's just like a new world that smells, you know. 84 00:05:35.480 --> 00:05:40.279 Everything was different, and as was Okanawa too because different countries, you 85 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:45.839 know, different surroundings, different territory, is just different. Describe what type 86 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:50.839 of assignments you were given then mainly these patrols. Describe what you were tasked 87 00:05:50.839 --> 00:05:54.120 with doing as you went out on these patrols and what you had to be 88 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:57.879 ready for. Well, it would be different with each patrol. We would 89 00:05:57.879 --> 00:06:01.680 go out and platoon size element. Of course, we were always understaffed. 90 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:06.720 We would have usually around anywhamber eighteen to twenty or so members of a patoon. 91 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:12.959 We would go out on our patrols and for the most part we spearhead 92 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:16.279 operations to be the eyes and ears of the of the marine grunts before they 93 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:19.120 went out on the patrol. So if an operations get ready to take place 94 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:23.000 a couple of days ahead of time, they send us out to recount the 95 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:26.519 area and send back any information on troop movements of things of that nature. 96 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:30.120 And that's kind of what we were on two on Hill four eighty eight on 97 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:33.040 Operation Kansas. We were part of it several teams that were stationed around the 98 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:41.480 Heblic Valley and our responsibility was to identify any activity reported back to command. 99 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:46.319 And we would also call fire missions, which would artillery usually sometimes it'd be 100 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:50.800 a bird dog with rockets or a machine gun fire. We would engage in 101 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:55.079 the enemy that way. Sometimes after we get out on the patrol, we 102 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:59.279 would split up part of the platoon to go one duration and they'll partly go 103 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:01.079 to the other drection we meet up at a different time, just patrolling the 104 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:03.959 area to see what was what was in the area. Every patrol was different. 105 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:06.360 We didn't know what it was going to be, and until we got 106 00:07:06.360 --> 00:07:12.399 the patrol order of coming here, Sergeant Howard or a patun leader would call 107 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:15.240 us all together and brief us on what we're going to be doing where we're 108 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:16.720 going to be going. Now, when you're in that type of environment that 109 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:20.199 I'm imagining, it doesn't take long to form some pretty close bonds with the 110 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:26.160 people you're doing the work with. So explain what that's like. Yeah, 111 00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:30.240 as we were going through Scout sniper school, there was a group of us 112 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:32.279 that kind of budded up a little bit and done a lot of things together. 113 00:07:32.360 --> 00:07:35.480 As it turns out, two of them were assigned to the first patuone 114 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:40.120 Charlie company. I found out after I told you we don't want work details, 115 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:43.040 and we got assigned to the first patoon, and we found out that 116 00:07:43.079 --> 00:07:46.199 there's another sniper team already assigned to that patuon and that was surprising too. 117 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:50.319 We were told that we were to go out and be attached to recon companies 118 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:55.920 and go out on two man patrols and set up our sniper camps and snipe 119 00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:59.360 any any targets that we might see out there where we're there. So we 120 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:03.839 were quite Sh'S to see that there was already a snapper team in the platoon. 121 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:07.959 And consequently, we didn't get used as snappers on every patrol we went 122 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:11.920 out. We got used as regular reconniculture are so shorthanded. Ray, let's 123 00:08:11.959 --> 00:08:15.399 pause right there. When we come back, we'll head to June nineteen sixty 124 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:18.959 six and the battle for Hill four eight eight. I'm Greg Corumbus. We're 125 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:22.319 talking with Ray Hildreth. He's a US Marine Corps and US Army veteran. 126 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:26.000 He's a veteran of the Vietnam War. Received a silver Star for his actions 127 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:30.879 at the Battle of Hill four eighty eight, and we'll talk about that next. 128 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:35.440 I'm Greg Corumbus. This is Veterans Chronicles. This is Veterans Chronicles. 129 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:39.320 I'm Greg Corumbus. Our guest in this edition is Ray Hildreth. He's a 130 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:43.200 US Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War. He's also a US Army veteran. 131 00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:46.720 He received a silver Star for his actions at the Battle of Hill four 132 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:52.480 eighty eight in June of nineteen sixty six. And we're now up to the 133 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:58.600 point where that encountered began. So June thirteenth, nineteen sixty six, to 134 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:03.080 be precise, you arrive at four eighty eight, described the hill first of 135 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:05.759 all, and what the purpose of the mission was that day? Okay, 136 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:11.120 well, this patrol was my sixth patrol, and it's the first time that 137 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:15.120 we'd been done a night insertion. All the other times we'd gone out early 138 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:20.840 in the morning for our insertions, and this time Operation Kansas we were spearheading 139 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:26.120 and the General had placed five different teams around the Hepnuck Valley. Our team 140 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:30.960 was team number two and our mission was to observe the valley and report any 141 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:35.519 sightings of any or anything that we thought that needed our attention. Right away, 142 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:41.720 our patoon sergeant certain Howard, saw activity and identified it as NBA and 143 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:45.240 call fire missions on the activity. The very first night we were there, 144 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:48.600 the thirteenth we landed, we could see strings of torches down the valley, 145 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:52.679 which indicated that people were moving along and we were expected probably maybe eight or 146 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:54.679 ten foot in between each torch, with maybe a couple of the people in 147 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:58.759 between each torch, and so we knew there was activity down there. And 148 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:01.080 when the day got there, you could still see the activity and the call 149 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:05.679 of fire missions, and there were secondary explosions and some grass huts and stuff 150 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:09.080 that were targeted, and so we knew that munitions were being stored there. 151 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:13.399 Later we were to find out that the day that we arrived on that Hill. 152 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:18.759 Also what was called the Sunrise Battalion had marched ninety days from North Vietnam 153 00:10:18.919 --> 00:10:22.240 and had just arrived, and that Hiptock Valley at the same time that we 154 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:26.919 were in started on Hill four eighty eight. We would find out later after 155 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:30.320 I made a trip back to Vietnam. I met one of the end of 156 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:33.840 the day we fought against and he said that that was their first engagement with 157 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:37.240 the Americans, and they were just arriving at that time. So we arrived 158 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:43.320 on the thirteenth evening. Called fire missions on the fourteenth all day long, 159 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:46.279 I say all day long, of course she wasn't every minute. It would 160 00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:50.480 be probably a half dozen fire missions during the daytime. Then on the fifteenth 161 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:56.440 the same thing, only it wasn't quite as many fire missions called. Turns 162 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:58.240 out, they decided there were to come up after us on the night of 163 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:03.120 the fifteenth, and there was an army unit stationed in one of the villages 164 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:07.440 down in the valley. Fayette saw that there was a large unit, battalion 165 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:11.840 sized unit that had been gathering and was appeared to be heading up Hill four 166 00:11:11.879 --> 00:11:16.240 eighty eight. And so that was about just about dusk of the night of 167 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:20.679 fifteenth and so because of that cartoon, Sergeant Sergeant Howard called the team leaders 168 00:11:20.679 --> 00:11:26.480 together and assigned perimeter defenses around the top of the hill. So we were 169 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:31.000 in two man teams on fifty percent alert, which meant that one man could 170 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.759 sleep if if you wanted to are necessary, or the other state awake. 171 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:41.840 And I guess probably a diameter would be at about twenty yards something like that 172 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:50.080 around the hill. And about oh about twenty three hundred hours or just before 173 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:54.279 that, my squad leader, Corporal Thompson came to me and my partner at 174 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:58.000 that time was James McKinney, and said, we're going to go to one 175 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:01.960 hundred percent alert, and he moved me. Were about ten yards from James 176 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:05.519 McKinney. Then as he turned to walk away, he stopped turned back to 177 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:09.480 me and he said, don't forget fire underneath any muzzle flashes, and that's 178 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:11.799 in the chill back, you know, like he was he was expecting something. 179 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:16.519 And so a short time later, you know, I said a short 180 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:18.600 time. It could be minutes, It could be at thirty forty minutes. 181 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:22.679 I am not totally sure. Rick Binns, who was on the north side 182 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:28.080 of the hill, him and his team Fire Team three others were spread out 183 00:12:28.679 --> 00:12:33.559 and Rick was watching and he thought he saw something move, so he focused 184 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:37.720 on it. It moved again. Then he realized and there was only five 185 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:41.720 or six feet away from him, so he fired twice. And that's what 186 00:12:41.840 --> 00:12:46.279 set off the battle. That was NBA s gotten ahead of the tune coming 187 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:50.159 up the hill after us. Shortly after that, they threw grenade tram back 188 00:12:50.200 --> 00:12:52.039 up atop the hill. A lot of fire back and forth. It you 189 00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:54.840 might say, all hell broke loose said. There was rifle fire, was 190 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:58.519 shing, gun fire, all kind of fire, trade fers going everywhere, 191 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:01.799 and then it got a short little all for a second, somebody opened up 192 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:05.559 with AK forty seven. I remember this very vividly. Tom Powells, who 193 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:11.039 was a M seventy nine man, he got hit in the gut by AK 194 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:15.120 forty seven. He screamed and got You could hear that scream throughout the whole 195 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:18.440 valley. He was he was hurt, he was hurt. I squeezed. 196 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:22.039 At that point, I still hadn't fired my rifle. My head, I'm 197 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:24.960 looking on the swivel, I'm looking all around, I'm listening, I'm intent, 198 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:28.399 I'm looking, just looking for anything, and more grenade go off. 199 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:31.840 And then I had told you I was in the fist person Alert with James 200 00:13:31.879 --> 00:13:35.559 McKenny. He had been sitting with a poncho over him so he could smoke 201 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:39.320 a cigarette. Of course, he placed a poncho over his head when he 202 00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:43.279 smoked a cigarette to hide the glow. And I remember he was had that 203 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:48.240 poncho over him. I heard a few shots fired, and a granite and 204 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:52.120 went off, and his poncho fluttered in the air and landed no more than 205 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:54.840 started four or five feet from me position I was at. And my heart 206 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:58.279 was racing then because I called out to him, there's there's no answer back. 207 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:03.720 So at that time I grabbed my cartridge belt run back up the hill. 208 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:05.879 I failed to mention that Thompson told me that if we got hit, 209 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:09.519 I was going to be a point man and to lead the tune down the 210 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:13.919 south finger of the hill down to the valley. So when I run back 211 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:18.639 up to the hill, Thompson was there and he challenge tread and I said, 212 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:20.000 it's me, Hildreth. He said, okay, take a position right 213 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:22.519 here at the point it put down a position right there. I said, 214 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:26.080 are we gonna bug out of here now, and he said, no, 215 00:14:26.519 --> 00:14:28.480 we can't right now. We got somebody to hurt. So they called in 216 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:33.200 a MEDEVAC. Medevac come in. There was still heavy fire. Metavac tried 217 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:37.840 to land, couldn't got run off by the by the NBA, but their 218 00:14:39.159 --> 00:14:43.159 automatic weapons fire. So then we knew we were stuck till morning. What's 219 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:46.840 going through your mind at this point and how would you describe the intensity of 220 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:50.279 what was happening around you. Well, again, like I said, I 221 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:54.840 still hadn't fired my weapon, and people are yelling I'm hit, I'm hit, 222 00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:56.840 and I just it just made me more anxious, and I'm just hugging 223 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:01.320 the ground and looking around. And I heard some movement. I fired from 224 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:03.639 my first shot. Must have been fifteen twenty minutes after the initial attack, 225 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.440 and I'm just firing blind thought I saw something move and I was just kind 226 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:11.519 of reacting to what I thought I saw. I knew that I didn't have 227 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:13.039 any friendis in front of me, said if there was anything out there, 228 00:15:13.080 --> 00:15:16.399 it was all end of me twenty three hundred hours. Of course, it's 229 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:18.360 the middle of the night. It's pitched black, so other than the muzzle 230 00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:22.240 fire, is there any way to guide you towards what's in front of you. 231 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:26.200 Nothing just just looking, and the hilltop was a kind of barren head 232 00:15:26.279 --> 00:15:30.600 like knee high grass. There were no trees up there. There are a 233 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:35.080 few rocks, but Sergeant Howard had placed his command post against a rock. 234 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:39.480 It was probably about the size of the Volkswagen, you know, about five 235 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:43.720 foot, you know, tall, about four or five foot six foot longs 236 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:48.799 like that. That's where he had placed his CPA. And so there are 237 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:52.919 a few people close to that rock, but I was probably at that time 238 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:56.159 twenty foot from it on the eastern perimeter. There was nothing to hide behind. 239 00:15:56.519 --> 00:16:00.639 There might have been a couple of rocks there. There were some I 240 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:06.320 noticed when we went back. There were maybe twelve eighteen inches diameter. Would 241 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:10.480 have been decent cover if I had seen it. But there was no moonlight 242 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:12.879 there. There was no stars. It was overcasting. We couldn't see and 243 00:16:14.039 --> 00:16:18.039 it was as dark as it could be. What happened next lots lots more 244 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:23.639 rifle fire grenades exploding everywhere. Then out of the lull of the firing and 245 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:30.200 one of the indiviator yells out Marine Judie in an hour, and so Sergeant 246 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:34.039 Howard says laugh at him. So we did. We've done a sarcastic laugh. 247 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:37.840 Hahaha, some of the bitches you haven't got us yet, come and 248 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:41.559 get us. Of course, a little bit more colorful language that kind of 249 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:45.240 quiet and I'm down. I would find out later in twenty eleven when I 250 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:48.279 went back to Vietnam and I met that Envia fought against, I asked him, 251 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:49.360 well, what do you think we laughed at you? And he says, 252 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:52.519 then we thought you were a much larger unit. And so because of 253 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:57.840 that, I believe that's why they didn't just try to overrun us. I 254 00:16:57.879 --> 00:17:00.960 mean, they could have by share numbers, just walked off across the top 255 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:04.519 the hill, and we couldn't fire enough to kill them. All. That 256 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:07.799 made them cautious and they started probing again, trying to find out how big 257 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:12.839 our perimeter was, which I think probably with instrumental in thus surviving the night. 258 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:17.799 We didn't hear sticks clack clack clack, whistles blowing, and that was 259 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:21.640 the end of the signaling their units where to go, what knew, how 260 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:23.319 to move around the hill where they wanted to be at, And at one 261 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:27.599 point it be hail grenades just come over the top of the hill, maybe 262 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:30.440 a dozen or so just thump thump, thump, thump thump. As soon 263 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:33.400 as something but hit close to us, I as well as some of the 264 00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:37.000 other guys, would just tumbled down the hill about ten foot and hug the 265 00:17:37.079 --> 00:17:41.359 hearth as much as we can, just to keep, you know, stay 266 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:45.680 out of the way of the explosion from the grenade. Sometimes they were duds 267 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:49.400 because they were using those wouldn't handle grenades, and sometimes they weren't duds. 268 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:56.160 And then whenever grenade went off or didn't go off, and to crawl back 269 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:00.440 up to a position where we're at previously and try to go on from there. 270 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:04.400 Based Kamia Addison a wave attack. Probably around eleven thirty something like that, 271 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:08.799 Howard was on the radio. He was calling for flares. He was 272 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:12.400 calling for a box, an artillery box for those who don't know what an 273 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:19.160 artillery box is. It's a predydermined location that if we get into the problem 274 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:25.000 that our artillery support can fire. And the rounds had hit in a box 275 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:29.599 pattern around us to protect us from people coming up from below and the artillery 276 00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:32.759 support that we had. They fired the box, but it was way off 277 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:36.119 to our north, so Sergeant Howard was trying to correct that and get to 278 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:40.200 get it back down or cover around us, but he was never able to 279 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:45.960 accomplish it. He kept asking for flares because the artillery with fire flares, 280 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.200 but even they were off target as well. We didn't get a good flare 281 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:53.839 presses until the flare ship arrived a couple hours later. What was the impact 282 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:57.200 of the wave attack, Well, it was mostly on the north side. 283 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:03.359 I didn't see it, I didn't experience it. I know that a lot 284 00:19:03.400 --> 00:19:06.799 of the guys were getting close to be low and ammunition. Rick Benn's, 285 00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:11.119 a squad leader on that side, come around asking for grenades or any extra 286 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:14.720 ammo that I have. I gave him a couple of my grenades. My 287 00:19:14.920 --> 00:19:18.720 side of the hill, on the east side, was not heavily attacked like 288 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:22.119 the north and the west side was. They were primarily coming up from that 289 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:26.599 direction. Then they had we called them fifty calibers, and I'm not sure 290 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:32.319 there were high caliber weapons that started firing, and they started getting us in 291 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:37.640 a cross fire. And whenever that happened, Adams, who was probably within 292 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:41.440 the arms reach of me, one of the fifty calibers started raking across the 293 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:48.039 hilltop and hit him and the back above his left shoulder. He rolled the 294 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:49.920 hard rights as I'm hit, I'm hit, and rolled back over into something. 295 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:52.839 I'm gonna said, how bad are you hit? He had bad, 296 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:56.279 bad and you know if the last a bad bad like I just kind of 297 00:19:56.759 --> 00:20:00.960 he just died in the middle of trying to say something. And when a 298 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:07.039 flare pop, I could seize back in just a gaping wound and along his 299 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:11.680 shoulder blade and on the left side, and he was dead. Flare pop. 300 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:15.200 I seen the machine gun. I positioned myself so that I get a 301 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:18.880 good sight on it, help her breath, squeeze the trigger, shot it, 302 00:20:19.559 --> 00:20:22.839 and I happened to have a tracer around in my rifle at that time, 303 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:27.519 and I've seen the tracer leave the barrel of the gun and bury itself 304 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:30.720 up in the chest of the NVA so I can go down. And another 305 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:34.519 one came in view, and I repeated the same action and got him then 306 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:41.200 about I don't know ten minutes later, approximately another flare pop, and I've 307 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:44.160 seen him setting up another gun and I was able to get that team also, 308 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:49.519 And that's kind of all that happened on the east side at that time, 309 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:53.160 there's a lot of activity going on on the west side. Though I'd 310 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:56.440 call out named I'd call out, said Howard and get an answer, Thompson 311 00:20:56.519 --> 00:20:59.880 get an answer. If I didn't get an answer, then I'd have to 312 00:21:00.119 --> 00:21:03.359 positioned myself to cover a little bit of that area. At one time, 313 00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:08.519 I was the only one covering the east and the south sector of the hill. 314 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:12.799 McKenny had been dead, mass Gradius Stead, Adamson dead, Carl Easie 315 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:15.559 was gone, so I had the whole area. So I was called out 316 00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:19.839 names to see who was still alive, and if I didn't hear respond to 317 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:23.920 me, then I'd kind of kicked myself around and rock and face that direction 318 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:26.680 to see what it's like. Then I would kicked back around the other way 319 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:30.200 to just do that the rest of the evening. One time I'd called called 320 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:34.480 out to Thompson and he didn't respond, so I kicked myself back around and 321 00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:41.119 he was on the west side of the perimeter near the rock for Howard had 322 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:48.519 ECP and a flare popped and I saw a silhouette. It's like his silhouette 323 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:51.519 was on his knees, reaching down like it was grabbing something. I yelled 324 00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:55.319 out to Thompson again, he didn't answer. I fired my rifle and I 325 00:21:55.519 --> 00:22:00.519 seen the silhouette grabbed his face and fall back. I had to find out 326 00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:07.160 later our corman, Billy Holmes, saw the NVA dragged Thompson down the hill. 327 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:11.279 Thompson was in the hand to hand combat with that NVA, and it 328 00:22:11.440 --> 00:22:15.119 buried his k bar into the back of the NVA, and I guess he 329 00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:18.279 had been shot at point black range. We found him next morning, his 330 00:22:18.839 --> 00:22:25.880 face blown off and laying next to the NVA with akbar buried into his back. 331 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:30.319 But Billy Holmes said that he felt something grab him. He started tug 332 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:33.799 on him. He said, then all of a sudden, the person that 333 00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:37.640 was grabbing him, he said, his face exploded and he said he saw 334 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:41.000 him grab his face and fall backwards. Then my assumption that was what I 335 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:45.599 saw when I yelled for Thompson. He didn't answer, and then the flare 336 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:51.079 popped and I was able to see somebody grabb him, somebody laying down and 337 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:53.960 fired the shot, and it must have been that NVA that was grabbing or 338 00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.079 Coleman trying to drag him downhill. And then it was kind of like I 339 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:03.480 described Strobe lights with the flares, how they burned the way they do. 340 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:08.039 And I looked over and I saw Billy Holmes Corman slow motion dragging yourself back 341 00:23:08.079 --> 00:23:11.759 over to the safety of the big rock, and just with the flickering of 342 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:15.119 the flare, stuff like it reminded me of strobe lights. And then I 343 00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:18.759 turned back back to the east side of the perimeter again, the east and 344 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:22.079 the south side, and like I said, it was like that, I'd 345 00:23:22.119 --> 00:23:25.960 looked for a while in one direction, then look around the other way, 346 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:29.920 and eventually we started moving a little bit closer to the rock. We were 347 00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:33.599 getting low in ammunition and started to Howard been calling and calling for help, 348 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:37.759 calling for help, and all of a sudden, there was a grenade went 349 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:42.240 off and they sound of a automatic weapon firing. Similar rounds hit the rock. 350 00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:45.039 Whether it was the ricochet or whatever it was, I don't know what 351 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:49.119 happened. But I heard Howard yell out my balls, my balls, I'm 352 00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:52.799 hit my balls, and he just kind of went silent. That's when I 353 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:56.720 really started getting scared, because he was like her rock. He was the 354 00:23:56.759 --> 00:23:57.759 man in charge, he was who he looked up to. He's one of 355 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:03.039 the gags orders. Now he's out of the fight, and so I'm just 356 00:24:03.640 --> 00:24:06.759 scared as I can be young. I'll take much CA bar out and I 357 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:10.079 stab it on the ground next to me. I'm ready for what's coming because 358 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:12.160 I'm almost out of the ammunition, and if they get close enough, I 359 00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:15.680 was going to grab my k bar and take one moreph I could. And 360 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:22.119 then a few minutes later, the Huey gun ship was diverted from a they 361 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:26.759 were escorting I guess a metaback chopper and got diverted to Hill forty eight. 362 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:30.400 And the guy his name was Perryman, and I talked to him later and 363 00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:36.200 he said he can look out to the west and see the tracers and stuff 364 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:37.680 going over Hill forty eight. They were all one of color. Of course, 365 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:40.920 we didn't have tracers, you know, we didn't have any machine guns 366 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:44.759 with us. They were all one color of the blue NBA tracers. When 367 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:48.319 he got there, he got to a position Howard came to and started talking 368 00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:53.359 to him. And the call signed for the gun ship was Klondike and our 369 00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:59.240 call sign was Carnival time. And so that was a talk going back and 370 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:03.279 forth. Klondike Land shoot that guy's coming up till after us and Klondyke says, 371 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:06.200 I can't see you. Where are you at because it was dark and 372 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:08.119 all they you see was muzzle flashes. They couldn't tell if it was in 373 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:11.640 VA muzzle flashes or if it was our muzzle flashes. He said, I 374 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:15.960 don't know where fire. I mean, he said, mark your positions so 375 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:19.079 we can't route of flares. And Howard got an idea. He had a 376 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:22.160 flashlight with a red lins on it. He said, I got a flashlights 377 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:25.960 with the red lins and Tom Leake says, okay, give us your red 378 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:30.960 light and he started flicking the red light off and on him. Klondyke could 379 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:36.240 share our positions then, and Howard said, fire twenty meters around our position, 380 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:38.119 will take care of the rest. So that's what they started to start 381 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:44.440 of making stretching runs, firing what they thought would be twenty meters around from 382 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:48.960 that hilltop and another who we arrived on the station, and they kind of 383 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:53.559 traded, making passes back and forth. Then they'd run out of ammunition and 384 00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:56.480 I'd go back to July, or actually it was the July would be. 385 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:00.839 I hear there were stationed just north of July. I get the name of 386 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:03.480 the place where they're at they go back and refuel, re arm, come 387 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:07.759 back out and made more passes. Everybody was wounded, and I was I 388 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:11.359 was thinking, how come I haven't been wounded? Things are going to my 389 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:14.720 head and I being saved for something to be taken prisoner or what. I 390 00:26:14.839 --> 00:26:18.200 didn't know, And so it was that that guilt feeling you get for thinking 391 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:22.039 the germinal part of you and everybody else got shot. Why me am I 392 00:26:22.119 --> 00:26:26.799 being saved for for some sinister reason? Reason? There's more automatic equipment fire. 393 00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:30.759 Get the rock next to Howard rip shade off. As something hit me 394 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:33.400 in the side, you know, and believe it or not, I had 395 00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:37.160 a big sigh of relief. My guilt, as you want to call it, 396 00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:41.400 was gone. I'd beden't hit. Luckily it wasn't a bad hit. 397 00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:48.599 I felt underneath my jacket to feel is there any blood? And there wasn't. 398 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:52.440 I would I would forget about it later and later when I got back 399 00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:55.960 for the next morning, taking a shower, the water run in running into 400 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:59.880 the wound. It kind of stung. I was washing myself. I went 401 00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:03.920 to battalion age station. We got treated for. It didn't require much more. 402 00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:08.000 A very small bandage on it, Harry Small. It gave me a 403 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:11.960 syrody, made me feel like part of the unit again. I know, 404 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:15.319 it's strange sounding left the way I felt. And then they were coming up 405 00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:23.599 again into another wave attack. The Colonel Sullivan was back at CP at July 406 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:29.519 and he's been talking to Howard back and forth on the radio, and then 407 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:33.799 he was trying to call Howard ask him situation, and Howard was answering. 408 00:27:34.119 --> 00:27:40.240 Howard was busy fighting. So after two or three calls from Sullivan to Howard, 409 00:27:40.759 --> 00:27:44.240 Howard Golan phone says, I'm busy, damn it, and just suw 410 00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:48.720 it down. And then he kept the mike keyed and Sullivan could hear all 411 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:51.359 the fire and all the activity and the grand age, everything going around. 412 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:55.039 So Howard cutting real shorts. You know, I'm busy. I can't talk 413 00:27:55.079 --> 00:28:03.920 to you right now. Sullivan contacted tack Air at Division requested all available attack 414 00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:10.920 error to come to our ag. So at four phantoms from to nane A, 415 00:28:11.079 --> 00:28:18.880 four skyhawks from July, and fate crusaders off of carriers all converged around 416 00:28:18.880 --> 00:28:22.279 the hilltop, dropping two or fifty or five per pound bombs. The mobs 417 00:28:22.279 --> 00:28:26.640 would explode and it would shake us, you know, inches up off the 418 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:30.279 ground. They were exploding that close to us. That slowed down the attack 419 00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:34.799 of the end of EA for a while. I guess the jets showed up 420 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:38.559 probably around three am, would be my best guests, three to three thirty 421 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:44.400 something like that. Whenever they spended all their ammunition they left. Things kind 422 00:28:44.440 --> 00:28:47.160 of got quite for a while. There was a lull and the firing, 423 00:28:47.559 --> 00:28:52.799 and everybody was saying that they were they were out of ammunition, are almost 424 00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:56.799 out, and Howard said, throw rocks, and the rising. By throwing 425 00:28:56.839 --> 00:28:59.279 the rocks, they'd think there might be a grenade and they would move. 426 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:03.400 We'd have a or target to fire it. From about three three or four 427 00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:06.799 until sunrise, it was just kind of hit and missed. It wasn't a 428 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:11.119 lot of heavy fighting at that time at well. To say was that about 429 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:17.880 five thirty five twenty five cut had gone a quiet. Howard yelled out, 430 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:22.640 readily goes in twenty five minutes and there were the VC the ast her back 431 00:29:22.680 --> 00:29:26.000 with find his automatic weapon. Turns out he would be a lone sniper. 432 00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:30.200 They had been left behind, and he was the one that we tried to 433 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:33.400 move around a little bit and see us and fire. And then when six 434 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:37.720 o'clock come around, Howard yelled out vely, vely, time to get up. 435 00:29:38.200 --> 00:29:42.880 We knew if we held out to till morning, that reinforcement to arrive. 436 00:29:44.279 --> 00:29:48.039 The first reinforcement that arrived was he was a colonel new commander of the 437 00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:53.839 Magic running in our group thirty six. He hovered over our position about twenty 438 00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:59.880 thirty foot above ground, gave us the thumbs up and dropped a yellow smoke 439 00:30:00.599 --> 00:30:03.799 for the MATIVAC to come in. That sniper that had been left behind saw 440 00:30:03.880 --> 00:30:11.160 him and Perriman also the other Huey chopper the been there all night was behind 441 00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:17.319 him, and the sniper opened up and got both birds. The front bird 442 00:30:17.400 --> 00:30:22.880 that had the colonel edit Lieutenant Colonel kind of fluttered a little bit and then 443 00:30:22.920 --> 00:30:26.400 took a nose dive down with the valley. The Perriman the bird behind him 444 00:30:26.839 --> 00:30:30.519 followed falling down, but his radio was shot out. He couldn't make any 445 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:37.200 contact with him. Turns out that Colonel had been shot in the leg. 446 00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:41.720 He bled to death before they could get him out the chopper. And then 447 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:52.759 it was probably two hours later that the reactionary group Charlie one five first Italian 448 00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:56.279 fifth Marines the stunt to come up, and I was facing the east, 449 00:30:56.319 --> 00:31:00.000 and I seen the chopper stiffed up over the clad cover. And they traveled 450 00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:06.640 south and come back up from the south and landed a few hundred yards away 451 00:31:06.720 --> 00:31:11.160 from our position and started making their way over to our positions. The first 452 00:31:11.240 --> 00:31:18.039 one to get to me was a lance corporal named Reddy Terry Reddick, and 453 00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:19.519 I asked him for a fresh magazine. He had him me in the magazine 454 00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:23.119 and I said, stay low, I said. The snappers cut his pin 455 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:26.720 down. So he kind of stood up a little bit, looking swhere. 456 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:32.319 I don't see. The snipper opened up hit him in the head and he 457 00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:34.720 just kind of went down this flickering in his hand like that. Just he 458 00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:38.920 died right. The next two met then they had a lieutenant named Ron Meyer. 459 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:42.240 He had a nickname Stump because he was short and stocky. He'd come 460 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:48.839 up there and he got five or six hand grenades and he had Howard tried 461 00:31:48.880 --> 00:31:52.839 to point out to him that the location of the sniper, and he tried 462 00:31:52.880 --> 00:31:56.119 to lock the grenades over there to get him, and so throwing all the 463 00:31:56.160 --> 00:32:00.599 grenades he could, he couldn't do it and he's going blind. So then 464 00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:05.599 he grabbed kbar, put in his mouth, grabbed a couple more hand grenade, 465 00:32:05.640 --> 00:32:08.160 started crawling down to the sniper. He made it about ten or fifteen 466 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:12.759 foot, then raised up to orange himself. When it happened, the sniper 467 00:32:12.839 --> 00:32:15.599 shot him, and then a call went out for the corman. Corman came 468 00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:22.559 up, crawled down to check Stump, and whenever he raced up, he 469 00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:29.759 was shot. Another call went out for another corman, and another corman crawled 470 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:34.519 down and he could see that Stump was dead already the way his eyes were, 471 00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:38.640 his head, and the other corman was still alive. So they formed 472 00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:44.640 a chain human chain, and they pulled the corman and stumped back up. 473 00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:49.240 The corman died a few days later in the hospital, and like I said, 474 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:53.039 Stump alerd dead. So Charlie went five lost three to that sniper. 475 00:32:53.559 --> 00:33:00.599 And then there was also a FO for reserver with Charlie win five, and 476 00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:06.839 he called in an n FA crusader and had the crusader strafing runs on the 477 00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:12.640 snipers up behind. And you could see whenever the pilot flew by over the 478 00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:15.799 hill top, he was so close to us clearly you could make out his 479 00:33:15.920 --> 00:33:20.880 eyes. He could see clearly everything about him, that's how close he was. 480 00:33:21.640 --> 00:33:24.559 He would start firing a quarter of a mile away with twenty milimeter cannons 481 00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:30.039 and the ground was ripped up everywhere, but he was never able to get 482 00:33:30.079 --> 00:33:36.839 that sniper, and eventually Charlie Went five sent a squad to envelope the sniper. 483 00:33:37.160 --> 00:33:39.039 So they went down the east side of the slope and made their way 484 00:33:39.119 --> 00:33:44.920 around and came up on him from the from the east while he was looking 485 00:33:45.039 --> 00:33:50.160 up toward the south, started firing at him and he turned around surprise, 486 00:33:50.759 --> 00:33:53.240 and they were able to get to him in time, and they took him 487 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:59.680 out with the band benette charge. So that's when the battle was over and 488 00:33:59.720 --> 00:34:02.759 they were able to start taking people out. After the battle, I got 489 00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:06.720 up. There was me and two others able to walk off the hill and 490 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:12.199 assisted you get on the chopper. I walked around the hill with the fifth 491 00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:19.320 Marines checking out the bodies for any intel, and I haven't see one of 492 00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:24.880 the NBA move down toward where the cipher's hat and I yelled out, there's 493 00:34:24.920 --> 00:34:30.480 one moving and raised my gun, fired twice and getting ready to fire a 494 00:34:30.559 --> 00:34:31.679 third time, and the marine Beshipes said, you got him, man, 495 00:34:31.719 --> 00:34:35.559 you got him. I've just kind of zoned down, I guess you might 496 00:34:35.599 --> 00:34:37.239 say. At that time, I was gonna keep fire until I was sure 497 00:34:37.239 --> 00:34:43.239 I got him. I picked up some weapons. That was one of the 498 00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:46.000 things that we'd do in recond if we'd done an ambush or something of that 499 00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:51.280 nature, we'd take whatever it tells the could weapons to bring back so they 500 00:34:51.280 --> 00:34:53.920 could do what they did for intel fuel weapons where they came from. And 501 00:34:54.119 --> 00:35:01.039 so myself, Bossley, and Mulver Hill were the three were able to walk 502 00:35:01.079 --> 00:35:05.199 off the hill and everybody else had to be carried off. We were the 503 00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:08.000 last ones to leave, and we were on the chopper that McKinney was on 504 00:35:08.440 --> 00:35:15.280 so very solemn flight back to July Hospital, and the wind was flapping through 505 00:35:15.320 --> 00:35:20.119 the open of the helicopters Age thirty four helicopter. The hot show that was 506 00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:23.800 over mc kenny was flapping and his way exposed his face. I knelt down 507 00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:30.280 and tucking underneath his head and body were with the flat anymore. And we 508 00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:35.440 got to Battalion made and they unloaded town. Bossy got off the gall off 509 00:35:35.559 --> 00:35:42.280 and I went on threw him back to else. At first combattalion and turned 510 00:35:42.280 --> 00:35:45.599 over my weapons and stuff. There, went to my tent, took a 511 00:35:45.679 --> 00:35:49.719 shower, realized that I'd been wounded, went over to the tidy match station. 512 00:35:50.280 --> 00:35:53.320 They docked me up, and after that I was expecting to go back 513 00:35:53.360 --> 00:35:57.599 out the field. I was expecting. Now I got promoted to corporal, 514 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:00.159 I was expecting to go back and be a squad leader. Colonel Suland had 515 00:36:00.159 --> 00:36:06.039 other ideas. He had been in Bunker Hill, as was Howard in Korea, 516 00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:07.840 and kind of knew what combat was like. So he told me, 517 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:12.079 no, no Hill, Ruth, You're not going back. You're going to 518 00:36:12.119 --> 00:36:15.440 be up here in h ands Timmy pick a job. Norman, when he 519 00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:17.320 came back from the hospital, he said, I'd like to be the colonel 520 00:36:17.400 --> 00:36:21.599 drivers, So he got a signed to be the colonel driver. Bossy did 521 00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:22.639 he come back, said I want to be a motor tea, so he 522 00:36:22.719 --> 00:36:27.400 became a truck driver. Coles Blow said, uh, I want to be 523 00:36:27.480 --> 00:36:30.559 a supply, so he took a job and supply. We asked me what 524 00:36:30.639 --> 00:36:34.800 I wanted, and I said I had in choice of battalion Mail Lordly or 525 00:36:35.159 --> 00:36:38.559 S and C Clerk S and C. Secret confidential file clerk, so I 526 00:36:38.639 --> 00:36:43.360 became a Battalian mail lordly and special servers in CEO for the rest of my 527 00:36:43.440 --> 00:36:49.719 time there, and then I returned to in country. January tenth is when 528 00:36:49.760 --> 00:36:53.920 I rotated back calastigned to Camps, North Carolina. A little later we went 529 00:36:54.039 --> 00:37:00.239 to the Metal Water ceremony for Sergeant Howard, and Reader's Digest Dead a story 530 00:37:00.320 --> 00:37:05.280 on us in May nineteen sixty eight issue, and the story they say we 531 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:08.039 were the most decorated unit for its size one hundred nine three years of American 532 00:37:08.159 --> 00:37:13.760 military history. Thirteen Silver Stars, four Lady Crosses, and Medal of Honor 533 00:37:14.000 --> 00:37:16.239 as well as the eight Purple Hearts were given in the battle. In addition, 534 00:37:16.639 --> 00:37:20.840 there were a couple of silver stars given to people at Charlie Went five. 535 00:37:21.320 --> 00:37:25.159 Also, there was another error group that had one of their gunners on 536 00:37:25.280 --> 00:37:31.199 their on their chopper had been killed. All together that engagement took eleven lives. 537 00:37:31.679 --> 00:37:36.800 They estimately we killed two hundred of them. With that twenty thirty yards 538 00:37:37.079 --> 00:37:40.719 of that hilltop and the rock, there were forty three dead NVA and drag 539 00:37:40.800 --> 00:37:45.119 marks indicated there were dozens more that had been hauled off. When I went 540 00:37:45.239 --> 00:37:50.599 back in twenty eleven, and I met the NBA. Fought against asking because 541 00:37:50.599 --> 00:37:54.000 I kept wondering how come they didn't just run over the top posts. So 542 00:37:54.039 --> 00:37:57.840 I had questions I wanted to answer. Asked him how many was in his 543 00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:00.119 unit, or first asked him how many died? And then he was very 544 00:38:00.159 --> 00:38:04.000 cooy. So how many did you see? And I told him and he 545 00:38:04.079 --> 00:38:07.760 says, well, there were forty four. I would find out later from 546 00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:14.280 the guide whenever he took the NVA his name is Tien home. That night 547 00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:19.519 he talked to another man that remembered the battle. He said, no, 548 00:38:19.800 --> 00:38:22.480 there were many, many, many more people NVA that died that night, 549 00:38:22.639 --> 00:38:28.239 not just forty three forty four that he said was there around around the hill. 550 00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:30.000 But I wanted to know. That's when Luisa went back, I was 551 00:38:30.119 --> 00:38:35.719 able to reach a travel agency in North Vietnam told him about the battle, 552 00:38:36.039 --> 00:38:39.119 and they found lieutenant who was a ten leader there and they said, this 553 00:38:39.519 --> 00:38:43.480 is his first battle. He remembers very well. And that's I met him 554 00:38:43.480 --> 00:38:49.320 when I went there. Just a couple more questions in response to that incredible 555 00:38:49.400 --> 00:38:52.920 story. I do want to go back for a moment to the point where 556 00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:57.920 you took out two machine gun positions, but being armed only with your rifle, 557 00:38:58.440 --> 00:39:01.239 it's going through your mind in that such a just fear and anxiety, 558 00:39:01.320 --> 00:39:04.639 and you know, I've got to stop this guy. I mean, they 559 00:39:04.679 --> 00:39:07.639 had us in a crossfire. He had just killed at ons, and so 560 00:39:07.159 --> 00:39:12.519 I just had to take a breath, use my training as a sliper and 561 00:39:12.679 --> 00:39:15.280 fire. Something had to be done. I had to get him, had 562 00:39:15.280 --> 00:39:19.159 to take him out. If just fortunate, I didn't have to adjust much 563 00:39:19.599 --> 00:39:22.719 to see him to get him U sights. And then when it happened again, 564 00:39:22.400 --> 00:39:25.400 they started putting the crew back in again. I didn't take as much 565 00:39:25.480 --> 00:39:29.440 time with that shot. I was more anxious, I guess in the second 566 00:39:29.480 --> 00:39:32.039 time than it was the first time. Why you mentioned the incredible number of 567 00:39:32.199 --> 00:39:37.000 honors within the unit of that size, the most decorated unit of its size 568 00:39:37.440 --> 00:39:42.599 in military history. Eighteen Purple Hearts, thirteen Silver Stars, you being among 569 00:39:42.679 --> 00:39:47.079 them, four Navy Crosses, one Medal of Honor. What does it mean 570 00:39:47.159 --> 00:39:52.880 to you that their sacrifice, their service was honored so richly as a result 571 00:39:52.920 --> 00:39:57.920 of what was known about that battle. You know they were honored, but 572 00:39:58.079 --> 00:40:01.559 you know it wasn't enough. I don't mean that to be snark here in 573 00:40:01.599 --> 00:40:06.119 the thing. But they gave their life. Nothing can make up for that. 574 00:40:06.519 --> 00:40:10.519 It can give them a little constellation maybe to their families. But I 575 00:40:10.599 --> 00:40:15.000 think about this every day. It's another day goes by that it doesn't come 576 00:40:15.079 --> 00:40:19.559 up. There's only three of us out of the twelve that survived, left 577 00:40:19.639 --> 00:40:23.119 live. Joe Coswell lives in Texas. And there's another guy in Martinez, 578 00:40:23.400 --> 00:40:28.559 which was his first patrol with us. He was a radioman. He's hear 579 00:40:28.599 --> 00:40:31.920 in Tulsa. We didn't have much chance to become close friends because he had 580 00:40:31.920 --> 00:40:36.119 only been in the paton in two or three days when it happened. Thompson 581 00:40:36.440 --> 00:40:39.039 had been with paton maybe four or five days, maybe a week before the 582 00:40:39.079 --> 00:40:44.239 patrol. It was his first patrol. Carlisi was from New York. It 583 00:40:44.360 --> 00:40:46.360 was his first patrol. He didn't look like he belonged to the Marine Corps. 584 00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:50.159 He just you know, you get a sense of some people. But 585 00:40:50.639 --> 00:40:53.880 he died violently. He died like a marine. He died fighting, but 586 00:40:53.960 --> 00:40:58.920 he sure didn't look like he belonged there. His first patrol, Bosley had 587 00:40:58.960 --> 00:41:02.519 only been like two patrol Glow. He was named Setay nine man. He'd 588 00:41:02.559 --> 00:41:07.719 only been on one patrol before that, so they were all relatively new. 589 00:41:07.039 --> 00:41:10.000 The only ones that had been there for a while was my team leader, 590 00:41:10.039 --> 00:41:14.159 Masquarinas, who died and I could hear him. I didn't mention this earlier. 591 00:41:14.440 --> 00:41:19.159 I could hear him sucking blood all night long, maybe ten feet away. 592 00:41:19.639 --> 00:41:22.559 He didn't died until later on the minute of act. He died and 593 00:41:22.679 --> 00:41:24.639 route back to the hospital, but he made it all night long, breathing 594 00:41:24.800 --> 00:41:30.360 and sucking blood. Powals was screaming like I'm actually he finally calmed down, 595 00:41:30.760 --> 00:41:32.760 but he screamed. You can hear him all throughout the valley other people. 596 00:41:32.840 --> 00:41:37.199 I'm hit, I'm hurt. This runts my mind, right I just a 597 00:41:37.320 --> 00:41:44.079 moment or two left in our conversation here. When you look back at your 598 00:41:44.199 --> 00:41:47.280 service, and obviously this is as you mentioned many times, the thing that 599 00:41:47.360 --> 00:41:52.039 comes to your mind every day is there's something you're most proud of from your 600 00:41:52.119 --> 00:41:55.840 service that I went and served well. I stayed in my book that some 601 00:41:57.079 --> 00:42:00.679 people called his baby killers. Okay, we didn't have the luxury of choosing 602 00:42:01.440 --> 00:42:05.079 to go to Vietnam. I really didn't think I was going to Vietnam. 603 00:42:05.199 --> 00:42:07.519 I joined it didn't enter my mind. Somebody else asked me, well, 604 00:42:07.559 --> 00:42:09.719 aren't you afraid you're going to Vietnam? And I just kind of rolled it 605 00:42:09.800 --> 00:42:12.960 off to na how they got enough people over there, they don't need me. 606 00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:15.679 It never entered my mind that I was going to Vietnam until in boot 607 00:42:15.719 --> 00:42:20.119 camp when they read our orders. Hildre, if they're going to a third 608 00:42:20.199 --> 00:42:24.519 replacement company, Okanava, congratulationship going to Vietnam. At that point in time, 609 00:42:24.679 --> 00:42:29.840 then I started thinking differently about it. We didn't run off to Canada, 610 00:42:29.920 --> 00:42:32.920 we didn't BURNO draft cards. We joined even though I wasn't thinking about 611 00:42:32.960 --> 00:42:36.840 Vietnam. They said, that's where you're going. Well, that's what I 612 00:42:36.880 --> 00:42:38.719 signed up for. My country says they need me there, and that's where 613 00:42:38.719 --> 00:42:42.480 I'm going. Lastly, sir, what does it mean to you to be 614 00:42:42.559 --> 00:42:46.320 able to share your story? I like letting people know about it, especially 615 00:42:46.360 --> 00:42:51.400 today, since it's been so long ago. I think people shouldn't know the 616 00:42:51.800 --> 00:42:55.679 sacrifices that some of us have made on their behalf. For several years, 617 00:42:57.199 --> 00:43:00.239 people wouldn't even talk about Vietnam. As a matter of fact, my wife, 618 00:43:00.559 --> 00:43:05.480 we got married in two thousand and two thousand and three, she worked 619 00:43:05.480 --> 00:43:07.400 for the University of Tulsa. I said, you work at the university. 620 00:43:07.840 --> 00:43:12.800 Do you know anybody up there that you know, maybe as a writer or 621 00:43:12.880 --> 00:43:15.960 a ghost writer. I think I'd like to tell the story of Vietnam. 622 00:43:15.239 --> 00:43:17.800 She said, no, people want't forget about that. I said, no, 623 00:43:19.039 --> 00:43:22.599 I think there's I think there's an audience for it. And then whenever 624 00:43:22.679 --> 00:43:25.239 I found out that Charles Sasler was doing a book signing, I went to 625 00:43:25.360 --> 00:43:28.840 meet him. I didn't get there in time to meet him, but they 626 00:43:28.880 --> 00:43:32.440 gave me his contact information and I contacted him, told him about the story. 627 00:43:32.519 --> 00:43:36.960 So let me talk to my agent, and the agent says, yeah, 628 00:43:37.000 --> 00:43:38.599 we could sell a story like this. People want to know this, 629 00:43:39.000 --> 00:43:45.440 and so Simon and Schuster gave us the best offer, which started writing the 630 00:43:45.480 --> 00:43:49.360 book and is released in October of two thousand and three. I would hear 631 00:43:49.440 --> 00:43:52.880 people say thank you for the service, but it didn't sound sincere, and 632 00:43:53.079 --> 00:43:58.239 like I say in the book, more often now I hear it coming from 633 00:43:58.280 --> 00:44:01.159 people, and it is settings this year, A lot of people just want 634 00:44:01.159 --> 00:44:04.400 to speak on the rug or don't even want to talk about it. I 635 00:44:04.519 --> 00:44:07.840 think it should be talked about. People should know how those are listening military 636 00:44:08.280 --> 00:44:14.280 sacrifice ourselves for the good of the country. Right again. It's an incredible 637 00:44:14.320 --> 00:44:19.840 story of service, and the way that you honor those who fought alongside of 638 00:44:19.920 --> 00:44:25.559 you as you tell that story is extraordinarily appropriate as well. There are no 639 00:44:25.719 --> 00:44:30.719 words to properly express our thanks, especially to those who gave their last full 640 00:44:30.760 --> 00:44:36.400 measure of devotion there. But we thank you extraordinarily for your time today, 641 00:44:36.519 --> 00:44:39.400 and we thank you as much as words can for the service you gave to 642 00:44:39.480 --> 00:44:44.159 our country then and for many years afterwards. Thank you, sir, Thank 643 00:44:44.199 --> 00:44:46.119 you, Greg. Welcome. Our guest today has been Ray Hildreth. He's 644 00:44:46.159 --> 00:44:50.360 a US Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam More. He's also a US Army 645 00:44:50.440 --> 00:44:53.159 veteran. He received a Silver Star for his actions at the Battle of Hill 646 00:44:53.280 --> 00:44:59.960 four eighty eight in June of nineteen sixty six in Vietnam. I'm Great Corumba 647 00:45:00.360 --> 00:45:15.119 and this is Veteran's Chronicles. Hi, this is Greg Corumbus, and thanks 648 00:45:15.159 --> 00:45:20.400 for listening to Veterans Chronicles, a presentation of the American Veterans Center. For 649 00:45:20.480 --> 00:45:25.039 more information, please visit American Veterans Center dot org. You can also follow 650 00:45:25.119 --> 00:45:30.480 the American Veterans Center on Facebook and on Twitter, we're at AVC update. 651 00:45:31.199 --> 00:45:37.719 Subscribe to the American Veterans Center YouTube channel for full oral histories and special features, 652 00:45:37.199 --> 00:45:42.840 and of course please subscribe to the Veterans Chronicles podcast wherever you get your 653 00:45:42.880 --> 00:45:46.840 podcasts. Thanks again for listening, and please join us next time for Veterans Chronicles