Qui Nhon

We were sent in to form a defensive perimeter to protect a US Army facility down the mountain from us here. The rumor was that the Army troops had arrive via Navy transport with their weapons being shipped in separately. Since their weapons hadn't arrived yet, we were supposed to keep the Viet Cong from overrunning them. Reading back on a little history of those times, I think some old salt was yanking the collective chains of us young and gullible Marines.

The thing is that you cannot completely believe the history books. This was recounted as an "administrative exercise." Well, in large part, it did turn out to be that, although we did not treat it as such at the time. And the Marine who decided to go out alone one night to track down VC would have questioned the administrative nature of his mission - his unit shot and killed him when he attempted to reenter the lines later that night. He hadn't told anyone he was going out.