The Entrenching Tool

		The Entrenching Tool
		It's now August 1965, and we are back aboard the IWO Jima sailing hard for an area just south of the Marine enclave at Chu Lai, South Vietnam. We all knew that this was not a drill. In early July, the 1st Viet Cong Regiment had overrun a South Vietnamese outpost at a hamlet called Ba Gia just 20 miles south of Chu Lai. In mid-August, a VC deserter revealed that the 1st Viet Cong Regiment had established its headquarters 12 miles south of the Marine enclave. 1,500 enemy troops were poised to attack the airfield and supporting facilities. This was how Operation Starlite began. Starlite was the first major US military operation in Vietnam. More important than that to me personally was that this was going to be the first time that anyone had ever tried to kill me. So here I am, preparing as best I can for impending combat. What am I doing? Why I'm sharpening the blade of my entrenching tool with a file.