Khe Sanh Veterans Association Inc.
Red Clay
Newsletter of the Veterans
who served at Khe Sanh Combat Base,
Hill 950, Hill 881, Hill 861, Hill 861-A, Hill 558
Lang-Vei and Surrounding Area
Issue 55 Spring 2003
A Sprinkling of your Poetry
In This Issue
Notes from Editor and Board
Incoming
Web
Briefs
Short Rounds
Memoirs In Memoriam
A Marine's Recon By Force
From nowhere come images of Khe Sanh,
Forcing silent curses to rape my mind.Instantly, my emotions sink,
Forcing a breath extinguishing sigh.My soul's hope sags in bitterness,
Forcing spasms of grief to paralyze me,
calling me to death's dark door.Daily I denied the thoughts,
Refused the emotions, quashed the grief.Yet, once enemies, these friends
Forced me to explore eternity,
finding rest in Jesus my Savior.Being forgiven, I can offer forgiveness,
Canceling the bitterness,
bringing end to the war.
Mike "Spider" Loehrer
B/l/13
*****
A Marine Corps Poem
They are the first to come and the last to go,
These are the men who run the show.
They work very hard and through all types of weather,
Marines are well known for sticking together.They stick together when the going gets rough,
And they are the ones who know how to be tough.
Tough in the body and tough in the mind,
But what is one man if he can't also be kind?They march into battle as brave as can be,
Marines stay and fight for the sake of you and me.
They fight with strength, with honor, and might,
The Marine Corps fights for all that is right.So next time you see that great flag flying high,
Remember Marines stood up for you and I
And as those Marines have protected you,
Hopefully, someday, you'll protect them too.
Written by Kristopher Kay for his grandfather
John E.Rotdiford, a Khe Sanh veteran,
and all of the Marines (veterans, present, and Marines to be)
*****
Upon Heaven's Scenes
by Paul Choclis
And so in the end, my falien brothers, the regiment will emerge from the ashes and dust, like a grand phoenix.
We shall return to the battlefields of Vietnam to mend your mangled, torn, bullet reddened broken bodies, and you shall be made whole once again.
We shall March together in the rain and the wind through the corridor of death at Gobi Thanh Tanas we did, so long ago. This time will be different. This time nothing shall harm us. This time nothing shall stop us. This time we are invincible.
Monsoon waters will not crack our hands and bleed our feet. Insects will not eat our flesh. Bullets shall not pierce us. Bombs shall not impact our flanks. Trip wires will fade at our crossing. Our boots shall not sink, but rise above mud sucking rice fields and our packs with equipment shall be of burden no more.
The fog shall lift as a giant curtain, before us as we make our final approach to the mountain base of Khe Sanh. A golden sun shall warm our faces and our hymn will be playing. There will be no pain now. We shall rise above the Red Clay plateau marching in a column across rolling hills, jungle canopies, and mountaintops.
Ascending into the clouds. It is there we shall enter the great eternal spirit camp of our fore fathers. The place of honor. The place warriors go. For it is there we can finally rest. For it is there we can finally sleep. For it is there as we gaze upon heaven's scenes, we shall find positions guarded by the 26th Marines.
*****
"The Hill" A Soliloquy
by Hany "Joe" O'Dell, K Co 3/9
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Company Commanders in the field Check equipment, fill canteens Extra ammo and bandoleers Pointman leads off Plodding along about mid-day Down the column He continues "Chowtime" filters down the line At the base of the hill-- The column forms into squads and teams Word comes down" assault the hill" |
Battle over, hill re-taken Pull off the hill Battlefield tactics can't be made far away In that far away little green land So let policy makers look back on our war Sitting in my easy chair We were young and invincible
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