December 31

1:00 hours - 40 men including me, Sergeant Mark Lozintionn load in to 5 Helicopters 1 stationed a m134 mini gun on the side of the Helicopters.

1:54 hours - wheels up and all the men shaking in their seats with their FN FAL on their laps. Many of the men were making jokes to distract them self and the other, but not me I was stiff as a bone, I was in shock that I actually was being shipped out. I miss my family and friend, already.

4:00 hours - we land in a field cleared by the local farmers for planting rice. But as the last Huey landed we heard a single shot, we got low and watched for any movement in the surrounding tree line.... As soon as the last Huey was far gone..... ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE! In five minutes we lost..... 20 men and four were injured.

6:00 hours- three radios have been shot, or damaged by the mass humidity of the forests of Vietnam. We are down to 16 men all the wounded didn’t make it.

9:00 hours - the enemies are getting closer and closer with their mortars attacks. But they still were hidden by the mangled mess of trees and vines.

12:00 hours - we call in for a napalm strike.

12:24 hours - we heard the roar of F-100 Super Sabre coming from the South… then I yelled “HIT THE DECK”! I made it just in time but...... many of my men didn't.

12:44 hours - we advanced in to the rain forest and started heading to the compound. We were just at the edge of the forest, the compound was in sight, we walked about 100 yards and then we stopped. There were enemies inbound on the road heading to the compound we laid down and let them pass but one if my men didn't get down in time. "Our cover has been blown" I said to myself as the trucks pulled over and open fire “RETIE TO THE FOREST!!!" I yelled. As we ran back men were being picked off left and right....... We made it but the enemies gave us no mercy. They began to fire mortars again.

13:00 hours - we are pinned down taking heavy enemy fire from both the north and south flanks; we are running low on supplies and ammo. I fear I might never see my family and friends again.

13:45 hours - SUPPLIES IN COMING FROM SOULTH! Screamed our radios! We ran as fast as we could back to the drop sight to load up.

14:00 hours - we received fresh men, ammo, and food and water they Medi-Evacted the wounded, but I refused to go. I had been grazed four times on my left shoulder. We headed back to the compound, this time ready for whatever hit us.

14:23 hours - we enter the compound. There were hundreds of rooms to clear. We started from the bottom and worked our way up we collected a lot of Intel but the target wasn't there….. The mission was a failure.

14:30 hours - we called for an extraction team. They said they would be here in 10-15 minutes. They were in a hidden field about 3 miles away

14:45 hours - we got in to the Helicopters and headed back to Germany where our base was. But none of the men were happy to be heading back, all those men killed for a couple of files and computers and we didn't even get the target....the Huey's were silent with morn for the lost.

16:25 hours - wheels down and all my men mopped to their barracks to get some rest after our mission. I went to the Generals’ tent to brief him on our failure.

17:35 hours - we here a knock on the door of the barracks. We knew what to do. We all got up one man closest to the door opened it then fell back in line. INSPECTION!! Screamed the caption. None of us had anything to hide but one. He had been sneaking in liquor and hiding it under his bed taped to the side them. He stood there nervously because we all knew if liquor was found on base we would have to run until till we puked and them run some more and then puke again and make us run until we can’t move. They stopped and looked around his bed then they flipped the mattress... But they didn't find it. We wiped the sweat of or faces and went to the mail tent. Many of the men received letters and gifts, but not me.

18:00 hours - I called the men in and read them the letter that I had received while we were at the mail tent.


"At 15:00 hours on January 2 you and your platoon will be loaded on to a C-130 and air lifted over a known Compound for a tourist ring lead by Viet Minh. You will be going in hot under heavy enemy fire. You will meet up with the Alfa team at the randayvo, from there you will hike 15 miles through enemy territory; you will surround the compound and breach the north, and south walls. Shoot to kill. Your mission is to extract Viet Minh dead or alive. Also to take as much enemy Intel as possible.

23:00 hours - my men are still complaining about our new mission

5:00 hours - but I let it slide since tomorrow we will be at the compound. But I couldn't even think about sleeping I kept thinking about all the men we had lost over a few files and pictures.

7:00 hours - my men slept in they were supposed to be up at

14:00 hours - we started to pack for our mission. And loaded on to the trucks for the hour drive to the air port

14:50 hours - we just made it to the airport with just enough time to say our good byes to the little family that we had near the base. Many of my strongest men broke down in tears fearing the worst and imagining the fact that there family would have to live the rest of their lives without seeing their son, husband, and dad. I had no family other than the men that I had on base I had been orphaned as a child and never was adopted. So as soon as I was 18 I enlisted in the army.

15:00 hours - we got in to the plain and checked echoers shoots.

15:05 hours - we heard the engines roar as we began to take off.

17:42 hours - we are over the drop zone and began to jump

18:00 hours - we hit the ground and repacked our shoots so they could be reused. During the next jump

18:35 hours - we began our hike through the Vietcong jungle. It is extremely hot but the constant rain fall help cool my men down we have been taking heavy fire since we landed but no one has gotten hit. (It’s probably because of the thick brush)

18:45 hours - we finally meet up with the Alfa team at the randayvo. We check the supplies and check to make sure we have all or men and are ready to make our lone hike in to enemy territory.

19:56 hours - we have only gotten 10 miles and we are pinned down. We radioed in for an air strike but it was denied because the pilots won’t know were exactly to drop the payload.

20:20 hours - we finally take out all the enemies and finish our hike to the compound.

20:59 hours - we final reach the compound and we start to surround it we stared to close in until we got a radio that the target was seen on the top floor. “We have him trapped we decide to try and capture the target so we could try and question him and get any Intel about any attacks that might be planned to happen”.

21:25 hours - we began to breach the north and south wall until seven enemies began to open fire. It took my unit about five minutes to control the situation.
21:30 hours - we entered to compound and took out ten more enemy’s we began up the stairs and were hit with and enormous surprise there was a huge brick wall blocking the stair case there was no way up.
21:40 hours - one of or men found a secret passage to the upstairs. We sent about 10 men up and we hear about shots. Then there was a brief moment of silence. Then we hear a yell and then 3 more shots then we hear foot steps back to the passage. We were ready for a hostage situation but when the first person came threw we knew we got him but he had been shoot and we were losing him fast they carried his body out. You could see the sole just drain out of his body.

22:10 hours - we radioed for the base to send trucks to come extract use but we were denied and were told to hike back to where we had landed and wait there for more Intel.

22:50 hours - we were almost at the landing sight but we were running low on supplies and we couldn’t radio for more due to the extreme humidity

23:38 hours - we finally made it back and we saw four trucks hidden behind the brush waiting for us.



January, 3

1:00 hours - we had finally made it back to base. All the men stood along the road cheering until we go to our tent it was like a waste land.

11:00 hours - we brought Viet Minh body to our commanding officers tent and we presented it along with other Intel we had gathered at the compound. He saluted us… and we were dismissed