Our day begins even before the morning's briefing. D/3/8 comes under attack as we are flying to Polei-Kleng. Cobra and scout ships from the 7/17 are on station and have located the enemy mortar sites. Our Crocs will provide cover while we extract Delta's wounded.
Pictures can not tell the story of what a battle field is. The top of this little hill could be hell. There is damaged equipment and junk every where. Rotten leaves and burning wood are the first odors to enter the ship. A cloud of smoke hangs over this place. Sitting on the pad the smell of gun powder is very strong. The soldier around the pad are walking around in a semi-dazed state. The stress of combat, no sleep, no food, no water have pressed these guys to the brink. I feel lucky because I only have to visit this hell during the day. At night I get to leave. These guys are stuck here every minute of every hour. Their only escape is when they end up like our passengers this morning.
The cold mteal floor of the ship added to their discomfort. Their wounds were covered with one goal in mind, stop the bleeding. The blood and dirt have soaked through the bandages with the help of their own sweat. We give them water and cigarettes. We try to make them comfortable. A muffled moan can be heard as someone moves to ease his pain.
After we had dropped the wounded off at LZ Mary Lou we begin our day. Recon, Bravo, Charlie/3/8 are assaulting the top of the ridgeline towards LZ Brace. B/3/12 and D/3/12 are positioned west of them to serve as a blocking force and are to continue towards the contact area. We need to get the remaining units of 1/35 into LZ Mary. They will recon in force towards the east and south. They will also be used to reinforce if needed. LZ Mary is right on the Cambodian border. It sits on the major supply route into Vietnam.
The flight is again broken into two groups. One will move troops and the other will resupply. Everyone is short of water and food. The entire day is spent dodging enemy small arms fire. Most of the firebases will again be mortared or rocketed during the day. The assault by units of 3/8 will become stalled during the late afternoon. Again artillery will pound the top of that ridgeline. For some reason the enemy refuses to give that piece of real estate up.
Our day again extends into the night. Even after all the long hours we still were unable to supply everyone that needed it. Water has become the most important item. It is also the hardest to supply. A shortage of five gallon cans has limited the amount of water we can deliver. Most of these guys are getting less then two quarts of water per day. The heat of the day could burn that up in one hour. The NVA is not the only enemy we are facing.