The battle near Hill 994 has lasted for two days. The enemy has broken contact. Two of our ships are sent to that location to evacuate the dead and wounded and help resupply those troops of the 2nd Brigade.

B-52s continue to pound the areas south of Hill 947. Task Force Swift will start BDA (bomb damage assessment) beginning tomorrow. They will enter the area and establish a patrol base before searching for the enemy. The remainer of the flight will resupply LZ Swinger, LZ Pause, LZ Mary and Hill 947.

Snipers are becoming a problem. Several ships receive fire while sitting on the pads at the firebases. Damage is slight but will still need to be repaired at Holloway during the night. The enemy will also throw one or two rounds of mortars into a base and then melts into the jungle. This is just to keep us on our toes.

Some good news comes out of the YB A/O. D/1/8 had been airlifted into YB 770026. They had moved to YB 779028 where thet encountered light enemy resistance. There they captured two enemy 105mm howitzers. Both had been damaged by air strikes. These were US made with manufacture dates of 1942 and 1945. Also captured were several trucks and a large bunker complex.

We are sent in to extract the troops from that location once the artillery pieces are removed and the trucks and bunkers destroyed. Several ships take fire as we extract D/1/8 back to FSB 20.

We are again released as darkness falls. Back at Holloway we complete our post flights and head to the company area. The quiet of the night is broken up the sound of gasoline bursting into flames. The new water heat which the headquarters platoon had been working on for so long was finally complete. Instead of kerosene they had filled it with gasoline. The higher flash point of gas along with the laws of physic took over. By the time we arrived at the hootch the entire shower was on fire. Sitting along the sandbags we drank beer as the fire department battled the blaze. They were able to save the tower but the shower itself was looking pretty sad. Our party broke up when First Sgt. Wyatt arrived to survey the damage. For once it was someone other then the flight crews who were in trouble.