PATROLLING THE JUNGLE NORTH OF BASE CAMP
QUANG TIN PROVINCE, I CORPS,
My first patrol with A-team 102. The first day was totally uneventful other than fighting land leaches.
The second day we entered a deserted VC village. While 1LT John Scalley and I were bathing in a river, all hell broke loose. Bullets were flying everywhere. We grabbed our M-16s, hastily dressed and ran to the sounds of the main battle, which suddenly became silent. When we reached the village edge, we saw ten dead VC soldiers. We had missed the entire battle.