The experiences of a Special Forces officer in Vietnam in 1967. Despite his extensive training, his survival in a particular incident relied on luck and a turn of events during a patrol mission.
Key points:
- The officer was responsible for Special Forces A-Team A-104 in I Corps, Quang Ngai Province, Ha Thanh District, a region fraught with conflict.
- During a recon mission, the officer’s unit captured a VC (Viet Cong) soldier who revealed key supply and infiltration routes.
- Despite the dangers, they decided to venture into a rarely patrolled area based on the captured soldier’s information and successfully ambushed two VC supply columns.
- The incident incurred the wrath of the local VC, who called in a more robust VC force to find and confront the officer’s unit.
- In an ill-defended position during lunchtime, the officer’s unit was surrounded and faced heavy fire from the VC.
- Without any air or artillery support, the officer made the risky call to use their camp’s heavy mortar for support despite its unreliability at max range, resulting in a potentially life-saving distraction.
