Vietnam Vignettes

Tales of an Infantryman

Charlie Company Sign at Chu Lai From searching for missing soldiers upon taking command of Charlie Company to leading his troops in a night combat air assault that reinforced a beleaguered platoon, the author of Vietnam Vignettes immerses the reader in each scene. He explains why a top-secret operation in North Vietnam drowned four of his soldiers. He skillfully conveys tension, fear, and courage as his infantrymen engage in a series of firefights across the coastal plain and in the jungled mountains to the west of Chu Lai.

This collection of tales goes far beyond the mines, booby traps, snipers, and spider holes that his soldiers encountered almost daily. The author decries the unreasonable rules of engagement regarding the use of indirect fire when enemy bullets smacked around his warriors in open rice paddies. He voices his thoughts about a staff officer who tragically diverted helicopters to the wrong landing zone—helicopters that transported Charlie Company during one of its many combat air assaults.

He describes flying with an air force forward air controller on a combat mission. When the pilot dived the OV-10 Bronco spotter plane and fired a white phosphorous rocket to mark the enemy base camp as a target for an Australian bomber crew, the enemy responded.

While a convoy that he commanded delivered artillery pieces to the isolated Tra Bong firebase, Captain Lee Basnar rode above the column in a helicopter. When rocket-propelled grenades slammed into the convoy during the return trip to Chu Lai, the infantry officer and his pilot each earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for evacuating wounded soldiers while under intense enemy fire.

The author tells of the war’s impact on the children who greeted his infantry company during some of its operations in villages near LZ Stinson. He portrays the beauty and the ugliness of Vietnam, the monsoons, the heat, the endless nights, the rattle of machine guns, the tracers stabbing the darkness, the misery and the humor, and the tough life of an infantryman in Charlie Company.

The author’s respect and admiration for his soldiers who fought well despite the lack of backing from many citizens at home is evident throughout Vietnam Vignettes.