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Another Day (Soui Tre)
I relive Soui Tre many times and often wonder what other perspectives guys had. I have talked to Captain White and 1 Lt Frydrychowski. My lens is from that of a 19-year-old, squad leader drafted in the US Army with a bunch of guys and sent off to a place I read about in the newspaper, forty years later. C/2/22 Mechanized had trained at Fort Lewis for almost a year before arriving in Vietnam.
The night of 20 March 1967, we were told to remain in the tracks as we would provide support for 2/77 Field artillery and the 3/22 Infantry. So we put out some LP’s in front and waited. We listened to constant artillery and air strikes during the night, then air assault gun ship Hueys at dawn and F 100's.
We were told that 2/22 Recon was trying to find a way through the bamboo to get to LZ Gold and would be doing so during the night. The 2/12 Infantry Battalion was also trying to get there, but was running into a lot of contact. (We had never done stuff like that at night with the APC’s).
At morning twilight Captain White had us moving in the fog. My track was last of the Charlie Company column on that morning. Abruptly we were halted and everyone did an about face, putting my track in the lead.
At morning twilight Captain White had us moving in the fog. My track was last of the Charlie Company column on that morning. Abruptly we were halted and everyone did an about face, putting my track in the lead. Roger and Recon had made an opening through the bamboo. We were w/o a platoon leader for specified reasons and Sgt Sammy Kay who had been in my track switched the night before, was now switched over to Sgt Joe Dietz’s, 31 the second track. Kay was the acting PL.
We followed our tracks back and came to a place where Recon had made a way through the bamboo. There was an urgency that years later would be debated who would get there and "why this LZ". There was no river. Just mud and bamboo. It was thicker than a dog infected with ticks.
Soui-Tre, Battle of F.S.B. Gold. By Combat Artist James Davis Nelson.
We were told that the LZ was being over run and would go in guns blazing. I am 19 years old and not related to John Wayne.
A lot of things were going through my head at that point. One of the first things on my mind was, I have the rest of Charlie Company coming in right behind me, and probably the rest of the battalion.
Later we would find out 647 VC/NVA were killed and we had 37 KIA with about 130 WIA. Forty years later I learned Lance Crum was hit WIA, round to the head, and has had trouble receiving a purple heart.
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We found Recon about 100-200 yards to our rear with one of the Recon guys standing there and pointing to his left for us to turn in to their path through the bamboo. Recon's engines were smoking and they had pushed the bamboo aside and were resting the tracks on top of some of it. I remember seeing Roger in his APC on the radio to my left as we wnt by.
Some one from the 2/77 or 3/22 came over to my track and I asked him which way should we go? He said "Anyway you want." I remember he had on a green T shirt with a helmet. Today I wish I would have had him climb it. Like to meet him.
I told Larry Mason my driver. “Go fast and don’t stop until I told him to, about 75 yards and pull a 90 degree right into the sun, and hold.” As we did I saw the 105’s off to my left with some of the barrels laying flat to the ground and the faces of some GI’s with a sign of relief on their faces I hadn’t seen before. Their Quad fifty was further to the north with no one on it.
We started taking rounds from our front and right. They were ricocheting off the track. Dan Morris, my 50 gunner could see the VC crawling and opened up. We also were handing grenades to him with the pins already pulled as the fifty had jammed. He threw them, and said they were coming back. We brought up the M-60 on the right side of the track and opened up.
It was at this point the track became hung up and both tracks were spinning high off the ground. My concern was an RPG hitting with everyone in the APC. I told Larry and Dan we were getting out and to get a bump off of the high ground and find us. When we opened the hingedoor in the ramp more rounds ricocheted off the door but soon started to stop. I believe rounds ceased off of us today was because the VC/NVA might have been caught in somewhat of a crossfire as the rest of the company was doing business with them.
We faced somewhat towards the entrance Recon had made. An eleven-man squad inside the track seemed to never exist, and we got out with our squad of four. The four of us got out in front and to the left in the open with 30-40 yards between us. I remember checking out an LP with the legs of three Americans sticking out, all KIA. We were moving forward towards the east.
Forty plus years, and how long an engagement occurs in combat define my sense of time here. I think it was 30-40 minutes at most for us. We faced the sun coming up to the east. We checked out the bodies as we passed them, VC and making sure they didn't roll over on us.
We arrived at the edge of the bamboo that encircled the LZ and proceeded a little further. We came upon a huge termite mound with feet sticking out from behind it, two sets. As we came around the mound, they looked like they were asleep or praying. I poked one with my M 16 and checked his pulse... none. At this point, my track C 34, Sgt Kay, RTO Dalpez, and Sgt Dietz’s C 31 track pulled up beside.
Neither of the VC had a mark on them. They were pristine. Shirts were beige muslin with clean black bottoms, long black hair. I took their pulse at the temples and they were cold with no pulse.
The rest of the morning was policing bodies, as Chinooks and Hueys were coming and going with resupply and wounded removal.
Some one said the older one, maybe about 25, had a wedding ring on and to cut his finger off and take it. The other one looked about 14. I said if you want the f-----ring come and get it yourself. Those who were there remember who said that. Lynn Dalpez and Roger Borgheiinck remember.
I thought the VC were medics. I do not know what their back sides looked like. Boobytrapped? The rest of the morning was policing bodies, as Chinooks and Hueys were coming and going with resupply and wounded removal.
We had shot up most of our 50 ammo and were concerned about resupply. That was when I saw the first tank coming across the LZ as C 34 was more center to the LZ.
The 2/34 Armor had arrived also and interspersed between us. At this point Sgt Kay said third platoon would be used in support of Recon going out to recover a body of a pilot in a OE 1 Bird Dog that had been shot down.
Lt Frydrychowski and his Recon platoon led out about 3k, and we halted and waited for 5-10 minutes half way out, when they came racing back with the recovered bodies 2 (KIA) from the plane. Roger personally knew the killed pilot.
It is difficult to remember 24/7 from 40 years ago and little things come back with conversations with guys. Today, 6-17-2009, after talking with John Mersinger, his squad turned left as they entered the zone and after the last red smoke there no Americans were still in fox holes. When the VC/NVA saw the APC’s, the jungle came alive with black pjs hauling ass, and going down like dominoes.
What a waste of life. I do not remember anything about red smoke. A lot of brass decided this would be a good time to come. Westmoreland came in and gave a speech.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: Woodbury, MN
Primary Location During Vietnam: Tay Ninh, Vietnam 
Story Subject: Military Service
Military Branch: U.S. Army
Unit: C/2/22 Mechanized
Specialty: 11B40
Story Themes: Army, Battle of Soui Tre, Charlie Company, Combat, Death and Loss, George Dahl, KIA, Killed in Action, Read, Recon, Tay Ninh, Terrain, Viet Cong, WIA, Woodbury, Wounded in Action
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