A Minnesota PBS Initiative
Inches
On May 5, 1968 Co A 2/7, 1st Cav was in Ashau Valley.
We were ambushed late in the afternoon. After it was over we set up for the night.
At sun set the NVA hit us again.
Our machine gun jammed. As I tried to fix it I felt something hit me in the arm. I immediately thought it was an unexploded hand granade and jumped out of the hole. I was hit by some shrapnel. Inches.
A few minutes later the guy on the left had a bullet go thru his steel pot, broke the skin on his head and came out the other side of his pot.
I got into a hole with 2 guys. A few minutes later the guy on the left had a bullet go thru his steel pot, broke the skin on his head and came out the other side of his pot. The bullet missed the guy in the middle and hit me in the shoulder. Inches.
The next morning I was sent to a medical center. After a week or so I was sent HOME with my MILLION DOLLAR wound.
Inches, the right way, saved our lives.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: Forest Lake, MN
Primary Location During Vietnam: Khe Sanh, Vietnam 
Story Subject: Military Service
Military Branch: U.S. Army
Dates of Service: 1966 - 1969
Unit: A 2/7 1st Cav
Additional Locations During Vietnam: A Shau Valley
Story Themes: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1st Cavalry, A 2/7 1st Cavalry, A Shau Valley, Army, Firefight, Forest Lake, Harold Richey, Khe Sanh, Luck, Read, WIA, Wounded in Action