Conscripted 04/28/1969
Selective Service: 1-A-O - Conscientious objector available for noncombatant military service only
1-O - Conscientious objector available for civilian work contributing to the maintenance of national health, safety, or interest
Conscription left these two options for an 18 year old male, unwilling to take up arms in 1968. My Draft Board strongly resisted 1A-O status, with rare exception refused 1-O.
Upon completion of 1-A-O basic training at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio Texas a CO I had an option; agree to be a subject to medical experimentation. Those who elected to do so was obligated to submit to any medical experiments chosen by superior officers, while living a nearly civilian life, for the duration of conscription. Referred to by other soldiers as “Tubes”, as in test tubes. No uniforms, no drills.
March 15, 1970, arrive in Tay Ninh Providence Viet Nam, a large Army base with two field hospitals, found at the base of the “Black Virgin Mountain” an ancient volcano. Assigned to the First Air Cavalry Division.
First medical assignment consisted of treating minor wounds in an Aid Station at the base of the Black Virgin Mountain (Nui Ba Den).
My first contact with an acutely wounded soldier in the Aid Station, consisted of extracting multiple pieces of superficial shrapnel from the back of this wounded ‘Grunt’ (infantryman).
“Doc (the only name I knew for the next 11 months) see where the scrap is (metal fragments, from in his case a hand grenade), it’s in my back. Save your face, if you see the grenade turn your back to it so your family will know its your dead body.”
Open caskets preferred over closed caskets. Prescient advice, for any infantry replacement.
With-in a few days I replaced a grievously wounded Infantry Platoon Medic, (Alpha Company, 2nd of the 8th Battalion First Air Cavalry) by way of Fire Support Base Illingworth. We left FSB Illingworth by heavy truck, 1 of 3 replacements for a platoon of Alpha Company. We approached about two dozen intimidating infantrymen in various states of collapse on the side of a road cut through the deep green/black jungle, ill kept, exhausted and dangerous in appearance.
The first of three replacements caught his wedding ring as he jumped from the back of the truck amputating a finger. The second replacement intentionally shot him self in the foot with his M-16 without leaving the truck. The last replacement offloaded without weapons, the new Medic.
‘Speed’ one of the platoons two machine gunners ask, “What’s the deal” without being armed? My answer: “I’m not going to kill anybody, but I will die for you”, his reply; “Doc we’ll cover you”. The heavier your weapon the more informal ‘authority’, regardless of rank.
With-in 2 or 3 days, on March 25, 1970, we joined a much larger assembly of soldiers to included other platoons of Alpha Company (Infantry), and 18 Armored Personnel Carriers (APC’s), 3 Sheridan Tanks, (Alpha Company, First Squadron 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment) in a seasonally dry open swamp.
That night a 4 man APC crew was killed by a faulty mortar round, which detonated in the tube of their armored vehicle.
The next day found us not far from our sister company Charlie (2nd of the 8th, First Air Cavalry). Charlie was pinned down in the dense jungle by a superior force, nearly out of ammunition, with only two smoke grenades left. Smoke grenades were the only way to demonstrate a unit’s location in dense jungle for air support. The intensity of their ‘contact’ was betrayed by the cacophony of high intensity automatic weapon fire and explosions.
The cost of our rescue mission to extract Charlie Company was 7 dead and 60 wounded.
This is documented in a book titled “The Anonymous Battle”. There was at least one other “ on-combatant” medic in this firefight.
Charlie Company was rotated to provide base security on FSB Illingworth to absorb replacements. It was during this assignment FSB Illingworh was overrun the night April 1, 24 men died in 2 hours. The intensity of the nocturnal assault announced by the intensity of air support, explosions, artillery and a huge volume of automatic weapon fire, several kilometers distant from our position.
The violence continued, 730 GI’s died in April 1970, 70 men were killed April 1, 1970.
Field medics were removed from extended, “Search and destroy” foot patrols, at six months.