In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

The descent back to the valley occurred without mishap , and in no time I was thrust back into the other world. Gone was the constant breeze of the mountain; instead, the tropical heat of the valley enveloped me like a shroud. There were, however, those wonderful showers by the river, and I had my ¤rst real bath in forty days. Putting on fresh clothes, I hustled over to the mess tent to enjoy a kitchenprepared meal after having had nothing but C rations on the Rockpile. What a pleasure these trivial things were that had seemed so matter of fact only a month ago. After indulging in those luxuries, I went over to the artillery sleeping bunker to ¤nd out what was happening before reporting in to the CO. Sergeant Goodridge met me with his cocky grin and steady stream of chatter, all the time giving me a general rundown on what had been happening. More important, he ¤lled me in on the scuttlebutt concerning the lieutenant I was replacing. My apprehension grew when I heard the scoop that had not been transmitted over the radio, and it became clear that the new battalion CO was going to be on me like a hawk. He wanted perfection, and my two predecessors had been relieved in short order when they failed to measure up to his standards. Perhaps they were merely victims of a nervous house cleaning, but the colonel’s concerns properly reinforced the fact that the artillery segment of the battalion should be functioning at a high level of competence. After visiting with Goody, I reported in to Lieutenant Colonel 6 The Ambushes Robert C. Needham and found a situation that promised to become uncomfortable . He was a tall, lean man who looked older than many others of his rank. He had served in Korea, and I later learned that he had been awarded the Silver Star during that con®ict. In the coming months I found him to have a serious personality; he was not inclined to joke around. I also recognized, however, that he had a sense of fairness in dealing with the men. Unlike his two predecessors, he was cautious and not inclined to make snap decisions, a trait that made everyone more comfortable because they realized he would not needlessly put them at risk. He eventually earned the respect of just about everybody. When I reported in that day, however, I knew none of this and found him to be exceptionally reserved and cold. In fact, my new CO seemed downright unfriendly and was obviously distrustful of the artillery personnel. He spelled out just what he expected and made it plain that everything I did had to be cleared through him ¤rst. As I walked away from the bunker, the magnitude of the job sunk in and, quite frankly, scared the hell out of me. I had a ¤re-eating CO to work for, and the prospect of increased combat had grown considerably. I spent that ¤rst afternoon in the battalion operations bunker, where all infantry and ¤re support functions were coordinated by the colonel’s staff. This bunker served as the nerve center for all operations and had been dug in well to protect it from incoming artillery and mortar ¤re. Its one large room enclosed an area about the size of a one-car garage, and arranged around the walls were military radios that hummed with the lifeblood of communications. This place was the brain directing hundreds of men, yet was attached by its own umbilical cord to a higher command, thereby making the battalion a functioning part of the total war machine. In spite of primitive conditions, the room looked impressive and important. The senior players, besides the CO, were the executive of¤cer, Major Harper, and the operations of¤cer, Major Mike Harrington. Seven or eight other men tended to various responsibilities while those two kept a watchful eye on the entire proceedings. On entering the bunker, I was introduced to Corporal Patrick Foy, who would be the radio operator when I was on duty. He proved to be a¤ne, even-tempered individual, con¤dent in his job and not easily rattled when things got wild. He had a pleasant personality and sense of humor, THE AMBUSHES 61 and he seemed wise beyond his years. Both he and Sergeant Goodridge began at once to show me how things were done on this level and familiarized me with the nuances of...

Share