Here are two vignettes about our Vietnamese allies by a man who served as an Advisor and knew the ARVN soldiers very well. 

  1967 ~ Street Without Joy/ Quang Tri

As Regimental Senior Advisor, I would occasionally go on company operations. I wasn't looking for 'action’ or glory, but to observe the Troop Advisors so that I could start their OERs with; "I have observed Capt. Smith under enemy fire and....." That line attracts the eye of promotion boards.

 This operation in particular was to last [and did] three days. No glorious combat, mostly swanning around in the blue with plenty of down time. Since the officers preferred speaking English to me, the only people I could practice my Vietnamese on were the privates in the field and bar girls in the city. [When I went in to ask directions to the library.]

So about the second day, during my wandering around and chatting---or trying to---one young and shy EM, Phom [?], I think was his name, approached me. I forget how, but at one time, he'd met an American soldier, and despite the language barrier, they had become friends. Phom was very excited---and proud---to have received a letter from his new friend-an American---and shyly asked if I could translate it for him.

Well, of course, I was happy to do so, and to the best of my ability, I translated the letter. As I recall, the letter was just a chat about the good times---innocent---they had together. Phom was thrilled when I told him that as soon as the operation as over I'd translate a letter to his American friend.

I ran into Phom a few more times; he was always very happy to see me and proud to show his buddies that the big boss American was his friend. He was a happy and bubbly young guy about 19 or twenty.

Well, the operation was over and I went to spend the night with some of the infantry advisors in a house they had by the river near Quang Tri.

 That night, our house was attacked; Charley was about ten yards away at one time firing RPGs and I woke up covered in glass and junk from the ceiling. They were right outside, but were firing high, and hit the top of the window where it joins with the roof. Woke up to a lot of flashes and LOUD noises. I'll always remember laying there and hearing the VC squad leader shouting "TIEN, TIEN MAU LEN, MAU LIN" and saying to my self, “He's shouting 'Forward. Forward, Rapidly, Rapidly!’ and he has a Northern accent.”

Strange what you think about in combat sometimes. Anyway, for about three hours I was a non-voting member of the People's Republic of North Viet Nam.

Came the dawn, we rushed to the compound. It had been overrun, every vehicle and every building [except one] was destroyed, and everybody on the compound was either killed or wounded. The Troop was, for all intents and purposes, wiped out. Bad scene, bodies everywhere.

After the initial shock, I remembered Phom and the letter I'd promised to write for him. So, I started looking over the bodies---about 68 if I recall---many burnt beyond recognition.

The Vietnamese Troop commander was a young lieutenant. He was wandering around in a daze holding his chest - he'd been wounded, muttering, "All my soldiers are dead, all my soldiers are dead.” Behind him was his wife - she was holding the dead and mangled body of their five-year-old son. The VC had thrown a satchel-charge [explosive] into their house just as the 13-year-old maid picked up the young boy. It landed at their feet. The Lieutenant’s wife was crying and calling to her husband but he ignored her and kept walking around.

I arrived on the scene and with the help of the [wounded] Troop CO we found what we thought was Phom. He'd reached his track, but had been killed and the track burned, or vice versa.

All four of the bodies were too badly burned---so that I couldn't even search for the address of the American soldier.  Actually, I couldn't really tell which was Phom's body. But he, and all the other dead were found on their vehicle or between their barracks and their vehicles---none had tried to run away.


 1968 ~ Hue
I had left country about five weeks before Tet.

 Lt. Col. Chi was the 7th Cavalry Regiment Commander, my counterpart and my friend, a dedicated patriot [oops, sorry if that word offends any sensitive souls] and a fine soldier.

The Cavalry Headquarters Compound was about three clicks south of Hue. As part of the plan for security of Hue, all armored vehicles were taken away from the 7th Cav. and stationed at various corners through out Hue.  I had fought this before I left.

As the city was overrun, Division called and ordered Lt. Col. Chi to "break through" to the Division HQ in the center of the city. Lt. Col. Chi protested that all his vehicles had been taken away and all he had were two M-113s, his command track and the S-3 [Ops] track and to attempt to break into the city would be futile and suicidal.

He was ordered, "Break through" to the Division HQ with what assets he had. With his command track leading and followed by the S-3 track, Lt. Col. Chi, obedient to his orders, moved out knowing that he was going to his death.

At the outskirts of the town, his track was hit by three RPG rounds and burst into flames. Lt. Col. Chi, engulfed in flames, jumped/fell from his track. He was machine-gunned and, still burning, rolled down a slight embankment, coming to rest in an open field.

He lay there for 24 hours before being recovered.  His last words were for the welfare of his children and his unit.

He died several hours later.

© Nicholas Andreacchio 8/2002