AMERICAN VETERANS

He was fresh-faced and young but not more youthful than me.

He had yet to possess the haggard face that comes with combat experience.

The new officer was a 2nd Lieutenant and came with two corporals as his backup. But he carried the radio. It meant he was a forward observer heading out to find the enemy and call in the shelling.

When I asked where he was going, the Lieutenant pointed west to the mountains and sneered at my request to offer advice.

I would have told him to travel only at night and disappear east after calling in the artillery, but he did not think much of me, so we watched him head off in a different direction.

I do not remember his name, but two days later, a nearby LZ captain mentioned that the Dust Offs were bringing in a dead Lieuy and two injured troops. I assumed it was him.

I did not know it then, but I found out later that the mortality rate of forward observers in the field was about twenty minutes. Yet, I was sorry for his loss, regardless of his snobbery.

Follow for more at viethamjerry.com and receive the first chapter of Vietnam Uncensored and my weekly newsletter. Thanks for your support.