Cemetery Ridge
It was April, 1970, and Charlie Company was continuing combat operations in the mountainous area adjacent to Fire Bases Granite and Maureen. Capt. Mark Smith had taken over the company on 20 March, when the company had walked off Fire Base Granite. Capt. Smith’s call sign was Zippo and his mere presence had brought a new more confident and aggressive attitude with troopers in C. Co. Limited information received relating to Zippo placed him automatically as a professional soldier and experienced combat veteran. The fact that he was a prior non commissioned officer and the recipient of a battlefield commission placed him solidly into “Legend” status.
Second and third platoon was moving along a ridgeline towards a landing zone (lz) for resupply. Just as the LZ was reached a trooper notified Zippo that enemy movement had been detected on an adjacent ridgeline. A small clearing could be seen on the ridgeline and as we watched one enemy soldier after another passed through. Distance was significant however identification as North Vietnamease troops (NVA) was immediate for they were carrying rucksacks and wearing customary headgear which looked similar to lifeguard hats. As several soldiers engaged the enemy by rifle fire, Zippo was requesting and coordinating artillery fire. Up to this point in my tour, my experience with the usage of arty support had been that when it finally arrived it may or may not be effective.
Immediately I realized that this arty support had arrived lightning quick and with devastating effect. As I watched the enemy ridgeline explode I obtained a new understanding of arty support. Knowing immediately where you are, where the enemy is, and the type of support your requesting is key to success. I had already determined that Zippo was the real deal when it came to leadership, but now I realized his skill and experience equaled lethal annihilation of the enemy. For the first time I was confident that Charlie Company had gone from “defender status” to a offensively aggressive unit determined to kill the enemy.
When Zippo instructed me to move 3rd platoon to recon the enemy ridgeline my mind raced. Thoughts of, do it carefully, use solid tactics, and destroy the enemy were foremost. As we moved down into the ravine tension grew for without question we would engage the enemy. Thompson on point and Booker T at slack we traversed through the ravine and proceeded climbing toward the ridge. Once on the ridge we proceeded towards where the enemy was last observed. A well worn path led the way and extreme vigilance was the norm.
Having traveled just a short distance Thompson motioned to stop. Laying in the middle of the trail was an enemy RPD machine gun. Such a strange sight caused immediate concerns of a booby trap. Once security was set a rope was used to move the machine gun before approaching. As the gun was secured I radioed Zippo to notify him of the find. A short distance further down the trail an 81 mm mortar plate was discovered along with various rucksacks and numerous blood trails. As we tracked the volume of blood increased and pieces of NVA soldiers were found. Surveys of the area revealed major damage to brush and trees along with more enemy equipment. We were approaching large boulders when I took over the point position and had Thompson walk slack behind me. Just as I moved past one huge boulder I caught a glimpse of an enemy soldier in a sitting position behind the huge stone. Reflex dictated my actions and I fired a long burst of automatic fire. All rounds impacted in the neck and head area leaving no doubt of his death. As a young trooper behind me stepped over the dead soldier a short gag reflex occured.
Radio instructions from Zippo resulted in the securing of the weapons and rucksacks that had been recovered. Return trip to Zippo’s position was executed slowly due to the amount of enemy equipment being carried. As we passed back through our route towards Zippo all observed spelled absolute destruction and carnage for the enemy force we had earlier seen. My mind centered on why?. Why, had the enemy unit crossed a single open area one soldier at a time. A simple fifteen yard move around the clearing, would have hid their movement from the opposing ridgeline and Charlie Company.
Once we rejoined Zippo and other Charlie company personnel exploitation of the captured weapons and equipment took place. Inside each rucksack was personal gear used by the carrier. Further examination resulted in the discovery of maps, mission orders and unit identification. As is the norm, the documents were in Vietamease. Another notch was added to Zippo’s impact on the soldiers he led, when it was discovered he was fluent in our enemy’s language. As a result interpretation of the documents revealed that we had destroyed a Battalion of sappers plus a significant number of support personnel accompanying them.
Operations continued within the same area for several weeks. It became the norm to periodically discover shallow graves where enemy soldiers had been hurriedly buried. The unpleasant task of digging up the found graves was necessary for intelligence could be gleaned from uniform insignias, papers and even hair length. Determination of an approximate haircut date would aid in estimating how recent the soldier had traveled from the north into South Vietnam.
On one occasion my platoon (3rd) had set up a defensive perimeter for the night. As early morning hours arrived a wind shift occurred. As a result the easily identifiable odor emanating from a grave was identified. A quick compass azimuth was determined and at first light we moved slowly along the line. Within a short time we discovered a shallow grave. Perimeter security was set allowing relative safety in digging. Once the body was uncovered I reached down and grabbed a thick leather belt worn by the dead soldier. As I pulled the soldier from the grave, his head fell back and a loud low groan occurred as gasses were expelled. All in close proximity instinctively jumped back and grabbed their weapons. A short embarrassing glance at those who reacted faded quickly as papers, unit identification, and other items were recovered.
The soldier’s wallet was also found. Inside was fresh currency, a postal stamp, and pictures of a young girl. The pictures were put back in the wallet and the wallet was placed back into a uniform pocket. Once completed the soldier was once again buried.
The discovery of wounded and dead NVA soldiers was frequent causing the naming of the ridgeline targeted by the artillery barrage. “Zippo’s Grave Yard” became the coined phase and along with it came a new found confidence within each soldier in Charlie Company. One occurrence stands alone, in the display of the new swagger of Zippo’s men. Sgt. Marks, a former running back who played at Ohio State, discovered a grave containing a dead enemy soldier. After uncovering the grave, it was determined that it was a soldier Sgt. Marks had killed in a previous firefight. The soldier was reburied, however, one arm was left uncovered and remained in an upright position. Sgt. Marks then took a 101st Screaming Eagle patch and secured it to the hand and arranged the fingers to point the direction we had moved. The marker was at a junction of trails and clearly pointed down the one we traveled. Regardless of a soldier’s language this symbol represented “we went this way, follow if you dare”. Adding a bit of mystic intrigue, a yellow smoke grenade had left residue on the arm and hand.
Tragedy struck later in April. 1st. and 2nd. Platoons were operating together and Zippo was traveling with 3rd. Platoon. Platoons 1 and 2 were attempting to secure a landing zone when an enemy ambush was initiated. A land mine was detonated immediately killing Specialist Longmire. While exchanging fire with the enemy, Staff Sergeant Lockett sustained bullet injuries to his head and died. Sgt. Marks relayed radio messages to Zippo during the ongoing firefight. My platoon (3rd) had been patrolling the valley adjacent to the ridgeline where the fight was ongoing. Zippo was traveling with my Platoon so a stationary position was taken in order for Zippo to monitor the radio traffic. The fight was over as quick as it had started. Coordination was now ongoing to have medical evac choppers to extract 1st. Platoon’s dead and 2nd. Platoon’s wounded.
As I knelt on one knee reality struck. Thoughts of Charlie Company’s newly discovered confidence seemed far away. Staff Sergeant Lockett was my friend. We had flown to Vietnam on the same aircraft. We both bunked in the staff NCO hootch when standowns occurred and Lockett always treated me as an equal. We were both Staff Sergeants, however Locket was a career soldier with sixteen years in the Army. I on the other hand had one year in the Army. In the six months we had served together respect and friendship had emerged.
My mind raced when Sgt. Marks radioed that Lockett had been killed. Zippo and my platoon were less than five hundred meters away when the ambush occurred. All I could feel was rage at his death. Rage quickly eased and sadness set in. Primary thought, “it should have been me on that ridgeline, I was younger and faster, it should have been me.”
A short time elapsed and Charlie Company was extracted back to Camp Evans for a short stand down. Entering the Staff NCO hootch I immediately placed my gear next to my bunk and sat down. Views of Lockett’s bunk could not be avoided. Sadness continued, however resolve was emerging and now my focus was on killing the enemy and keeping my Platoon members alive.
