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By Root 644 0

first night, excitement overrode fear. His first firefight was an adrenaline high. Such spirit was soon rubbed raw in the unglamorous sweat and dust of the repetitious patrolling and ambushing. Fatigue became the byword. Bradley made his first kill in April; walking point for his squad down a paddy trail as they returned from a night patrol, he saw something hunched over the path in the dawn light. He shouted to halt, then pumped his M16 into the figure when it bolted. He approached the body, rushing with the thrill of getting a confirmed kill; then he almost vomitted when he saw it was an unarmed mamasan. They found a booby trap on the trail, which they blew in place, and Bradley’s mind flashed between excitement and revulsion, finally clearing the slate with the thought: fuck it, if we’d gotten here fifteen minutes later, the bitch would have blown my legs off.

He never told his parents the truth about the kill.

There was only one saving grace out in the mud—the professionalism and camaraderie of his squad. Harvey Peay, the squad leader, was sharp. A tough Kentucky boy, he ignored rules and regs and talked mostly about going home, buying a GTO, and marrying his girl friend. He also seemed to thrive in the bush. Mouse Cullen, his fire team leader, was saving his money so he could go to college. Schaffer was a big guy who loved good times and, deciding that Australia beat Vietnam, never came back from R and R. Dutch Sterling, a grenadier, was a mustached kid from California who loved to bullshit about surfing and who had a peace medallion around his neck (taped to his dog tags so it wouldn’t jingle on patrol). Buttons just wanted to finish his tour and get back to the farm.

They were a little world unto themselves, bound together, as far as Bradley was concerned, by an unspoken sense of friendship and dedication as Marines. They never discussed the war. Between patrols, they played cards in the dirt and talked of hunting trips; past contacts; some lifer who pissed them off; and girls—those they’d screwed, those they wanted to screw, those they wanted their buddies to think they’d screwed. Just plain old good guys, Bradley thought. They were typical of all Marines, he reckoned, their ambitions honed to a few essentials: killing gooks in the bush and, in the rear, figuring ways to sneak into the ville to get laid.

The new operation was more of the same—hot and plodding. Lance Corporal Bradley made cryptic notes in his diary, an eighteen year old’s view of the Arizona Territory:

July 5th: The damn gooks are raising a storm shooting the hell out of the birds, tracer all over, and we go next hope this isn’t my last entry. I love you mom and dad and be proud of me if something goes wrong. Gotta sky now here come our birds love John.

July 10: Gues what an asshole I must have been worried to death. “Orders” kill & destroy every moveing body shoot. We had light contact yesterday and got a gook. Burned our first vill were to serch and burn all hootchs and food. Good thing we packed loads of chow. Water is going to be a hassle though.

July 11th 1969: Change of orders again, question the people and don’t destroy there homes. What the hell is this war comeing to. We had a good thing going now there fucking it up. Thats officers for you.

July 13th: Got hit last nite and a real mess, mortars and hit from 3 sides. We had security for the bn CP when at about 8:30 we got hit. I was sitting with pay & sterling have some chocolate when they hit. We started thoughing out some shit when sterling started to run out of Bluper rounds. I ran from cover to get some more when a 30 opened up. The rds were flying all around. I could see and feel the tracers. When I got the rds then got to cover. Sgt Schick said he was putting me up for the bronze star the next morning. That be great the kid will even have a medal when he gets home. We didn’t take any casualties which is fine! Well gotta go. Miss you all so very much.

Aug 2: Haven’t had much to write till today. Last nite when we came off our ambush I popped a green pop up and it started