Loon - Jack McLean [59]
They were good at following orders.
All this was about to change.
As Negron was arriving back in country, the 3rd Marine Division was celebrating a new commanding general who would be based in Dong Ha. His name was Raymond Davis, and he, like Negron, was appalled by what he saw. Offensive marines were in defensive positions throughout the region. The North Vietnamese skirted around them at will as the NVA headed to the more lucrative urban targets to the south.
Davis was determined to change all of that and knew that the only way to do it was to abandon the bases like Con Thien and Khe Sanh. He needed his marines back on the offensive. His simply stated strategy was to break the armed enclaves, put marines in the hills, in the jungle, and in the attack. He would emphasize mobility and movable flrebases to counter the enemy buildup.
We were marines.
We were not trained to defend.
We were trained to attack.
We grunts were thrilled. Real leadership had arrived at last.
Raymond G. Davis was already a Marine Corps legend when he arrived in Dong Ha. A native of Fitzgerald, Georgia, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation from Georgia Tech in 1938. During the Second World War, Davis earned the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism while fighting on Guadalcanal and Peleliu. In Korea, several years later, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor for superb leadership, outstanding courage, and brilliant tactical ability in the face of overwhelming and insurmountable odds.
By his own description, General Davis saw himself as a man of action. “I never sit around and think about what others are doing. I am aware that, as a holder of the Medal of Honor, I belong to this nation forever, because of a combat situation where literally thousands of men’s lives depended on the actions that I took when someone had to take action.”
Davis became our division commander on May 21, 1968, and was quick to observe the futility of the existing strategy.
Within days, he had the Marine Corps mobile again, beginning with Charlie Company.
Negron and his driver eventually arrived in Con Thien after the long dusty ride up from Dong Ha. He dismounted, grabbed his gear from the back, bade farewell to his driver, and snaked his way through a trench line to the location of the battalion command post.
The underground room he entered had a curtain on one wall—apparently the entrance to the command post itself. Pushing his way to the other side, he saw a busy operations section apparently dealing with some current emergency. No one noticed his arrival. A company-size patrol on the north side of the Trace was heavily engaged. A short man was on the phone trying to get tank support. He turned and handed the phone to another man.
“Mike, you get Bravo Company ready to go. A heavy section of tanks will lead us out. I’ll take the air officer and my radio operators with me. Be ready to go in five minutes. Move it.” With that, he turned and reached down to put his combat harness on. As he was leaving, the officer looked Negron straight in the eyes and said, “Welcome aboard, Captain. I’ll be back in a while.”
And so was Captain William Negron introduced to his new superior officer, Lieutenant Colonel James H. MacLean.
Several days later, Negron received the news that Charlie Company, the ragged band of squatters that he had first seen from the jeep on his way north, was his. Having had several days to prepare himself mentally, he attacked his new assignment with enthusiasm and vigor. It was quickly apparent to all of us that a new day had come to Charlie Company. Although we were uncertain at first, we soon felt as though we were back in the Marine Corps and that Negron would get us