Death in the Jungle

Foreword

Prologue

Acknowledgments

Author’s Note

Introduction

Epilogue

Glossary

What makes a man like Gary R. Smith spend twenty years of his life in the United States Armed Forces, fifteen of those years assigned to Naval Special Warfare? Certainly not the money. Was it “free” education, retirement benefits, or devotion to one’s country? Well, one thing I know for sure is that Gary Smith wasn’t looking for a free ride. Any man who is physically and mentally tough enough to endure UDT/SEAL training and survive five Vietnam combat tours in elite units is definitely not taking a free ride and just “putting in his time.” Therefore, Gary can honestly say that his hitch in the military was truly a career of which he is proud. This is not the case with all retirees, but you won’t find many of those types involved with the Naval Special Warfare program.

Gary’s first-person account of his experiences while serving as an enlisted man with SEAL Team 1 in Vietnam is written from the point of view of one who served in the war during 1967 and 1968. He and his coauthor, Alan Maki, have tried to reproduce the mind-set Gary brought into the field, in order to share with the reader an honest view of “the way it was” for Gary, his teammates, and all UDT/SEAL personnel who completed BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) Team Training and served with a UDT or SEAL team
in armed conflict against the NVA and Viet Cong in Southeast Asia.

As you will see in this book, during UDT/SEAL training we were instructed in the techniques used by the NVA and Viet Cong. We knew our enemy very well before we deployed to Vietnam. And we called him many offensive names—names like “gook,” “dink,” “slope,” and “slant-eye” were commonly used by many military personnel who served in the war. Unfortunately, the use of ethnic slurs and stereotyping was also an unofficial part of the training—not only with the Teams, but with all armed forces. Certainly this attempted dehumanization of the enemy was cruel, but with the types of missions UDT/SEALs were involved in, many of us might not have survived combat had we thought of our enemy in a better light. To hide this important fact would give the reader a false representation of war in general, because the technique of dehumanizing the enemy has been used throughout history. The authors of this book do not hide this truth, nor do they hide any others.

One of the main reasons Gary decided to share his story with us is because of the large number of phony SEALs who are surfacing, just as people are claiming to have served in U.S. Army Special Forces who did not. Such people are responsible for spreading false information about UDT/SEALs and giving the Teams a bad name. After all the pain that true SEALs suffered just to complete UDT/SEAL training, the blood we shed in combat, and—most important—the men we lost in Vietnam, no one has the right to claim he was in the Teams unless it is a fact. In my experience, those who boast the most about combat experiences in Vietnam were never even there. But you won’t find a SEAL bragging about his experiences in the line of duty. Anyone who has been in the Teams can tell very quickly when a
“wannabe” is trying to impress people. This book is an attempt to present a factual look at the life of a Navy SEAL, minus the braggadocio and the hype.

The truth, however, is this: with his having survived one combat tour with Underwater Demolition Team 12 and four combat tours with SEAL Team 1, Gary Smith can truly be called one of the heroes of the Vietnam War. The medals on his chest give evidence of that fact. You will not hear that from him, however. Instead, you will hear the story about “the way it was” for a SEAL in Vietnam from someone who knows firsthand. I can honestly say that one reason I, myself, am alive today is because of the experienced combat SEALs like Gary who put me through training; their professionalism in training and combat kept many a young SEAL alive.

I am proud to have the privilege of knowing Gary and of being his friend. His devotion to duty and country distinguishes him from “lifers,” career servicemen and women who do nothing more than put in their time. Whether it was pulling a teammate out of waist-deep mud on a SEAL operation deep inside enemy territory in the Mekong Delta or comforting a wounded comrade during a firefight, Gary Smith was a man his teammates could trust and count on.

Darryl Young, SEAL Team 1/UDT-11, 1969–72
Author of
The Element of Surprise:
Navy SEALs in Vietnam

The purpose of this book is to tell a true story about a group of men who loved their country, their command, and, especially, their teammates. Their loyalty to command and teammates was based upon a mutual respect, trust, and dependence upon each other that developed during and after very difficult and dangerous training and combat experiences.

Working as a team required unity, trust, and dependence on each other, and was probably the most important lesson we learned while enduring UDT Training (later changed to BUDS—Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL). The old axioms, “You’re only as strong as the weakest man” and “You’re no faster than the slowest man,” are absolutes when working as a team. Each man has his strong and weak points. That’s why there are no true cynics, pessimists, scorners, or complainers in “the Teams.” They simply can’t get through training or exist in a confident, optimistic, positive, unified, team-oriented group of men. Don Sutherland in
Kelley’s Heroes
said it all: “No negative waves, man.” There are no Rambos in the Teams because our strength lies in our unified teamwork. It’s attitude more than intelligence that shapes character.

Only after our graduation from UDT Training, and our eventual assignment to SEAL Team 1 and an operational platoon, did we begin to understand what unified
teamwork, trust, and dependence upon each other truly meant. Also, in order to function as an effective and efficient platoon under all operational conditions, platoon training was designed to expose any shortcomings or deficiencies, whether they be of equipment, training, leadership, or personnel. We were always conscious of the fact that without proper preparation and unified teamwork, few missions could be accomplished.

An old Chinese axiom, “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war,” was our motto. My good friend Bud Burgess was always quoting this axiom during UDT Training Class 36. Platoon camaraderie, unified teamwork, trust, and confidence are based on mentally and physically difficult and realistic training that is continually being updated and creatively applied. And last, but certainly not least—the men can be no better than their leadership. Another old maxim comes to mind—“Before you can become a good leader you must
first
learn to be a good follower.”

On the lighter side, we didn’t forget to have fun. When I had worked on the Bridwell Hereford Ranch near Winthorst, Texas, my straw boss, Jack Cheeves, had been very fond of saying, “When you work, you work; when you play, you play.” One thing is for sure, we certainly knew how to have fun in the Teams. Sometimes we had to be creative and throw our Commanding Officer, or the platoon chief, or whoever else was handy, in the “dip tank.” Sometimes
everyone
got thrown in the tank! Regardless of the motives, we let off a lot of steam, and morale was always high in spite of hard times. When we were training at Camp Kerrey (near Niland) or Camp Billy Machen (near Cuyamaca), we always managed to have a party
after
a long training spell or a hard training mission. Sometimes it was refreshments under a desert ironwood tree, or a rendezvous at the Past Time, Hi-Ho, or the Silver Dollar in
Niland, or Luck O’ the Irish on the north shore of the Salton Sea. If we were having a team parachute jump at Rolls Farm (near San Diego) on a Friday morning, we occasionally took along refreshments to the drop zone. After the last jumper had completed his PLF (parachute landing fall), the festivities began. Everyone was laughing and discussing the day’s evolutions. The continuous joking and teasing always drew everyone closer together. During the ride back to the command, usually in the back of a two-and-a-half-ton truck, we sang old English and Australian ballads. These memories of “the good ole times,” our youthful exuberance, and naivete helped get us through “the hard times.”

In summary, I have to say that I consider my fifteen years in SEAL Team 1 and Underwater Demolition Team 12 a perfect example of job satisfaction. Why? Because we always had a true cause, one with a sense of urgency. Not only did I love the excitement and challenges of my job and profession, but I also worked with some of the toughest and most highly motivated men in the world. They were great friends and comrades. They were always there to encourage or comfort a teammate when in need. And finally, it was a privilege and an honor to have served under the officers and with the men of SEAL Team 1 and Underwater Demolition Team 12.

Gary R. Smith, RMCM ret.
May 1, 1992

The authors wish to thank their families for their support; Admiral Elmo Zumwalt for his kind words; LCDR Jerry J. Fletcher; Darryl Young, author of
The Element of Surprise;
Owen Lock, editor, Ivy Books; and Ethan Ellenberg, literary agent. We’re especially thankful for Al Betters, Robert Schaedler, Art Streeter, Frank Toms, and Jack Lee for helping me collect lists of Kilo, Alpha, Juliett, Bravo, and Delta Platoon personnel and platoon pictures. A big thanks to Dee Daigle, Frank Toms, and Jack Lee for some of the Delta Platoon pictures and the K-bar knife mission.