Last Man Out (52 page)

Preparing for patrol. I’m on the far left; PFC Ayers is the big soldier at right front.

Pvt. Jack Lyons shortly after coming in from a platoon sweep around the battalion base camp. Note that he is wearing regular fatigues and leather boots. Our battalion did not receive jungle boots and camouflage fatigues until several months later.

Battalion-level memorial service. We had a service after every operation in which we suffered casualties.

Bob Dunn in the aid tent after being wounded the first of three times.

A First Division soldier inside a VC tunnel near Cu Chi.

Point man fording a creek. He is carrying an M-14 while the others have M-16s. As point man, he probably wanted the more dependable weapon.

First Division soldiers waiting to move out.

First Division soldiers waiting for a helicopter pickup. This was a typical scene as we prepared for the Battle of Min Thanh Road.

A VC flag found in the village where PFC Cipriano was wounded. After we found the flag, we considered blowing the village up but decided against it.

A rocket-launcher gunner and his ammo bearer. Carrying the ammo was hard work, and during a sweep operation, it was divided among several men.

Armored personnel carrier destroyed in the Battle of Min Thanh Road. A dead VC is in the foreground.

Faculty from the Fort Ord Drill Sergeant School. I’m at the far left, the officer in charge.

On May 25, Brenda and I were married at the Cool Springs Baptist Church in Sanford, North Carolina, only five months after we’d met.