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We had been in the field for several days, again helping bail out other units. Again we were in the area west of Cam Lo. As we were walking down the trail we came upon a position where the NVA were dug in. One of the squads actually sneaked up and grabbed a couple of NVA and they were escorted as POWs back through our line. It was the first time I got a look at any live NVA up close.

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A F-4 Phantom dropping a load of HE on the NVA located just beyond the hedgerow as Lima 3/3 Marines look on

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Operation Prairie III, Cam Lo area. Marines filling canteens from a stream near a bomb crater. Sure the water tasted like iodine and you had to strain out the mosquito larvae with your teeth, but it tasted great in that 100+ degree heat.

Grunts in the foreground are riflemen PFC Robert PEUGH (center) and PFC Jenning ANDERSON (right).

Note the line of grunts extending from behind Anderson across the picture to the left edge and then back to the bomb crater and beyond

We then set up a sweep of the area. 1st Platoon initially got hit and 2nd Platoon came in alongside them. As we advanced we came into an area with fighting holes and trenches. I knew things were serious because the word came down to "fix bayonets". Some of the Marines had been hit in the fire fight and were lying in a trench. I started performing CPR on one of the fallen Marines. I soon realized that I was wasting my time and the more calls for "corpsman up" urged me further forward. When the word came down to fix bayonets, I pulled out my .45 and kept it ready. I knew the NVA were close because I heard them yelling insults at us in English. At one point I had crawled as flat to the ground as I could get to a wounded Marine. The bullets above me sounded like a swarm of angry hornets. I was lying on my belly putting a battle dressing on him when a NVA stood up not 15-20 feet from me and preparing to throw a chi-com grenade. I shot him 4 times, hitting him in the abdomen and chest. The impact of the bullets knocked him backward and the grenade exploded near him instead of near us.

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A trench line in the area northwest of Cam Lo similar to the ones we attacked on March 2

After what seemed like an eternity of intense close-in fighting, the NVA withdrew. Once things quieted down we were able to assemble our dead and wounded. Our Platoon Commander, 1st Lt. Forrest GOODWIN, who had only recently taken over 2nd platoon, was dead. So was Cpl. Richard STRAHL, who was due to leave Vietnam within 5 days. He had been given the option to not go on the this operation, but he refused to let his squad go in without him. Cpl. Richard BLINDER was also dead. Helicopters were now able to get in to take out our casualties and provide us with a re-supply. We went about collecting all the NVA’s gear. Again they had abandoned their rucksacks and food and withdrew, but we also found large amounts of ammunition, weapons and radios. There was more left here than at any other site that we had come across before.