Khe Sanh Combat Base - Khe Sanh, Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Asia, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy
01:30:14 ATC/ January 30th, 1967 - 09:00/9:00 AM
"They're in the wire! Charlie is in the wire!"
"MY LEG! WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH?!"
"VF-143! Authorization Sierra Oscar Golf X-Ray! Priority ordnance on my command!"
"This is Red Dog 4! We're being overrun! I say again! We're being overrun!"
"Roger that, we are inbound. Arc Light, coordinates confirmed, engaging."
Its day nine at Khe Sanh and American troops were with dogged determination fighting back the joint North Vietnamese Army-Viet Cong onslaught. Many Marines and soldiers were already dead and more were wounded, but the defenders would not permit the enemy to overrun and capture the base either for strategic or even symbolic reasons.
The siege was totally unexpected because of the Vietnamese holiday known as Tet was being celebrated under a ceasefire agreement, not to mention the negotiations for peace going on in Paris. It seemed that Hanoi had ordered one final, desperate offensive to take South Vietnam by force and by God: The United States Marine Corps would prevent it from happening!
"Hold the line! Use your bayonets if you have to!" Staff Sergeant Henry Edwards ordered the platoon in the trench line. Among them was a young Military Policeman who was one of the first to engage the enemy.
Private First Class Jacob Gregory "Jake" Meyer - Fireteam Charlie, Second Squad, Third Platoon, Alpha Company, First Military Police Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force Command Element, I Marine Expeditionary Force, United States Marine Corps
Khe Sanh Combat Base - Khe Sanh, Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Asia, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy
01:21:14 ATC/ January 21st, 1967 - 10:10/10:10 AM
Jake was driving the M151 jeep on patrol with Sergeant Charles Nelson and they headed outside the gate to check for suspicious activity. Nelson watched the surrounding countryside with his M1 Carbine on standby, ready to open fire on any guerillas that may ambush the two Military Policemen.
As they got closer to a nearby village where there was reported Viet Cong activity, all Hell broke lose.
The Marine's eyes widened when they spotted two Russian made T-55 tanks and about twenty-three NVA regulars eating breakfast and they were spotted by one of the communist's soldiers.
"Người Mỹ! Người Mỹ!"
"SHIT! MEYER, GET US THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"
Instantly the PFC started to drive in reverse, watching in horror as the main gun of one of the tanks started to move, tracking the Jeeps movements as Jake tried to get back to base and warn command of the threat. But the muck was proving to be a problem.
"MEYER! PUT THE GODDAMN PEDAL TO THE METAL AND GET US THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" The N.C.O begged his subordinate, wondering if the Hoosier is trying to get them both killed.
"I'm trying to sir!"
"Goddamn you Mey..." Those were the last words the Tennesee native would utter as 7.62X39 mm rounds punctured his chest, killing him instantly.
Meyer didn't know why the damn soldiers didn't shoot him too or the delay in having the 100mm rifled gun of the T-55 blow the M151 up, but the Marine finally managed to get the Jeep free from the muck and started to drive backwards to base.
"Fuck!" The Hoosier cried out as he saw the tanks started to follow him and yet, they encountered the same problem: Mud. It appears God may be protecting the Marine, but still Jake was not out of the woods yet as the two T-55s turrets began to move, tracking the American vehicle once more.
Private First Class Jacob Gregory "Jake" Meyer - Fireteam Charlie, Second Squad, Third Platoon, Alpha Company, First Military Police Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force Command Element, I Marine Expeditionary Force, United States Marine Corps
Khe Sanh Combat Base - Khe Sanh, Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Asia, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy
01:30:14 ATC/ January 30th, 1967 - 09:00/9:00 AM
That day was when the siege began and now the Marines and their fellow defenders were outnumbered heavily by twenty to one. It was rumored that General Patton IV, the son of the legendary Old Blood and Guts himself, was going to lead reinforcements to Khe Sanh by land in a manner reminiscent of his father's relief of Bastogne and yet to Meyer, it didn't seem possible. Snow was one matter but the clearing in this patch of jungle made using armor only in the most suitable of terrain but the Hoosier reassured himself that Sergeant Nelson's death would not be in vain and he will defend Khe Sahn at all costs, relief effort or not.
"Hold the line! Use your bayonets if you have to!" The Staff Sergeant of the platoon he linked up with shouted as the NVA launched another assault against their positions.
"Giết người Mỹ! Hiển thị không thương xót!"
"HERE THEY COME MEN! GIVE IT TO THEM!"
Meyer gladly responded, firing his M14 at the damn commies. They showed no mercy so far to the personnel at the base and they will not receive any mercy in return. Jake spotted the distinctive insignia of a North Vietnamese Lieutenant and the farmboy aimed carefully at the Gook's head, killing him.
"Bravo Two-Five? This is Archangel...we will be dropping a payload at coordinates confirmed, over?"
"This is Bravo Two-Five!" Staff Sergeant Edwards replied. "We understand!"
Jake had to smile as the squadron of B-52s unleashed napalm on top of the bastards before the Marine went back to killing every last one of the enemy combatants. The leatherneck actually got sick and tired of using single shots, so the Devil Dog switch to fully automatic and began to use short, controlled bursts on the scum. He is going to make every last one pay for their crimes for spreading the dogma of Marx and murdering innocents who do not want to live under Communist authoritarian rule from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.
Meyer's grin went even wider as the spooky's arrived, the aerial gunships unleashing their artillery and rotary cannons to prevent the massed waves from reaching the base. He was surprised that command didn't drop a BLU-82 'Daisy Cutter' or even Nuke them. But what made the Devil Dog more excited was the sight of helicopters and even better...parachutes.
Reinforcements have finally arrived!
"Bravo Two-Five? This is Whiskey Three-Four! We should be arriving at your location in five mikes! Hang tight Jarheads!"
'Sam? Sam is here!? That bastard!' Meyer laughed to himself, hearing the voice of his friend on the radio. His best friend was coming to link up with him.
"Yeah, whatever you say, soldier!" Edwards scowled as he took cover from mortar fire. "We do not require your assistance!"
Private First Class Jacob Gregory "Jake" Meyer - Fireteam Charlie, Second Squad, Third Platoon, Alpha Company, First Military Police Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force Command Element, I Marine Expeditionary Force, United States Marine Corps
Arlington National Cemetery - Arlington, Virginia, United States of America, North America, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy
04:22:14 ATC/ April 22nd, 1967 - 12:00/12:00 PM
Meyer remembers the day when the siege was finally lifted. After a month of heavy fighting, the last major battle in the war for South Vietnam came to a close. Peace was secured yesterday in Paris and both President Kennedy and Ho Chi Mihn signed the Viet-American treaty ending the conflict.
As the rain poured onto his cover and dress blues, Jake walked through the endless rows of graves until he found the particular one he was seeking.
Sergeant Charles Nelson
U.S.M.C.
Bell Buckle, Tennesse
April 22nd, 1942- January 21st, 1967
"Happy birthday Sarge." The Private First Class choked up. "The war is over. Your sacrifice is not in vain. At least you're meeting your father."
The Hoosier set down something at the grave before he headed to his 1953 Chevy Pickup. Once he went inside his vehicle, the leatherneck couldn't help it and he cried.
The gift on the grave is a picture of Jake's father: Paul Meyer holding a captured Nazi flag and next to him was a fellow paratrooper of the 82nd Airborne Division.
The Corporal was Sergeant Nelson's father, who was killed during the Battle of the Bulge and his son never knew him.
On the photograph were four simple words.
'To Hell and Back!'
This chapter is dedicated to those who attempted to keep the people of South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos free from Communism.
Their sacrifice, if forgotten, will at least be remembered by me, We'retheDesperateMeasures-ODST and hopefully by you too.
No one deserved to be spit on after walking off the tarmac heading home to see loved ones.
No one deserved to come home after fighting in a war that over two-thirds volunteered for and yet when they came home, were shunned.
No one deserved to be refused and accused of murdering innocent villagers and being 'Baby Killers' just because a Lieutenant went rogue at My Lai.
No one deserved to come home alongside a treasonous starlet ('Hanoi Jane' Fonda) who 'aided and abetted the enemy' by having her photo taken on an Anti-Aircraft gun and gladly volunteered to read propaganda to American GIs and assisted in torturing Prisoners of War by ratting them out to their captors.
*This list does not include the 30,000 Canadians who volunteered to fight in Vietnam by enlisting into the United States Army while draft evaders went to their country.
South Vietnam
195,000–430,000 civilian dead
254,256–313,000 military dead
1,170,000 wounded
United States
58,318 dead; 303,644 wounded
Laos
15,000
Cambodia
Unknown
South Korea
5,099 dead; 10,962 wounded; 4 missing
Australia
521 dead; 3,129 wounded
Thailand
351 dead; 1,358 wounded
New Zealand
37 dead; 187 wounded
Taiwan
25 dead
Philippines
9 dead; 64 wounded
Total military dead: 318,568–377,311
Total wounded: 1,340,000+
"Old soldiers never die. They just fade away."
~ Douglas MacArthur
Rest in Peace.
You may be gone, but the memories live on.
There will be the controversies, unfortunately, that will be remembered by the public.
But your stories should be told truthfully, not through fiction.
All of you that gave up your lives did so because you did not want to see Marxism spread.
And yet, you only did your best.
Vietnam should be a lesson to be learned from.
Not because of it was a mistake sending you there. It was mistakes in planning that occurred to stop the domino from falling.
You are not the criminals. You only fought for what was right.
The criminals are the ones who made the mistakes and those who impeded your efforts.
God bless you all.