We are in a firefight killing NVA soldiers, with the rain falling heavy, when we hear that battalion command is pulling us out; we are stunned; why. The choppers are landing, with mortars falling all around as we load and jump into the air away. Anytime you leave a battlefield alive, it is a miracle, but headed into the unknown makes you worry about what is going on and why. Some soldiers talked about taking us to the rear area, as we were engaged in one firefight after another, maybe to some honor guard. Even at just 18, I realized that it wasn’t likely something else must be amiss.

My first site of Tan Son Nhut airbase as we came in formation ten choppers deep, one landing behind the other, unloading soldiers; as they flew away, it was breathtaking; I was in the fifth chopper, so four had landed in front of us. When we landed, the airforce personnel were coming out of their barracks in great numbers. They had been attacked the night before and were scared to death.

The airfocremen had never seen armed, bandaged up, unshaven, clothes torn, hardened combat foot soldiers before, never ones straight off the battlefield. They started singing GOD bless America, and even a made-up band showed up as we got into formation and headed to the chow hall to eat some hot airforce food for the first time in a while. My pride in marching down the middle of the road was unbelievable; a good feeling inside. They were yelling, wow, those soldiers’ weapons are still loaded; Holy Christ, they have come to save the base. They were waving the stars and stripes. The feeling of great pride will be the only accolade we will ever receive.

My company fought and cleared out the surrounding buildings and farmlands around the airbase in 3 days of hard fighting; it wasn’t free, it never is free for a combat soldier, it is paid in the death of men, many names you will never remember the, but their faces are etched into your memory forever.