Pacifica Military History Free Sample Chapters.pmd

Free Sample Chapters 185
Staff Sergeant RUSS ARMSTRONG
India Company, 3/26—1st Platoon Commander
September 7 was the anniversary of my leaving the States for Vietnam.
India Company was ordered to run a patrol out in a northwesterly
direction. Lieutenant Bill Cowan’s 3rd Platoon was left behind to man
the company position, but the rest of the company went out, including
the skipper, Captain Wayne Coulter, and the exec, Lieutenant Bob
Stimson.
Lance Corporal CHUCK BENNETT
India Company, 3/26, 1st Platoon
On the morning of September 7, Staff Sergeant Armstrong went up to a
meeting at the company CP. When he came back, he said we were going
out on patrol. He was a real gung-ho Marine and liked to volunteer us
for stuff. He said we’d be leading the patrol out. It was all “Hurry up!
Get moving!”
1st Lieutenant BOB STIMSON
India Company, 3/26—Executive Officer
The company was good at running itself, so my job as executive officer
was more tactical—an assistant company commander—than it was
admin-istrative. I went out with the patrol on September 7 because I
usually went out when all or most of the company was on patrol. A
standard infantry company at the time was 210 officers and men. Going
into The Churchyard, we couldn’t have been more than 165. We were
way down. With Lieutenant Bill Cowan’s 3rd Platoon staying back to
man the entire company sector, we would be going out short of officers.
The 1st and 2nd Platoons were both commanded by NCOs. Captain
Coulter, the artillery FO, and I were the only officers on the patrol. We
went out about 80-strong.
*
Staff Sergeant RUSS ARMSTRONG
India Company, 3/26—1st Platoon Commander
It was a very nice day. There was still a lot of dew on the grass and the
rolling terrain looked peaceful, tranquil. The birds were singing, the sky
was clear, the flowers were waving in a little breeze. It reminded me of
home, of eastern Nebraska. It was so pleasant it kind of scared me. The