Front-line soldiers are the real heroes

This is a true story that took place in Vietnam in 1967 and an example of what a lot of front-line infantrymen went through.

Lt. Hookman was a newcomer and the platoon leader. Sgt. Wheeler was the platoon sergeant. They both just arrived a week earlier. They were walking a trail on a sidehill when, all of a sudden, they started receiving enemy fire. Bullets were whizzing right over Wheeler’s head. Lt. Hookman reported that they had just bumped into a “hornet’s nest.”

A squad leader, Sgt. Sharp had shot and killed two V.C, their bodies rolled down the trail and stopped 10 feet from him. Sgt. Wheeler said he was going up there to get their weapons, but two grenades came toward him, fragments riddling his body, and blew all his equipment off. Sharp crawled upward to drag Wheeler back. He was certain Wheeler was either dead or dying. A grenade came down but sailed over the top of them. They were close —so Sharp threw a grenade, killing two and silencing the gun.

Hookman told Sharp to pull Wheeler down the hill for evacuation, which he proceeded to do. As the grenades kept coming, they retreated down the hill to get reinforcements. Two other platoons then came up to join them, but the enemy had slipped away. Sgt. Sharp had saved Wheeler’s life. Later on, in the same action, two platoons were working on three small ridges. They chased the enemy up one ridge and chased them down another. It had all been set up by the V.C. and they walked into an ambush, 20 Americans of one platoon were killed, most of the rest wounded.

It is my belief that front-line infantrymen are the real heroes of any war.

Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran, serving in the 1st Infantry Division and is business owner in Priest River.