Many hardships faced by U.S. soldiers in Vietnam

Clinton Poley was an assistant machine gunner, La Drang Valley Vietnam 1965, 1st Air Cavalry Division. They landed by chopper Landing Zone X-ray in the valley, in grass about 5 feet tall. they hadn’t had a lot of combat, so were sort of complacent.

They dug foxholes, but the next morning all hell broke loose.  One soldier said, “They are coming.” They all opened up firing.

All of a sudden Poley thought someone hit him in the back of his helmet, but there wasn’t anyone there. He felt blood from his neck wound, but was still conscious when he heard a Vietnamese talking, he saw four of them.

He threw the only grenade he had, and it went over their heads, then they threw one at his foxhole. He got down as it exploded and wasn’t hit. They got up out of the foxhole and then he got hit in the chest; it felt like a cow kicked him. He couldn’t believe the impact of it.

Poley was trying to retreat; he got back up and was hit again in the hip. He was then carried to the command post. In the morning, he was thrown into a helicopter and, during the trip, he carried his own IV bottle en route to the hospital.

He survived and later thought others died dirty, as no bath or shower for two months. They died, cold, hot, or hungry. Some died trying to keep their intestines inside their bodies. They died thinking of their loved ones.

For information, the 1st Air Cavalry arrived early in Vietnam, just as I did with the 1st Infantry Division, no bunkers, no buildings, no showers, no mess hall, basically no anything.

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