Passing of a Combat Veteran

[Paul B]

The last few weeks in March 1971 I was stationed on a small Fire Base in Viet Nam callec FSB Illingsworth. A fire base is a clearing in the jungle where we pushed the trees back 50 yards or so and we had artillery guns, mortars, machine guns etc. set up to support the infantry. These firebases were also sometimes called LZs or Landing Zones because there were no roads and everything including water came by helicopter.
Anyway I was a young Sargeant when I jumper out of the chopper into a clearing I was met by My Captain, Capt Leidig who was 25 years old at the time. We were a few yards from the Cambodian border well on the Ho Chi Mein trail.
After two uneventful weeks we were attacked by 400 Communist North Viet Nam regular army troops 100 of which were in the trees set up around the firebase with machine guns.
There were less than 100 of us there.
We fought for aprox 7 hours.
This is the battle that caused us to go into Cambodia. We were put there as bait because we wanted a reason to enter Cambodia. I will not tell the entire story because this is not about the battle.

After the battle Capt Leidig who did a great job was releived of command temporarilly due to battle fatigue which anyone could understand when you lose a good portion of your men and you are 25.

I have been looking for Captain Leidig since the battle and last week I found his E mail in a Veterans site.
I E mailed him to say hello and see how he was doing.

Yesterday his wife called me in tears to say he had passed away a few weeks ago from Leukemia that they feel is Agent Orange related. I never did get to meet him again but his wafe was interested in the Battle of Illingsworth that he commanded us in.
I searched out some information that I will send her.
Captain Arnold Leidig later was promoted to Colonel.

Here is some information about the battle.
It is not graphic.
http://fwb2.homestead.com/

One of our guys there was awarded the Medal Of Honor, this is his story.
http://www.homeofheroes.com/profile...iles_lemon.html

 

[Curtswearing]

Yikes

Paul, I thank you for your service to our country. I'm very sorry that your search was not successful soon enough.

I cannot even relate at all. I'm frustrated trying to find someone who used to post here and many other places until her mom died. Obviously the two situations don't even come close to comparing.

I have never heard of the above until tonight. Interesting. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Paul B]

Thank you Curts, most people never heard of it. We diden't have newsmen and camera's there. I myself diden't know how many of us died that night until I read it on the net 30 years later. We shipped out over fifty wounded on helicopters and I never saw them again. Our dead, most of which were teenagers we put in plastic bags. Imagine if that happened today with the news media.
We lost almost 70,000 of us there and most Americans know almost nothing about it.
Take care and pray for our servicemen and women

 

[freetareef]

my father was in vietnam also. he doesn't like to talk about it but some times when we go out to lunch together he starts to tell me things. he served two tours as a green berat (spelling) and he says that him and two others are the only one that made it alive from when he arrived.
thank you for your service...