HOW DID HE DIE?

When a group of old warriors gather, it's hard to know what will come out of it. Have we heard all the war stories? No, never, even if the same ones are told with a different slant. Here's one that 3d Platoon, Delta Company, 1/501st Airborne Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, told with a new purpose. At the latest gathering, we had a special visitor, Jimmy Stevens, the brother of one of our guys, killed in one of the longest battles of the Vietnam war.

The brother has, for the last several years, made it somewhat of an obsession, in the best sense of the word, to contact members of his brother's unit--Those who knew him, those who might have known him, even those who didn't know him. Over the course of several years, he's made great friends with most of his brother's fellow soldiers. And, now of course, here he was face to face with those who had been with his brother when he died. A warm atmosphere as various ones recounted the story of the battle, from their perspective. The brother, Danny, had joined up at 18. Simple, said by Jimmy, "My brother, Danny, ran toward being the best he could be, regardless of the difficulty and sacrifice and not away from it."

When Danny was killed, a prolonged battle had already taken place, several hours in fact. In a cemetery. (Americans often sought refuge in a cemetery because the VC and NVA shied away from them as spooky).

In late afternoon, the battle started. Horrendous and raged on through the night. At the north end of the cemetary, the NVA had established an extremely effective firing line. In regular fashion, the NVA soldiers would pop up and fire, mostly concealed by the mound of built-up dirt, indicating a grave. It was one of these, on the far left, behind one of the graves, that an NVA soldier shot Danny Stevens through the heart. Norm Campbell, the best shot by truth and reputation viewed the scene. With a mounted bipod (A bipod is used to steady a weapon and make it more accurate, usually fired from a pronged position. Often used by snipers) on his M16, he waited. The NVA popped up again. Norm sent a round right between his eyes.

Danny's brother, most assuredly, could now know how his brother died and if it was comforting, how he was avenged.