This month is the commemoration of when 22 American soldiers were killed at one time, in the same Unit in the Vietnam war. At that time in May of 68, it was the single most Americans killed in one action, Charley Company, 1/501 Airborne Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Each year platoon survivors and a few straphangers (paratrooper term, roughly meaning, in this instance, extras who just showed up) gather to honor fellow soldiers from that action. I will never forget it. When we got word at the TOC (tactical operations center), I was one of the first one to arrive, along with Alpha Company for security purposes. The platoon had gone through this little ville (hamlet) and had swept it but then made the mistake of coming back without sweeping it again. The very cunning VC (Vietcong) had come in behind the platoon and planted booby traps and had positioned a sniper to force them to take cover. The carnage cannot fully be described.
Think of the Boston Marathon bombing and multiply it by six or seven. This is just a thought. Every year forever, this terrible act in Boston will be commemorated as it has been burned into our psyche. For our comrades with this dubious distinction, most soldiers lost in war, in one action, only a few of us will gather to remember and honor them.
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