Monday, 7 Aug ’67

A month has passed since my last previous entry. The day after…2/9 went on an operation up the strip-the trace-as strip of land about 15,000 meters long and 3,000 meters wide cleared of all trees and other paraphernalia. 

Cpl. Jerry West sitting on a Rubber Lady (an air mattress) in Communications Bunker when we were out with the grunts.

On the 29th, we went on Operation Kingfisher. We walked clear up into the southern part of the DMZ, about 200 meters from the river. 

(When I refilled my canteen in the water there, I noticed the rotting carcass of a water buffalo, the horns of which were protruding above the waterline. I used TWO halizone tablets in that one.) (Halizone was a tablet given to the military to kill any infection that might be in the water they drank, since they could not always be choosy about where their water came from. It did a good job on leaches, too.)

No casualties. 

When we started back the next day, we were mortared. The Lieutenant took my handset and ran. He pulled the radio right off my back (Right out of its harness.) (During this month, we were hit three times by our own jets. 

We received sniper fire all that day. 

Finally, Echo and the battalion CP made it out.  Fox, Golf and Hotel were pinned down.

When we finally made it out (all of us) we had received 28 casualties (heat exhaustion.) 

We had 127 confirmed “Gooks” killed and 350 “probables”.

I was truly (and admittedly) scared. 

Wednesday, 9 Aug ’67

This day, Golf Company and a small CP went out behind Cam Lo to meet Hotel Company. The brush was thick and around 0900 (I got up at 0530) the tanks started pushing their way through. We had to walk in the tank tracks due to the heavy brush.

Around 1500, I tripped on a vine; fell flat on my face; cut my finger; bruised my shin; my radio put a nice bump on my head and my front tooth took a nice hunk out of my bottom lip (all at once.) 

Well, we set in and around midnight, artillery rounds began falling within about 100 to 200 meters from us. I got on the radio and asked for “check fire.” They did, but the rounds kept coming.

Then we had radio problems. Someone’s radio keyed out the entire net.

Comm came back and then we began hearing rounds whiz overhead and drop to the ground before us. They were so close we could hear them. God was with us and the rounds were duds. THANK GOD!!! Believe me, I did!
The weekly casualty list from "The Stars & Stripes" listing Perrelli as a casualty.

If the rounds had blown up, surely many of us would be dead now. We would have all been wounded, at least.

After this, I am sure I will return home alive for God is with me. Perhaps I should say, “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

Thursday, 10 Aug ’67

We walked back in.