European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 20, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By John t. Wheeler a staff writer on the Battlefield where the killing is done the chaos of warm ikes a mockery of the neat mimeographed Battle plans and coloured sym Bols arranged on Wall maps Back a Headquarters. For in the Field an incautious  minute flaw in a howitzer s sights. A commander s mistake Fortune whimsy almost anything can kill a Man or cripple his  gis learn to conquer or control their fear of the predictable dangers of combat. But Many find dealing with chaos and the bitter ironies it spawns much tougher proposition. They find that life and death in therice paddies swamps Jungle and mountains often Are the direct opposites of their backgrounds in a Well ordered civilization where the question Why usually has an answer. For the  Here the question often is not Only unanswerable but unasked. For one Marine sergeant the ironies piled one atop the other at the very end of his 13-month tour in  the hectic Days of the siege at Khe Sanh routine paperwork often was delayed. One piece of late paperwork contained the order for the Leatherneck to go Home. A Day after he should have left Khe Sanh the sergeant finally got his orders. His friends congratulated  sergeant joked with his comrades in the trenches until finally the morning fog lifted and it was time to go to Theair strip for the last ride out. Looking toward a Hill infested wit hidden North vietnamese troops the Marine emptied his pistol in their Gen eral direction. Well those Are the last shots i la fire in Nam he said an climbed out of the Trench. Moments later one of the 800 Shell that hit Khe Sanh that Day exploded near the sergeant sending steel splinters into his body. Later when he was being evacuated by helicopter he could Muse not Only on red tape but that a had won much undesired third purple heart. Under Marine regulations the third purple heart automatically Means a Man is sent out of the War one no matter How Long or Short a time he had spent in Vietnam. Ils Are deeply superstitious about being Short timers men near the end of their combat Tours. There have Bee too Many cases where Battlefield savvy extreme care and an unbroken Chain of Luck have failed a Man at the last  sergeant major of one Marine Bat Talion in the demilitarized zone area was Page 12 life in Vietnam no room for bigotry in Fox  a a fsr ""7 of .  within 14 Days of ,.states after Fig Hij in two months he Ouid s for Good and retire called the of Llu of the Dway sandbagged Hunker one Day Dii Nii. Stayed crawled out of us Beni rapidly for the of diff s timer who had Hoof up the Lull Al i i i 0 bunkers and a. ,.,. Handset was Al lev Lloil Slater m helicopter in an spin Raj " full Load of replacement sing their Virtu i or As usual communist Tillery shells be or off to adm areas soon As u1c added. An is old Mari v been in \ Vietn i Only two cd out the Back door of the raced toward the safely of100 Yards away. An older Man airs in ,. Slowness _ was hear of the Blas the Shell that expired virtual privates get my Sards ahead. The 3 ser had led the Fuleki hut lost to he was the Only one of 25 Mentor a Alt idiot in   most men Lio fair a j a a 1 times voice another Side . A Young Sandy haired Corporal St. Louis stared into Liis half i of cold c rations and said we re both better and worse Thail were before we vere pushed War up to our necks. Half the things i be seen i Here i Hope i Neer have to think i again. And 1 sure would t want i wife or family to know some Oil things i be had to do. But at the same time there Aret when we Are All better than we i be never known Friendship like found Here. There in t any hit would t do for the Guys in my team. And i sleep better knowing of them feel the same Way. Yeah i it. Sometimes we Are  better Side As the Corporal it is the wellspring for much of positive Side of the War Durance determination and Sac sometimes the ultimate sacrifice i ing your life for your  in Vietnam have heard of of sandbagged Bunker did t save no nicknamed  the stars and stripes incoming replacements where Speed sometimes loses the i v a Good Luck Symbol. It May help. Lump of an enemy grenade Landing Lar them and in the midst of their com hides sometimes the grenade hits oni Trail sometimes in a Shell Hole some limes among men huddled behind Trees a termite Mounds firing at an enemy Belv cards  More than a score of ii Xii have leaded instinctively there is no timely pause and consider by throwing themselves on the grenade to save their friends. The results normally Are fatal to the Man who cared enough. I Szap a Short timers Mark off the Days hopefully. Cards Tell the time to go Ace is the dream. A men Welcome War As a per onal proving ground. Because they rein some Way unsure of themselves they press harder than most taking reckless chances that will put some nagging fear uncertainty to rest. Often these Menn to the United states with several own of ribbons on their Chest. Oftener go Home in caskets the questions id the proof no longer  know i m going to sign Over for another tour when my 12 month sup a beardless 24-year-old Lieuten it nicknamed buddy said one night Inge Central Highlands. This is the life for me. I m going toll try to stay in Vietnam for As Long As Flthe army 11 let  the next Day buddy s company was caught in an ambush which killed or founded half the unit. Buddy was killed Barly in the action leading a counter attack. Only later did a correspondent who As with the unit learn from a family Riend that buddy was the son of a much decorated world War ii army officer who was killed in  All through childhood buddy tried to Ive up the the standards of a fat Herne had never known the Friend said. For All the horror of War there still humor. A reconnaissance team sat in its army helicopter As it dived toward a Landing one deep in enemy territory. As Thep Hopper levelled out the door gunner panicked and pushed the first heavily Atlen recon Man out while the chopper Vas still 25 feet in the  the chopper dropped lower the next Nan paused at the door got a Firmon the door gunner s Arm and ragged him out when he jumped the door gunner without adequate gear spent the next five Days withe recon team. When the patrol was Over All the recon men were decorated be door gunner got an official reprimand. For a Man on night ambush there Are Many perils. Cpl. Jim Shepherd giant know it that night but Hogadone is aiming right beside  Montpelier Idaho infantryman said later i Felt something hit me Onne Arm. I thought it was the squad Leader jabbing  Shepherd turned and faced not i squad Leader but a grown Tiger. The lifer we by satisfied that the 19-Ijear-old Corporal would make a Satis Issy dinner began dragging Shepherd away. Shepherd pounded the Tiger s face with is free right hand. He was afraid to to Jerk free for fear of losing his left Arm. His buddies were afraid to shoot for fear of hitting him. He got me into the water and i guess he figured he could t get me across the Creek. He probably did t know what to do with me Shepherd said. What the tier did do was to drop Shepherd in the water and move majestically into the night in search of slightly smaller prey. Shepherd went to the Hospital for stitches and two weeks of anti rabies shots. The fraternity of those who have been under fire together is a close one. Newcomers in the form of replacements not Only have to prove themselves they sometimes must pay an initiation fee in extra  replacement started his third Day in Vietnam As the Point or Lead Manon a combat patrol. Normally this is the most dangerous spot and is some times referred to As the not Long to live  about the assignment the Pla Toon sergeant said after a few moments Well we want to get him up front so we can watch for his mistakes and Cor rect  squad Leader said later sure we put him on the Point. Of Charlie the enemy has been sniping at the front Man lately. What do you think we want to get one of our own killed other men in earshot nodded their assent to the reasoning. The interdependence of men especially in Jungle warfare has wrought what o be officer called a revolutionary change in race relations in the military. Viet Nam is the first War in which All  Are thoroughly integrated. A 25th div battalion commander once said there is no room for bigotry in Foxholes " the comment was made aftera particularly bitter Battle in hell s to Volunteer. There were enough in wounded men to do the Job. But he scrambled painfully out of the trenchant began running with a heavy Limp into the kill  wound slowed him Down. Every body made it to Protection in Shell Hole but Newman whose Side was opened up by a burst of enemy automatic weapons fire. Two More men immediately leaped from the Trench to Rescue Newman. One was White the other negro. E up the thump of a grenade and death pfc Milton Olive won medal of Honor when he leaped on Viet Cong bomb. Half acre near the division s head quarters at cd  the fight one . Squad was being systematically shot to pieces Byvoet Cong snipers. Four bodies of White gis Lay deep in the snipers kill  powerfully built sergeant called for volunteers to race out and pull the bodies and weapons . 4 George Newman heard the Call in the Bottom of a Trench where he was resting a hip wound. The Baltimore negro was under no military compulsion earlier in the War. A . 101st airborne company was commanded Bya negro Captain from Atlanta a. The Captain was articulate Well educated and very much the commander of his  company s first sergeant was the product of the Mississippi Delta a Whit with Little formal schooling. The Captain and the sergeant worked together in near perfect teamwork with frequent gusts of  race has been elbowed out of the Foxholes at least one chaplain says that the Long held belief that atheists Are also absent is not  chaplain Navy it. Ray Stubbe of Milwaukee wis., ministered to the 26thmarine regiment during the worst Days of the siege at Khe Sanh South of the Doz sitting in a Bunker during one shelling Stubbe said the proportion of atheists i Foxholes and trenches was about the same As on any peaceful Street in Amer  about the old saying then there Are no atheists in a foxhole maybe it was True once but it in t now. Perhaps the world has changed. Idon t know. But the shelling in t bring ing in any More men for religious Pur poses he said. Up and sometimes the enemy comes with fur and All too Sharp fangs. Tuesday w 20, 1968 the stars and stripes Page 13