European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 31, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Brig ctn Timothy Lames Togia at jus ii ail tree j ., the Nova Bare Iofi fangs and Start Ihler big attack dropping in mortar rounds  i fight in the Middle of the ammunition even while we re breaking it open and trying in get ii out of Here so ail Iii ammo train gun ammo machine gun ammo very Lhing starts exploding inside the perimeter .11 the same Lime the Nova Are attacking from  ripping blasts lighting up heaven and firing Over Earth hot cracking shrapnel wind blowing everywhere. At 3 15 i m in the Back deck of my tank and an Nova 5 1 Cal machine gun opens up right Over my link which is about 20 meter from the Jungle line. And then they re pouring through and we re fighting Itice All Over inside our  hand to hand it goes Back and Forth in the smoking dark. Shooting Point Blank. Rifle bulls. Knives. Curses. Screams. And the answers for Timothy Lames Grogan art1 really flowing now la had answered the question Early on in combat sep / can do this. Nil Only can i do thit i can do this Ami keep my soldiers alive. By not doing dumb things i even got where i could sense something happening before in happened Fiat reel is coming also Early on after Lanks he was in Cpl getting smashed by anti Lank rockets killing and wounding others hut strangely sparing him he began to think i guest i m not going to get  even that Lime the Nova fired an rec round directly at him from Range too close to miss. And the rocket Hils the Turret. And he s in the Turret. If in detonates. I m dead. Bui it s a Dud see just a Dud. Enough of Hose things can Shock your sensibilities you know. Make you deaf you know i m Over 50 percent  but still 100 percent alive that night even after the enemy Soldier with the ak-47 pops up just in Fiona of him close enough that it was impossible to miss. He pointed the a at me and pulled the trigger Click. I was dead. Only ii did l tire jus did t  How did Timothy James Grogan the Mufti dimensional Man who even in combat carried his guitar a 9-Irnn and a bag of got balls in n rack in his Lank a on a quiet Day i d hit a few of f into the Jungle or Rice paddies you know.". The evolving Man of Art literature and music respond to that doom vibrating Soldier in front of him i wasted  Haw Many times did he have in a it of Hii firs sergeant .1 few feel away. In  second i rime apart ail i could think about was anger pure  linger and now s leu time to Start  Grain s h in of us nine Ives a  Franr s   the first Ierg Iuit Infin Fern his yrs my  Irrer Verf in the company it sir How a Titi you want to be a Good tank Fri Svigir it t am a Guiott  sir t mean really a Rwjr /.wilier. Tit cause i in Jim everything there is i Kwiw Raoul.  and  in instruct hit curious Captain an every ii lil i ripped nut and Bull in the m-4ha3, a Trad warming by every tattle Manv nver and gunnery technique put dreamed up he h is  . The Tusl  expert sol Diirr i of Ever seen fro ice Whf tue was something else. I Hart been in the company ilium m o weeks and never seen my first sergeant eat a my. One Nihl before the Dak to offensive about 3 or  Of some godawful time i m out walking the perimeter and i heard ,1 noise and looked around and there s the first sergeant eating bread that s All jus t bread t said top or Hatari you doing and he just looked totally embarrassed " sir i m citing. I m sorry i m sorry " Well i Don t care. Goa Tacl. It s of to my " sir i m really embarrassed. I ctn t Ever want my soldiers to see me cat and think i m weak maybe that s the first Lime any studier Ltd seen him eat. In Cambut he thought he had to be the toughest Sono gun there Ever was. And he  grog though his sergeant would Vive fell momentarily lost. But just then another inspiration a recent letter from pfc father a combat Veteran of world War ii came ringing in my  he d written me remember you re in charge of a company not one tank. You d belter take charge of what s going on and in a few seconds i did got it together. And in that Battle 1 was saved by my dad Down to their last rounds Crogan s valiant soldiers saw morning creep in like the first Light of the world through smoke and cordite that curled like funeral wreaths aver hundreds of sprawled and blown Artmond enemy bodies. And the live ones gone into the Jungle. And Crogan the Victor suddenly sitting on the Edge of my career being  because there was this charging Light colonel the commander of the battalion to which a was operationally attached who flew out in his helicopter after the Battle was Over for a couple of hours a and wanted me to make no stuck to pursue the enemy and i refused the  it was a dumb order lust stupid and physically impossible. Because there were wounded and dead to take care of the enemy was gone and we had Zero ammunition. Attack t think i had one main gun round left in my tank. What were we supposed to do grind them under our wheels if we could find them in the Jungle a Friendly air strike Given the wrong Grid coordinates Back at battalion had just missed bombing our reinforcements on the Way. I told the colonel i had no problem attacking As soon As i got ammo and the dead and wounded evacuated. He just would t accept that. He kept saying attack co get Mel " the Light colonel stood there and proceeded to do some heavy heavy moralizing on Grogan s duty to obey him. I had to say wrong answer colonel. I just won t lie that. By the Way you just missed blowing up a company " i want you to move Caplin. Stool " colonel if you want this attack logo then you Lead it. Only you won t have anything to fight with " then i la relieve Youl " so relieve me so he was relieving me that was one of the cases where i was working far a Guy who was the Antithesis of everything you want in an army officer ii was just then that my Parent battalion commander my real commander came in. And he said. This is Horseshit and sorted it out and set the record straight. And i was sort of  when the casualties were out and Hie ammo was in Grogan and his reinforcements went after the enemy. He earned the distinguished service Cross for thai Overall action. In other Battles he earned the Silver Star the legion of Merit the Bronze Star for valor Wiki Oak Leaf Cluster the purple heart and other medals. The attack Happy colonel got out of the army. Who n you re in command and Ymir in edit is ire getting Kilk a something happens. A thnh Chiffi rent Side of your  f  or taught quietly now suddenly moving his eyes in he s right Hack there on that , ,. Talking about he part of his nature that emerged the first Lime he fint relieved from command. The Itic that does l have my h in do with hitting in of Halls into tilt Jungle. To was after this Battle near Dak to. Siml his mechanised column heading up  Mart on the tort Hill am 1 Tome Friendly vietnamese warning  the1 Nova had  in an ambush up there. We were restricted to the Road in i filled Hack to brigade Headquarters ind asked for artillery support and this voice mid in artillery " Al riot. T want to put Oul an cd Gnu no in the ground " no Viiu can t Pul Oul any Ruly in hit Ermi trl " then i want to recon by lirt1. " denied permission to recon by fire.1 " we re a slow mechanized column nut hire Inri we re Guintu gel i on thai Hill Diimmel " Don t fire unless fired upon Rcpt in dim l fire unless. " up the Hill the column clanked.  in the Lead tank. He Lurl his 10mm gun  d Lisp my i figured the enemy was wailing. He tilt it coming. In moments from that very spot slim  the hissing Flash. In the same moment Crogan fired. My round detonates in the fair Paw inn lust ill or round fines through the front of thu  suddenly lie s got a Hill Wuendi d Driver incl a wounded loader and no Way to gel them Oul and ,1 ii Asty Battle on his hands. When in was Over and he had Gurien his wounded peo Leback to Dak to i will straight to brigade Headquarters to the toc  Opi it Lois Center find said who s the Bleep who Gavi me  order there s a lot of humming around ill finally there s this Captain sitting Over in the in int a and he fays Well yeah he gave it. And  to know Why in the hell he had. " Well it to my judgment " who the hell Are you to make hint judgment Silling Back Here " a bit later after being pulled off i i Rithor Captain Down an t he floor and restating his Pritin Wil h some Fervour to the brigade commander who had walked in he was again relieved of command. Again his regular battalion commander i. Cal. Scott re Rig appeared and settled things in own. Look Grogan told the brigade commander i did l mean to beat up your Guys and i did l mean lit yell at you in front of your men but you re killing my  and there was never anything worse for Timothy Lames Crogan. I did not consider myself to be a professional Soldier who was worried about his career i could just As easily have come Back Home and gone to Law school. My while thing in combat was that when anybody got my people Hurt i became very licked off a stupid order was a stupid order and if that meant that my career was Over it just was t Imp instant. Ill was t relevant. I a in the business of living in the Jungle and keeping my Sofik is alive and that s All there was he said he Learned the lessons of taking care of my people Unrur his old commander Riggs who always bailed him out who died recently when a a wonderful caring Soldier who never made ctn eral but who know what the hell he was  after 20 years of seasoning. After coining Back from Vietnam and going to graduate school at Columbia. After steeping himself in he Wirts and going on olives will hit wife Kyj Theryn. They hive Twu daughters who he says Are very much Inlo music mtrh3l,19m of Rishi nut inf 13