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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: marcos who wrote (141971)	7/29/2004 6:03:55 PM
From: unclewest	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

The nature of combat rules out complete elimination of brutish atrocity, imho .... when you get the adrenalin up, it's pretty hard to turn it off... in any case, a sizable portion, if not most or all, of Viet Nam atrocities occurred in zones declared 'free-fire' I agree with your premise that combat is brutal, harsh and bloody. But then, it is a fight to the death. I cannot confirm where most or all of the atrocities occurred in Vietnam. I never saw any. As for free fire and restricted fire zones. I never went on an OP anywhere but in free fire zones. I was never subjected to fire restrictions. Nor do I recall attending any briefings on such. The hamletts you speak of were located along the coast, near cities, rivers and highways or in the delta. There were no hamlets in areas I worked. Mostly, I worked the Southern Laotian and Northern Cambodian borders attacking NVA regulars in the central highlands from Northwest of Kontum to northwest of Ben Het and Dak To. After a hospital stay, I spent a month or 2 on loan to the Korean White Horse Regiment during their sweep of the Dong Bo Mountains. My job there was to ride the first bird in after they made contact and call in airstrikes to support their leading attack company. I also spent a few months flying border sniffers, aerial recons and attacks, and doing NVA landline communications interdiction along the central Cambodian border region. I also spent a few months doing night ambushes. It was good work. I enjoyed it all. I am always surprised by the subject of free fire zones. I think the phrase was developed by folks or reporters back in CONUS. I never heard a grunt complain that he couldn't shoot back.