A Portrait of the Enemy

This article was published in the Tropic Lightening News on August 10. 1970…the division newspaper for the 25th Infantry .

WOMEN TAKE UP ARMS – This photo of a squad of VC (all young girls) was found in a bunker complex near the Razor Back by members of Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry.  In the foreground is an 82mm mortar.  One of the girls hefts an RPG (rocket propelled grenade); the others have AK-47s.

READY FOR BATTLE — This group of VC came out of the cover of a rubber plantation near Dau Tieng to pose with their big weapons.  The heavy guns include a 75mm recoilless rifle and two 82mm mortars.  This, along with the other photos, was captured by the Golden Dragons while on a four day bushmaster.

Men, Women, Children, Guns: A Portrait of the Enemy

 LITTLE TO THE LEFT — These two VC appear to be aiming a mortar tube using the line of sight method.  They have been operating with a large group of the enemy in the Dan Tieng area.

AMBUSH — It is not known whether this shot was taken during an actual fire fight or if the Viet Cong were just posing for the camera, but they look all business.  Most of the VC have AK-47s but the fellow in the lower right hand corner is aiming the feared rocket propelled grenade.

 

Hoi-Chanh Diary 
‘The Never-Ending War’
By SP4 HENRY ZUKOWSKI

  CU CHI — Information compiled from enemy detainees through the combined efforts of psychological teams and line companies of the 25th Division ‘s 2nd Battalion (Mech), 22nd Infantry, on operations near here has provided a keen understanding of the enemy in hiding.
One such soldier, Duong Duc Ha, was a guerilla fighter for 25 years.  At age 12, he became a Viet Cong soldier and eventually attained the rank of captain.  This is his story, compiled from interrogation reports and his diary.

I was infiltrated into South Vietnam when very young.  Years went by that seemed like centuries.  The search for the enemy was constant, but supplies and men were always but few.

JULY 13, 1966 — Today, many of my men are sick, very sick.  By daylight over a quarter of my company will die.  The cause is the mosquito.  I have orders to move on to another unit closer to American and Vietnamese forces.

NOVEMBER, 1966 — The search for the enemy becomes long.  The heat combined with darkness; the life underground without light.  We dig into the hard dirt day after day.
Food and arms become scarce for my men.  The enemy finds and destroys our homes and food supply.  Now replacements are fewer.

MARCH 1, 1967 – Today we had orders to move to a new area to secure a shipment of arms.  We reach the rally point but no one comes.  We stay and wait the hideous wait.  Someone comes.  The noise is unknown to us.  It is the enemy but we have only a few arms and munitions with which to fight.  “Run,” I say.

Months go by and still no food to feed all my men.  There’s never enough rice to eat.  When we are hurt we haven’t medicine to take care of our wounds.  When we die our bodies are thrown somewhere our families don’t know of.

1969 – Last year the Party issued what they called the general attack and up-rising.  We look back now, the result is nothing.  We see only blood flowing in all the land.
We see this, but our higher ranks always say “Fight, Fight!”  We see the shortages of ammo and weapons; our personnel gradually die off, night and day.  Life underground is so bad; we await inevitable death, exhausted.  We live in such poor conditions, but the higher ranks take no notice of us.  They live happily in the holy land of Cambodia.  How do they know about our sorrowful lives?
The Revolution distorts the truth …. The National Army in South Vietnam becomes stronger and more steady.  We become tired of being ill-treated by the Party.  We grow tired of fighting the never-ending war.

MAY 1970  –  The time in the war is very short.  The fear and hesitation to charge is great.  Soon I will go to the friendlies and Chieu Hoi.  It is time we give our young a happier future.

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