The Cherry

I never try to respond to these posts, but this post by Keith Nightingale I do take issue with some of it. Those “Cherrys” were ALL IMPORTANT and deserved to be remembered!
On 14 Feb 1966 just about a month after our arrival, we were part of an action referred to as Operation Taro Leaf. We were checking an abandoned village SW of Cu Chi and came under enemy fire from small arms and automatic weapons and were pinned down. SSG Duran asked a few of us to try and move forward to provide cover for our medics that were working on the wounded. A real Newby, PFC Cordie Dixon, and I, along with Sergeant Duran moved forward to provide cover fire, and SSG Duran was hit in the chest several times and went down. Cordie was by me and before I could pull him down, he was hit in the head and chest. Cordie fell next to me and had this surprised look on his face. He was bleeding badly from the head and chest. I tried to apply a bandage to his chest and kept the pressure on, but he was gone before a medic could get to us. They thought I was also wounded, because I had Cordie’s blood all over me and on my face, from wiping away the tears. I had watched his life slowly fade from his eyes as I tried to keep him alive. Cordie had been with us just one week.
SSG Frank Gambrell, SSG Eloy Duran, PFC Cordie Dixon, and PFC Gary Coyle (19 – Our Medic) were all killed that day. Sp4 George Newman and Sp4 Bob Roentsch (another Medic – we called him Wrench) were both wounded on the 14th and died on the 19th of February. I could tell you a lot more about them. Cordie was just 18; he would have turned 19 on March 2nd. SSG Duran was awarded the Bronze Star. He had a wife (Chong Sun) and a son (Eloy Jr.). Gary Coyle was awarded the DSC. SSG Gambrell had a wife (Ingred – They met and were married in Berlin, Germany) and 3 daughters (Patricia, Sylvia, and Anita). Sp4 Newman died 4 days before his 22nd Birthday. And it was Sp4 Roentsch’s 20th birthday on February 14th when he was wounded. During down time, we often talked about family and friends, and what was going on back in the real world, and what plans we had when we got back. We didn’t talk about NOT getting back, but it was always there in the back of our minds. It was the way we bonded – it also made us real people to the other guys, not just names.
After February 14th, I started keeping a journal. I called it “The Book of the Dead”. It initially contained everything I could remember about members of A/2/27 that were KIA. As I met men from other companies (B & C of the 27th and also the 1/5 Mech) and got to know them they were also included. It was very important to me that they not be forgotten. On the last two pages I put in my own information, so that when I was killed, the record would be complete and the journal would go back home to my parents. They needed to understand that these were REAL people with friends and families – not just names on a KIA list in the local news paper. This was long before there was ever a plan for a “Wall”. One of the hardest things I did was to write a letter to Cordie Dixon’s brother Gerald. Cordie was also RA. He had signed up with the promise that he could get a college education. You remember the recruiters! He was from a poor dirt farming family in South Carolina and was rather naïve about the world, but was more than willing to learn. He was just too kind and gentle to be there. His death was the first time I really cried in Vietnam.
So, you see, I always knew their names, and they were important! I was just another Grunt – not an officer. Maybe that is the difference?

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