29 Jan 2007 REMEMBERED by a friend. West Paseo Canasta, Green Valley, Arizona 85641 2cutler1@cox.com

 

04 May 2007 In early August '68 I left HHC S2 with 4/39th in Dong Tam for Bearcat and DEROS. At the helicopter pad where I hitched a ride, the pilot said we might make a stop to pick up a KIA from the 2/39th. I put emphasis on "might," not welcoming the idea of descent into a kill zone in my last days, especially into 2/39th territory. They were, as I thought then, always getting their ass kicked. This means no disrespect to them, just respect for the VC and the fierceness of the battles the 2/39th got snared in. Soon the pilot began a steep ascent, climbing to at least 1500 feet, and I began to think we'd fly nonstop to Bearcat. Soon enough we began a steep descent, my stomach lurching as in a sudden elevator drop. We picked up the KIA: an Idaho son, whose high school ring fell off his finger when his head bumped the chopper floor. We flew on to Bearcat, where we dropped him off at Graves Registration. I think I put his ring in his fatigue jacket, but my memory is never sure. After turning in my M16 and other gear, I was walking to Casual Company when someone called my name. I turned and saw a fellow Montanan from Great Falls, former schoolmate from high school and college, Glenn Fish. Small world! The irony of coming and going was awkward. He told me he was going to 2/39th. I had an instant foreboding, not telling him what I knew. We wished each other well. Three weeks later, leaving Scheffi's Pancake House on a weekend morn shortly after the daily Tribune arrived, I bought a copy and flipped over the fold, there seeing Glenn's face looking back. I think of you often, Glenn. Now I will also think of the three men who died in the same battle, still wishing I knew more about what really happened. From a schoolmate, Keith Fahey P O Box 16462, Encino, California 91416 epibound@aol.com

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall Bravo Company, 2/39th Infantry, lost four men in an engagement on 27 Aug 1968: SSG Roy C. Register, Valdosta, GA; SGT Glenn C. Fish, Great Falls, MT; CPL Jerry Celletti, Sterling, IL; and PVT Leslie M. Dyson, Takoma Park, MD.

Contact Us

© Copyright 1997-2019 www.VirtualWall.org, Ltd ®(TM)

Last update 08/15/2019.