Attached is a picture of me taken just outside of Plei Mrong (sp).

It was a Special Forces Camp for Montagnards. We later moved into Plei Mrong itself, got mortared several times and the "Yards" kept making contact.  The 3rd Brigade thereupon mounted a major operation there. A young chopper crewman was grievously injured during the operation and his physical and spiritual journey back to health is detailed in one of Charles Colson's books.   Capt Joe Cummings was the "A" Battery Commander when the alleged attack on "A" Battery occurred at LZ Mile High.  "A" Battery got mortared there several times (one of my Commo Sergeants was wounded). One of the grunt companies got into a major firefight about a half kilometer from the firebase. I think Bert (Landau) was there.

Here are some staff names from my OERs:

LtCol Richard I. Wiles, following LtCol Gerald Bobzien as the 2/9th Commander
Maj Donald E. Echelbarger (who retired as a Major General) as the S-3 until August, 1968
Maj Joseph M. Bowers as the Battalion XO
Maj Reynaldo Sanchez as the S-3 following Maj Echelbarger

I had three really fine young men working for me in the Fire Support Section at the 1/35th HQ:

Sgt John Martin Dwyer (Brooklyn, NY)
Sp4 Ritchie Mead (sp?) (Los Angeles)
Sp4 Mike McAlister (Oklahoma)

After I left Nam, the 1/35 was involved in a nasty battle near the Chu Pong massif.  My brother Bob (whose tour overlapped mine) said they were all killed, but later a friend from the 2/9th who survived the battle said all three survived unscathed.  I checked: their names are not on The Wall.

 

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