spot outside the perimeter and at the base of the
hill. This and the continuous illumination of our
location goes on for hours and I try to imagine
the huge load of ammunition and flares they must
be carrying.

First Light. We’ve heard nothing
from the NVA since Spooky opened up. It’s first
light, time for Spooky to leave us. One man has
been slightly wounded in the initial attack but he
doesn’t require a medevac, just a band-aid from
his medic. We are 100 grateful soldiers who know
just how close we came to being badly mauled.

Capt. Gibson tells the platoon leaders to have
half the men, under our platoon sergeants, do a
search in front of the perimeter while we report
to the CP. They find blood trails, bloody bandages
and scraps of uniforms, pith helmets and odds and
ends of equipment but no bodies or weapons.
Amazing that they could pull that off, given the
situation. S2 later advises that NVA prisoners
reported taking heavy casualties that night. But,