Oct-22-1968

OCTOBER 22, 1968

Article written by Dave DeSoucy

The first platoon took the point with 1st Squad leading and PFC Michael Holmes at the point. The point squad line up was as follows. Behind Michael was PFC Culberson (another southerner that Michael use to hang with) in the slack position. Next came PFC Young (a new guy "cherry"). Then came SP4 Mike Davis, acting squad leader. (SP4 Floyd Turnley had been medevaced by myself about a week or so earlier for an unknown fever). Next came a fat cherry with glasses (he was the RTO and I can't remember his name). I was next in the number six position. Behind us the rest of the platoon trailed us. We moved out towards another hilltop along the ridge line some time between mid morning and noon.

We were cautiously working our way up the trail when about half way up the hill the whole area ahead and about us exploded. Everyone in the lead squad was knocked down and had both their helmet and weapons blown away by the concussion. I intermediately scrambled to get both my helmet and weapon, which lay nearby. I looked up the trail and several feet to my front was the radio laying in the middle of the trail (the fat cherry with glasses had fled). I immediately saw PFC Young followed closely by PFC Culberson scrambling down the trail in an evasive manner as they
fled the kill zone. Both appeared to be slightly wounded (I saw blood on Culberson's hand but neither appeared to have sustained life threatening wounds). Both soldiers went literally right over the top of me, forcing my face into the dirt of the trail. I noted that SP4 Davis had scrambled to and retrieved the radio. A moment later we both saw Michael come crashing through the foliage along the trail and collapse about 30 meters up the trail. I could see he was going into shock (his complexion was already turning very pale). We both yelled words of encouragement for him to come to us. He didn't respond so I ran forward to his location and dragged him back down the trail and stopped adjacent to Mike Davis' location. I rolled him over with my back facing up the trail and Michael's back to my chest as I examined him for wounds. I immediately found an entrance wound about the center of his torso just below the rib cage and realized he had sustained a probable fatal wound. I yelled in his ear (the explosions and weapons fire coming in our direction was almost deafening) that he was going to be OK. He responded "Yeah Doc". Those were the last words I recall him ever saying. I continued to attempt first aid life saving procedures by placing an abdominal bandage on the wound as Mike Davis yelled into the radio to get some more people up to us so we could get Michael down the hill. Moments later several soldiers scrambled up to our location (one being Michael Christensen). About this same time I located an exit wound in Michael's back. We carried Michael down the hill a little further as I placed a bandage on the exit wound. Michael was lying on his back in the supine position when I noted he had stopped breathing. I immediately started mouth to mouth resuscitation. I blew into his mouth two or three times and each time the air escaped through his abdominal wound even as a soldier applied pressure. As I already knew, his wound was fatal and at that point I let him die as peacefully as possible. I doubt that Michael was very coherent during the last moments of his life, there were no more responses (that I am aware of) from him after his last words to me.

Conclusion

The above narrative took literally only a few minutes and some of the narrative took place in a matter of seconds. Michael's body was wrapped in a poncho and carried back to the company command post area as the platoon rallied for an assault on the hill. The platoon got on line and opened up with all weapons and the NVA responded in kind. I noted rounds impacting around me just as an RPG exploded to my front. I was shrouded by black smoke and falling leaves as I yelled for a casualty report. SP4 Mike Davis went dashing by me to my left yelling "Yeah me Doc". I noted that he was covered in blood about his back and side of his face. I treated him moments later for multiple fragmentation wounds to the back, neck and left side of his face. In a matter of minutes the 1st Squad point element had sustained five casualties. All were evacuated except for PFC Young and I who had only sustained minor wounds. I took another 20-30 minutes to figure out if I had been hit due to the large amount of blood on my uniform. The blood of my brothers whom I will never forget. God Bless them all and may Michael rest in peace.

Sincerely

Doc Deuce

P.S. We did finally take and secure that hill and it never did have a formal name or location but in my mind it's always been, "Holmes Hill".

22 October 1968

1st Platoon, A Company, 2nd Bn, 501st Infantry ( Geronimo)

Introduction

Our company had been moved from LZ Sally by CH47 Chinook helicopters to FSB Tomahawk. We launched this operation along with C and D companies from the battalion. We had landed briefly at FSB Tomahawk (the fire base actually looked like it was just being established, there were no bunkers or barbed wire to speak of) and moved off of the FSB within the hour. We were assigned to move up towards the high ground to the southwest and work the ridge line. The terrain quickly went from scrub brush up into double canopy jungle along the ridge top. Within a matter of hours we made contact at the point of the company. What followed were a few days of point contacts and running fire fights with the NVA as we pushed them back along the ridge line (the ridge line was a few miles in length and was typically one little hill top to the next with thick vegetation and overhead canopy). Each platoon rotated on a daily basis as the point element. As of 21 October the company had 3 confirmed NVA KIA and one soldier from the third platoon KIA (SP4 Rehder, friendly fire accident).