A Story Never Told

Firefight in the Mekong DeltaMarch, 1968 - A story never told. I have always been very silent about my experience in Vietnam. After 47 years, it's time to say something. My name is Gary D. Snay. I served with 3rd Platoon, Delta Company, 4th Battalion, 9th US Infantry (Manchu), 25th Infantry Division, 1967 - 1968. This is a link to the Delta Company roster with my name on the Manchu Website. http://www.manchu.org/online/D-co.htm

Excerpt:

Assault helicopters, guns blazing, hovered above the water and the troops disembarked. Jumping into the black water, five or six feet above the surface, caused one to sink into the muddy mess up to his chest. We were in the Mekong Delta again.

A miserable place for Infantry. Mile upon mile of flooded marshland, rising and shrinking in depth, according to the ocean tide. There were patches of mud peaking above the water providing some relief when the tide retreated. A thousand small islands, sprouting tall trees, dotted an endless ocean of mysterious filthy water. Endless, if you had to tread the void on foot.

Swarms of predatory mosquitoes, detecting fresh blood, would attack all hours of the day and night. They journeyed in rolling clouds, surging in infinite shapes, not unlike a swarm of schooling fish. Hovering above the soaked and sweating troops, they would dive bomb at random, for a meal. Their bites caused welts on exposed skin; boils full of puss would form. After bursting, your sweat would sting the raw flesh.

This was a favorite hiding place for the North Vietnamese Army. Only Assault Infantry could tread the Mekong Delta. There were few roads. The swamp made it impossible for Armor or Mechanized Infantry to traverse the dreadful environment of the Mekong. On this day, the Fourth Battalion, Ninth US Infantry (Manchu), Twenty Fifth Infantry Division would seek out, close with and destroy elements of the North Vietnamese Army. Many young men would die. In civilian life, they called it premeditated murder.