INTRODUCTION       “The Lieutenant and the Black Virgin”

                                               Memoirs of a soldier in the Vietnam War

VIETNAM 1969

In 1969, I spent a year in Vietnam serving with the United States Army during one of the most difficult periods of the war.  What follows in this blog is not a history lesson written by a scholar or politician. It is the account of one soldier who lived it day by day alongside the men he served with.

My first three months in Vietnam were spent as a Signal Officer with the 25th Infantry Division.  In addition to my regular duties, I also served as a courier, delivering classified documents to the Central Intelligence Agency (Phoenix Program), the 5th Special Forces, and the intelligence branch of the 25th Infantry Division.  Those assignments gave me a unique view of the war beyond the normal responsibilities of a young officer.

The next six months of my tour were spent on Nui Ba Den, better known to American soldiers as Black Virgin Mountain.  There I held dual responsibilities.  I served as Executive Officer for the Provisional Company, where I was responsible for perimeter security and the safety of the men defending the mountain.  At the same time, I continued serving as Signal Officer, responsible for overseeing all signal units operating on the mountain.  Vietnam was a place of constant tension, responsibility, exhaustion, and uncertainty.  Decisions carried consequences, and every man depended on the others beside him.  The experiences I describe here are based on memory, official records, and the lasting impressions carried by those who served there.

This blog is dedicated to the men I served with – especially those who never made it home, and those who came home carrying the war with them for the rest of their lives.  I write these stories for my family, for future generations, and for anyone who wants to understand what that year was really like through the eyes of someone who lived it.

 If you have any recommendations or comments, you can reach out to me at [email protected]