Vets, do you remember your first firefight ?
I know I sure do! In my book, Cherries – A Vietnam War Novel, I wrote about my first combat engagement – at that time, remembering it as if it were yesterday. Speaking for myself, I was confused, terribly frightened, and only had one thing on my mind – how do I make it through this? Our company stumbled into a large enemy basecamp, and we lost almost an entire platoon within the first minute of the ambush. I had only been in the bush for a couple of weeks at this point and found myself pinned down when the enemy flanked us. The experience opened up a can of emotions for me that I never knew existed – and never forgot. There were other firefights, but the first one always stands out. Whenever I relive that experience, my heartbeat quickens and the hair on my neck stands on end.
What about the rest of you? It doesn’t matter which war you were in…do you still remember? Click on the comment link below and share your experience.
If you enjoyed this article and want to learn more about the Vietnam War – subscribe to this blog and get each new post delivered to your email or feed reader. Click on the title at the top of this page to be redirected to my main page – a directory on the right side lists similar articles and points of interest.
