The Bonding of Warriors
A Unit History
The Early Years (1966-1967)
Ch 2
by Winslow "Rick" Stetson
When it was possible to get a weekend pass, some of the men would load up and take an overnight trip to Kansas City. The group usually included Ed Garrison, two former members of his old C Company platoon, Dave Moss and Stephen Noonan, along with Thomas Kloack and Don "Squeak" Ferraro. To cut costs, they would all share a room in a hotel and then spend the evening chasing young ladies attending a local airline stewardess school. Early Monday morning, Stetson would have the group fall out for PT formation and he was always amazed how the men who had been on pass could manage to run and exercise when they had so little sleep over the weekend.
On November 17th, two long range patrol officers and 44 enlisted soldiers (11 were members of D Troop's aero rifle platoon) boarded a plane for a trip to Charleston Air Force Base. They were scheduled to depart on November 19th on flight UKA 14-79A for Panama. The brief layover in Charleston enabled the group to see the sights along the historic harbor and enjoy a couple of good meals before heading to the tropics. Their flight was on board an Air Force C-97 Stratofreighter which cruised at 225 knots over the crystal-blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. The Air Force crew was accommodating during the SV 2-hour flight and allowed some of the men to visit the cockpit to view the instruments and listen to radio traffic.
Jungle Warfare School Panama Unit Orders 63 2 December 1966
STETSON, Winslow A. 2LT 05329276 885 Jungle Expert
GARRISON, Edwin B. 2LT 05329645 930 Jungle Expert
BROWN, George R. PSG RA18660420 855 Jungle Expert
SHAFFER, Roland H. PVT US56425370 828 Jungle Expert
SMITH, Patrick D. PVT US53438230 775 Completion
SOUZA, John P. PVT US56425312 805 Jungle Expert
FERRARO, Don L. PVT US56428380 935 Jungle Expert
PATRICK, Michael P. PVT US55896492 926 Jungle Expert
ALVEAR, Alfred PVT US54381809 843 Jungle Expert
KLOACK, Thomas R. SP4 US55896495 928 Jungle Expert
CHEEK, Eddie W. SP5 RA14565399 754 Completion
JOHNSON, James W. PFC US53442647 732 Completion
HUGHES, David P. PFC US55841775 753 Completion
HILL, Richard L. PVT US56425421 734 Completion
SCOTT, Beldon L. PVT US51606579 734 Completion
MEEKS, James R. SSG RA14805621 874 Jungle Expert
MOSS, David B. PFC US53443037 870 Jungle Expert
HULIN, Raymond A. PFC US54386038 923 Jungle Expert
NOONAN, Stephen D. PFC US51604287 864 Jungle Expert
COX, John S. PFC US53440608 924 Jungle Expert
REESE, Sammy L. PFC US53432530 907 Jungle Expert
HERNANDEZ, Robert PFC US56424309 839 Jungle Expert
KULCAVAGE, Edward PFC US51571308 967 Jungle Expert
SPEAKER, Timothy D. PVT US51822878 842 Jungle Expert
LAPLAUNT, James D. G. SP4 RA17677773 815 Jungle Expert
PRAY, Vern L. SGT RA18639539 917 Jungle Expert
PITTS, Robert E. SSG RA13648016 850 Jungle Expert
KELLER, Norman A. PVT US51607068 869 Jungle Expert
OLTZ, Fred E. PFC RA16837657 854 Jungle Expert
ROSS, Stephen J. PFC US56410299 849 Jungle Expert
JENKINS, Freddie D. PFC US54381832 852 Jungle Expert
HERRERA, John SSG RA18225528 893 Jungle Expert
COONROD, Lawrence W. PVT US55846249 848 Jungle Expert
HOWELL, William H. SP5 US52666947 815 Jungle Expert
DIBIASE, Benny PFC US51607159 807 Jungle Expert
JOHNSON, Lon C. SP4 US55850458 890 Jungle Expert
JOHNSON, Billy R. SGT RA19597064 822 Jungle Expert
STENMO, John A. PFC US55643456 873 Jungle Expert
ZIGLAR, Kenneth O. PFC US52668913 831 Jungle Expert
HALSEY, Richard W. PVT US54800609 835 Jungle Expert
O'NEAL, Joe C. CPL RA54339392 837 Jungle Expert
ADAMS, Charlie E. SSG RA14438026 880 Jungle Expert
AMES, Gerald E. SGT RA11378084 878 Jungle Expert
ALSTOR, Joseph A. PFC US51600640 871 Jungle Expert
PRANGER, Paul F. PFC RA16643842 865 Jungle Expert
WALLS, Robert L. Jr. PFC US42676717 834 Jungle Expert
When they landed in the Canal Zone, the group boarded several military buses that would transport them to Fort Sherman, the site of the US Army Jungle Warfare Schoolspan>. The men wondered why metal bars covered the windows and were told it was for protection in case any of the locals decided to throw a brick at the bus. Tension between the Panamanians and the Americans had escalated and the soldiers were warned to be especially cautious around the local police if they visited the nearby town of Colon. Nicknamed "white mice" because of their distinctive white helmets, the police had a reputation for throwing American soldiers in jail for the slightest violations.
Fort Sherman was a beautiful, tranquil base located on the Atlantic side of the Canal Zone. The Army had started jungle warfare training in the vicinity of Fort Sherman during WW II to prepare soldiers to fight on islands in the Pacific Theater. The 23,000-acre post had extensive training areas with single and double canopy jungle covering rugged hills, mangrove swamps and river tributaries. The soldiers were housed in large three-story masonry barracks with wide screened windows that allowed the sound of waves lapping the nearby beach to enter the sleeping quarters in the quiet of the evenings.
The soldiers were divided into five-man teams and began their two-week period of instruction by members of the school's Jungle Operations Committee. Classes were given on subjects such as jungle living, land navigation, and the identification of local plants and animals. Tropical fruits such as bananas and coconuts were tasted and the instructors even demonstrated how snakes could be cooked and offered samples of the reptile meat. The students were cautioned to be careful what they grabbed hold of when sliding down the side of a muddy hill at night. The region was covered with a palm tree notorious for its long, slender needles that would easily break off in the skin. Some of the soldiers would discover tips of the needles still buried just below the surface of their skin years after going through Jungle School, a reminder of their stay in Panama.
The students carried machetes and were shown how to chop down poles and use vines to lash them together and form a sleeping platform three feet off the ground and strong enough to support five team members. Palm leaves were thatched to make a roof that offered some protection from the daily thunderstorms. Late one night, a loud creaking sound was heard and then a thud as one of the sleeping platforms broke apart spilling a team onto the ground. Despite the increased chances of encountering snakes and insects, the exhausted men finished the night sleeping where they fell rather than rebuild their structure.
The survival instruction included a practical exercise on how to cook a chicken by burying it in the ground, covering it with dirt and then building a fire over it. Each team was given a chicken that they had to kill and cook. After the allotted period of time the coals were brushed aside, the chicken dug out and the feathers were easily pulled off the bird. The hungry team members enjoyed the tender and delicious meat for their evening meal. The next morning, however, the sound of a lone chicken could be heard clucking in the jungle. The men all wondered which team did not have the heart to kill its meal.
River crossing operations were conducted on the muddy Chagres River. A town once existed on the banks of the Chagres called Little America. It was a stopping off point for prospectors cutting across the Panama on their way to California in search of gold. The town was as wild as any in the Old West to include frequent shootings, but instead of burying the bodies, they were tossed into the river where they would be eaten by the crocodiles. The instructors relished emphasizing the part about the crocodiles and the reptiles were in the minds of many of the men as they were told they would have to construct a poncho raft and swim it across the river. They were divided into two-man teams where they cut and lashed poles together, bound a poncho on top and then removed their boots, trousers and fatigue jackets and placed them on their rafts. John Stenmo, one of the Doughboys in the group, watched as one of the LRRP rafts came apart in the middle of the river. With their clothing on the bottom of the river, the long range patrol team had to go through the remainder of the day's training, including a slide for life, wearing nothing but their boxer shorts.
Most of the privates going through Jungle School were spending Thanksgiving away from home for the first time. The Army always tried to ease the loneliness by having its mess halls go all out in preparing a Thanksgiving dinner. Even in Panama, the men enjoyed turkey with all the trimmings. When they were able to obtain a pass to Colon, all made it back to Fort Sherman in time for lights out and the local police detained no soldiers.
The NCO club would have bands play Panamanian dance music and several of the men jumped on stage to help play the bongo drums. With the beach just yards away from the barracks, it was inevitable that beer parties and cookouts would be held under the palm trees. The students thought Fort Sherman was one of the best-kept secrets in the Army but there were always subtle reminders that their fun days in the tropics were numbered. One was a haunting song by Jim Reeves that received a lot of play on a jukebox located in one of the barracks. Entitled "Distant Drums," it told of a soldier about to go off to war saying to his sweetheart, "Marry me, let's not wait. Let us share all the time we can before it is too late. Love me now for now is all the time there may be."
The men progressed through the course and accumulated points as they passed various tests. The goal was to score at least 800 points and earn the rating of Jungle Expert that entitled the soldier to wear a circular blue patch with a sailing ship on it under the words "Jungle Expert." Those scoring from 700-799 points earned a certificate of successful completion and anyone scoring below 700 received a certificate of attendance. A graduation ceremony was held at the completion of the course with almost all the group from Fort Riley qualifying as jungle experts.
Since they were just weeks away from departing for Vietnam, Stetson and Garrison had asked for and received permission to remain in Panama several days after the course was over for additional training. The tropical Canal Zone climate was much closer to what they would find in Vietnam than the weather back at Fort Riley and the jungle offered excellent opportunities for improving their patrolling skills.
One training exercise they planned was a night ambush. The officers split everyone into two groups with Garrison and half the men being dropped by truck about five miles from Fort Sherman. Stetson and his men were taken to a point somewhere in between. The plan was for Garrison's patrol to move down the road at night and walk into an ambush. Stetson arranged his men in an ambush position, set out his security, and waited. Morning came and there was no sign of Garrison's patrol so Stetson and his men hiked back to post only to find Garrison and his men already there. They had walked unnoticed right past the sleeping ambush patrol.
The men had worked hard in Panama and Fort Sherman's cadre had provided the group excellent support during their additional training. The jungle conditions gave the men a realistic idea of what to expect when they arrived in Vietnam. While they were in Panama, Special Orders Number 250 was cut back at Fort Riley assigning two officers and 33 soldiers to Troop D, 3d Squadron, 5th Cavalry for "deployment, rations, quarters and administration of military justice." When they returned to Fort Riley, however, 14 of the men decided to ask for reassignment back to their original units. Apparently, spending nights sleeping on the ground in the jungle (no platforms would be built in Vietnam) did not appeal to some as much as they once thought.
As the small, twin-engine passenger plane landed in Kansas, Stetson asked one of the stewardesses for her microphone and "welcomed" the passengers to "beautiful Fort Riley." He could see several soldiers in the darkened plane shivering while huddled under blankets. They had caught a tropical sickness and after being acclimated to the hot, humid climate of Panama, were about to be blasted by a bitter cold, four-degree Kansas night. Private First Class (PFC) Dave Moss was one of the sick passengers and would spend a week recovering in an Army hospital. PFC Raymond Hulin was another. Hulin was from Port Arthur, Texas and had ridden the rodeo circuit before being drafted. A quiet, true cowboy-type individual, Hulin was experienced in giving animal shots and had with him a hypodermic needle designed for horses. He filled it with penicillin and tried to convince Moss that he needed a shot. Moss politely declined the offer while Hulin injected himself in the hip. Within a day or two, Hulin was better while Moss was sent to the hospital.
Captain James L. Tedrick, a 27 year old armor officer from Casey, Illinois took command of the long range patrol in December 1966. He was a graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point) class of 1961 and came to the 9th Infantry Division from Fort Knox where he had completed the advanced course at the Armor School. Prior to that, he had served four years in Germany with the 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment. His new unit would also be operating with a cavalry outfit (the 3/5 Cavalry) but instead of tanks and armored personnel carriers; his men would be riding helicopters as the primary means of transportation. Captain Tedrick was proud of his armor background and still wore tanker boots, distinctive by their straps that wrapped around the boot instead of laces. His West Point background gave him contacts in division headquarters that were useful in arranging accommodations for the unit once it arrived in Vietnam.