THE BONDS FORGED BY WAR LAST A LIFETIME

By LTC Rick Stetson (Ret), 9th Infantry Division, Long Range Patrol

As told by Prescott “Smitty” Smith and Duane “Poncho” Alire.

DEDICATION

This narrative is dedicated to the E50 LRRPs/E75 Rangers who were killed in action in Vietnam between 1967 and 1971 and speaks to the “bonding of warriors” that today unites the men on the 50th anniversary of their military service.

Duty Calls

In 1968, during the Vietnam War, Prescott “Smitty” Smith and Duane “Poncho” Alire served in the same U. S. Army unit, “E” Company, 50th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP).

Smith and Alire had very different birth places, family backgrounds and personalities, but in the real life or death setting of war – the two men bonded and were blessed with leadership qualities, skills and responsibilities that ultimately led to their becoming life-long friends.

Alire, from Monte Vista, Colorado, was drafted and promptly inducted into the Army in Denver, Colorado in July 1967. He was assigned to Fort Campbell, Kentucky for basic training. Shortly after his arrival at Fort Campbell, while undergoing initial processing from civilian to military life, Alire made, what he thought at the time, a simple helpful suggestion. While moving folded bunk beds into an empty barracks, Alire noticed two trainee soldiers struggling to fit a bunk bed through an open doorway. Seeing their dilemma, he suggested that if they turned the folded bed 90 degrees it would fit easily.

As he walked away from the barracks, a drill sergeant (DI) stopped him and asked, “What is your name?” Alire, still not dressed in a U. S. Army uniform, knew instinctively after several days of being hollered at and ordered around like an undisciplined child by men dressed as this DI was dressed, the man was not to be trifled with. He quickly responded, “My name is Alire”, and slowly spelled out his Hispanic last name – one letter at a time. He was summarily dismissed.

The next morning at 05:30, the man with the distinctive flat brimmed campaign hat now stood on the steps in front of the newly outfitted barracks with a clip board in hand. He began explaining the way things were going to be for the next several months. After a few minutes, he asked everyone to take a step back and then announced, “These are my trainee squad leaders. You will follow their orders because they are essentially my orders.” He then turned to a subordinate DI and asked, “Where’s the short Mexican?”

Alire, who had earlier sequestered himself in back of the 40 or so trainees, scrunched down, hoping not to be noticed.

The young DI walked around looking up and down the rows of young men and then announced, “Here he is” and placed his hand on Alire’s shoulder. The senior DI asked him to bring Alire forward before saying, “You are my first squad leader. You are responsible for the 10 men in your squad. They screw up, it’s your fault”. Thereafter he selected an additional 3 trainee squad leaders and a single trainee platoon leader. Alire served as the trainee first squad leader for the entire training cycle. Unbeknownst to Alire at the time, his suggestion to his fellow trainees cast a die that would lead him to the LRRPs.

In September 1967, Alire completed the Army’s Basic Combat Training at Fort Campbell and was assigned to Fort Polk, Louisiana for Advanced Individual Training (RVN oriented). By December he was home on leave with orders to report to a transit station in Oakland, California on January 3, 1968 for deployment to Vietnam.

Smith, from Sacramento, California, was a college graduate and after being drafted in mid-March 1966, was ordered to Fort Ord, California. At Fort Ord he volunteered for Officer Candidate School (OCS), selected infantry for his OCS specialty, and was ordered to Fort Dix, New Jersey for the Army’s Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training.

Smith recalls his decision to volunteer for OCS in his book titled, Last Light With The Boys, when one of the other potential OCS candidates said to him,

“So what are you going to do, buddy?”

Smith responded, “I think I’m going to take that test and see if I can go to OCS.” The other man froze for a split second as the room became quiet.

“You’re making a big mistake, I hope you know that.” the man replied “You’ll be in Vietnam in less than two years and get your ass shot off.”

Smith replied, “I don’t need you worrying about my ass. I don’t know you, I don’t like you, and in two more days I probably will never see you again.” The man, according to Smith, seemed shocked at his response.

Unbeknownst to Smith at the time, his response to the man and his decision to go to OCS cast a die that would lead him to the LRRPs.

Smith completed the Army’s Basic Combat Training and Advance Individual Training (RVN oriented). He graduated from OCS, earned his airborne “jump wings” and completed the Army’s Pathfinder School. He was prepared to insert into a combat operational area by parachuting from an aircraft or by repelling from a helicopter. He was also trained to plan and execute pathfinder missions and to escape and evade, if necessary.

In January 1968, the young men were in Vietnam. They were fully trained, confident and highly motivated, and they were both assigned to the 90th Replacement Battalion at Long Binh. One was an officer – the other a private first class. It was here their paths diverged – officers went one way and enlisted men another – only to re-converge later.

Following an orientation to Vietnam both men were assigned to the 9th Infantry Division’s (“Old Reliables”) Reception Center at Bear Cat, the division’s basecamp until it was later moved to Dong Tam near My Tho.

At Bear Cat, Smith was assigned to the 9th Pathfinder Detachment of the 9th Aviation Battalion. During this assignment, Smith trained soldiers of the Royal Thai Regiment (The Queen’s Cobra) in airmobile operations. He was awarded Thai Jump Wings when he made a friendship jump with the Thai soldiers.

Alire volunteered for duty with “E” Company, 50th Infantry (LRRP). He began his formal orientation and training to become a member of a 5-man long range reconnaissance patrol team. After successfully completing the training program, he would serve as a LRRP patrol member, point man and team leader.

On January 30, 1968, the armed forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People’s Army of Vietnam (NVA) launched the Tet Offensive. It was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. The offensive was a series of surprise and sustained attacks by the NVA and VC against U. S. and allied military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam. January 31, 1968 was the single most lethal day of the war for American troops when 246 personnel were killed or mortally wounded.

Alire recalls, “Tet exploded around me as beautifully as any 4th of July fireworks display back home”, adding later, “Now this was a real shooting war”.

By the first of February, both men found their respective units fully engaged in the Tet Offensive.

In mid-February Smith departed Bear Cat by helicopter for Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base near Saigon. From there he travelled to the MACV 5th Special Forces Group’s Recondo School at Nha Trang and completed the rigorous Recondo School in March. Soon thereafter, Smith volunteered for duty with “E” Company, 50th Infantry (LRRP).

In March Alire, shortly before he was to report to the MACV 5th Special Forces Group’s Recondo School, was promoted to a LRRP team leader position – more responsibility – same pay.

Both soldiers would command LRRP teams. Sometimes the teams consisted of 5 soldiers; other times, as with Hunter-Killer missions, the teams expanded to 10 or more soldiers.

The LRRPs’ principal mission was to locate NVA and VC units and their infrastructure, i.e., base camps, staging areas, trails and supply routes and then to report their locations to the 9th Division’s G2 and G3. They were essentially the 9th Division’s eyes and ears in the field with “boots on the ground”.

They patrolled in Vietnam’s dense triple canopy jungle in III Corps and in the Mekong Delta’s swampy mud flats, rivers and canals in IV Corps.

Teams were inserted into their prioritized areas of operation (AO) by helicopter, ASBPs, PBRs, APCs, “stay behinds” from infantry units and occasionally, they walked out of a base camp through its defensive perimeter.

At times the teams deployed off the USS Benewah. The USS Benewah was a self-propelled barracks ship built on an LST class 542 hull. LST class ships were named after counties in the United States. The Benewah’s namesake was Benewah County, Idaho. The ship served as a mobile base camp and changed its position on the Mekong River frequently.

The teams also conducted recon missions from the 9th Division’s base camp at Dong Tam and the division’s outlier bases at Nha Be, Tan An, Can Tho, Bear Cat and various other Fire Support Bases (FSB).

However, by mid-1968 “mission creep” began to erode the LRRPs primary focus from reconnaissance missions toward missions that would result in an increase in enemy “body counts”. Many of the LRRPs believed the shift in their mission was a misuse of the highly trained and skilled reconnaissance teams.

It wasn’t until mid-June that Smith and Alire actually met each other. Their fateful meeting occurred at Fire Support Base David, a camp approximately 400 meters square with artillery cannons strategically stationed at various locations throughout the camp.

The misuse of LRRP teams when they were farmed out to units within the 9th Division’s AO had become problematic. One such misuse resulted in a full blown kerfuffle at FSB David when Poncho’s LRRP team was ordered to “listening post” duty. Lt. Smith was dispatched to FSB David to resolve the misunderstanding. Smith writes in his book,

… the LRRPs in the tent didn’t seem to know who I was, but quickly the silence was broken as one of the men stepped forward and introduced himself. ‘Sir, I’m Specialist Bien,’ as he gave me a sharp salute. As I returned his salute, Bien turned and in a strong voice said, ‘Poncho, there’s a LRRP lieutenant here to see you.’ As I looked on the other side of the tent, I saw a short Hispanic man with a thick mustache moving toward me. As he moved closer to me, he blurted out, ‘I’m Alire, who the hell are you?’”

Although Smith was somewhat shocked by the greeting, he couldn’t help but smile as he instantly knew that this soldier had his shit together.

‘I heard we had a new officer in the unit, you must be him,’ Alire continued.

By this time, all the members of Alire’s LRRP team were at the tent and as he continued to look at me, Alire began to introduce them to me; not by rank, but by their last names.

‘There’s Bien, Smith, Bellwood, Pegram and Monroe and you can just call me Poncho.’

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had just met Duane Alire from Monte Vista, Colorado, who would end up being one of my closest friends from my time in Vietnam.

‘I’m Lt. Smith. I’ve been in the unit a little over a month. I transferred from the 9th Pathfinders.’

‘Hell, we have two Smiths in the unit now,’ Poncho continued, as he pointed toward Specialist Richard Smith, who he had just introduced to me, and then added, ‘We’ll call you Smitty’.

As I look back on that introduction, I can remember vividly the uniqueness of that first meeting and the impression it had on me. Poncho was a no-nonsense guy, who called it exactly the way he saw it and his leadership style certainly demonstrated that point. In the six months I served in the LRRPs, Poncho never once called me Sir and it didn’t bother me at all. From the very beginning of our association, Poncho and I developed a relationship based on trust and confidence in one another.

After Smith left the LRRP tent area, Alire turned to his team mates and said, “That’s an officer we can trust. You guys pay attention to him.”

Smith’s book also describes examples of how the 9th Division LRRPs operated and their unique support needs. He points out there were some higher-level commanders who did not know how to properly utilize the LRRPs while others understood how LRRPs could provide valuable “boots on the ground” intelligence.

One such officer who had the backs of the LRRPs was the 1st Brigade commander, Col. John Geraci. Smith described a time when a LRRP team was in contact about 10 clicks northeast of Fire Support Base Moore. The LRRPs managed to break enemy contact around 0200 hours and the team leader called the TOC and requested an immediate extraction. As Smith describes it in his book,

The assistant S-3 on duty in the TOC refused the request for extraction, stating that an extraction at night would be too dangerous and the team would have to wait until daylight for extraction. Poncho, who was the LRRP in the TOC monitoring the team’s radio transmissions, got into a heated argument with the assistant S-3 and threatened to kick his ass if an extraction helicopter was not sent to get the team immediately.

As the argument continued, Col. Geraci, who had been at Fire Support Base Moore earlier in the day inspecting troops, happened to walk into the TOC. When he asked what was going on, Alire informed Geraci that a LRRP team was in contact and the assistant S-3 would not approve an extraction helicopter.

Col. Geraci went ballistic and fired the assistant S-3 on the spot. He then got on the radio and using his call sign, ‘Mal Hombre’, he ordered an immediate extraction.

This brief exchange resulted in Col. Geraci achieving legendary status with the LRRPs. It also speaks to the personal relationships LRRPs, like the one Smith and Alire nurtured – without regard to rank – had with army commanders who understood and supported LRRP operations.

After The War

Both Alire and Smith maintained contact with each other over the years and shared many long distance telephone conversations. In 2009 one of their conversations culminated, as Poncho describes it, “two old warriors agreeing to meet in Washington D.C. for a week of sightseeing”. On that visit they agreed to plan a return trip to Vietnam – this time as tourists.

In April 2010 they travelled to Vietnam. As they departed from the San Francisco International Airport, Smitty reminded Poncho, “No regrets and no apologies. We were soldiers following orders”.

Landing in Ho Chi Minh City, aka “Sai Gon”, they were met by 5 former South Vietnamese Rangers who served with “E” Company, 50th Infantry until the 9th Division rotated back to the United States in 1971. Beginning in early April 2010, and for the next three weeks, the five former South Vietnamese Rangers served again as hosts, translators and guides – just as they had in 1968.

Alire characterized their experience in the war saying “What we did as LRRPs in Vietnam was very dangerous work. We were very good at it and lucky.”

Jointly they summarized their war time experience saying, “We were tested and lived through the worst the war could throw at us and came home.”

After the war, Smith and Alire successfully pursued meaningful careers – Smitty as a highly regarded, celebrated college basketball coach and Poncho as a national park ranger and park superintendent. The two friends “led the way” both as Rangers during the Vietnam War and in their civilian lives after separating from the military. They nurtured a fledgling friendship formed long ago in a distant land into A Bond Forged By War That Lasted A Life Time.

Acknowledgments

This article was a cooperative effort and several individuals deserve thanks for providing information, answering questions and proof reading. I am especially indebted to Prescott Smith and Duane Alire for sharing their written words and their oral memories of their war time experiences, to Poncho for sharing his historic photographs and to Karen J. Purnell for her deft editorial touch and suggestions for clarity, continuity and readability.

Selected Bibliography

9th Infantry Division LRRP Unit History by the men that lived it

Hernandez, Bob. Bonding Of Warriors. True Stories Of The 9th Division LRRP/Rangers as told by the Brave Men That Lived Them: Compiled by Bob Hernandez. Self-published. Lulu.com, 2014.

Smith, Prescott. Last Light With The Boys: Self-published. Lulu.com, 2008. Revised 2019.

Stanton, Shelby L. Vietnam Order Of Battle. New York: Galahad Books, 1987.

About The Author

Rick Stetson was one of two Airborne/Ranger qualified 2LTs selected by the 9th Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas in 1966 to form a long range patrol platoon. After the platoon began operations in Vietnam in 1967, it expanded in size to become E Company 50th Infantry (LRRP) and in early 1969, E Company 75th Rangers. Stetson served as the unit’s operations officer and got to know Smith and Alire after the war at E Company reunions.