A veteran remembers

November 16, 2007 03:06 pm

— Atop Nui Ba Den Mountain
As each Veterans Day approaches I tend to recall memories that happened on top of the Nui Ba Den Mountain that helped shape what we know today about the Vietnam War.
It has now been over 23 years since I have retired from the United States Army. After giving more than 23 years of service to my country, I would like to share a piece of my personal history, which is now history, in honor of the fallen soldier.
In May 1968 I was on the Nui Ba Den Mountain. I was residing in a place that was worlds away from home, family and friends. I was learning to adapt in a new country, another culture, and what sometimes could be construed as hell. It was hard, draining, stressful and unnerving. The thought of knowing you could die at any moment due to constant attacks from the enemy led to many sleepless nights.
The mountain was held by the NVA and VC from the bottom to just about 50 yards from the top. We, Company B, 588th Engineer Battalion (Combat) along with an infantry unit and signal personnel held the top at that time. I was assigned here to construct administration, housing, and security facilities for the radio relay facility atop Nui Ba Den Mountain. I was there for 90 days. This location was accessible only by helicopter.
In August of 1968 during the early morning hours, the site was attacked by a large enemy force. The engineers fought valiantly alongside the infantry and signal personnel, and after four and a half hours the aggressors were forced off the mountain top, sustaining severe losses of men and equipment.
After the attack, the members of Bravo Company immediately began repairing the damage caused by the enemy during the battle. Despite mounting casualties, we continued on with our mission there with the morale and unfailing confidence we had in ourselves, our unit and our platoon sergeant. Our platoon leader was a very wise man who looked out for his men. He made sure we always had enough water, food, and other everyday living supplies that we needed.
We were not far from Cambodia or Saigon and on a clear evening we were able to see these cities from the mountain. Another sight was the gray, ashy looking trees in the dead, damaged forest at the bottom of the mountain as a result of Agent Orange being sprayed on it.
The relay position that I helped man — relaying enemy positions and arc light strikes (B-52 strikes) as well as artillery strikes — had one common vein: the constant and relentless enemy strikes on us. Sometimes we went with no showers or hot food, except when we heated them with C-4 plastic explosives.
The relay post was actually built around the Tomb of the Black Virgin. I remember that we had a quad-50 cal. machine gun around the tomb. We were told that the tomb was sacred to all Vietnamese and to deface or breach it in any way was punishable by prison or death if brought in by South Vietnamese. They really wanted this sacred mountain.
“Take Me Home Country Roads” by John Denver was one of the hit songs at that time and boy did it ever hit home for me. The American Red Cross girls would come up and help distribute all the mobile PX (Post Exchange) that was sent to us pretty often, along with our mail that we received on a daily basis if the weather held out.
The horrifying stories that followed each man’s tour from the mountain were mostly true. It was a horrible and unforgiving mountain that took more than she gave to occupy it. The sacrifice of each American soldier in the utmost couragous , honorable, brave and determined way humanly possible was what she asked for, and that was what she got.
The serve here on the Nui Ba Den Mountain was an experience that I will never forget and will always hold it in my heart as a tribute to the men who never got off the mountain.
— Raul Cadena