LANDMINE ON HIGHWAY 509
A35 RESTING IN MOTOR POOL
I arrived in RVN in June 67; green as grass
and maybe the second or third youngest guy in the platoon. Seago was
my Platoon Sergeant for my first weeks in 3rd platoon. He had worked
with Lt. Wagner and Lt. Atkinson before that. E-7 Davis came in
July 1967. Both he and Seago were outstanding people with very
different personalities and I learned a lot from them. Seago was
easy going and was particularly good with people and managing junior
lieutenants. He certainly managed me well. I also recall that he
played the fiddle in a band at the NCO club and I heard him play
once or twice when I was invited there.
ABOVE Left - PSgt Davis
Center - Sgt Emminger
Right - Lt Schneider & PSgt Seago
Davis and I bumped heads at first but we managed to get along better
as I learned from him and gained experience. He being from the South
and me from Brooklyn, NY didn't help initially. He was an excellent
soldier, knew his stuff and really took the responsibility of protecting
the troops seriously. I recall he was a very serious person.
On the morning of 10 November 1967, PSgt Davis and Sgt Emminger were
wounded on Route 509 when a mine exploded under A-35, Davis' 3/4 ton
truck in which they were traveling to the bridge site. Davis went to
the hospital in-country (I think Nha Trang) and wound up back in A Company
rather than getting to go home. I have a vague memory of visiting him in
the hospital. Over the years I've lost track of what happened to Sgt. Emminger.
If I remember correctly, our security force on 509 was an armored cavalry
unit, B Company, 1st of the 10th Cavalry (the Buffalo Soldiers). One of
my proudest moments was when the platoon reacted very fast and secured
the area quicker than the escorting "A Cavs." Our guys off loaded from the
trucks and secured the area before the A Cav reacted and got in position.
3rd platoon continued to help secure the position until we evacuated the
wounded. Afterwards, if I remember correctly, we continued on to the bridge
site to go to work.
A35 BEING PULLED INTO MOTOR POOL AFTER HITTING LAND MINE ON HIGHWAY 509
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