Latter MAY 1967 - DA CAUO - SOUTH VIETNAM

The following report is from John Leppelman. During his service in the army from 1966-70, Leppelman was awarded the Bronze Star with "V" device, the Army Commendation Medal, the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, SVN Cross of Gallantry, the Combat Infantryman Badge, Combat Parachute Wings, another Vietnam Service Medal with three Bronze Stars and one Silver Star. His unit citations include the Valorous Unit Emblem. Leppelman started out as a FNG paratrooper in the 173rd Airborne, and later transferred to the army`s river boats and then again transferred to the all-volunteer Rangers. The following event took place while he was serving with the 173rd Airborne:

We got the word we would be flown to a Special Forces camp in a place called Da Cauo. According to our rumor mill, the green beanies (berets) were taking a beating, and we would be patrolling the mountains around their camp to take the heat off them. We were flown from one LZ (landing zone) in the middle of nowhere to another LZ in the same location. We formed up and moved out through the jungle while the sun was trying to work its way through the foliage. Before long we stumbled out of the bushes onto what looked like a well-used trail. We moved slowly along the trail until we came to an area where fresh leaves had been spread. Booby trap, we thought, so we moved away a little while the rest of the company fanned out and settled down, waiting for us to determine what was happening.

While we watched, Cat and Welch started snooping around the leaves and brush, slowly pulling them back. They had uncovered a cache of several enemy weapons, rice, and an RPG that was enclosed in a bamboo cage. The top of the cage had a swinging bamboo door that was tied to one side by wait-a-minute vines used as hinges. Several of the men wired the bamboo door with trip wires and grenades and covered the cache for the enemy and moved on along the trail. Toward evening we humped up a hill and set up a perimeter at the top. The word came down that there were dinks on the opposite ridge and that, come morning, we would move down into the valley and then up their hill and assault them.

We dug our holes deep that night and put heavy overhead cover over each hole in case they decided to mortar us. Our holes were about 15-20 feet apart, with good fields of fire. The platoon sergeant moved along the line, telling us to be prepared for anything. That made us nervous, and I wondered just how good higher-higher`s intelligence was. Based on what we had seen so far, the info passed down the chain of command to our company was so bad that I figured the Intel people had heard it on the radio. Because of the possibility of attack and the enemy forces suspected to be nearby, we were put on a 50% alert during the night; half of us were awake all the time, watching to our front.

At 3:00am I sat silently in my hole, watching the jungle and listening for trouble. Our IR scope had been replaced with a starlight scope some days before. The starlight scope amplified natural light from the stars and the moon. It was an improvement over the IR, but still didn't`t impress most of us. It was very dark, and visibility was about 15 feet at best when the unexplainable happened. Way below us in the valley a white light suddenly appeared. The light grew brighter and brighter very slowly. After about 30 seconds had passed, the light, which was getting brighter, gave us visibility of several hundred feet. I could see men way down the line. They, too, had their intention focused on the unknown light.

The light continued to get brighter, and not knowing what was coming next, I flipped the safety of my M-16. Men down the line began to wonder what was going on. Men who had been asleep came fully awake and manned their positions. By then the light was bright enough for us to see the other hilltop across the valley. We could see the trees and bushes very clearly. During this time, the jungle had become absolutely still, but whatever the source of the light, it made no sound at all. The light suddenly moved very quickly and disappeared into the sky. It was dark in an instant. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I felt chills. We discussed the mysterious light for a few minutes, then it got quiet while everyone thought about it. No one had a reasonable answer for what we had seen. The next couple of hours passed quickly.

At daybreak we ate breakfast, saddled up, then moved down the ridge toward the valley. After what had happened just hours before, all of us felt some apprehension. Second Squad took its usual position at point. We reached the valley floor and found no signs of life or anything else. We took a ten-minute breather while the rest of the company caught up. I did a commo check with Muir and adjusted my bandolier so that extra magazines were handy in case I needed them. The word came to move out. Expecting to hear automatic weapons fire at any moment, we slowly inched our way up the steep hill.

We reached the top, out of breath and excited, still feeling that we might make contact at any moment. Second Squad moved slowly across the top of the hill with 1st Squad close on our heels. We found bunkers as well as some hammocks and other items scattered around the holes. The gooks had definitely been there that night, but they had apparently flown the coop in some disorder.

We found individual rice rations, some small rucks father in toward the center of their defensive perimeter. "They beat feet outta here in a hurry," Croxdale said. It was a good thing: it would have been very hard to take the hill. We would have lost more than a few men. We figured that the weird light had scared them just as it had scared us. Maybe they thought we had a new secret weapon. Whatever the reason, they had pulled out, and we would have to keep humping to locate them. [BLOOD ON THE RISERS: AN AIRBORNE SOLDIER`S 35 MONTHS IN VIETNAM - pg. 133-135]