Dave arrived at Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam and after a few days there, he received orders assigning him to the 101st Airborne Division. He was then sent north to 1st Brigade Headquarters at Camp Eagle in I Corps. "I was stunned by the austere ambiance of the place," says Dave, "as well as frightened by the stories I had heard about the constant fighting the 101st Airborne Division battalions were in. I was immediately assigned to the 3-506th and put on a chopper to LZ BETTY down south in II Corps. When I disembarked at LZ BETTY, the beautiful blue ocean was the first thing I saw and it was a big relief compared to the camp up north."

    When Dave arrived in South Vietnam in February 1969, the 3-506th had just completed a series of combined operations with elements of the 44th ARVN Regiment, 23rd ARVN Division in search of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces in the hills northwest of Phan Thiet. These combined Currahee and ARVN operation employed reconnaissance-in-force, as well as "Bushmaster" tactics against the enemy in an attempt to keep the enemy off balance, prevent enemy buildups, seize enemy supplies, and weed the enemy out of populated areas within Binh Thuan Province. In early February, the battalion commenced Operation HANCOCK EAGLE, a three-phase mission which would encounter some of the fiercest fighting for the Currahees during the year.

     The three phases of the operation consumed the months of February and March, with a three-fold purpose for the Currahees. The mission for TF 3-506 was to locate and destroy all enemy forces within the AO, conduct combined operations with its ARVN counterpart, and provide combat support for the Revolutionary Development/Pacification Program in Binh Thuan Province.

     Beginning in late April, 1969, TF 3-506 commenced pacification efforts together with Regional Forces in support of the Binh Thuan Province Redevelopment Program. The pacification operations involved searching target hamlets and conducting small unit pair-off operations in and around the hamlets within the province.

     As the month of May began, the Currahees took their new challenge head-on. "Pacification and Pair-Off" operations within AO SHERIDAN went into full swing, as combined U. S. and Regional Forces subjected targeted hamlets to cordons and searches. Once the hamlets were secured and cordoned, U. S. intelligence teams and members of the Vietnamese National Police Field Force interrogated the inhabitants. Cordon and search efforts were designed to seek out and uncover the Viet Cong Infrastructures (VCI) within the hamlets that supplied the active Viet Cong units and provided revenue and intelligence information for them. The destruction of the VCI would also destroy Viet Cong efforts within the area by denying them access to supplies and safe harbor within the villages. Dave says: "I was wounded on May 1, 1969 with a bullet through my right ankle.

The Incident

     "The operation we were on began at LZ SANDY the night before, on April 30.   For us infantry, it was going to be very special because we were accompanying four tanks from the 1/69th Armor, and would get to ride on them instead of humping thought the boonies. It was a real treat. We had all the water and food we wanted without having to carry it all on our backs. It felt like a vacation-type operation.

     We drove through the boonies that day, making real progress but finding no enemy. We set up for the night in a perimeter in a slight clearing and felt very rested for a change. We also felt very secure having four tanks on the perimeter. I remember waking in the middle of the night with green tracers flying about four feet over my head. We were being probed by the enemy. No return fire was given, keeping our positions hidden, and the rest of the night went by uneventful.

     The next morning, we packed up and continued the hunt through the boonies. Sometime around noon, we came out of the trees and were starting to cross a large clearing when I saw one of the guys on the next tank jump down and begin firing across the clearing into the tree line. The tanks stopped and after some discussion, it was determined that an enemy in black pajamas was sighted running through the trees. We waited around and after no more sightings, we boarded the tanks again and approached that clearing.

     When about 20 meters from the tree line, a couple of guys on the next tank jumped down and began firing into it. All tanks stopped and many more jumped down and began firing into the bushes and trees. I and two others jumped down in front of the tank and began firing randomly from a kneeling position. (Obviously, my dumb mistake was not getting behind the tank first.)

     There was no return fire, we saw no enemy, so we were just randomly firing into the bushes. When the tank commander positioned the gun barrel over our heads, he yelled for us to get behind the tank because he was going to fire a round into the tree line.

     The three of us got up and began trotting to the rear of the tank. At that point, all hell broke out and there was a lot of explosions and firing from the tree line. I found myself falling to the ground, feeling like I hit my leg on one of the many tree stumps in that clearing. By the time I hit the ground, my lower leg felt like it had swollen to the size of an elephant's foot. Then the pain hit like a burning poker had been thrust though my ankle. I quickly realized that I had been hit and yelled the obvious, three times: " I'm hit, I'm hit, I'm hit". Bullets were still flying and I didn't know if they were incoming or outgoing, but thoughts of being overrun began filling my mind and I began worrying that I couldn't walk, let alone run, to save myself.

     One of my squad members behind the tank, Jim Holmes, reached his rifle out to me as a lifeline to grab onto, which I did very willingly, and he pulled me back behind the tank, out of the line of fire. The medic was called for, but he was located at the next tank. Since we were still receiving fire, he couldn't get to me right away. I wasn't happy about that, so I yelled for him to get his a*s over here, right now. I was scared to look down at my foot, because there was pain along with numbness and I thought I might end up seeing my foot gone. One of my squad members trying to help me told me it didn't look too bad, so I looked down just as he was pulling my boot off. Blood poured out of the boot like it was a full bottle of beer, but my foot was there and I felt relieved to see it, though my blood pouring from the boot was not a pleasant sight.

     The medic arrived and started an IV, gave me a shot of morphine, and bandaged my ankle. There was still a lot of firing going on, but it was all outgoing. As the morphine took effect, I calmed down quite a bit and felt pretty secure. I remember the platoon sergeant (Sgt. Stark?) on the horn calling in a medevac for me, as I was asking one of my squad members to get my camera from my rucksack to take a picture. I asked the platoon sergeant to move so he could get a clear camera shot, and he screamed his a*s off at me because he was trying to get a medevac, and this was no picnic!. He did move, however, and the picture I got out of it is in the 1969 photo section on the website.

     It was thought and documented that I had been hit by shrapnel, but I later found out that as I was running to get behind the tank, there was a line of bullets following me as someone was zeroing in on me. Therefore, I realized it was a bullet round that went through my leg. I was also told that we stopped in front of the tree line just before entering an ambush that we were led into by that first pajama-clad enemy that was spotted. Since we didn't enter the kill zone properly, they ended up firing everything they had prepared and took off. That was the all hell breaking loose.

     One enemy, found in a hole, was killed in the ensuing sweep through the area. I remember our battalion commander, LTC Alves 'Blackhawk' was in the air in his chopper over our position trying to locate the escaping enemy. He offered to land and medevac me out if needed, but the medevac chopper was already on its way. No one else in my unit was injured on that day."

The Causality

     "I was medevaced to LZ Betty and taken to the aid station," recalls David. "They re-bandaged my ankle and secured it in case it was broken and put me on a chopper to Vung Tau. I arrived in Vung Tau as it was getting dark, had my leg x-rayed (no bones were hit), and then was immediately taken into surgery.  They cleaned out the wound and fixed what needed to be fixed. No stitches were put in until a couple of days later when they were sure it would not become infected. At that time, they cleaned the wound with a brush, which hurt like a bitch and stitched it up. I spent approximately one week or a little less in Vung Tau and was medevaced to Cam Ranh Bay. I recuperated at Cam Ranh Bay for approximately three to four weeks. During my time at Cam Ranh Bay in May, 1969, I saw a lot of wounded guys from the battle of Hamburger Hill coming through. A lot of them were in bad shape and since they, too, were Screaming Eagles, I felt empathy and a connection to them. It was the beginning of my sense of belonging to the 101st. Once I was off crutches and walking again, I was sent back to LZ Betty to resume duty. "

Remainder of Tour

     When Dave returned to LZ BETTY from his recuperation at Cam Ranh Bay, he received a medical profile keeping him off the line for several additional weeks. "After I returned to LZ BETTY, I really couldn't walk well yet," says Dave, "and having nothing much for me to do back at LZ BETTY, they sent me to Whiskey mountain where all the 'I don't know what to do with you guys' ended up."  He spent a month there on guard duty sometime around July, 1969. There was intense boredom for him on that mountain. When he came down from the mountain (no religious connotations intended), hr found out about the battalion draftsman going home, so he put in for his job since he, David, had two years of mechanical drafting in high school. The major who interviewed him asked him if he knew how to use a Leroy lettering set (a mechanical aid for making ink lettering of various sizes) since a lot of the work utilized it. "I had seen one before but never used it," said David.  "So I told him I was very good with it. After getting the assignment as battalion draftsman (and, consequently, reassigned to HQ Co.), I stayed up at night for several days learning and practicing on that Leroy set until I actually did get very good with it...field expedience!" Dave left Vietnam on February 10, 1970, during the time the 3-506th was searching the caves on Hill 474 for NVA. He was promoted to Sgt. E-5.

A Civilian Once Again

     "I was discharged from the Army approx. 2 months early, in 1970, (having been drafted in 1968) to attend college. The Army's program at that time allowed as much as a three month early discharge to attend school. I enrolled at Penn-Morton College (currently named Widener University) in Chester, PA, my home town. I got a job as a draftsman and got married in 1971. I continued attending night school while working full-time during the day and part-time on weekends as a musician (guitar player). After my first child, Jennifer, was born in 1975, we moved to Yardley, PA in Bucks County to raise her and any future kids away from the city environment. We bought a nice house in a nice neighborhood, a little over our heads but well worth the effort. I continued night school at Trenton State College, just across the Delaware river from Yardley, and finally received a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1983. During my time in night school, I worked full-time as a mechanical designer and got very good at it. After receiving my degree, I stayed in the design area of engineering and obtained employment with an aerospace company (RCA, then bought by GE, now owned by Lockheed Martin located in Newtown, PA) where I still remain (24 years) designing spacecraft (commercial and government). I develop and model all spacecraft configurations used for all new proposals."

     "I met my wife in grade school, began dating her right before getting drafted, and married her in 1971. My first child, Jennifer, was born in 1975. My next child, Mark, was born in 1978. My third child, Justin, was a surprise and born in 1987."

Dave Hentosh’s reflections on his Vietnam experience. . ."

     "I was drafted in 1968 at 19 year-old and had no idea what the war was about, but I always had a strong sense of responsibility and went when called.  When I received orders in Vietnam assigning me to the 101st, I was perplexed and scared. I was not Airborne, never wanted to jump from a plane, and didn't feel I should be in an Airborne division. Of course, by this time the 101st was Airmobile, and anyone could be assigned to it.

     Being drafted, I was not gung-ho or very much interested in the military. I just wanted to fulfill my responsibility, and go home. A year with the 3-506th taught me a lot about tradition, loyalty, esprit-de-core, and pride. It gave me a sense of patriotism that I never knew existed, let alone felt in myself. It gave me a heart-felt sense of what it takes to protect our freedom and what those before us fought for and accomplished. While those at home were developing hate for the country, the war, and the military, I was moving in the exact opposite direction. I was not happy to be in Vietnam, but I began to feel a part of our county's efforts there. I did not understand the reasons or the political philosophy of what was going on, but I saw and understood the commitment of the individual soldier and was often awed by their actions and the mission of the United States. During my tour, I became proud to be a Screaming Eagle and an American, regardless of what others at home felt. I carry that pride with me now and will die with it.    

     "My one year tour in Vietnam shaped who I am today and, consequently, helped shaped the character of my children. I received good and bad influences from Vietnam but, overall, it was a positive experience. I may be more cynical than I should be because of Vietnam, but I sure understand and believe in the individual spirit a lot more than I ever would have. I may have a deep distrust of politicians and political ideology because of Vietnam, but I also have a love for my country and an appreciation for what we have that I could not have received any other way. I may abhor violence and violent people because of Vietnam, but I'd sign on in a heartbeat to fight and kill to protect this country and our freedom."

Dave and his wife, Barbara lives in Yardley, Pennsylvania. You can contact Dave at: david.j.hentosh@lmco.com

"Thank you for your service, Dave, and thank you for being there with us and for us."

----------#####----------

---

Click the shield to return to Then & Now Homepage