Patrols at Tay Ninh© J. DUNGAN 67/68 Outside of the village of Tay Ninh, enemy activity was increasing. More night patrols and ambushes, and a lot of day Search and Destroy missions. The night before Christmas, Charlie let us know he was still around. Snipers and incoming mortars off and on all night long. The next morning we mounted up and moved into the village. Only to be given a Christmas gift! There was a large banner across the road saying "Merry Christmas GI give up". On the ground there were hundreds of tiny leaflets with a statement about President Johnson and Gen. Westmoreland. The leaflet would be a free pass to surrender and they would help us and free us from this useless war.
We reconned the area, but no results. The other scout team went out that afternoon and when they got back, their jeeps looked like Swiss cheese. They had made contact. Well that only means one thing! More night Ambushes. Orders came down. Circle the village while on Patrol an set up an ambush. Any one that enters or leaves the village is dead before sunrise.
We did our patrol and set up our circle around the village. I was with Curry on the M60 that night. You lay there on the ground, concealed with bushes and painted faces. We made no contact that night with the VC. But it was another night of fighting the insects and critters of the night. You try not to move, or it could give your location away. As you lay there the dew gets heavy. You start to get the chill from the dampness. You bite your lips to keep from rattling your teeth. Then those huge (dive-bombers) start bussing around your face looking for a place to land and suck the blood out of you. You use insect repellent. But they just love that stuff. The snakes go crawling by. As long as you didn't move they wouldn't bother you. Little lizards would craw over you legs and depending where you were, you had leeches or scorpions. You had it all from bugs to tigers. Sunrise no contact. The village people start to come out of their huts. As we lay there and watch the locals in their ways of life in this country, it makes you really realize how good you have it back in the States.
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