AN AMERICAN SOLDIER FALLS IN THE VIETNAM WAR — AND BEFORE DYING, HANDS HIS WEDDING RING TO A FELLOW SOLDIER On an afternoon in 1966, in Viet Cong–controlled territory near the Cambodian border, Captain Norman Schwarzkopf — then a lieutenant colonel — was leading a U.S. infantry unit into an area suspected to be heavily mined. The air was suffocatingly still. The jungle birds had gone silent, leaving only the heavy sound of boots pressing into the red earth. Suddenly, a terrifying explosion shattered the quiet. A young soldier had stepped on an anti-tank mine. The blast ripped through the air, sending thick black smoke swirling upward and shrapnel flying in all directions. Screams of agony mixed with another explosion as a second mine detonated. The entire squad descended into chaos. Several men were severely wounded, lying scattered across what had become a deadly field. Most commanders would have ordered an immediate retreat to preserve the remaining troops. But Schwarzkopf did not.
On the night of February 23, 1969, six and a half miles west of Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam, a small Marine observation post belonging to Company A, 1st Battalion, …
AN AMERICAN SOLDIER FALLS IN THE VIETNAM WAR — AND BEFORE DYING, HANDS HIS WEDDING RING TO A FELLOW SOLDIER On an afternoon in 1966, in Viet Cong–controlled territory near the Cambodian border, Captain Norman Schwarzkopf — then a lieutenant colonel — was leading a U.S. infantry unit into an area suspected to be heavily mined. The air was suffocatingly still. The jungle birds had gone silent, leaving only the heavy sound of boots pressing into the red earth. Suddenly, a terrifying explosion shattered the quiet. A young soldier had stepped on an anti-tank mine. The blast ripped through the air, sending thick black smoke swirling upward and shrapnel flying in all directions. Screams of agony mixed with another explosion as a second mine detonated. The entire squad descended into chaos. Several men were severely wounded, lying scattered across what had become a deadly field. Most commanders would have ordered an immediate retreat to preserve the remaining troops. But Schwarzkopf did not. Read More