An authentic account of combat with an airborne company in the waterlogged rice paddies and demanding jungles of South Vietnam. Share the experiences of fighting men under punishing conditions, extreme temperatures, and intense monsoon rains as they search for the enemy in the rugged mountains and teeming lowlands. Relive all the terror, humor, and sadness of one man's tour of duty with real-life action in spectacular stunning detail. Run Through the Jungle Real Adventures in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade By Larry J. Musson, JoAnne M. Katzmarek AuthorHouse Copyright © 2015 Larry J. Musson All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-5049-2118-3 Contents Dedication, v, Introduction, vii, Chapter 1 On Leave Before Vietnam/The Lion Story, 1, Chapter 2 On Hold in Seattle, 4, Chapter 3 On to Vietnam, 10, Chapter 4 Assigned to A Company 3rd Battalion, 503 Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade, 17, Chapter 5 Work Details and Making Friends at Uplift, 23, Chapter 6 My first Combat Assault with the Radio, 32, Chapter 7 Assessing a B-52 Bomb Strike Way up North, 38, Chapter 8 Blocking Force at the Beach, 44, Chapter 9 PX Trips and General Population Assessment, 51, Chapter 10 Setting the Trap and Friendly Fire, 60, Chapter 11 Monsoon, 66, Chapter 12 The Big Lie, 73, Chapter 13 Lost for Christmas, 84, Chapter 14 Walking Out of the Mountains to Firebase Abbey, 93, Chapter 15 Change in January/A New CO/The Tiger Story, 103, Chapter 16 Wood Cutters Ambush Site, 112, Chapter 17 Straight up the Mountain, 121, Chapter 18 St. Patrick's Day Massacre, 130, Chapter 19 Return to Uplift/My Birthday, 144, Chapter 20 Hill 466, 152, Chapter 21 Sappers at Firebase Tape, 167, Chapter 22 R & R, 174, Chapter 23 Hollywood Visits Alpha Company, 205, Chapter 24 Dangerous Animals Out in the Boonies, 211, Chapter 25 Night Ambush Outside Uplift, 221, Chapter 26 A Very Important Kill, 227, Chapter 27 Balls of Fire in the Hills Outside English, 234, Chapter 28 Unbearable Temperatures/Hump to 506 Valley, 242, Chapter 29 Searching for VC/NVA in 506 Valley with the New CO, 249, Chapter 30 CA to the Basecamp Five Miles Out, 255, Chapter 31 Five Days in the Hospital, 265, Chapter 32 Rescue in 506 Valley, 271, Chapter 33 CP Ambushes/The Navy Ends a Problem, 282, Chapter 34 Battle for Our Lives, 293, Chapter 35 In Country R & R at Phu Cat Airbase, 299, Chapter 36 The Last Detail/Exit Uplift, 306, Chapter 37 Hendricks Saves the Day, 313, Chapter 38 Getting Out of the Army/Going Home, 322, Afterward, 331, Glossary of Terms, 335, CHAPTER 1 On Leave Before Vietnam/The Lion Story It was early September; I was on leave after Airborne School before going to Vietnam. I took a long route home, which included a stop in Carbondale, IL. I was visiting my longtime girlfriend who was attending Southern Illinois University at the time. While there, I had a unique, frightening experience that is almost laughable today. On Saturday morning, my girlfriend had an early class and suggested I meet her in the student center cafeteria for breakfast afterward. I agreed and we met as planned around 7:00 for breakfast. The cafeteria was on the lower level of the student center. It had windows along one wall that looked out along the walk that circled the cafeteria as well as the entire center. As we walked out of the cafeteria, toward the exit of the student center, we saw a man and woman dressed in what looked to be safari kakis unloading a full-grown male lion from a station wagon parked along the walk. My girlfriend and I spoke about how strange that was and then went back to our conversation of planning the remainder of the day before we had seen the lion. We did not know at the time, there was an event scheduled at the school, in the student center, which featured the lion, a young replacement for the older movie lion in "Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion" and of the TV series "Frazier". We continued to walk to the end of the corridor where there was a set of doors to exit the Student Center. The doors led directly outside but were two sets of solid doors both opening out, the inside being solid glass, the outside being solid metal and separated by a small carpeted vestibule. Each set of doors was equipped with "panic bar" latches on the inside, very easy to operate and ideal for exiting the building in an emergency. you could not be trapped up against the door if being shoved by a crowd trying to get out. We did not know it at the time, but very shortly, we would be in a difficult emergency in that vestibule. As we passed through the inner glass doors, I saw the arm of the person on the outside of the solid metal doors holding the leash with that full-grown lion we had seen lead the lion around the solid door. Without looking to see if anyone was in the vestibule and saying to someone on the outside "Here, just let me get rid of him while we talk", the person's hand let the lion go and he was with us in the ve