I was a teenage thug always in and out of trouble with the law. After a particularly bad deed the judge said "...jail or join". Jail and being in the service have alot in common. More than most people think. I decided the better of the two was to go to the U.S.Army. Ooops!! I joined just after the TET Offensive of 1968. Accelerated 6 week boot and my orders came back TDY Vietnam. As soon as my 17 1/2 year old ass set foot on Southeast Asia soil, I was wisked off to MACV Recondo School in Nha Trang. After a few weeks of spook training I was ordered into the 7th Special Forces, 50th Infantry, 25th Division. I was the fifth member of a five member Long Range Patrol (LRP) Hunter / Killer team designated Foxtrot 5-7. I served my first tour of 13 months and 2 weeks and I was pulled aside by my Captain and told my performance was exemplory and offered me $3500.00 to re-up. Little did he know that after being a total fuck-up my entire life, here was someone in authority who was telling me I WAS somebody. I jumped all over it. My second tour I was the designated sniper on my team. We had an ROTC, Westpoint, trained Lt. who was the dumbest commisioned officer cherry in the history of Vietnam. I am now rounding off 1969 and going into 1970. I am in a place of my own choosing. I had the chance to go back to the World and didn't. It wasn't the money....it was the recognition. This Lt. got our team in alot of trouble. He took the Hunter / Killer designation a little too seriously. It was his lack of knowledge about boonie fighting that caused my team (his team?) many casualties. The Army always had new troops for us, though. Until one fateful 70 hour bubble in time. No sleep, in the rain, no rations left, very low on ammunition and putrid water can cause a man to do things a little out of the ordinary. I am not allowed to tell what happened in that 70 hour bubble. It is still classified after 35 years. I can tell you this much, I spent 6 months at the Fort Leavenwoth Stockade and after my trial I was dishonorably discharged on an Article 15, Section 8. I felt betrayed by my country and by it's citizens when I came home. I will, also, tell you this. Stay out of range of my scope!!!!
