The package

A Marines Experience
written by:

E.M. Murray Master Gunnery Sgt. Ret.

Every year it is seen by thousands of curious visitors. It rests inside a glass case and is part of a larger collection of oddities and momentos collected at the Vietnam Veteran' Memorial in Washington DC.

It is a package, a plain brown package all sealed up with a name on it and an address. The package is about the size of two shoe boxes, and filled with...who knows what. Writing paper perhaps, candy, socks maybe even cookies. I received lots of koolaid back then in similar packages.

The addressee never received this package. He is dead, been dead for over 30 years most likely. One day that package came back in the mail to the sender as undeliverable, addressee unknown or something like that. So today that package rests in its place in the Smithsonian museum for all eternity. It will until the caretakers feel that Vietnam is of no further interest and decides to trash it along with the rest of the momentos.

This brings to mind something that happen to me a long time ago in a far off place called south Vietnam. I was just a 19 year old kid assigned to a Marine rifle company near Da Nang. I was new and I was alone except for a few guys who came over on the ship with me. I remember Eddie from Los Angeles , we served togther and survived together. I also remember Kayle. Kayle was a new guy like me and Eddie. We got along because as new guys we didn't quite fit in yet, the Marine rifle company known as Mike Company was made up of some "hard dudes" who have seen and participated in combat since arriving in Vietnam. Most of them were still talking about May 3rd when Mike Company was ambushed and a number of Marines were killed and wounded. This was July and May 3rd was still fresh in their memory.

Eddie, Kayle and me were in the rifle squad, we took care of each other. One day as I was bringing up the rear of the squad patrol I heard a rifle shot an M-14 high power rifle. One of ours. As I raced up the trail to see what was going on I found Kayle standing over a badly wounded VC. This VC had been surprised and tried to run. Eddie fired at him from the hip and knocked him down, Kayle had just placed his rifle muzzle to the VC's head and fired. There was no need to carry this VC anywhere he was gone. That night we set up an ambush in the rice paddy to see if that VC's buddies were going to try and retrive the body. No Luck. Note that no recriminations are made here, I would have done the same to that VC without remorse.

In late August 1966 Mike Company crossed the Son Thu Bon River into very hostile territory. Later, long after 9th Marines had left this place, the 5th Marines would take over and that area across the river would be known as the Arizona. On this day though it was just more rice paddy, rice paddy dikes, snipers, and vacant villages. These villiage were more sinister, more evil than any place I had been so far. Mike Company walked into an ambush as it was approaching a village. We had a couple of tanks with us, and still the VC ambushed us. I was far away from the firefight so my team leader rushed us to the scene.

When we got there the Company was pinned down and the tanks were firing over our heads. Captain Cooper was a very tall man, he walked about unconcerned about the bullets flying about. He yelled out to Mike Company Marines "Fix bayonets!!" hat the heck? we thought. Most of the old timers had long ago shitcanned their bayonets as they had been too heavy or too impractical. Only us new guys had bayonets, so we did as ordered. We attached the bayonets and proceeded to advance toward the village and the trees as the tanks continued to fire over our heads.

During this little episode Mike Company took too KIAs....killed in action. One KIA was Sgt Kappmeyer our platoon quide. The sergeant was a Marine through and though. I held him in awe and now he was being carried past me in a rubber poncho. The other KIA was Kayle. That evening as we were returning to our base at An Hoa and having had to cross the raging Son Thru Bon River in a single file grasping the wooden entrenching tool handle of the Marine in front of us .....we were dog tired. Exhausted was the word. Yet we walked and shuffled our way "home". At one point someone, perhaps it was the Captain yelled out "Sing!" "Sing you bastards, sing for Sgt Kappmeyer and for PFC Kayle"...So at the top of our lungs we sang the only song all of us knew. Believe it or not, we, sang in the dead of night, in the heart of vietnam. We sang "From The Halls Of Montezuma To The Shores Of Tripoli" We sang that song as we approached the An Hoa base camp.

We entered and formed a company formation, at this time we were told to rest. clean our weapons, and that there would be mail and chow. I entered my crappy tent with rows of broken cots. There I did find some mail waiting for me, and over on Kayle's cot there was some too. A package, a plain brown package with a handwritten address on it. Filled with who knows what?