One of his platoons was quickly cut off by the enemy.
I got my soldiers together in the creek bed I thought they needed a little pepping up.
They’d seen their buddies killed.
Their response was wonderful.
We’d moved forward about 50 meters.
Suddenly, in a grassy area, all hell broke loose.
Unknown to us, the enemy had been crawling forward in that grass.
In one respect, our launching the assault may have saved the battalion.
One of my lieutenants wore a compass I saw it explode on his chest.
I came in with 95 guys.
Eighteen were killed, and another 26 were wounded in two days.
A full account of the battle can be found inWe Were Soldiers Once … and Young(1992).
Nadal retired as a colonel in 1981 and later worked as a human resources executive.
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