REFLECTIONS

Dianne Smith does an excellent job of explaining the history of Vietnam through the eyes of her husband, PaPa Pete Smith, in her book, Strike Soldier in Country ’67 and ’68.   

The date of July 19, 1968, will live in infamy for Peter. On that date, he was shot by enemy fire. He’s serious when saying he would like to meet the rifleman who fired the shots that almost killed him.

Peter tells the story of the events surrounding the day he earned his Purple. Heart.

“My squad was on night patrol two miles north of the An Lo Bridge along the Song Bo River. Our objective was to set up an ambush. There were 7 in our squad.”

Lemoen Yingling was Peter’s foxhole buddy. Gail Sheffield carried a 24-pound machine gun. Arthur Gutierrez of Arizona, David Kukla of Michigan, Craig Stransky of New Jersey and Don Newell were other squad members.

Vietnam had no electricity The night was black on the trail next to the river. The only light was the moon and the stars.

Smelled the enemy

“Suddenly I smelled the enemy. Vietnamese have a different body odor.

“The guy who shot me was at a distance of 3 to 4 feet. I took two bullets from his AK47…one in the gut causing a compound fracture of the left femur…both bullets went clear through. I had no chance to return fire as I fell backwards into the shallow Song Bo River.

“A firefight ensued but I dared not make a noise lest the VC or my own guys would fire on any human noise. Don’t know how long I lay there. 

“I lost my M16 rifle in the melee. I tossed my knife and my American Colt 45 as far as I could throw them so the enemy could not find them. As I lay in silent pain, I began to pray.

Many prayers

“I had a large of repertoire of prayers, Hail Marys, the Lord’s Prayer and I even prayed the Table Prayer. I prayed them over and over until my squad dragged me out of the river.

“I called in illumination and artillery from Base Camp. At that time, I was very still, conscious and coherent. I was able to give the coordinates for needed artillery strikes.

“I asked Sgt. Weber for evacuation. He asked if I could wait until morning. I said I didn’t think so. Weber called Jack Justice who ordered a night medevac. Nightime Medevacs by helicopter was rare because of the danger involved. 

“My squad had to carry me back to base camp about a mile away. The attempt to carry me in a poncho failed. Since Gutierrez wasn’t the biggest and strongest guy in our squad, it was decided that he would carry me. 

“Gutierrez picked up all 110 pounds of me and flung me over his shoulder. After a short way, he dropped me, or I slipped from his grasp. The pain was unbearable. 

Coke saved my life

“The guys propped me against a tree. Someone gave me a can of Coke to quench my thirst. The guys told me I was leaking Coke. It was then that I realized that I had been shot in the gut. The leg pain was so intense that I hadn’t noticed the other wounds.

“Gutierrez was covered with my blood, feces and urine. That quantity is very slippery and made it doubly difficult for him to maintain his grasp on me.

“Losing consciousness, I floated above my body. I could see the men tending to my wounds and I could hear them talking. A magnificent light appeared; unlike any I had ever seen on Earth. 

“Within that light, a female figure, clothed in a shroud moved softly toward me. She was calling my name and during this phenomenon I had no pain. The light began to fade, and the female figure retreated.

“The pain returned. It was at that point I knew that I knew I would survive. Initially I thought the female figure was the Virgin Mary. But in later years I have come to think she was my Guardian Angel.”

“NOTE: These events happened around the Midnight Hour.

“My 2 grandmothers lived one block apart In my hometown of Mapleton. At about the hour I was shot, my maternal grandmother, Wilda Michael, became acutely aware that ‘something happened to Peter.’

“Hours later, she walked over to see my paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Smith, to tell her ‘I just know something bad has happened to Peter.’

“Within a day or two the telegram arrived at my mother’s home in Onamia. My mother found the telegram stuck in her door upon her arrival home from a John Wayne movie, ‘The Green Berets.’”