Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:40 | Despite the overwhelming attitude of other college students, Beirne Lovely wanted to go fight in Vietnam. The Dartmouth student switched from Army ROTC to the Marines, but a missing credit in his transcript nearly derailed his career before it began.
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Newly minted Marine Lieutenant Beirne Lovely was making contact with the enemy every day as soon as he arrived at Khe Sanh. Assigned to establish a forward outpost, his unit was annoyed by the lack of rations when a grazing deer was spotted. The results of the deer hunt were a little concerning.
Newly commissioned out of ROTC at Dartmouth, Beirne Lovely went to the basic school at Quantico where he received a lot of grief for switching over from the Army. Soon, he and fraternity brother John Feltner were on their way to Vietnam, concerned that all the combat jobs would be gone before they got there. Not a problem, as it turned out.
It was inevitable. The hilltop outpost was overrun by what must have been a battalion of NVA regulars. Jolted from sleep, with his .45 in his hand, Beirne Lovely ran right into an AK-47 wielding North Vietnamese soldier. 2ndLt Terry Roach, the unit leader, ran right into much worse.
When a blood-curdling scream wakes you up in the middle of the night at a jungle outpost, it may not be because of the enemy. It was Lt. Beirne Lovely 's job to track down the intruder. It was also his job to lead the unit off the helicopter ramp, but the first time was a little embarrassing.
It was extreme in effort and cost. Lt. Beirne Lovely reflects on the difficulty of a ground frontal assault, the bravery of his men and the lack of overwhelming force that was needed. One particular Sergeant decide to supply his own overwhelming force with a .60 caliber machine gun on his hip. Though in constant fear and danger, his men never hesitated.
It was a novel method of lighting his position for the helicopter pilots that involved heat tabs and ration cans. Beirne Lovely explains this and then discusses the relative accuracy of two popular Vietnam War movies and his luck in avoiding the psychological effects of the war suffered by so many.
Marines are well trained, almost to a fault, says Beirne Lovely who tells what happened when the wall was blown off the officer's club, leaving only the framed door. He also reflects on the serious and somber effects of the Vietnam War, the character it revealed in the warriors, and the sadness of his last duty, making casualty calls on families.
