The last publication of the 9th Div in Vietnam

[Niner]

I'm posting this here mostly because facebook had a problem with me posting another battalion publication on facebook for a facebook closed group interested in the battalion in Vietnam. Crazy ...but that's the kind of internet world we live in now. I think they may let me link this as a site page without objection. I'll see.

[Niner]

I'm in one of the photos. I was the acting FO for Alpha company. It was probably June 1970. We were on what was looking like a regular eagle flight.... multiple insertions by Huey looking for enemy based on intelligence reports. The platoon I was with got into some heavy nippa and mud as not unexpected. With the platoon was a new Brigade photographer who had, just two or three weeks before been an infantry foot soldier in Alpha Company before getting a rotation out of the field job. I knew who he was, although I had never really knew him. About the time we were starting to get into the mud another platoon from some other company was inserted nearby. There was some confusion with coordination and why that other platoon from some other company was even there and the battalion commanded came down out of the sky and got out with two RTO's. This was very unusual in that I'd never seen the Lt. Col. traveling around with any RTO's. He usually just stayed in the air with all his commo through the C&C.

When the photo was taken I saw the colonel's RTOs both stuck and one up to his waist in mud and struggling. The new photographer was just ahead of me...and like a seasoned grunt... knew to stay close to the nippa roots to keep from sinking into the mud very deeply. I decided to help the RTO who was struggling like a victim of fate. I got my picture took and had no Idea I'd ever see it.

[Niner]

The RTO to the left in the above photo I had contact with years ago. His name was Patrick Headrick. I think he was an RTO from the time he was with the company. Before Battalion RTO's were often, or probably generally, former infantry soldiers who got the job as short timer jobs out of the field. A friend of mine from Alpha had that happen to him as a get out of the field job. Before he had been the company commanders RTO.