OPERATION AUBURN
statements were taken, most, if not all of the Marines in Echo Company were very angry people. Regarding our statemenst, I don't know if we were told not to discuss in detail the dead or wounded Marines, but in all of the statements this information is lacking. Or, has the mind, just twelve days later already begun to protect us from the visual horror of that day.
What has stayed with me all these years is seeing Sergeant Morgan get shot in the back, and butt with an exit wound in the genital area while he was at the other end of my handset cord of the PRC-Z5, I was carrying just two feet away. My efforts to stop the bleeding with a field bandage, then sending him crawling toward the rear to get medical help. Later while I was crawling through the elephant grass I came to a clearing a saw Sergeant Morgan, dead, shot again in the side of his chest. Seeing the NVA moving about just meters in front of us. Seeing chi-com grenades flying over our heads while we are attempting to recover our wounded and dead. Hearing, Carl Chamberlain, (wounded, later KIA) calling to Corporal Barker ( his best friend ) for help. Seeing the mud filled boots of my friend, Richard (Stretch) Carlson sticking out the end of a poncho. It was a sad day.

Oral History Tape;
PFC James E. West Jr., 2351930, U.S.M.C. Rifleman, 3`a Squad, 2°a Platoon, Company E, 2"a Battalion, 3`a Marines, 15` Marine Division. " My job is rifleman and to start off with we came in on the helicopters and to secure a landing zone but we were receiving sniper fire first. It was total confusion when we first got on the ground but we got our units formed and we started pushing forward, and we were on line, and we got to about 20 meters to a hedge row, or tree line, and we started receiving, at first, light smoke fire. So we all got down on line, and we reconed it by fire. And at first there was just sniper response, but then the 3`a squad off to my right was pinned down. Evidently they had bunkers and spider traps and had been [inaudible] had them pinned down and this lasted approximately one hour. We tried to provide some cover fire so they could pull back and we were pinned down with them. And we were pinned down there at least '/2 hour, 40 minutes. And finally we located where our lines were and we slowly puled back, what there was left of us. And some sort of perimeter was put up by [inaudible] and the VC or NVA in front of us seemed to have spider traps and they seemed to be on top of graves or something shooting more or less down, because they had our positions pinpointed. Every time someone got up or moved, they would receive sniper fire. And we received M79 fire, too from our direct front whereabouts I'm not sure. On the trip back, we stepped through a couple of [inaudible] and the first perimeter that we stayed in we were receiving grenades most of the night, and we received sniper fire during the day. Every time a chopper would come in we would receive sniper fire. And as we moved out for our next objective we received sniper fire-[tape noisy]. On our next perimeter the following night we received a lot of sniper fire and we had trouble moving around. We received some incoming grenades but there, it was just periodic, it wasn't anything big. And when we pulled out the following morning, we received a lot of sniper fire. All the way to our, till we reached, the next area where we were supposed to be choppered off. That's about all I have to say."
James E. West, Jr. - (Rusty) - KIA 28 March 1968, is the Brother of June Austin, Echo 2/3 Associate member.

Oral History Tape;
Lance Corporal Henry R. Simmons, 2030607, USMC, 2nd squad, 3`a Platoon, Company E, 2°a Battalion 3`a Marines, 15` Marine Division. It was around December 28"' we had an operation with 3/5. It was about l0am when we got off the choppers at the LZ which supposedly had been secured, which wasn't secured. We got off the chopper under heavy sniper fire and was pinned down most of the morning. I'd say it was about 1300 and we had been trying to advance all morning and they sent 3`a Platoon up, on line, we got on line and advanced, as close to the tree line as we could, where we were receiving fire from, which I don't think, myself, we should have been sent up there in the first place because they knew that area they sent us in was real fortified with the enemy. After we got up there we decided to recon it by fire. When we opened up, the enemy opened up with all automatic fire, not telling how many it was. And they pinned us down and was cutting our Platoon to pieces. We called back for help, which we did not get. They said they couldn't send us help because everybody was pinned down, but personally, myself, I don't see how everybody could have been pinned down that was behind us when the enemy was concentrating on our Platoon. We called in for the six on the mike and asked for more help. We was pinned down up there for about an hour and out of all the men we had in our Platoon, 13, 13 men returned unharmed. As for myself, I think there's gonna be a lot of people that don't like what I'm gonna say, but I think we had some piss poor commanders out there that day. A whole lot of unnecessary men was killed. Which I think could have been avoided. After that, I didn't stay out there because I was helping medevac the wounded and dead, and I got hooked up on the chopper that took all of those men to Marine Regimental Headquarters overnight. I returned the next morning to find out that everything had cooled down but still receiving sniper fire, and the first night that I stayed out there, the enemy was trying to penetrate our lines, we received a little sniper fire, not much. We were supposed to be out there for 3 days helping 3/5 and 3/5 sent their Company, India in and left Echo 2/3 out there, which I think Echo Z/3 should have been the Company that came in, if any Company had came in. We did most of the fighting, we did fighting and we took most of the casualties and KIA's, and on our withdraw, when we was pinned down, 3`a Platoon, on our withdraw, Echo 2/5 supposedly sent a Platoon around to provide cover for us. They stayed behind us, they never moved up ahead of us. How could they put out cover when they stayed behind us. We had to fight our way in that place and we had to fight our way out.
On our own. We got most of our wounded out, all of our wounded out, and most of our dead. Some of the dead we couldn't get on the count of we was taking too, too much fire. All automatic fire. And while we were pined down up there myself and PFC Kelly, his first time out, first time he ever received fire from the enemy, helped me pin down 2 automatic weapons. The first one we knocked out with the M79 from the M79 man, and successfully knocked out the 2°a. The M79 gave us a little security for with drawing which when we withdrew, we were still under fire. The enemy was pushing us back, throwing grenades on us as we were moving back. Shooting M79 rounds. In other words, we had the enemy in from of us and behind us. On both sides of us, so you can see what kind of position we was in out there. But I think we did a pretty good job but a lot of lives could have been saved out there that day if we had a better command. That's about all I have to say.

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Oral History Tape;
Martin V. Patton, 2168370, USMC, ls` squad, Yd Platoon Company E, 2"d Battalion, 3`d Marines, ls` Marine Division. The LZ that we landed in was suppose to be secured but the choppers came down and we received heavy sniper fire. Things were confusing for awhile. We were being sniped at from all directions and gooks were inside the perimeters throwing Chi-Com grenades. Finally we got organized and started sweeping toward a tree line where most of the sniper fire was coming from. 2"d Platoon tried to advance first but were driven back and some were pinned down. After the Hueys and air strikes were over 3rd Platoon started the assault. The tree line where sniper fire from right to left. We advanced for about 100 meters and were 30 to 40 meters from the tree line when the gooks opened up with automatic weapons and pinned us down. There was suppose to be a Platoon from 3/5 come up come up on our right flank and give us support but they never came as far as I know. We were ordered to retreat but you couldn't even move for about 5 minutes. At this time Sgt. Morgan came crawling around the mound I was behind and asked me to take him back to Echo. He was shot in the waist. Neither one of us knew where Echo was. We would retreat a little and call for them. After about 30 meters, Sgt. Morgan got up and started walking and calling for Echo. He hadn't been up a second and he got shot in the side. We crawled a little further until he couldn't go anymore. He told me to go find Echo and to go ahead. I couldn't drag him because he was hurting too much so I went. I found Echo approximately 30 meters back. At this time, 3' Platoon was on their way back and found... I went and found them to guide them to Echo. [Tape fades] where we gave medical attention to the wounded and tried to get them back to the LZ. I had to carry PFC [inaudible] back to the LZ and I didn't get back until we set in that night. That's all I've got to say.


Oral History Tape;
Wilbert C. Dishman, 15` Lieutenant, 0100186, USMC , Platoon Commander 2"a Platoon, Company E, 2"d Battalion, 3`d Marines, 15` Marine Division. At approximately 1010 on 28 December we hit the landing zone. My Platoon was the first to hit the LZ. We deployed our two squads up and one squad back we started moving in a southernly direction. And so we had large enough LZ to bring in the rest of the Company. We advanced about 250 to 300 meters south until we got the word from the Company Commander to hold up what I had until the 1 S` Platoon had the opportunity to regroup and start moving out on my right flank. A approximately the same time we was receiving sniper fire from the right flank and as the 1g` Platoon developed or started on my right flank it developed into heavy automatic fire which constantly pinned us down on my right flank and the entire l` Platoon. Uh, this condition lasted quite some time. We started calling I air strikes and artillery in the area. We had taken several casualties and we were trying to get them back into a secure position to get the out. [Inaudible] maneuver stayed pretty much the same and with the ls` and 2"d Platoons needed help. At this time the 3rd Platoon was deployed to try to flank this tree line which was really the largest volume of automatic fire from our right flank and at the same time we were also receiving a small amount of automatic fire from the tree line to our direct front. Uh, as the 3`a Platoon progressed they also got pinned down in the cross fire and I recognized we had the whole Company pinned down in between two tree lines and an open bank. And the biggest problem we had was getting our dead and wounded out which took up the CONTINUED ON PAGE 3:

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