We have been learning about Mike Davis and his Vietnam service. Mike grew up near Sanborn and graduated with the Sanborn High School class of 1967. He was drafted into the military in 1969 and after completing training and several months at Fort Hood, Texas, the Army deployed him to Vietnam.

Mike spent several months at the Phu Bai Air Base in the northern, I Corps region of Vietnam before the Army reassigned him to the 1st Battalion of the 12th Infantry Regiment. Mike’s unit was part of the 4th Infantry Division in the Central Highlands of the II Corps region of Vietnam. He joined his infantry company while they were patrolling.

Mike’s life and military mission changed drastically

“I joined the unit while they were in the field. (Mike chuckled) We’d get resupplied anywhere from four to seven days, so we had to carry food, water, and ammunition for four days, weighing about 80-85 pounds. And then it was in the mountains during the monsoon, so it was really miserable. If we got into heavy, triple-canopy jungle, it would take us all day just to walk a mile or two. We slept anywhere on the ground at the end of the day. Sometimes it was miserable between the ants, the mosquitoes, the snakes, and lizards.”

He felt an emotional burden beyond his pack, equipment, and the misery of patrolling in the jungle.

“When you’re a new guy, nobody talks to you. You don’t know what to do. You don’t know what to expect. In fact, you do dumb things that could be hazardous to your health and everyone else around you. So, everyone just stays away from you until you catch on.”

Mike explained his unit’s patrolling rotation.

“We’d work off a firebase. A battalion has four line companies. Three would be out in the bush and one would pull perimeter guard on the firebase for a week. So, you’d be three weeks in the bush and one week on the hill.”

He described the patrolling routine he experienced.

“We’d wake up in the morning. Although I didn’t need it, some guys were dragging. They needed to be yelled at. So, you’d ruck up. I carried an M-16 and a couple bandoleers of rounds, food and water for four to seven days, a poncho and poncho liner, a couple hand grenades; a Claymore mine, and a couple trip flares. Most of the time we don’t know where we are going because you have to walk single-file. The Squad Leader had a map and a compass and would tell the point man, ‘Go that way.’ It was hot. It was miserable. And some days it rained.”

Mike described his patrolling responsibilities.

“I had an M-16, so I’d walk point, slack, or drag. Sometimes on point the jungle would be so heavy, you didn’t need a rifle. You’d go up with a machete and try and chop a hole through the jungle. Point would be the first man through. Slack is the 2nd man and drag would be the guy at the end. Usually in the middle would be an M-60 gunner, an assistant gunner and a Squad Leader with a radio. You walk in single file because the jungle is so thick. Usually you step in the same footstep as the guy ahead of you.”

They did not often encounter the enemy.

“Once in a while at night, not very often, they tried to probe us and during the day we’d get sniper fire. We’d hump for days and days and not see anything. I think one reason was the force was pulling out soon. I think the enemy knew it, too, and that’s why they were sitting in Cambodia, waiting for us to leave. Usually, we’d set up an ambush, but wanted to be careful what kind of an ambush. We don’t want to go on a main trail with one squad. So, we’d stay on small trails. Then we’d go out on night ambush. I hated night ambush. You couldn’t see anything.”

Mike summarized his experience patrolling with the 4th Infantry Division.

“It was being wet and miserable. My feet would rot because we wore the boots twenty-four hours a day. When you go through the jungles they had ‘Wait a Minute’ vines that grabbed you. Then they had other vines that cut you up. Then your arms got infected. It was just miserable. Most guys were like me — teenagers, not married. It was just us kids over there.”

A herniated stomach muscle requiring surgery landed Mike in a hospital for a couple weeks. He returned to a startling reality.

“This was in Anh Khe, in the center of the Vietnam highlands. I got off the C-130 and walked to my company area. There was nobody around; not a soul. The windows and the doors were all boarded up. (Mike laughed) I had no idea what was going on. I didn’t know what to do. I sat there a while and thought, ‘Wait a minute. If everybody’s leaving, that means they will be coming.’ I grabbed my stuff and ran back to the airport. I grabbed a truck, a deuce and a half, that was leaving. I was probably about the last person to leave Anh Khe.”

But Mike was not done with combat patrolling.

Please visit our new exhibit, The Vietnam War and Lyon County, at the Lyon County Museum to learn more about the experiences of our area Vietnam veterans. If you would like to share Vietnam experiences or help with the exhibit, please contact the museum at 537-6580.