Correspondents' Correspondence GI Cry for Help

...Correspondents' Correspondence BRIEF TAKEOUTS OF MORE THAN PERSONAL INTEREST FROM LETTERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS GI Cry for Help Saigon - The threat of five First Air Cavalry infantrymen not to go on night patrol in enemy-occupied territory two months ago was less a protest than a cry for help Their action expressed the confusion and sense of isolation felt by thousands of American troops still fighting??and dying??m a war Washington no longer wants to win Before going back out into the field, the insubordinates told a small group of newsmen they had been driven to the brink of mutiny and possible court martial by seemingly pointless risk-taking m an ostensibly defensive situation The specific incident that provoked them took place the night of October 9 at Firebase Pace, 75 miles northwest of Saigon, on the Cambodian border The base, which provides artillery support for South Vietnamese units, had been besieged by North Vietnamese forces for several weeks When the Bravo Company commander announced his intention of sending 15 men on night patrol outside the base perimeter, the five declared they would not go(They never refused a direct order, however, because the operation subsequently was canceled ) One of the objectors was Specialist 4 Richard Nabors of Whittier, California, the President's hometown "We felt it wasn't right, it made no sense," he said of the planned patrol "We had no air cover, no artillery cover, no chance of being medevaced, no knowledge of the terrain ". The patrol was but one indication, company personnel said, of the discrepancy between official descriptions of the soldiers' current combat involvement and the daily reality "We are ground troops who are supposedly m a defensive role, according to the Nixon Administration," the 120-man company stated in a petition sent to Senator Edward M Kennedy (D-Mass), "but [we] constantly find ourselves in the same combat role we were in 10 months ago " The petition's goal, according to its author, Specialist 4 Albert Granma, was to focus public attention on the plight of our fighting men "We're almost forgotten because there are so few of us left " Bravo Company members bristled at any suggestion that their colleagues refused to go on patrol for fear of the enemy "These guys are no cowards," said Sergeant Walter Warmly "They're good soldiers who just saw no point in taking stupid risks??especially when they're supposed to be in defensive positions Going out looking for gooks to kill is not a defensive action and that's what we've been doing ". Yet "lifers"??as officers and senior noncoms are derisively called by enlisted maintain that the best defense is a good offense It makes sense??unless, of course, you happen to be one of the men who must venture out at night from an evidently secure firebase...

...Whatever the case, there is no hiding the mounting problems facing the U S military in Vietnam As the war winds further down, getting men to fight and maintaining their morale will grow increasingly difficult - Arnold Abrams...

...In any event, U S military authorities have taken no disciplinary action But after being airlifted east from Firebase Pace, Bravo Company, including the rebel five, was sent out on a prolonged combat assault mission Although the target area had been quiet, military officials said the operation was launched because of intelligence reports about possible enemy activities In addition to thwarting potential enemy plans, however, the maneuver foiled the efforts of newsmen to talk to the company Predictably, Army authorities denied any such intention...