The Rescue
19 May 1969

        A frantic Vietnamese female stopped us as we patrolled Vinh Long. She directed us to two men laying in the roadway. One dressed in civilian clothing was older, the other younger man was a SP/4 in Army uniform. The younger man's foot and boot was in flames when we arrived and we put it out with our shirts and then we poured water on the leg using our helmet liners. I remember that the bone in his leg was exposed and he was not breathing when we arrived. PFC Beuing started him breathing using the "push pull" method of artificial respiration, pressing on his chest. This worked and he started breathing but was still unconscious and in pain. We evacuated him in the first ambulance that we could get to the scene. While we were trying to help the younger man, passers by (US Army), gave us assistance by directing traffic so the ambulance could get to us and then assisted us in lifting the older man, dressed in civilian clothing, into a 6 by 6 which had a mattress in the back. We laid him on that. He was breathing when we loaded him onto the truck but was dead on arrival at the medical "dust off" area which included an emergency room.

        The doctor's at the emergency room later told me that the younger soldier lived and he had been evacuated to Japan for medical treatment. It was the Doctors' opinion that the foot had to be amputated. I was upset that the older man died. I asked the doctors if I had made a mistake in not putting him in the ambulance which got to the emergency room first. I was the patrol supervisor that day, Beuing was my partner. The doctors told me that it is possible that a man can keep breathing even though he is effectively dead and it didn't matter which vehicle he was in. I have always suspected they said that just to make me feel better.

        I reported PFC Beuing's actions to our platoon leader after we returned to our unit and I was aware that a recommendation for a Soldier's Medal had gone up through the chain of command but we had heard anything when I rotated back to the US and was discharged. Today is the first I knew of him receiving the award! Good for him!

SGT James A. Davis, 148th MP Platoon & 188th MP Company, 92nd MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade, August 1968 to August 1969.