Tigers in the jungle

In 1966, the American public was aware we were sending military advisors to a country called South Vietnam. The country was under attack by communist guerrilla fighters trying to overthrow the government, and the advisors were there to help build a functional military to fight the communists. The communist force was a carryover from the Viet Minh units that had fought the Japanese in World War II and then the French in a fight for Vietnamese independence from its colonial status.

The U.S. advisors, such as Special Forces (Green Berets), operated in small teams helping villagers defend themselves against the communist invaders. It was in the situation which now retired Command Sergeant Major Bennie Adkins found himself while assigned to Camp A Shau in the infamous communist stronghold of the A Shau valley which ran west from the city of Hue.

Adkins says the camp was in a terrible location subjected to flooding and surrounded by higher ground. The Special Forces team of two officers and 10 enlisted men were assigned to the camp with "the worst of the Vietnamese Special Forces and the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG)." During an attack on the camp by a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) force one company of the CIDG actually changed to fight with the NVA.

At 2 a.m. March 9, 1966, the attack by the NVA was begun with a mortar attack followed by mass assaults. The fight had gotten down to individual weapons and hand grenades. Marine helicopters tried to evacuate the Green Berets but had to land outside the camp perimeter. Adkins and the executive officer returned to pick up a wounded soldier left behind and, when they returned, the helicopters has been forced to leave. The men stayed in the jungle that night. As they evaded the NVA they heard a noise and saw eyes in the dark. It was then that the NVA withdrew to get away from the tiger in their midst.

The story of the 38-hour attack and Adkins 48 hours of evasion led to a Medal of Honor for Adkins. The citation reads, "During the 38 hour battle and 48 hours of escape and evasion ... it was estimated that Sergeant Adkins killed between 135 and 175 of the enemy while sustaining 18 wounds to his body."

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.