THE PLAIN OF REEDS

We loaded our packs with as much food as we could carry before heading out. When orders came down from Headquarters we knew we were going far and staying for awhile. The Pineapple had kicked our ass but we were rested, fed, resupplied and heading out farther west than we had ever been before. Mirroring the sweeping operations of the Pineapple we had the added  bonus of resupply routes and cachets of weapons to deal with. We were approaching the western border of Vietnam and the supply routes of the Vietcong's super hyghway the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The approaches to the trail and the connection routes into the Saigon were our new area of operations. Welcome to The Plain of Reeds.

A stronghold for Vietcong Guerrilla operations throughout the war it was formed by a depression in the Mekong River Basin and was sparsely populated. The harsh landscape was a bone dry Savana in the dry season and a flooded marshland during the Monsoons. In either case it was an unwelcomed scenario to deal with and an even harder one to negotiate during battle. Strategically this badlands was of no use other than a depot for supplies and a hideout for the bad guys. After the Spring Offensive and before the Monsoons started was our best window of opportunity to navigate this wasteland. Entering the dustbowl atmosphere at this time was the dryest and hottest time of year and made the transition from the wet Pineapple much more difficult.

This hostile battlefield was a perfect hideout and staging area for the Viet Minh forces fighting the French. Similarly today the Vietcong controlled the local population against U.S. and South Vietnamese forces. It was our job to set up camp and sweep through the area on small search and destroy missions coming dangerously close to the Cambodian border. Our objective was to seek out supplies, munitions, and cachets of weapons making their way into the hands of desperate Vietcong. The Spring Offensive had taken it's told on this rag tag army and they were in need of supplies. 

Getting there was a familiar helicopter routine we had perfected in previous operations. Being air mobile had its advantages on long range missions but left us vulnerable to attack. There was no sneaking up on the enemy in the Pain of Reeds just an open dry approach of loud helicopter rotars kicking up tornadoes of dust. It was an entrance we could have done without but a necessary evil to get the job done. 

Being first on the ground we set up as quickly as possible for the second arrival.

Once on the ground we hiked for two days to get to our new home and from there we would fan out on small search and destroy missions. The earthtones of the beige and brown landscape was void of life and dead straw like sticks gave the Plain of Reeds it's name. These dry reeds stood straight up from the cracked dry clay dirt making the footing hard and hot. There was a hot breeze blowing in our faces seemingly void of oxygen. Carrying seventy pound packs I welcomed a break in our pace and used the straw as a makeshift cushion.

Waking up from a power nap Peter snapped this picture of me. Around my waist are loaded magazine clips for my M-16 and I am hugging my hand grenades clipped to my chest for easy access. I sleep with a grenade in my right hand as a precautionary measure in case I am taken prisoner and have no choice but to use it on myself. My head is resting on my canteen and a suitcase containing a Sarlight Scope. The scope was a revolutionary night vision device that could either be used as a telescope or mounted on my M-16 for sniper use. I could shoot a Vietcong in total darkness from so far away that he would never hear the shot and bullet that kills him. In the foreground is my shaving brush stuck in my helmet with an elastic band. I always shaved.

Trying to get out of the blistering sun Kennedy, a fellow soldier, sits on his helmet under a dry dead patch of Bamboo trees.

We came across several crypts in random cemeteries a good distance from any villages. Most of the headstones and crypts were bullet ridden from previous battles. Here we are recieving incoming rounds and use the cemetery as cover.

Working in six and eight man teams we crisscrossed the area for a week trying to beat the upcoming Monsoons and the rebirth of the plains. Hot blowing winds continued to make breathing an effort and trying to keep focused with dry eyes. A square mirage looking building appeared in the distance wiggling and rippling off the the hot mud caked ground in wavey patterns of heat. Sending in a small team reinforced with backup was the plan and the cube was approached with care. It was a large tightly packed cachet of rockets and explosives so large it could only be moved by truck. Movement across the plains was by any means possible and was usually at night. The Vietcong left the cachets unattended during the day in hopes of not being discovered and returned to claim them at night. We could wait until nightfall but there was no place to hide and the element of surprise would be lost. 

There was always that chance that our approach warned them or perhaps it was a trap and they were waiting in the wings, in either case this is what we came for. The markings were Chinese as most of the cachets were and now it was our job to deal with it. We were trained in explosives as Peter and I had executed on previous missions but today we had a special team on call. Blowing up rockets and other ordinances was a serious and tricky business to say the least so we had no problem letting the bomb squad do their job. 

The unpredictable Vietcong undoubtedly knew why we were here and could decide to launch an attack at any moment. We were tredding in their backyard and depending on their needs and intentions we were vulnerable and far from home. Missions along the Cambodian border were always extremely dangerous especially when your not sure exactly where you are.

As the specialists rigged the cachet we set up ground cover upwind of the projected explosion. Careful not to get to close to this mining operation we were ready for anything in our repertoire of battlefield tricks. The explosion went off without a hitch at exactly the same time the wind changed direction. If I didn't know better I would have thought that the explosion was so powerful that it altered the direction of the wind. The steady onslaught of hot air at our backs was now in our faces and without a wasted minute we realized what was happening. We picked up our gear and began running and thus began what was to be one of the longest days in our tour. 

We ran full speed away from the blast and the flames were right on our heels and gaining ground. The change in wind direction coupled with the dryness of the plain created a flash fire that was not only on our heels but flanked us in the process. Without options we ran in full gear until exhaustion set in. Haphazardly running in enemy territory was asking for trouble but we had no choice. Our options were limited as burn or run faced us and little else mattered. It was one hundred degrees and our nostrils were filled with dry hot soot clogging our poors with a combination of blackness and heat. We could hardly breath.

Our proficiency in battle was a given but outrunning a flash fire was not in the manual. At the end of the day we were safe from the ravenous flames but our location presented us with yet another problem. We were in Cambodian territory without orders and backup was  nonexistent. The Cambodian government was in transition and the Khmer Rouge were coming into power, each fighting for supremacy and each was a force to be reckoned with. We had to get help quickly and to do so we had to cross the border once again and reset our position for extraction. With the mission completed our extraction point was a good days hike back through no mans land. Just trying to breath was an effort. Our legs were tired and our backs were week so we began dropping unnecessary equipment circumventing the ring of fire and taking the long way home. We did not make contact with the Vietcong and reached our extraction point on time. We were glad the nightmare mission known as the Plain of Reeds was over. 

The emerald green expanse of The Plain Of Reeds.

The flat expanse of the southern Vietnam Cambodian border, better known as The Plain of Reeds, is a lush growing area for both countries during the wet season. With the exception of the occasional farmer and roadside stands there is nothing between Ho Chi Munh City and Phenom Penh to interest the average tourist. 

The torrential rains of the annual Monsoons have just come to an end in southern Southeast Asia and I am traveling by bus through one of the greenest areas I've ever seen. The emerald backdrop of water soaked fields appears to be a devastated hurricane scene of flooded homes and livestock seen so many times in the last couple of years. This assumption couldn't be further from the truth. The people of the plains welcome the annual rains as they prepare their crops with makeshift systems of canals and dams.

Farmers work their livestock around the knee deep mud of rice fields.

Appearing to be a wasteland this scene is just what the farmer hopes for. Known as the "Rice Bowl" of Southeast Asia the rice from this area feeds most of Asia.

Palm trees and rice fields makes a picture postcard.

Farmers wade knee deep in water to plant, cultivate, and harvest rice crops.

A wetland of wonder during the growing season of the Monsoons these flatlands are cracked and dry during the hot dry season. The season I remember as a soldier trying to find the Vietcong's hiding places in this vast unmarked region. For a moment I couldn't believe this was the same area we trekked during the war. The beautiful emerald green cradled small hamlets and villages once terrified by both the Allied Forces and the Vietcong. It was a welcomed sight to witness what nature had intended for this area without the egotistical greed of man and machines interrupting the natural order of things. 

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