To Honor Those of “The Crossed Sabers”
Poetry
Word Count: 671
edd hogeboom
edd@BlessedBooks.com
To Honor Those of “The Crossed Sabers”
It was a time when his Country called
The Army trained him in the finest and latest combat skills of the time
Yet his enemy would live in the ground and fight with weapons that time forgot
He was about to enter a life of experiences he could never have begun to imagine
His Mom, through her tears, told him to be careful and keep his head down.
His Dad told him to do his best and come back to them when he’s done
He put his old Navy Wings into his son’s pocket and said, “You bring ‘em back, OK?”
The son nodded and turned away and took the first step into the rest of his life.
When he stepped off the Air Force Starlifter at Tan Son Nhut, he became an FNG
At CAV Charm School he’s told what he can to do, not do, and who not to do it with
Then he gets his orders — Charlie Troop, 1st of the 9th Air Cav
The others look at him as if he has drawn the Ace of Spades from the deck of life
To Honor Those of “The Crossed Sabers”
The legend of the Ia Drang and “lifers” shaking their heads at the mention of 1st of the 9th
He had heard of incredibly high mortality rates of these men called crazy, but courageous
For a moment, he wondered, “Should I raise my hand and ask for a second choice?”
He knew from all he heard, he was essentially a replacement for a body bag going home
In the coming days and months, he would grow in areas most men would never know
He quickly acquired a “taste for Charlie’s blood” – a hooch mate took a .51 in the face
Finally his 50 hours were over and he became Cavalier 16, Scout Platoon, “C” Trp, 1/9
The days were endless and the nights were longer
When sleep came it might be in a hooch, his LOH, or a clay pit at an LZ taking incoming
He ate out of a bag, peed in a can and tried to stay up-wind of the “honey buckets”
In no time, he learned that happiness is a fully automatic weapon, preferably belt fed.
Since his “Snake Pilot” had the “funny papers,” he never really knew where he was
He saw men, women and children die every imaginable death and went back for more
He lost friends and non-friends alike, but it didn’t matter…a little piece of him died too
When his day came, the Big Six let him and his crew “pass go and collect their $200”
Banged up, but the crew would fight again and the Army’s inventory was less one LOH
To Honor Those of “The Crossed Sabers”
Page 3
Elephant grass and morning dew would tell him when and how many had moved through
Flying sideways into the wind would lead him to pack animals and Charlie’s cookouts
He’d drop Willy Petes in three potential LZs, but the insertion would be in a fourth
His helmet carried the crease of an AK round and he kept his Ithaca grease gun close by
His days were filled with adrenalin and his nights with scotch and insomnia
He saw friends hanging in their straps — dead
He saw open flesh after incoming
But nothing prepared him for the day he flew into a .51 cal trap and lost his crew
Today he has memories and he has nightmares
Several times a month he sits in a VA Clinic waiting for substandard care
He watches other old men reliving their memories and getting their drugs for the pain
Freedom’s cost is high, but if called, he would grab his Cav hat and mount up once again
To honor and remember our fallen brothers and to acknowledge with love and respect, my brothers and sisters who still wear the “Crossed Sabers” proudly.
Cavalier 16 (Hogie)
“C” Trp. 1/9 Air Cav
RVN ‘69
Charlie Troop 1st Squadron 9th Cavalry Regiment 
Posted on November 24, 2011
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