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I was with Ed when he died. After talking with one of my fellow members of our unit in Vietnam, Roger Harris, I decided to write you. Let me start by remembering Ed. Ed and I served together in 2nd Platoon, C Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry. The 16th Infantry was part on the First Infantry Division ("The Big Red One"). Ed had red hair and was about six feet tall. He was a quiet guy and was always smiling. Everyone liked Reilly (we pretty much used last names). On April 11, 1966, Charlie Company was part of a large search and destroy mission, looking for the base camp of the Viet Cong battalion D800. The D800 was a front-line, hard-core unit. These were full-time soldiers--well trained and well equipped.

Some of the VC wore uniforms, others wore what were called black pajamas. The day before Easter day, 1966, Charlie Co. killed two Viet Cong from which we gained information regarding the location of the D800 base. The next morning, April 11, we moved out in search of the base camp. At mid-day the lead men of the company came under fire. The company stopped in place to assess the situation. In a short while, the whole company came under fire and formed a perimeter. The perimeter was far from perfect as it was made under ever increasing fire. The VC had people high in trees shooting down into us, while the main force of over 400 closed in on us. Charlie Company had about 159 people assigned to it. We only had 134 in the field; there are many reasons why soldiers were in the rear. Some were wounded before, some were on R&R, a few were at the end of their tour and were a day or two from leaving Vietnam, and some were cooks, clerks, etc. who didn't go to the field. The fire was so intense that very few were in a spot where they could dig in. The VC brought up two Russian 51 Cal. machine guns, larger than anything Charlie Co. carried. At one point, the Viet Cong dropped mortar rounds on the men of Charlie Co. A few of our wounded were hoisted out by Air Force PJs (pararescue jumpers), before they were shot up and forced to leave. If you can just try to imagine the noise of our fight--the VC's 400 plus guns and two heavy machine guns were punctuated by mortar rounds exploding among our men, while Charlie Company returned fire with its M-16s M-60 machine guns, and M-79 grenade launchers. Artillery rounds from U.S. Friendly artillery shells from 105mm and 155mm howitzers also exploded around the perimeter--and a few inside the perimeter. Men screaming orders to others, wounded plead for help, and choppers flying overhead dropped ammo boxes into the perimeter--some falling on soldiers below. Tree limbs fell when artillery rounds hit high in the trees, cascading red-hot shrapnel down on Charlie Co.

Hell would have been an improvement on this place. Charlie Co. was getting torn apart. After one of the other platoons tried to break out of the encirclement and failed, 2nd platoon under Lt. John Libs made another attempt. The reason for this, to my knowledge, was to counter attack as we were being killed off in place and at the rate it was going soon there would be no one left. The order was given to charge forward. Reilly was in the lead followed by Lt. Libs, then myself and others. We didn't get very far before we were hit with a wall of fire. The battle line was only 15 yards between them and us. We hit the ground and a grenade exploded right beside me knocking me out. When I came to, a matter of seconds or a couple of minutes later, Lt. Libs was yelling for everyone to get back in. I had only a small wound from the grenade. Being groggy from being knocked out, I tried to help one of the guys back. Reilly didn't come back. The battle kept raging, and parts of the perimeter were overrun. The end came when the VC were yelling back and forth over top of us, getting ready for a final assault. Artillery was called for and a ring of fire was laid down around us, as close as 15 meters away. The earth shook; dirt, tree limbs, shrapnel, and VC body parts flew through the air. The VC could be heard screaming in pain. In all, roughly 1140 artillery rounds were fired during the battle. The battle ended at about midnight. Choppers flew over head on the ready.

The Artillery stayed on the ready as flares were fired to light the area.

The men of Charlie Co. laid on the ground fearing the fight would pick back up when light came. Through the rest of the night, cries from the wounded of both sides could be heard. Finally, at dawn, B Company got to the site of the battle. The Vet Cong had left. It was now that we could see the real affect of the battle. Just outside the perimeter, Reilly laid dead, his hand clasped in payer. Charlie Co. sustained 80 percent casualties--just under 40 dead and around 75 wounded. When formed up at a site in the rear, only 28 of us were able to stand. Two soldiers received the Medal of Honor for their conduct during this battle: Sgt. James Robinson of Charlie Co. and, after 30 years, Airman William H Pitsenbarger. Both men died during the battle. As for me, I had eight more months to go in Vietnam. A few others endured this battle early in their tours and had almost 12 months to go. I think now about what a wonderful grandpa Ed Reilly should be today. God bless you, Edward Reilly.

Phil Hall